Karl Marx and Communism - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 961 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/07/31 Category Politics Essay Level High school Tags: Communism Essay Did you like this example? At one point in time most of us have probably heard the phrase, sharing is caring! Well, one man, by the name of Karl Marx, took that too far and created the governmental system known today as Communism. Communism has many disadvantages like creating dictators, taking motivation away from the people, and making the rich richer with no way to change that. Because of all those reasons, Communism is not a viable political/economic system when compared to capitalism because it creates super inefficient economies. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Karl Marx and Communism" essay for you Create order In order to understand how Communism creates inefficient economies, it is important to know its origins as well as how it works. Communism is based on the writings of two German economists, Karl Marx, and Fredrich Engels. The two of them partnered up and wrote the book, The Communist Manifesto which explains, What is Communism? According to Marx and Engels, the many problems in society are due to the unequal distribution of wealth. They believe that in order to create a prosperous and happy society the distinctions between the rich and the poor must be eliminated. Considering that the rich will never voluntarily give up their power/money, the working class, proletariat, must overthrow the capitalist owners, the bourgeoisie. Communism is willing to use violence in order to attain its goals of a classless society. However in order to transition from capitalism, it would take time, and that phase in between is known as socialism. Socialism is where you try to even the distribution of wealth with the endpoint being communism. The means of production which are raw materials, factories, and machines are all socially owned. Communism is the easiest economic system to sell to poor people. The poor can enjoy free meals given to them by the regime, but in exchange, the poor have to slave away for the state, 12 hours a day. Those who were more capable worked in blue collar jobs, but there are no salaries. With no incentives like bonuses, promotions, or overtime pay, nobody is motivated to do their work and efficiency drops. Because of this, there is no reason two work more than what the state tells you to do, life becomes boring and routine. One can not break out of this routine as there is no opportunity to rise in a Communist society because everyone is equal. All Communism does is provide for mans basic needs and doesnt offer a chance to go beyond that to mans wants. All of this leads to the peoples yearning of Capitalism. Many countries have overthrown their Capitalist leaders in an effort to better their country. One such example of this would be in Romania and what happened with Nicolae Ceauescu, the former leader. The people of Romania were sick of communism and his rule so they publically dragged him out and executed him on December 25th, 1989. Today, there are only five Communist countries which are the Peoples Republic of China, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, and the Republic of Cuba. The fact that there are only five Communist countries can also be used as proof that Communism is not viable. Now that we know about Communism it is important that we understand what Capitalism is and how it works. Capitalism is defined as, an economic and political system in which a countrys trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.Capitalism has its origins in the 16th century when merchants began to trade with foreign countries (mercantilism), and the demand for their products grew so high that it began shaping the market and pricing. Another contributing factor to the rise of capitalism w ould be Europes supply of precious metals increasing. In the 18th Century, England had become a fully industrialized nation which is when Capitalism took full effect. Capitalism is dominated by the free market rather than by the government. Capitalism, in essence, states that Greed is good. In Capitalism owners control the means of production, and it is valued on profit, while in Communism it is valued on its usefulness to the people. In Capitalism, people derive their income from their ownership rather than the government. Because you get your income from ownership, you are motivated to work harder to get more money. Because you work harder there are new innovations and product developments in the market. Capitalism is based on the concept of supply and demand which states that when demand increases the price also increases. Because of this companies make more of the product that is in demand, and since multiple companies are making the product the competition keeps the price affordable and the production efficient. This leads to greater economic growth. The government should only intervene to keep the power in the market balanced, like preventing things like monopolies or oligarchies. Opposition to Capitalism states t hat by nature it is exploitative, and leads to a heavily divided society. It is the complete opposite of Communism which seeks to become a classless society where everyone is equal. Some disadvantages of Capitalism would be that it doesnt provide for those who cant compete, like the elderly, disabled people, and children. Another disadvantage of capitalism is that it ignores environmental issues like pollution and climate change because it makes goods cheaper and more affordable in the short run. This, however, is very damaging to the environment and makes the quality of living very bad. When comparing Communism and Capitalism, it is evident that Capitalism leads to more efficient economies and more innovation in the marketplace. Communism is bound to fail with no motivation to work harder, and no way to climb the ranks and satisfy your own greed. That is why Capitalism is better than Communism.

Othello by William Shakespeare - 1086 Words

Throughout the tragedy of Othello Shakespeare does an impressive job of quickly introducing and manipulating his main characters. His talents are no less when it comes to the creation and development of Emilia. Though it appears that Emilia is both a loyal and obedient wife, her actions speak much louder than her words. When Emilia betrays the sisterhood within the play of Othello much is revealed to the reader regarding her character. Through close reading and interpretation the reader may come to the realization that Emilia possessed a dangerously low self-esteem, never honestly loved someone wholeheartedly, and ultimately, acted out of jealousy of Desdemona. Low self-esteem is a dangerous mental health disorder. Although one many†¦show more content†¦Emilia clearly does not love Desdemona as much as she claims to; as it is ultimately her fault that Othello comes to believe Iago’s lies of Desdemona’s alleged affair with Cassio. If Emilia truly had love in her heart for her dear Desdemona, she would have returned the handkerchief to Desdemona after seeing the immense amount of pain it caused her in Act IV scene ii and iii. The lack of love portrayed by Emilia can only be attributed to not only to her verbally abusive husband and the lack of affection shown by him, but also perhaps to her inability to love another person, as she is never shown true, forgiving, honest love by another human herself. Many arguments have been made pertaining to the jealousy of both Othello and Iago; however, it could easily be argued that Emilia’s jealousy in the play is a significant factor in the deaths of both Desdemona and Othello. As previously discussed, Emilia was never shown kindness or love by Iago, unless he hoped to gain something from such moments of affection. As Emilia was denied attention and love from her husband on a daily basis, she was forced to observe how her lady Desdemona was lusted and loved after by not only Othello but also he r very own husband, Iago. Emilia watched as Desdemona was fawned over by Rodrigo, kissed and held by her husband, Othello, and complemented by Cassio and Iago, while Emilia received no attention in return. In an A.C. Bradley criticism of Othello, he argues that it is not until Othello isShow MoreRelatedOthello, By William Shakespeare957 Words   |  4 Pagesinnocent person kills himself while not knowing the truth. The best example of that would be the play Othello by the great William Shakespeare. As little as a handkerchief could make a difference if it is a symbol for something. In the play Othello by Shakespeare, handkerchief is first introduced by Othello to his beautiful mistress, Desdemona, as a sign of their love. At the end of the play what gets Othello to take extreme measures by the location of the handkerchief. As the symbol of the handkerchiefRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1599 Words   |  7 Pages William Shakespeare’s 16th century play Othello is a duplicitous and fraudulent tale set alternatingly between Venice in act 1, and the island of Cyprus thereafter. The play follows the scandalous marriage between protagonist Othello, a Christian moore and the general of the army of Venice, and Desdemona, a respected and intelligent woman who also happens to be the daughter of the Venetian Senator Brabantio. Shakespeare undoubtedly positions the marriage to be viewed as heroic and noble, despiteRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1218 Words   |  5 PagesIn a historical time period where emphasis was shifting from religion to race and ethnicity, key indicators of differences that perpetuated into racial prejudice and racial ideologies are evident in Othello by William Shakespeare. Although racism was not fully formed at this moment in history, Othello can be interpreted as a representation and an exploration of this shift in ideology. In the past, before this change to ward racial differences, religion was the major segretory factor in signifyingRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare894 Words   |  4 Pagesthose that which occurred in Othello written by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play Othello, we see the struggles of a marriage that is not accepted by their society. Othello is a extremely cherished black general living in a primarily white community. The play begins with Othello secretly becoming married to a white woman named Desdemona. This reasons others who are white to become angry and excuse to dislike this black man further more than they already do. Othello is a downward spiral from loveRead MoreOthello by William Shakespeare790 Words   |  3 PagesThroughout Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello makes numerous poor decisions due to his jealousy. Hitting Desdemona, trusting Iago, and killing Desdemona are among a few of the poor decisions that he makes. The word jealous can be defined as feeling or showing suspicion of som eones unfaithfulness in a relationship. Othello feels suspicious of Desdemona’s and Cassio’s relationship because of the lies that Iago tells him. Many people try to tell Othello the truth but he only believes the wordsRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1923 Words   |  8 Pagesdissatisfaction or complication is shown. Firstly in Othello love is presented as ephemeral and transient while atonement love is presented as unrequited and finally in cat on a hot tin roof love is presented as painful and troublesome due to unreciprocated feelings. The tragic plot of Othello hinges on the potential of the villain, Iago, to deceive other characters, above all Roderigo and Othello, through encouraging them to misinterpret what they see. Othello is prone to Iago s ploys seeing that he himselfRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare941 Words   |  4 Pageswas Williams Shakespeare’s play Othello which depicts the tragedy of Othello, a Morris Captain. What is different about Shakespeare play is that the tragic hero is the black Othello and the villain a white Iago. Therefore, Shakespeare depiction of Othello as a tragic character and Iago as a villain, challenges Elizabethan’s stereotypes regarding individuals of African descent. Shakespeare challenges the stereotypical â€Å"type –casting of the black man† in Elizabethan society by depicting Othello asRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1152 Words   |  5 Pages‘Othello’ was a tragedy of incomprehension at the deepest level of human dealings as no one in the play came to an understanding of himself or any of the surrounding characters. The play ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare focused on tragedy through the anguish of the main character ‘Othello’ which lead to the suffering and death of numerous characters including himself. Appearance Vs. Reality challenged human dealings within the play ‘Othello’ as no-one came to see anyone’s true self and no-one seesRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1178 Words   |  5 Pagesprofitable in condition of good and immorality. Othello is presented as good and Iago as evil, but Iago and Othello’s relationship also shares a distrust of their wives. The overall logical argument is based on love, jealousy and betrayal between two lovers that ultimately leads to their separation because of Iago’s evil plan. I am using this article to agree with Berry s view on how Iago separates two lovers just so he can take retaliation on Othello by manipulating everyone to unmasking their trueRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare1140 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Othello† is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1603. In this play, Shakespeare features three major characters: Othello, Iago, and Desdemona. Othello, a black man, and Desdemona, a white venetian secretly eloped in the play. Iago shows racism and prejudice towards their relationship because of their skin colors. In the play, Iago says: â€Å"Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise! Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, or else the devil will make a

Planning and Management of a New Project

Question: Discuss about the Planning and Management of a New Project. Answer: Introduction During the starting of a new project or a new business, planning of the project and the management of the project are the main criteria. Out of these two projects management is the activity that is mainly composite in nature. Project management can be said as the area in which there must have resources that are planned, organized, secured, managed, leaded and controlled which will ultimately led to the achievement or success in specific goals. These criteria generally are applicable to start anew project because generally the projects are time constrained (Heagney, 2012). To make the project successful, it is mandatory to know how to use the required areas so that the completion gets success in overall organization of the project. The major principles of the management of the project are, project structure, definition phase, clear goals, must have some transparency regarding the status of the project, potential in recognition of the risks, management of the disturbances in the projec t, project manager responsibility and finally the success of the project (Leach, 2014). Start Up For a New Project The project that has been planned to start in Australia was the construction project or the construction business. The construction business has many advantages in the global market with the growing population and increasing globalization. The acquiring of the land and starting a business is nowadays getting very demand due to the high demand of increase in the population (Hill, 2013). The planning of the new business and the new project is important for the start up which includes the analysis of the external factors and the internal factors. The external factors include the investors or the financial organizations such as the government or the insurance organization overall has an impact over the internal analysis and the planning purpose of the construction project in Australia (Meng, 2012). Planning a new project with execution and monitoring Planning for the start up of a new business or anew project is a very crucial part upon which the success of the business lies. This document is very much dynamic for the planning procedure which is being checked in regular basis significantly with the analysis of the internal and external environment. The approach for a successful project plan is the key to the success of the business which must include some stages. They are the research of the Australian market according the project to be started, the analysis of the external factors and the internal capabilities, making the plan for the success, the implementation and the execution of the planning made for it and finally evaluating the plan that has been made for the project (Schwalbe, 2015). In the part of the making plan for the start up of a new business, Australian Government also provides many resources for the planning which is also being useful in the further processes. The planning and the execution of the project plan must have some opportunities and the ideas for the each and every individual whether it is in regional area or in the national. These construction businesses have a major impact on the buyer of the home (Shields Rangarajan, 2013). The execution of the construction business must keep the importance of the design which must be unique, the quality and simultaneously the customer service and effective timelines. With all these criteria, the price differentiation is the most vital source through which provides greater amount of competition in the market. For establishing a construction project in the Australian market, the builder who is planning for its project must have a strong reputation which in future market will be able to compete basing upon the quality and the timelines (Turner, 2016). Therefore in monitoring the project plan, it is necessary for the builder to have an established image in the Australian market to face a good competition in the market in future. The controlling of the project plan involves the monitoring of the whole total process of the construction which includes the planning of the project, its scheduling, its execution, the safety and the quality of the building and the most important the financial controls. The advertisement plans and the marketing strategies also play a vital role for the builder to make its construction business to attract the people to create a good market rapport in the future. All the process that are undergone for the start up of a project must go with the compliance of the industrial regulations of Australia (Walker, 2015). These regulations include the registrations and the licensing of the land to be used in construction and must fulfil the rules of the local and the state standards for building. These all processes are monitored in regular basis to keep a control over the whole procedure. The project controlling part also controls the labour and raw material procurement (Verzuh, 2015). In the Australian market, the builder must have good healthy relation with the suppliers and the sub-contractors which will be helpful achieving good competition in the market. Finally the policies and the procedures required for the closure and the implementation of the project plan. Most of the surveys said that the most of the construction business in Australia are mostly non-employing. This non-employing group generally consists of the partners and the builders and the sole proprietors. Project Risks The general risk in a construction business whether it is planned or well organized, is the timelines and the budgets. Usually these businesses dont complete their work by the given timelines and generally run behind the given schedule (Turner, 2016). Also the whole is planned in a random analyzed budget which also crosses its limit and goes over budget. For these a risk mitigation plan is being created to generalise the risks developed from the construction business. Finally the completion of the projects ensures the satisfaction of the customers and which eventually increases the market rapport of the company in the Australian market. Also by monitoring the profit and loss of the company the business will get the good amount of return of the invested business (Walker, 2015). Workable and Cost Effective Recommendations The construction of new project of a construction company needs much important analysis to be carried out for its success in the Australian market. The project planning process must include the current market analysis of the Australia regarding the construction work, and also it must evaluate the swot and the pest analysis by which a normal idea will must get for the establishment of the project (Schwalbe, 2015). The most effective plan is to make sure about the budget and other strategic issues required for the settling of the construction business. With all of these above works the last but not the least important work is to make sure to monitor each and every plan of the project including its execution to implementation which will eventually lead to the success of the project. References Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques.New Jersey, USA. Boud, D., Cohen, R. and Sampson, J. eds., 2014.Peer learning in higher education: Learning from and with each other. Routledge. Binder, J., 2016.Global project management: communication, collaboration and management across borders. CRC Press. Chia, R., 2013. Paradigms and perspectives in organizational project management research: implications for knowledge creation.Novel Approaches to Organizational Project Management Research: Translational and Transformational. Copenhagen Business School Press, Copenhagen, pp.33-55. Crawford, J.K., 2014.Project management maturity model. CRC Press. Kerzner, H.R., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wile Heagney, J., 2012.Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Hill, G.M., 2013.The complete project management office handbook. CRC Press. Leach, L.P., 2014.Critical chain project management. Artech House. Meng, X., 2012. The effect of relationship management on project performance in construction.International journal of project management,30(2), pp.188-198. Schwalbe, K., 2015.Information technology project management. Cengage Learnin Shields, P.M. and Rangarajan, N., 2013.A playbook for research methods: Integrating conceptual frameworks and project management. New Forums Press. Too, E.G. and Weaver, P., 2014. The management of project management: A conceptual framework for project governance.International Journal of Project Management,32(8), pp.1382-1394. Turner, R., 2016.Gower handbook of project management. Routledge. Walker, A., 2015.Project management in construction. John Wiley Sons. Verzuh, E., 2015.The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley Sons.

Jane Eyre VS Lucy Cho Essays - Literature, English-language Films

Jane Eyre VS Lucy Cho In the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the author shows the main character's personality through her lover. A love that is passionate and uneasy. Jane Eyre goes through a difficult situation to win a love of Mr. Rochester who is already engaged to other woman. Not only he had a fiancee but he also had been married before. More shocking news is that he abandoned his first wife because she is crazy. After comparing Jane Eyre and myself, I discovered that we have very similar personalities. The major difference we have comes from a different time period. Both Jane and I am similar in that we both have religion, Judging people inside, and gift in art Both Jane and I have a same religion- Christian. We both seek God when we have a problem. From reading the book Jane Eyre, you can see Jane constantly praying when having a difficult time. As a Christian Jane and I try to do what God wants us to do. As soon as I do something bad like breaking law, I feel the pricks of conscience. When Jane thinks about the fact that Mr. Rochester had been married before she feels guilty about loving Mr. Rochester. Eventhough she loved Mr. Rochester she acted like a servant to her master. Jane judge people by herself but never express her feeling towards others about what she thinks. In the book Jane describe Miss Ingram as her mind is poor... She was not good; she was not original (210) but Jane never says anything to Miss Ingram about it. Jane and I have a special gift in art. I am a great artist that I am in studio art II and Jane also draws well. Jane is smart and I am smart too but in a different way. Jane is very articulate but I am not. She is very wise when she talks. As a children she could say right things to an adult very wisely. Sometimes Jane lacks versatility. She didn't need to runaway from Mr. Rochester after discovering that he had a wife before. If I were Jane, I wouldn't run away from my lover. Instead I just would be mad for several days. I would marry Mr.Rochester since his first wife was not his real lover. As you can see Jane and I have very similar characteristics.

Coca Cola India Essays

Coca Cola India Essays Coca Cola India Paper Coca Cola India Paper Table of contents Executive Summaryi The Coca-Cola Company Firm Profileii The Beverage Industry in Indiaiii India’s Societal Systemvii Macroeconomic Indicators and Demographics. vii Market System Aspectsix Infrastructure and Legal Orderix Cultural Dimensionsx India’s Societal Predispositionxi Ideologiesxii Indian Caste Systemxii Valuesxiii Religionxiv Politicalxv Economicxv Strategies and Policiesxvi Constraintsxvi Coca-Cola Strategyxvii Future Strategic Initiativesxvii Market Penetration Strategyxviii Consumer and Market Focus Strategyxviii Marketing Strategyxx Conclusionxx Executive Summary India, as one of the world’s largest emerging markets, is quick to be seen as a source for new corporate growth and expansion by both large and small companies alike and The Coca-Cola Company is no exception. Since its second foray into the Indian market, The Coca-Cola Company has seen significant growth in its operations there, with average annual gains of 21 percent. As the company becomes more entrenched within the Indian market, it must continue to navigate the cultural, economic and political idiosyncrasies found in India to ensure continued growth and to sustain its competitive advantage over its rivals. For The Coca-Cola Company, long-term success hinges upon a myriad of factors that include expansion into the rural markets of India where inadequate infrastructure, widespread poverty and the legacies of the country’s caste system continue; product development and marketing strategies that cater to both the taste preferences of the Indian consumer and societal pressures for healthier alternatives; and acquisitions and partnerships that broaden the company’s internal distribution network while simultaneously giving the company access to long-standing relationships, which is important in a country that places a greater emphasis on relationships over rules and profits. As The Coca-Cola Company implements its strategies for continued operations and market share expansions within India, working knowledge of how the political, economic and cultural forces shape the corporate environment within the country will boost the company’s acceptance by local partners, employees and consumers, ultimately leading to a stronger competitive position for company. The Coca-Cola Company Firm Profile The Coca-Cola Company, publically traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KO, is the world’s largest nonalcoholic beverage company with over 139,600 employees and reported revenues of USD 35,119 million during the fiscal year that ended in December 2010 (Global Data, 2011). With over 500 brands sold in more than 200 countries, The Coca-Cola Company maintains responsibility for three primary business elements for its product: the manufacture of the concentrates, beverage bases and syrups that are sold to bottling operations for final manufacture and packaging for consumption, the company’s brand and consumer brand marketing initiatives (The Coca-Cola System, 2011). The Coca-Cola Company is a dispersed, transnational organization that operates under a decentralized management structure. The company consists of six operating segments: Eurasia, Africa (includes India), Europe, Latin America, North America and Pacific. Two other business entities round out the corporate structure Bottling Investments, which are the Company-owned bottling operations and Corporate (The Coca-Cola System, 2011). Each operating segment holds significant autonomy as it drives sales within its region and develops market-specific products to meet local demands and preferences. The largest volume growth by operating segment has been Eurasia Africa, with 12 percent gains from 2009 to 2010 and the Indian market is driving the growth with average annual gains of 21 percent (The Coca-Cola System, 2011). In terms of financial performance and stability, the company’s global footprint offers the opportunity to offset sluggish market conditions in developed markets like the United States and Europe with growing sales in emerging markets like Brazil, China and India (Global Data, 2011). As the domestic demand for non-alcoholic beverages in these markets grows, The Coca-Cola Company is able to leverage its brand and breadth of portfolio to secure market share. The backbone of Coca Cola’s operations is its more than 300 bottling partners worldwide. Bottling partners manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute the final beverage products to local customers and vending partners (The Coca Cola System, 2011). The company does not own or control most of its bottling partners. In 2007, 79% of unit case volume was produced and distributed by bottling partners in which the company did not have a controlling interest (The Coca Cola System, 2011) and 2011 figures show the company having a 30 to 35 percent interest in its major bottling partners (Global Data, 2011). This organizational philosophy is evident in its Indian operations. Coca Cola reentered the Indian market in 1993 and by 1999 it had acquired 37 company-owned bottling operations and 16 franchise bottling operations (India: Coca Cola uncorks new growth plans, 2000). Volatile raw material costs and governmental regulations remain the most serious of threats to The Coca-Cola Company across the entire corporation (Global Data, 2011). As most of the raw material costs for The Coca-Cola Company arise from commodity products, their supply can be affected by weather and natural disasters, governmental controls and supply shortages (Global Data, 2011). For The Coca-Cola Company, governmental restrictions affect every operating segment that they are in and can include anything from foreign direct investment and national labor requirements to labeling requirements to environmental regulations. Failure to monitor and abide by individual governmental regulations can have severe consequences on the overall financial health of the organization and can impede successful operations (Global Data, 2011). The Beverage Industry in India Soft drink sales in the Indian market generated total revenues of $3. 8 billion in 2010 as market consumption volumes increased nearly 11 percent during the 2006-2010 timeframe (Datamonitor, 2011). For comparison, the global beverages industry saw total revenues of $1,749 billion in 2010 of which $560 billion is attributed to soft drink sales, which highlights the limited overall current consumption of soft drinks in the Indian market (Datamonitor, 2011). In terms of market share, the Indian market is dominated by The Coca-Cola Company (33 percent market share) and PesiCo, Inc. (22 percent market share), with Parle Bisleri Ltd. , a Mumbai-based drinking water bottler capturing 20 percent of the remaining market. Various other companies make up the remaining 26 percent of total available market for soft drink sales (Datamonitor, 2011). For The Coca-Cola Company, India led its segment in revenue growth, though it has the lowest annual per capita consumption globally at 11 for 2010. India’s annual per capita consumption rate has increased from 6 in 2009 (The Coca-Cola System, 2011) and continued growth is expected for the country. For the soft drinks/beverage industry, the primary factors of production include water, concentrates, and both natural and synthetic sweeteners (Datamonitor, 2011). For bottlers, product packaging comprises another major factor of production. Relative stability and limited controversy are evident for soft drink concentrates and sweeteners within the Indian market (Datamonitor, 2011). Water as a factor of production plays a critical and often controversial role in the soft drinks beverage industry. For the bottling process, water is the primary ingredient in products produced for The Coca-Cola Company (The Coca-Cola System, 2011). In addition, water is used extensively for rinsing, cleaning, heating and cooling within the manufacturing process. The Coca-Cola Company Corporate offices has an active, three-fold water stewardship program that looks to reduce water usage, recycle the water used in manufacturing processes at a level that supports aquatic life and replenish water used in the company’s finished products through supply chain initiatives, governmental cooperation and local community investments (The Coca-Cola System, 2011). In India, the company has faced allegations of excessive water extraction and water and soil pollution at several of its bottling facilities (Harish and Gopal, 2008). Since it re-entered the Indian market in 1993, the company has launched numerous local initiatives, including water harvesting in drought-prone regions with bottling facilities, public awareness campaigns and cooperation with Indian governmental agencies like the Central Pollution Control Board to mitigate these real concerns within the Indian market (Harish and Gopal, 2008). Much like water stewardship, The Coca-Cola Company Corporate division leads a sustainable packaging division that works to improve packaging material efficiency, recycle at least 50 percent of its bottles and cans consumed annually, and utilize recycled materials for future packaging (The Coca-Cola System, 2011). While not specific to the Indian market, concerns for sustainable packaging and the solutions being worked by the company are seen there. A supporting industry for The Coca-Cola Company within the Indian market is the mango fruit industry. According to The Coca-Cola Company, over 60,000 tons of mango pulp is required annually for its Maaza juice drink brand (Coke, Pepsi announce campaigns for mango brands, 2009). In addition to agreements with local farmers to purchase mangos directly, the company is also working hand-in-hand with Jain Irrigation there to boost mango production in order to meet projected demand (Coke, Jain Irrigation join hands to improve mango yield, 2011). Both actions allow the company to be better positioned within the local Indian market by building local relationships that boost public perception and facilitating output conducive to meeting local demand. The main distribution channels for the soft drink and beverage market make up another important supporting industry within the Indian market. Independent retailers make up the largest distribution channel for the soft drink market in India, accounting for more than 46 percent of the total market volume (Datamonitor, 2011). As with its other geographical centers, The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers work branding and local marketing initiatives to create demand for its products and incentives for its retailers. The firm strategy for success in the Indian market is to capitalize on its strong brand equity while building consumer loyalty with its flagship products as well as with other Coca-Cola beverages that match local tastes and preferences – the Coke brand in Delhi, Thums Up in Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh, and Fanta in Tamil Nadu (India: Coca-Cola uncorks new growth plans, 2000). More recently, the company broadened its portfolio in India with the launch of Minute Maid 100% Pure Fruit Juices (Coca-Cola India uncorks fruit juice range, 2011). In 2011, the company broadened its portfolio in India with the launch of Minute Maid 100% Pure Fruit Juices (Coca-Cola India uncorks fruit juice range, 2011). In September 2011, Coca-Cola India launched milk-based juice beverages in support of Indian market trends for consumers to switch to health conscious beverages (All products aim at making us†¦, 2011). According to Atul Singh, president, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, the key strategy drivers for Coca-Cola in India are products that match local preferences and trends, distribution efficiencies, and transportation and technology investments that allow the company to reach more deeply within the Indian population outside of metro centers with an appropriately chilled product (All products aim at making us†¦, 2011). India’s Societal System Macroeconomic Indicators and Demographics. The Republic of India provides advantages and disadvantages for future business opportunities concerning Coca Cola and the carbonated beverage industry. Economically, India has had triumphs and challenges over the past several years. Recent fluctuating trade policies and practices, along with an increasing GDP growth rate percentage, as well as a well-documented societal instability can make the country seem unstable. However, once reviewed, there are incentives for doing business in the country. As of July, 2011, the population of India is 1. 2 billion people, compared to 300 million people in the United States. India’s population growth rate is at 1. 344 percent. There are three major ethnic groups in India, the Indo-Aryan (72%), Dravidian (25%), and Mongolian and other small groups comprise the final 3 percent. There are several languages, with Hindi being the primary. The English language is also important for education, business, career and traveling reasons. The predominant religion is Hindu (80%), followed by Muslim, Christian and Sikh (www. cia. gov). 25 percent of the population of India is living below the poverty line, most of which live in the rural areas (www. cia. gov). India has most recently noticed a surge in urbanization among its population, with many of its citizens seeking employment and better education in the cities. Currently 30 percent of the country’s population resides in urban areas and that number is expected to grow 2. 4 percent annually over the next four years (www. cia. gov). Lack of development in many of the rural areas may be a contributing factor to the country’s urbanization. According to the CIA, only 88 percent of the population has access to clean drinking water, and most of the areas that lack are rural. In addition, only 31 percent of the population has access to sanitation facilities. The lack of availability of sanitation facilities and drinking water likely contributes to India’s high risk of infectious diseases among its population. Many of these are food, animal or water borne diseases. Interestingly, the CIA reports only . 3 percent of Indians living with HIV AIDS, while the rate in the United States is . percent. Further health issues in India include a low fertility rate and shorter life expectancy of 66 years (www. cia. gov). The result is a much younger median population. According to the CIA, the median age in India is 26 years-old. This can be a great advantage for a country that is struggling with unemployment. Through a surplus of young people who want to work, a nation can thrive and there will be more opportunities for growth. India’s GDP growth rate is at 10 percent as of 2010, and the GDP/purchasing power is at $4. 06 trillion, compared to the United States’ $14. 6 trillion. India’s GDP is ranked fifth in the world (www. cia. gov). Also, India’s debt of -$51 billion is minor compared to the United States’ $470 billion deficit (www. cia. gov). Additional international factors include an exchange rate of $1. 5 trillion and GDP per capita at $3,500, compared to $47,000 in the U. S. According to the CIA, India spends 2. 4% of GDP on health expenses, 2. 5% on military expenses and 3. 1% on education. Data concludes only 61% of India’s population can read. A creation of jobs by a new business could increase opportunities for education in India. India has the second largest workforce in the world with almost 480 million workers. India’s top occupations are agriculture, industry and services. However, CIA reports industry is â€Å"a major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India’s output, with only one-third of its labor force† (www. cia. gov). India exports rice, cotton, tea and chicken, and their industries include textiles, oil, machinery, clothing and pharmaceuticals (www. cia. gov). In more recent years India’s economy has boomed largely due to deregulation of industries and reduced control on foreign trade and investment. However, more recently India has come under fire for some of its trade policies. Indian online newspaper, The Economic Times, reported conflict between India, the U. S. , and the European Union. U. S. and EU complained that India’s trade tariffs were too high after they were reviewed by the WTO. Currently at 12%, the countries further argued that inconsistent rates can result in an unstable global market. In 2009-2011, India was able to recover from the recent global financial crisis rather quickly due to domestic demands (www. cia. gov). According to the CIA’s analysis, â€Å"India’s long term challenges include widespread poverty, inadequate physical and social infrastructure, limited non-agricultural employment opportunities, insufficient access to quality and basic higher education, and accommodating rural-to-urban migration† (www. cia. gov). A company like Coca-Cola will bring jobs, improve infrastructure and promote education. Market System Aspects India has in recent years become more geared toward market capitalism due to cross-border activities and increasing focus on urbanization and non-agricultural industry. Infrastructure and Legal Order As the economy continues to advance, India has been forced to make major upgrades to its infrastructure conditions. â€Å"Energy shortage, inadequate transportation network, and insufficient water supply system have caused a bottleneck in the country’s economic growth† (Maniar, 2010). India created the Build-Operate-Transfer (BTO) scheme in 1991 to specifically focus on these issues. Although it is an effective way to improve the country’s infrastructure and attract foreign investors, it may have a tendency to be misunderstood by foreign companies, which can pose a major problem (Mainar, 2010). If a firm chooses to enter India, it will be their choice to identify whether or not the BTO is worth investing in, considering the risks. When entering India, a firm must also be concerned with the country’s government and banking system. India’s law system is very inexperienced which has resulted in â€Å"widespread government corruption, financial speculation, and misallocation of investment funds† (Mainar, 2010). India also places more emphasis on interpersonal relationships rather than strict business transactions, therefore many firms are successful based on personal connections instead of merit. This can make entry by a foreign entity difficult. Additionally, India’s banking system is controlled and regulated by the government which contributes to corruption, affecting loan distribution. According to Mainar’s analysis, before entering India, the main risks to consider concerning infrastructure are, â€Å"availability of permits and licenses, operating performance risk, price of entering firm’s product, price of raw materials and energy, and enforceability of contracts for the product† (Mainar, 2010). Most of these factors will be controlled by the Indian government. Cultural Dimensions Eighty percent of India practices Hinduism, while remaining citizens prefer Christianity, Islam and Sikh. According to Hofstede’s analysis, India has a high power distance ranking of 77 (world average is only 56. ), indicating a large gap between the wealthy and the poor. Notably, this condition is the norm in India and is not traditionally forced on the people. India’s masculinity ranking is very high as well, indicating a lack of power between men and women. This is usually the case for Middle Eastern countries. Lastly, the country’s uncertainty avoidance ranking is a very low 40 (world average is 65), indicating less focus on rules and laws in the country (Hofstede, 2009). A low uncertainty avoidance ranking leaves the country prone to corruption. Education is more available in urban and wealthier areas, as mentioned earlier and India’s government spends only 3. 1% of its GDP on education. Socially, India is also a collectivist society, meaning interactions are mostly geared toward interpersonal relationships, with political connections being most valued. Contracts and agreements are not as formal as in the U. S. , while personal relationships have more merit than a binding piece of paper. In India, religious beliefs and interpersonal relationships are major factors of the society. India’s Societal Predisposition In order for a firm to successfully enter India, they must consider the country’s current economic, political and social climate. Economically, the firm must be more than willing to contribute to the development of infrastructure, an issue that has been plaguing India’s economy for years. India’s BTO scheme is a viable option for those who wish to help the problem. Joining the BTO could also increase relationships with the government and have a positive influence on consumers, thus increasing a better return on the firm’s products and services. Political instability must be assessed as well. The Indian government has a history of corruption in its banking system as well. Socially, the collectivist way of life must be fully understood and embraced. Any benefits to this type of society will need to be exploited in all ways possible. The economic and political dynamics in India lay the foundations for the manner in which the country operates. In a way they are complementary, considering the country’s recent focus on infrastructure versus a historically corrupt government. It seems that while India lacks in government regulations, it is making major moves to improve crucial aspects of economic development. However, the cultural dynamic is the most significant, in that it truly is the underlying force behind both the economic and political dynamics. India’s low uncertainty avoidance is a contributing factor to political corruption, which can directly affect economic conditions, further proving that each dynamic is intertwined. Ideologies With a population of over a billion people, one of the biggest issues facing India is overpopulation. This issue is weaved into the socio-economic framework of the entire country and is the root cause of several other problems in the country, including poverty, corruption and poor sanitation. These problems, along with a historically vibrant culture shape the lives of ordinary Indians every day. Indian Caste System One of the biggest characteristics of Indian society is the Indian caste system. In the past, the Indian caste system controlled all social relationships in India. People from higher caste systems did not interact much with those from lower caste and it was uncommon for a person from a high caste system to even enter into the house of an â€Å"Untouchable†, the term used to refer to one from the lowest caste or out of the caste system. India’s modern social structure is based on its historic caste system. This is a hereditary structure that keeps the population in social groups, ranging from laborers to kings (Alex, 2003). This caste system is derived from Hinduism, that largest religion practiced in India. Members of the other two religions, Islam and Christianity also recognize the Hindu caste system, but more for historic and cultural reasons. This system gives privileges to people that belong to a high caste while giving lower priority to people of lower caste and places a divide in the society by institutionalizing inequality within the population. In recent times, the caste system is not strictly adhered to and caste-based discrimination is illegal, however government institutions have quotas on their hiring from the different caste and collect data on the different caste during national censuses (Alex, 2003). People from higher caste tend to have better jobs and access to social services, whereas people from lower caste tend to be marginalized by the rest of the population and even the government. As globalization continues to move people across borders, the caste system is having less of an effect on business, since several of the multi-national enterprises in India, which hire large amounts of people, do not recognize the caste system. The discrimination of certain groups in India may impact Coca Cola since this system leaves an entire section of the population marginalized and usually poor. This means less people with the money to purchase Coca Cola products. In addition, because the government spends fewer resources in areas dominated by people of lower caste, the necessary infrastructure for trade, for example paved roads, may inhibit the distribution of Coca Cola’s products to certain rural areas. Values Indians value piety, modesty and conservatism. These values are derived from their strong religious beliefs. Both Islam and Hinduism call for modesty in their followers’ dealings with others in society. Even members of the higher caste systems tend to be modest in their dealings with other members of society. This differs from American values where wealth is displayed openly. Americans often feel the need to advertise that they are well-off and do so by purchasing expensive goods and services. These values also relate to the India work ethic. Whereas in America, workers tend to set themselves apart from their jobs, Indians are their jobs. In India, people have a more relaxed attitude towards to their work; however their work is their life (Steen, 2007). They often take long breaks and negotiate deadlines with their supervisors, however they work long hours and often work on weekends. The Indian work ethic keeps employees determined to complete their tasks and produce good results (Steen, 2007). This is somewhat different from the American work ethic. It is not uncommon to meet an American who does not enjoy their job, but simply puts in the hours necessary to get paid. They often work strict work hours and deadlines are very important. Because of the notion that Americans hold their own destinies and are able to break through all social-economic barriers with hard work, there is often a determination to work as hard as possible. In India, relationships are more important than rules. This attitude comes from a culture and religions that respects personal relationships. Although this culture builds relationships, it can often lead to corrupt practices since rules are often broken (Corruption in India, 2011). Coming from America, where rules usually trump relationships, Coca Cola will have to adapt to this culture to learn how to build strong relationship in the Indian market, while maintaining the company’s integrity. Religion Religion is a major part of Indian society. There are two main religious groups in India, the Hindus, which make up 80. % of the population and the Muslims, which make up 13. 4% of the population (CIA Factbook). During the 80’s and 90’s, there were serious clashes between m embers from the two groups, causing the deaths of thousands of people (Alex, 2003). More recently, there have a number of terrorist attacks, including the bombing of a popular hotel in Mumbai in 2008 carried out by extremist Muslims. These attacks often target foreigners in India. As a foreign company in India, Coca Cola is vulnerable to terrorist attack, more especially because Coca Cola is an icon for globalization and the spread of western culture. Political India is the world’s largest democracy. It operates on a multi-party system and British-style parliament. Although India has over 40 political parties, the dominant parties that hold power in the country are the Indian National Congress (INC), which holds â€Å"leftist† ideologies and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is to the â€Å"right†. Parties on the left have held power in India since independence. Parties such as the INC generally oppose unregulated trade and businesses, most especially unregulated foreign investment. In 1974, the Indian parliament passed the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) (India Export Import Portal). This act required foreign companies to sell majority of their shares to Indians.  ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬ In addition to regulating company ownership, FERA imposed strict regulations on specific types of payments, the dealings in foreign exchange and securities and the transactions which had an indirect impact on the foreign exchange and the import and export o f currency. Economic Indian economic policy has evolved over the years since independence reflecting the different ideologies that have dominated over the years. In the years soon after independence, India, led by the leftist Indian National Congress (INC) took a more liberal approach to foreign investment, placing emphases on the need for foreign investment for development and industrialization (State Regulation). Although the government made some welcoming statements regarding foreign investment, there was still a lack of clarity of the exact measures the government would take when it came to take-over and how long foreign firms would be allowed to maintain control of their firms. This led to reluctance of foreign firms to invest in the country (Dhar, 2011). However, in 1956, India fell into a foreign exchange crisis, which required the government to open up the country to more foreign investment. There was also a large push for India to industrialize, also requiring a large amount of capital (Dhar, 2011). Strategies and Policies Constraints Constraints to doing business in India can come from various factors. The Coca-Cola Company needs to remain conscientious to the market and the macro view of India. The company and its subsidiaries rely on significant amounts of electricity, natural gas, and other energy sources to operate plants, distribution facilities, and delivery channels. An increase or disruption in fuel or natural disaster that would disrupt power outages would have a negative impact on business operations and profitability. Higher interest rate fluctuations would impact net income. Also Coca-Cola relies on business partners and maintaining a good relationship is priority. It is in the interest of Coca-Cola to ensure their suppliers relationships are aligned with Coca-Cola’s interest to ensure continuous flow of material and product. Government regulations or political instability would encumber business operations to compete fairly within domestic markets. In the early 80’s Coca-Cola and foreign businesses exited the Indian market due to weak political structures that would have severely damaged business performance. Government regulations such as higher taxes, lack of protection for intellectual property and market size restrictions to favor domestic industry are constraints to growth and profits. India’s obesity and other health concerns associated with the product is a growing concern that might hurt market sales unless the company continues its expansion into healthier alternatives. Consumers and health officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the public health consequences due to obesity, particularly among the young. Scarcity and poor quality will have a negative impact on production and capacity output. Water is the main ingredient and overexploitation and poor management of the environment is cause for Indian government and public to be concern. Also, increases in supply cost or the disruption of supply or a shortage of national energy supplies could have profound impacts on business operations and contribute to a loss of profits. Coca-Cola Strategy The Coca-Cola Company’s goal is to use company assets, brand, financial strength, unrivaled distribution system, global reach and human talent to become more competitive and to accelerate growth in a manner that creates value for its shareholders and stakeholders. Future Strategic Initiatives The Coca-Cola Company should consider opportunities to reduce company ownership interest in the Bottling Investments group. It would free up capital and liquidity to meet current and future obligations to ensure no business disruption that would harm profits. Alternatively, the company may merge company owned bottling interests with the established bottling companies to share the cost and form a strategic business alliances that would expand Coca-Cola reach into the market. Moves to strengthen the company’s internal core business structure by consolidating operations and eliminating waste and redundancies that are costly to business operations would contribute to sustained growth in the Indian market. Market Penetration Strategy In 1993 Coca-Cola’s purchased Thums Up, India’s largest beverage operations, which granted immediate access to consumer base, established suppliers and a thriving distribution network. The acquisition gave Coca-Cola physical manufacturing, bottling plants, and distribution assets that allowed the company to quickly introduce its product to a new demographic. The branding and partnership with Thums Up enabled Coca-Cola to shift into the market and gain a competitive advantage over domestic competitors and PepsiCo, the second largest soft drink company globally. Coca-Cola has the capital to update and improve physical assets and the knowledge to increase the efficiency within the distribution channels. When Coca-Cola reentered the Indian market in early 1990’s, its market penetration strategy was to gain larger market share and market advantage over its primary rival PepsiCo by taking over the ownership of valuable distribution and supplier networks. Coca-Cola’s capital investment is a strategic focus to introduce other primary brands in the Indian market to boost sales on a global scale and create global sustainable. Consumer and Market Focus Strategy Consumer demand determines optimal levels of product of a company’s product offerings. Consumer demand can vary from one location to another and change over time within a single location. It is recommended that the company develop a specific consumer demand strategy with a strong focus on ensuring product availability to meet seasonal and cyclical demands. The Coca-Cola Company can build brand recognition and expand its customer base by making the product available in all established locations. Beverage market consumption in India is mainly focused in urban cities. Coca-Cola generates the majority of revenues within urban cities. As the urban locations mature and sales peak, Coca-Cola is looking to target rural location to expand sales network. Over seventy percent of the India’s population is located in rural areas. A strategic focus to move products to target rural areas will create sustainable revenue streams in the out years. Strategic partnerships with Indian non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, could assist The Coca-Cola Company as it seeks to become further entrenched within the Indian market. NGOs generally bring with them intricate knowledge of governmental regulations, laws and, quite importantly, connections with local officials. The NGOs knowledge of the local and national market could positively impact the company’s efforts to develop supplier connections and relationships and to deliver the company’s message at the community level. Coca-Cola’s market strategy is an attempt to gain leadership in the Indian market and capitalize on significant growth potential, particularly in rural markets. The foundation of the new strategy is based on product positioning at retail outlets. Targeted brand positioning positing at the retail levels to highlight product for consumers’ views. The company should deliver communications and advertisements in specific markets to gain consumer acceptance and create a reticular activator mindset of Coca-Cola that will encourage sales over rivals. The strategic goal to make sure product is close in distance and available to maximize profit potential. Marketing Strategy Through strategic partnerships with distributors and local chain outlets The Coca-Cola Company may offer incentives that would include price discounts, cash, funds for promotional programs for local marketing activities to help improve area and regional sales. Moreover, the company could develop an incentive program that is tied to volume sales. Throughout the promotion process, The Coca-Cola Company may extend low interest loan or advance payments to specific retailers or customers for marketing activities intended to generated high volume sales that will increase company top lines sales and grow brand identity in the Indian market Conclusion The foundation of Coca-Cola’s strategy in India is to target urban and rural populations and identify the differences on marketing penetration, communications, and how to address perceptions of product introduction and delivery as to packaging, size, and price points to reach full sales potential in a growing market. References Alex, Perry. Indias Great Divide. Time Magazine. 08 Aug 2003: n. page. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. . All products aim at making us a total beverage company. Financial Express. New Delhi. Sept. 23, 2011 Amiti Sen. (2011, September 24). Amid criticism by West, India strongly defends its tariff walls [Policy]. The Economic Times (Online), Retrieved October 11, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2466719961). Coca-Cola India uncorks fruit juice range. (2011, March 29). Business Line. Coke, Jain Irrigation Join Hands to Improve Mango Yield. India Business Insight. Sept. 15, 2011. Coke, Pepsi Announce Campaigns for Mango Brands. AsiaPulseNews, Feb. 26, 2009. Corruption in India: A Rotten State. Economist. 10 Mar 2011: n. page. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. . Datamonitor. (2011). Soft Drinks in India. Dhar, Biswajit . State Regulation of Foreign Private Capital in India. n. page. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. . Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. Indian Export Import Portal. IndiaMart, n. d. Web. 23 Oct 2011. . Global Data. (2011). The Coca-Cola Company Financial and Strategic Analysis Review. Harich, R. and Gopal, B. (2008). Coca-Cola in India: A Responsible Corporate Citizen? Case Study. Retrieved October 11, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. Harich, R. and Gopal, B. (2008). Coca-Cola in India: A Responsible Corporate Citizen? Case Study. Retrieved October 11, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. Hofstede, G. (2009). India Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions Explained . Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved October 12, 2011, from geert-hofstede. com/hofstede_india. shtml India: Coca-Cola uncorks new growth plans. (2000, August 21). Business Line. Maniar, H. (2010). Risk Analysis of Infrastructure Projects: A Case Study on Build-Operate-Transfer Projects in India. IUP Journal of Financial Risk Management, 7(4), 34-54. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Soft Drinks Industry Profile: India. (2011). Soft drinks industry profile: India, 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Steen, Margaret. Business Ethics in a Global World: Indias Changing Ethics. Santa Clara University. Santa Clara University, 2007. Web. 23 Oct 2011. . The Coca-Cola System. (2011, September 24). Retrieved from The Coca-Cola Company: thecoca-colacompany. com/citizenship/the_coca-cola_system. html United States. Central Intelligence Agency. CIA Factbook: India. Web.

Frontiero v. Richardson - 1973 Supreme Court Case

Frontiero v. Richardson - 1973 Supreme Court Case edited with additions by  Jone Johnson Lewis In the 1973 case Frontiero v. Richardson, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sex discrimination in benefits for military spouses violated the Constitution, and allowed the spouses of military women to receive the same benefits as did the spouses of men in the military. Fast Facts: Frontiero v. Richardson Case Argued: Jan. 17, 1973Decision Issued: May 14, 1973Petitioner: Sharron Frontiero, a lieutenant in the United States Air ForceRespondent: Elliot Richardson, Secretary of DefenseKey Question: Did a federal law, requiring different qualification criteria for male and female military spousal dependency, discriminate against woman and thereby violate the Fifth Amendments Due Process Clause?Majority Decision: Justices Brennan, Douglas, White, Marshall, Stewart, Powell, Burger, BlackmunDissenting: Justice RehnquistRuling: The Court ruled that the statute required dissimilar treatment for men and women who are similarly situated, violating the Fifth Amendments Due Process Clause and its implied equal protection requirements. Military Husbands Frontiero v. Richardson found unconstitutional a federal law that required different criteria for male spouses of military members to receive benefits, as opposed to female spouses. Sharon Frontiero was a U.S. Air Force lieutenant who tried to get dependent benefits for her husband. Her request was denied. The law said that male spouses of women in the military could only get benefits if the man relied on his wife for more than half of his financial support. However, female spouses of men in the military automatically were entitled to dependent benefits. A male serviceman did not have to show that his wife relied on him for any of her support. Sex Discrimination or Convenience? The dependent benefits would have included an increased living quarters allowance as well as medical and dental benefits. Sharon Frontiero did not show that her husband relied on her for more than one half of his support, so her application for dependent benefits was denied. She contended that this distinction between male and female requirements discriminated against servicewomen and violated the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. The Frontiero v. Richardson decision noted that U.S. statute books were laden with gross, stereotyped distinctions between the sexes. See Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 685 (1977). The Alabama district court whose decision Sharon Frontiero appealed had commented on the administrative convenience of the law. With a vast majority of service members being male at the time, surely it would be an extreme administrative burden to require each man to demonstrate that his wife relied upon him for more than half of her support. In Frontiero v. Richardson, the Supreme Court pointed out that not only was it unfair to burden women and not men with this extra proof, but men who could not offer similar proof about their wives would still receive benefits under the current law. Legal Scrutiny The Court concluded: By according differential treatment to male and female members of the uniformed services for the sole purpose of achieving administrative convenience, the challenged statutes violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment insofar as they require a female member to prove the dependency of her husband. Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 690 (1973). Justice William Brennan authored the decision, noting that women in the U.S. faced pervasive discrimination in education, the job market and politics. He concluded that classifications based on sex should be subjected to strict judicial scrutiny, just like classifications based on race or national origin. Without strict scrutiny, a law would only have to meet a rational basis test instead of a compelling state interest test. In other words, strict scrutiny would require a state to show why there is a compelling state interest for the discrimination or sex classification, instead of the much easier to meet test of some rational basis for the law. However, in Frontiero v. Richardson only a plurality of justices agreed about strict scrutiny for gender classifications. Although a majority of the justices agreed that the military benefits law was a violation of the Constitution, the level of scrutiny for gender classifications and questions of sex discrimination remained undecided in this case. Frontiero v. Richardson was argued before the Supreme Court in January 1973 and decided in May 1973. Another significant Supreme Court case the same year was the Roe v. Wade decision regarding state abortion laws.

Email Policy at Johnson & Dresser Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Email Policy at Johnson & Dresser - Essay Example This is the justification that makes it ok for employers to read emails, because it may be necessary to protect the Company from potential legal suits. 4. Some of the reasons which could justify employers reading emails are (a) to detect if employees are engaging in pornographic (b) fraudulent (c) criminal or (d) terrorist communication activities. If employees are suspected of engaging in cyber crime, this may be adequate justification to read the employee’s emails to detect any illegal activity. 5. The negative ramifications of reading employee mail is that it constitutes a rampant intrusion into their privacy. Employees are unlikely to communicate freely with each other if they feel that â€Å"big brother† is watching. This could hamper and impede creativity and make employees self conscious and restrained at the workplace, thereby impeding them from developing their full potential and contributing their innovation and skills to the firm. 6. On the whole, the content of email communications should be kept entirely private. Companies should improve their screening processes in recruitment and their supervisory processes at the workplace in order to monitor employees. But should a Company feel that rare instances may arise when it could become necessary to examine the emails of employees, this should be clearly spelt out under Company policy. Employees should be made to understand that as a general policy, the content of their communications will remain confidential. It is only when grounds of suspicion arise against them for one or the other reason, that emails will be monitored and employees should be informed that emails will be retained under an archiving system, but will be accessed only under exceptional

Principles of Statistics In-Module Assessment Coursework

Principles of Statistics In-Module Assessment - Coursework Example The period over which the exchange rate is observed is January, 1973 to January 2013. Annual observations are used; for each year, a single value of the exchange rate is observed. Thus, there are 43 annual observations on the exchange rate in the sample of data. Before turning to the specific characteristics of the series, it may be useful to note the significance of forecasting foreign exchange rates. For any economy that is open to international trade, the foreign exchange rates play important roles in deciding policies governing most of the important macro-economic variables in the economy. Particularly since the settlement of most international transactions occur within a short future horizon, the exchange rates likely to be applicable at the time of settlement assumes importance. The magnitude of the associated cash flows in terms of the domestic currency are evaluated by using foreign currency conversions. And these conversions are obtained by denominating the domestic currency by the foreign currency of the trade partner through the foreign exchange rate for the pair of countries (Taylor 1995). ... Since the natural logarithm is a monotonic transformation, all dynamic properties of the series are preserved, only the scale of the magnitude is smaller. Figure 1: The exchange rate between the Japanese Yen and the US Dollar The first and foremost point to be noted is that the price of the Dollar has exhibited a downward trend over the time horizon under consideration. Starting at slightly above 5.8 in 1971, the value of the series has ended at around 4.6 in 2013. However, the series has not continuously declined. It has exhibited periods of upward movements as well as downward movements. The length and magnitude of the downward movements however, dominate the trend. As a result, the overall trend of the series is that of a decline. A closer look reveals that the series exhibits a particular persistence: a downward movement continues for a few years as does an upward movement. That is, once a dip starts, it persists for a few years. Similarly, once an upward swing starts, it seems t o persist for a few years. This pattern of persistence will become important in the forecasting phase. It should also be noted that the average length of the persistence of upswings is visibly smaller than the average length of the downswings. This pattern is particularly clear for the years after 1985. The other pattern worthy of note is that the overall magnitude of increases in the exchange rate over periods of appreciation is smaller than the observed magnitudes of decline in the exchange rate during periods of decreases. Barring the years between 1977 and 1983, this holds true for every period of decline and period of increase. Therefore, the observed pattern of decline in the Japanese price of the US dollar is explained by two

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Essay Example for Free

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Essay The setting in both books is mainly in the 18th century where there wasnt anything too modern which helped add the theme of gothic horror to the reading audience as in those times it was a lot darker and more horrifying. In an Interview with a vampire the story is set over 200 years. Showing as the theme of gothic horror in the book decreases, as the book becomes more modern. This is shown when Lestat is scared of the modern world and the artificial lights as he thinks they are sunlight scaring him into hiding. There are various themes in both books for example they have written one of the characters acting like God, Lestat in Interview with a vampire and Victor in Frankenstein. This was especially scary in Frankenstein 1816 as the people took religion very seriously and to talk about gods in this way was known as evil, which scared the people who read the book Which would inspire terror into the people who read it. When in Frankenstein the creature says I am thy creature, I ought to be thy Adam And in Interview in the vampire when Lestat acts as god by creating Louie and also when Lestat says they are the same as God when he says Gods kill, and so shall we This shows the God theme as Lestat connects being a vampire to being Gods which is shown in the quote. Another thing in both books they deal with the themes of outsiders. In Frankenstein when the creature is looking in On examining the dwelling, I found that one of the windows of the cottage had formally occupied part of it but the panes had been boarded up with wood. In one of these was a small and almost imperceptible chick, through which the eye could just penetrate. Through this crevice a small room was visible. Also in Interview with a vampire Louie became an outsider when he became a vampire. I said goodbye to the sunrise and went out to become a vampire The two texts are very similar though in many ways. First of all in both texts the main character is an outsider, Louie as a Vampire as he is different from everyone else as he is a vampire and Victor as an outcast to everyone else as he created this monster and is a criminal for doing so making him an outsider and different to other people. Also both authors have lost a child which may have helped write the book using their life experiences to help them writing the book. Both books have roughly the same plot when Louie or the creature both have a natural birth and find it hard to survive. Also in both books they murder when the creature kills people or Louie kills people for blood. As when Louie said, Now I am guilty of murder. I think the authors of these two texts have dont an excellent job in dealing with the theme of outsiders in the text as the setting, the characters and whats happening around them all make them outsiders. Also what the characters are and how they act and what they do which inspires terror or horror into the reader create the genre of Gothic horror and make it stand out. But what most of all stuck into my mind were the words from Louie, which really made me think Gothic horror and outsiders, was I wanted love and goodness in this which is living death I said It was impossible from the beginning, because you cannot have love and goodness when you do what you know to be evil, what you know to be wrong and also in Frankenstein when Victor said It was necessary that I should return without delay to Geneva, there to watch over the lives of those I do fondly loved; and to lie in wait for the murderer, that if any chance led me to the place of his concealment, or if he dared Both showing the Gothic horror in their words like when they say murderer and evil creating the gothic horror feeling. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Themes in The Crucible Essay -- Essay on The Crucible

Themes in The Crucible In the crucible Arthur Miller takes the chilling story of the Salem witch hunt in 1692 and combines it with the issues of McCarthyism in the 1950s. The play reflects Miller’s ideas and opinions about McCarthyism and what he thinks are the similarities to the Salem witch hunts. Proctor is the main character Millers uses to reflect the unfairness of the Salem and McCarthy trials and how the truth died in the 1950s. This makes Proctor’s role very dramatic and exciting. Miller also uses a dramatic licence to make this even more so – adding the love to Elizabeth and guilt about Abigail gives the story an intriguing twist. The whole nature of Proctor makes him an exciting and complex character; as a result this makes him entertaining to the audience and his complexity keeps the audience enthralled throughout the play. His personality is not boring or simple. He has a quick temper and is often angry, it seems he can’t control his feelings. â€Å"[turning on her, rifle in hand] I will curse her hotter than the oldest cinder in hell.† This has the effect of exciting the audience and adds interest (not to mention tension with this particular line) but this line can have the effect of making Proctor look like a bad person. Alternatively it could suggest that Proctor is human and has his faults, the audience would sympathise with this. Inside Proctor lacks self confidence, he was shamed when he had an affair with Abigail. Proctor shows this when he says, â€Å"I may blush for my sin†, this line give the audience the impression that John realises that the affair was wrong, that is was a sin and he regrets it. It also implies that he hasn’t forgiven himself for what he did with Abigail and he still ... ... relevance to them. John Proctor is the character which the audience relate to and have opinions about the most. They see him fight although he stands to loose everything and admire his courage. They see him battle against himself to sign a confession or tell the truth about Abigail and respect his conviction. They see him become almost a martyr or tragic hero as he dies for his belief in the truth and his pride in his name. These things add drama, excitement, structure and interest to the plot of the Crucible. He has a fatal flaw, whether it be his pride, attraction to Abigail or trust in Elizabeth, but this means the audience can relate to him. The Crucible is a story of Proctor’s personal tragedy but it also a story of the Salem witch hunt, and of McCarthyism. Miller strikes a balance between these things to get the plot which makes up the Crucible.

Cost Management Test Questions & Suggested Solutions

Management Test Questions & Suggested Solutions by L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Question: 1 Bharata Ltd is considering proposals for design changes in one of a range of soft toys. The proposals are as follows: (a) Eliminate some of the decorative stitching from the toy. (b) Use plastic eyes instead of glass eyes in the toys (two eyes per toy). (c) Change the filling material used. It is proposed that scrap fabric left over from the body manufacture be used instead of the synthetic material which is currently used.The design change proposals have been considered by the management team and the following information has been gathered: (a) Plastic eyes will cost Rs. 15 per hundred whereas the existing glass eyes cost Rs. 20 per hundred. The plastic eyes will be more liable to damage on insertion into the toy. It is estimated that scrap plastic eyes will be 10% of the quantity issued from stores as compared to 5% of issues of gla ss eyes at present. (b) The synthetic filling material costs Rs. 80 per tonne. One tonne of filling is sufficient for 2,000 soft toys. c) Scrap fabric to be used as filling material will need to be cut into smaller pieces before as and this will cost Rs. 0. 05 per soft toy. There is sufficient scrap fabric for the purpose. (d) The elimination of the decorative stitching is expected to reduce the appeal of the product, with an estimated fall in sales by 10% from the current level. It is not felt that the change in eyes or filling material will adversely affect sales volume. The elimination of the stitching will reduce production costs by Rs. 0. 60 per soft toy. (e) The current sales level of the soft toy is 3,00,000 units per annum.Apportioned fixed costs per annum are Rs. 4,50,000. The net profit per soft toy at the current sales level is Rs. 3. Required: (i) Using the information given in the question, prepare an analysis which shows the estimated effect on annual profit if all thr ee proposals are implemented, and which enables management to check whether each proposal will achieve an annual target profit increase of Rs. 25,000. The proposals for plastic eyes and the use of scrap fabric should be evaluated after the stitching elimination proposal has been evaluated. (ii) Calculate the ercentage reduction in sales due to the stitching elimination at which the implementation of all three design change proposals would result in the same total profit from the toy as that earned before the implementation of the changes in design. Question:2 ABC Ltd manufactures a simple garden tool.At present the company is working at full capacity producing the three components A,B,C one of each being required for the assembly of the tool. All the machines are capable of making all the components. Current cost data concerning and hundred tools are as follows: Machine Hours 10 16 20 46 Variable Cost Rs. 6 32 32 42 142 Fixed Cost Rs. 10 2 32 22 76 Total Rs. 36 44 64 74 218 250 Comp onents – A Components – B Components – C Assembly Selling Price The management is engaged in preparing next year's budget an increase in sales is to be provided for. The factory already has to work at full machine capacity to meet current demand and no increase in the present machine capacity can be effected for over 12 months. Though facilities involving variable costs can be increase data very short notice. It is decided that one of the components will have to be bought out. The following quotations have been received: L.Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 1 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Components A B C Price per 100 tools Price per 100 tools Price per 100 tools Rs 36 46 54 The Sales manager feels sure that he can sell at least 50% more tools than at present and probably 75% more provided the factory capacity is available. You are required to prepare a report for management giving your recommendations as to which com ponent should be ordered from outside supplied for the coming year if production is increased by 50% and 75% respectively.Question : 3 The Chakrapani Ltd's Cost behaviour is as follows: Production range in units 0- 20000 20001 – 65000 65001 – 90000 90001 – 100000 Fixed cost Rs. 160000 Rs. 190000 Rs. 210000 Rs. 250000 At an activity of 70000 units per year, variable costs total 280000. Full capacity is 100000 units per year. Required: (1) Production is now set at 50000 units per year with a sales price of Rs. 7. 50 per unit. What is the minimum number of additional units needed to be sold in an unrelated market at Rs. 5. 50 per unit to show a net profit of Rs. 3000 per year? 2) Production is now set at 60000 units per year. By how much may sales promotion costs be increased to bring production up to 80000 units and still earn a net profit of 5% of total sales if the selling price is held at Rs. 7. 50? (3) If net profit is currently Rs. 10000 with fixed costs at R s. 160000 and a 2% increase in price will leave units sold unchanged but increase profits by Rs. 5000. What is the present volume in units? Question: 4 The manager of a business has received enquiries about printing three different types of advertising leaflet.Information concerning these three leaflets is shown below: A Selling prices per 1000 leaf lets Estimated printing costs: Variable per 1000 leaflets Specific fixed costs per month 40 2,400 70 4,000 130 9,500 100 B 220 C 450 In addition to specific fixed costs a further Rs. 4,000/- per month would be incurred in renting special premises if any or all of the above three leaflets were printed. The minimum printing order would be for 30,000 of each type of leaflet per month and the maximum possible order is estimated to be 60,000 of each leaflet per month.Required (i) Examine and comment upon the potential profitability of leaflet printing. Make whatever calculations you consider appropriate. (ii) Assuming that orders have been re ceived to print each month 50,000 of both leaflet A and leaflet B calculate the quantity of leaflet C which would need to be ordered to produce an overall profit, for all three leaflets of Rs. 1,800/- per month. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 2 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (iii) It is possible that a special type of paper used in printing leaflets will be difficult to obtain during the first few months.Three estimated consumption of this special paper for each type of leaflet is: Leaflet Leaflet Leaflet A B C 2 packs per 6 packs per 6 packs per 1000 leaflets 1000 leaflets 1000 leaflets Advise the manager on the quantity of each leaflet which should be printed in order to maximise profit in the first month, if 50,000 of each type of leaflet have been printed there remains unfulfilled order of 10,000 for each type of leaflet and there 170 packs of special paper available for the rest of the month. What will be your reaction if the pr inting quantity is to be pack of 1000 leaflets.Question: 5 For the past 20 years a charity organisation has held an annual dinner and dance with the primary intention of raising funds. This year there is concern that an economic recession may adversely affect both the number of persons attending the function and the advertising space that will be sold in the programme published for the occasion. Based on past experience and current prices and quotations, it is expected that the following costs and revenues will apply for the function. (Rs. ) Costs: Dinner and dance: Hire of premises Band and entertainers Raffle prizes Photographer Food at Rs. 2 per person (with a guarantee of 400 persons minimum) Programme: Revenues: Dinner and dance: A fixed cost of Rs. 2,000, plus Rs. 5 per page Price of tickets Average revenue from : Raffle Photographs Programme: Average revenue from advertising Rs. 5 per person Re. 1 per person Rs. 70 per page Rs. 20 per person 700 2,800 800 200 A sub-committee, formed to examine more closely the likely outcome of the function, discovered the following from previous records and accounts: No. of tickets sold 250 to 349 350 to 449 450 to 549 550 to 649 No. of past occasions 4 6 8 2 20 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 3Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS No. of programme pages sold 24 32 40 48 No. of past occasions 4 8 6 2 20 Several members of the sub-committee are in favour of using a market research consultant to carry out a quick enquiry into the likely number of tickets and the likely number of pages of advertising space that would be sold for this year's dinner and dance. You are required to: (a) Calculate the expected value of the profit to be earned from the dinner and dance this year; (b) Recommend, with relevant supporting financial and cost data, whether or not the charity should spent Rs. 00 on the market research enquiry and indicate the possible benefits the enquiry could provide. NB: A ll workings for tickets should be in steps of 100 tickets and for advertising in steps of 8 pages. Question: 6 The budgeted production for period 7 in the finishing department of a pottery manufacturer is, 4,500 cups, 4,000 saucers and 6,250 plates. In one standard hour a direct operative is expected to be able to finish either, 30 cups, or 40 saucers, or 25 plates.During period 7, 400 direct labour hours were worked and actual production was, 4,260 cups, 6,400 saucers and 3,950 plates. Required: Using the above information calculate for period 7: (i) The productivity of the direct operatives; (ii) An appropriate ratio expressing the department's actual production relative to that budgeted; (iii)Another ratio which you consider may be useful to management and explain the meaning of the ratio you have calculated. Question: 7 The Bashyam Co Ltd manufactures a variety of products of basically similar composition.Production is carried on by subjecting the various raw materials to a numb er of standardised operations, each major series of operations being carried out in a different department. All products are subject to the same initial processing which is carried out in departments A, B and C; the order and extent of further processing then depending upon the type of end product to be produced. It has been decided that a standard costing system could be usefully employed within Bashyam and pilot schemed to be operated for six months based initially only on epartment B, the second department in the initial common same of operations. If the pilot scheme produces useful results then a management accountant will be employed and the system would be incorporated as appropriate throughout the whole firm. The standard cost per unit of output of department B is: Rs. Direct labour (14 hours at Rs. 2 per hour) Direct material (i) (ii) Output of department A (3 kg at Rs. 9 per kg) Acquired by and directly input to department 4 Sreeram Coaching Point Rs. 28 27 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONSB material X (4 kg at Rs. 5 per kg) Variable overhead (at Rs. 1 per direct labour hours worked) Fixed production overheads (i) Directly incurred by department B – (note 1) manufacturing overhead (per unit) (ii) Allocated to department B general factory overhead (per unit) 3 8 11 14 20 47 Note 1. Based on normal monthly production of 400 units. In the first month of operation of the pilot study (month 7 of the financial year), department B had no work in progress at the beginning and the end of the month. The actual costs allocated to department B in the first month of operation were: Rs.Direct labour (6,500 hours) Direct materials (i) (ii) Output of department A (1,400 kg) – (note 2) Material X (1,000 kg) Variable overhead Fixed overhead (i) (ii) Directly incurred manufacturing overhead Allocated to department B – (note 3) 1,600 2,900 4,500 Rs. 59,000 Note 2. Actual cost of output of departm ent A. Note 3. Based on the actual expenditure on joint manufacturing overheads and allocated to departments in accordance with labour hours worked The production manager feels that the actual costs of Rs. 59,000 for production of 500 units indicates considerable inefficiency on the part of department B. e says, ‘I was right to request that the pilot standard costing system be carried out in department B as I have suspected that they are inefficient and careless – this overspending of Rs. 9,000 proves I am right'. Required: Prepare a brief statement which clearly indicates the reasons for the performance of department B and the extent to which that performance is attributable to department B. the statement should utilize variance analysis to the extent it is applicable and relevant. Question: 8 (i) Mathanakesari Ltd manufactures and sells a single product.In the quarter to 30 November 2002 sales of 10,000 units were budgeted at a unit selling price of Rs. 5 and a unit c ontribution of Rs. 1 (after charging variable costs). The budget had been prepared in the previous spring, and proved to be inaccurate. Actual sales for the November quarter were 7,000 units at a unit selling price of Rs. 8, giving a unit contribution of Rs. 3. You are required to calculate appropriate sales margin variances on the basis of this information. (ii) When reviewing the results for the quarter to 30 November the sales manager ascertained several additional facts.The total market for the product nationally had been only 45,000 units during the quarter, and not 50,000 units as Mathanakesari had originally anticipated. Mathanakesari had previously maintained a 20% share L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 5 Sreeram Coaching Point Rs. 14,000 21,000 11,500 32,500 8,000 COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS of the market for many years, adopting a policy of matching the market price. An index of the selling price levels of competitors' products had risen to 140, instead of remaining at the level of 100 as originally budgeted.Mathanakesari's variable costs (all materials) had risen in line with the change in the appropriate commodity price index, which had gone up from the expected level of 100 to an actual level of 125. You are required to calculate a set of variances to take appropriate notice of this additional information, and to discuss their significance. Question: 9 From past experience a company operating a standard cost system has accumulated the following information in relation to variances in its monthly management accounts: Percentage of total number of variances. 1) Its variances fall into two categories: Category 1: those which are not worth investigating Category 2: those which are worth investigating 64 36 100 (2) Of category 2, corrective action has eliminated 70% of the variances, but the remainder have continued. (3) The cost of investigation averages Rs. 350 and that of correcting variances averages Rs. 550. (4) The ave rage size of any variance not corrected is Rs. 525 per month and the company's policy is to assess the present value of such costs at 2% per month for a period of five months.You are required to: (a) Prepare two decision trees, to represent the position if an investigation is: (i) Carried out; (ii) Not carried out; (b) Recommend, with supporting calculations, whether or not the company should follow a policy of investigating variances as a matter of routine; (c) Explain briefly two types of circumstance that would give rise to variances in Category 1 and two to those in Category 2; (d) Mention any one variation in the information used that you feel would be beneficial too the company if you wished to improve the quality of the decision-making rule recommended in (b) above.Explain briefly why you have suggested it. Question: 10 Vishwakarma is a builder. His business will have spare capacity over the coming six months and he has been investigating two projects. Project A Vishwakarma i s tendering for a school extension contract. Normally he prices a contract by adding 100% to direct costs, to cover overheads and profit. He calculates direct costs as the actual cost of materials valued on a first-in-first-out basis, plus the estimated wages of direct labour. But for this contract he has prepared more detailed information. Four types of material will be needed: Matl.Quantity (units): Needed Already for contract in stock 1,100 150 600 200 100 200 300 400 6 Price per unit: (in Rs. ) Purchase Current Current price of Purchase resale units in stock price price 7. 00 40. 00 35. 00 20. 00 10. 00 44. 00 33. 00 21. 00 8. 00 38. 00 25. 00 10. 00 Sreeram Coaching Point Z Y X W L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Z and Y are in regular use. Neither X nor W is currently used; X has no foreseeable use in the business, but W could be used on other jobs in place of material currently costing Rs. 6 per unit. The contract will la st for six months and requires two craftsmen, whose basic annual wage cost is Rs. 16,000 each. To complete the contract in time it will also be necessary to pay them a bonus of Rs. 700 each. Without the contract they would be retained at their normal pay rate, doing work which will otherwise be done by temporary workers engaged for the contract period at a total cost of Rs. 11,800. Three causal labourers would also be employed specifically for the contract at a cost of Rs. 4,000 each.The contract will require two types of equipment: general- purpose equipment already owned by Vishwakarma, which will be retained at the end of the contract, and specialized equipment to be purchased second-hand, which will be sold at the end of the contract. The general-purpose equipment cost Rs. 21,000 two years ago and is being depreciated on a straightline basis over a seven-year life (with assumed zero scrap value). Equivalent new equipment can be purchased currently for Rs. 49,000. Second-hand pri ces for comparable general-purpose equipment, and those for the relevant specialized equipment, are shown below.General – purpose equipment Purchase Resale Price Price (Rs. ) (Rs. ) Current After 6 months: If used for 6 months If not used 15,000 19,000 12,600 16,400 7,000 8,000 5,800 6,500 20,000 17,200 Specialized equipment Purchase Resale Pricep Price (Rs. ) (Rs. ) 9,000 7,400 The contract will require the use of a yard on which Vishwakarma has a four-year lease at a fixed rental of Rs. 2,000 per year. If Vishwakarma does not get the contract the yard will probably remain empty. The contract will also incur administrative expenses estimated at Rs. 5,000.Project B If Vishwakarma does not get the contract he will buy a building plot for Rs. 20,000 and build a house. Building costs will depend on weather conditions: Weather condition Probability Building costs (excluding land) A 0. 4 Rs. 60,000 B 0. 4 Rs. 80,000 C 0. 2 Rs. 95,000 Similarly the price obtained for the house will depend on market conditions: Market condition Probability Sale price (net of selling expenses) D 0. 7 Rs. 1,00,000 E 0. 3 Rs. 1,20,000 Vishwakarma does not have the resources to undertake both projects. The costs of his supervision time can be ignored.Requirements: (a) Ignoring the possibility of undertaking project B, calculate: (i) The price at which Vishwakarma would tender for the school extension contract if he used his normal pricing method, and (ii) The tender price at which you consider Vishwakarma would neither gain nor lose by taking the contract. (b) Explain, with supporting calculations, how the availability of project B should affect Vishwakarma's tender for the school extension contract. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 7 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Question: 11 Narendran Products has two main products.X and Y, which have unit costs of Rs. 12 and Rs. 24 respectively. The company uses a markup of 33? % in establishing its selling prices and the current prices are thus Rs. 16 and Rs. 32. With these prices, in the year which is just ending, the company expects to make a profit of Rs. 3,00,000 from having produced and sold 15,000 units of X and 30,000 units of Y. This programme will have used all the available processing time in the finishing department. Each unit of X requires an hour of processing time in this department and every unit of Y correspondingly requires half an hour.Fixed overhead was Rs. 3,60,000 for the year and this has been charged to the products on the basis of the total processing hours used. All other cots may be assumed variable in relation to processing hours. In the current year it is estimated that Rs. 60,000 of the fixed overhead will be absorbed by X and Rs. 3,00,000 by Y. With the existing selling prices it is considered that the potential annual demand for X is 20,000 units and that for Y, 40,000 units. You are required to comment critically on the product mix adopted b y Narendran Products.Calculate what would have been the optimal plan given that there was no intention of changing the selling prices. (a) For the forthcoming year increased capacity has been installed in the finishing department so that this will no longer be a constraint for any feasible sales programme. Annual fixed overhead will be increased to Rs. 4,00,000 as a consequences of this expansion of facilities, but variable costs per unit are unchanged. A study commissioned by the Sales Director estimates the effect that alterations to the selling prices would have on the sales that could be achieved.The following table has been prepared: X Price Demand (‘000) Rs. 13. 50 30 Rs. 18. 50 10 Rs. 29. 00 60 Y Rs. 35. 00 20 It is thought reasonable to assume that the price/demand relationship is linear. Assuming that the company is now willing to abandon its cost plus pricing practices, if these can be shown to be deficient, you are required to calculate the optimal selling price for each product and the optimal output levels for these prices. State clearly any assumptions that you find it necessary to make.Question: 12 Division A of a large divisionalized organization manufactures a single standardized product. Some of the output is sold externally whilst the remainder is transferred to Division B where it is a subassembly in the manufacture of that division's product. The unit costs of Division A's product are as follows: (Rs. ) Direct material Direct labour Direct expense Variable manufacturing overheads Fixed manufacturing overheads Selling and packing expense – variable 4 2 2 2 4 1 17 Annually 10,000 units of the product are sold externally at the standard price of Rs. 0. In addition to the external sales, 5,000 units are transferred annually to Division B at an internal transfer charge of Rs. 29 per unit. This transfer price is obtained by deducting variable selling and packing expense from the external price since this expense is not incurred for internal transfers. Division B incorporates the transferred-in goods into a more advanced product. The unit costs of this product are as follows: L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 8 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS (Rs. Transferred-in term (from Division A) Direct material and components Direct labour Variable overheads Fixed overheads Selling and packing expense variable 29 23 3 12 12 1 80 Division B's manager disagrees with the basis used to set the transfer price. He argues that the transfers should be made at variable cost plus an agreed (minimal) mark-up since he claims that his division is taking output that Division A would be unable to sell at the price of Rs. 30. Partly because of this disagreement, a study of the relationship between selling price and demand has recently been made for each division by the company's sales director.The resulting report contains the following table: Customer demand at various selling prices: Divisi on A Selling price Demand Division B Selling price Demand Rs. 80 7,200 Rs. 90 5,000 100 2,800 Rs. 20 15,000 Rs. 30 10,000 Rs. 40 5,000 The manager of Division B claims that this study supports his case. He suggests that a transfer price of Rs. 12 would give Division A a reasonable contribution to its fixed overheads while allowing Division B to earn a reasonable profit. He also believes that it would lead to an increase of output and an improvement in the overall level of company profits.You are required: (a) To calculated the effect that the transfer pricing system has had on the company's profits, and (b) To establish the likely effect on profit of adopting the suggestion by the manager of Division B of a transfer price of Rs. 12. Question: 13 Companies RP, RR, RS and RT are members of a group. RP wishes to buy an electronic control system for its factory and, in accordance with group policy, must obtain quotations from companies inside and outside of the group. From outside of th e group the following quotations are received: Company A quoted Rs. 33,200. Company B quoted Rs. 5,000 but would buy a special unit from RS for Rs. 13,000. To make this unit, however, RS would need to buy parts from RR at a price of Rs. 7,500. The inside quotation was from RS whose price was Rs. 48,000. This would require RS buying parts from RR at a price of Rs. 8,000 and units from RT at a price of Rs. 30,000. However, RT would need to buy parts from RR at a price of Rs. 11,000. Additional data are as follows: (1) RR is extremely busy with work outside the group and has quoted current market prices for all its products. (2) RS costs for the RP contract, including purchases from RR and RT, total Rs. 2,000. For the Company B contract it expects a profit of 25% on the cost of its own work. 9 Sreeram Coaching Point L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (3) (4) RT prices provide for a 20% profit margin on total costs. The variable cost s of the group companies in respect of the work under consideration are: RR: 20% of selling price. RS: 70% of own cost (excluding purchases from other group companies) RT: 65% of own cost (excluding purchases from other group companies) You are required, from a group point f view, to: (a) Recommend, with appropriate calculations, whether the contract should be placed with RS or Company A or Company B; (b) State briefly two assumptions you have made in arriving at your recommendations. Question: 14 An industrial group of companies includes two divisions: A and B. the output of Division A is product A, two units of which are used by Division B for every one of its product B. Division B has first call on Division A's output but there is a separate market outside the group for the balance of Division A's output. All the output of Division B is sold outside the group.The maximum capacity of Division A is 1,30,000 units of A and that of Division B is 50,000 units of B per annum. Each divi sion maintains a stable level of stocks throughout the year. The group would like to examine the results of using different bases of transfer pricing under different scenarios (ie situations that could be expected to arise). The bases of transfer pricing are Absorbed standard cost Market price Variable cost plus a lump sum of 80% of Division A's fixed cost Scenario Number Product A Market price Total Demand (per unit) (thousand units) Rs. 5 23 29 30 25 35 100 70 130 Product A Rs. 20 Rs. 5 Product B Rs. 12 Rs. 18 (Exclusive of 2 units of Product A) 100 90 90 AS MP VC Product B Market price Total Demand (per unit) (thousand units) Rs. 40 30 30 Costs per unit are: Variable cost Fixed cost Budgeted volume in units per annum Part 1 1,00,000 40,000 You are required to calculate the profits shown by Division A and by Division B for the following seven situations: Scenario 15 23 29 MP MP Basis of Transfer pricing VC VC VC AS AS L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 10 Sreeram Coaching PointC OST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Part 2 Assume that Division B receives an overseas order for 20,000 units of B that will in no way influence its other clientele. (a) As manager of Division B state, with supporting calculations, whether you would recommend acceptance of the order in the following two situations: Scenario (i) 23 (ii) 29 Price per unit (ex factory) Rs. 55 Rs. 65 Basic of transfer pricing AS MP (b) If you were Managing Director of the whole group state, with very brief reasons, whether you would recommend acceptance of the orders in (a) (i) and (a) (ii) above.Question: 15 Vista Electronics manufactures two different types of coils used in electric motors. In the falls of the current year. Erica Becker, the controller, compiled the following data. Sales forecast for 2000 (all units to be shipped in 2000): Product Light coil Heavy coil Raw material prices and inventory levels: Raw Material Expected Inventories January 1, 2000 32,000 lb. 29,000 lb 6,000 units Desired Inventories December 31, 2000 36,000 lb. 32,000 lb. 7,000 units Anticipated Purchase Price in Rs. 8 5 3 Units 60,000 40,000 Price Rs. 65 Rs. 95Sheet metal Copper wire Platform Use of raw material: Raw Material Sheet metal Copper wire Platform Direct-labor requirements and rates: Product Light coil Heavy coil Amount Used per Unit Light Coll Heavy Coll 4 lb 2 5 lb 3 1 unit Hours per Unit 2 3 Rate per Hour Rs. 15 20 Overhead is applied at the rate of Rs. 2 per direct-labor hour. Finished-goods inventories (in units): Product Expected January 1, 2000 20,000 8,000 Desired December 31, 2000 25,000 9,000 Light coil Heavy coil L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 11 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONSManufacturing overhead: Overhead Cost Item Purchasing and material handling Depreciation, utilities and inspection Activity-Based Budget Rate Rs. 25 per Rupee of sheet metal and cooper wire purchased. Rs. 4. 00 per coil produced (either type) Shipping Rs. 1. 00 per coil shipped (either type) Rs. 3. 00 per direct-labor hour General manufacturing overhead Required: Prepare the following budgets for 2000. 1) Sales budget (in Rupees). 2) Production budget (in units). 3) Raw-material purchases budget (in quantities). 4) Raw-material purchases budget (in Rupees). ) Direct-labor budget (in Rupees). 6) Manufacturing overhead budget (in Rupees). Question: 16 Toronto Business Associates, a division of Maple Leaf Services Corporation, offers management and computer consulting services to clients throughout Canada and the northeastern United states. The division specializes in website development and other Internet applications. The corporate management at Maple Leaf Services is pleased with the performance of Toronto Business Associates for the first nine months of the current year and has recommended that the division manager.Ramachandran, submit a revised forecast for the remaining quarter, as the division has exceeded the annua l plan year-to-date by 20 percent of operating income. An unexpected increase in billed hour volume over the original plan is the main reason for this increase in income. The original operating budget for the first three quarters for Toronto Business Associates follows. TORONTO BUSINESS ASSOCIATES 20Ãâ€"1 Operating Budget 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter Total for first three QuartersRevenue: Consulting fees: Computer system consulting Management consulting Total consulting fees Other revenue Total revenue Expenses: Consultant salary expenses Travel and related expense General and administrative expenses Depreciation expense Corporate expense allocation Total expenses Operating income 3,86,750 45,625 1,00,000 40,000 50,000 6,22,375 1,24,500 3,86,750 45,625 1,00,000 40,000 50,000 6,22,375 1,24,500 3,86,750 45,625 1,00,000 40,000 50,000 6,22,375 1,24,500 11,60,250 1,36,875 3,00,000 1,20,000 1,50,000 18,67,125 3,73,500 4,21,875 3,15,000 7,36,875 10,000 7,46,875 4,21,875 3,15,000 7, 36,875 10,000 7,46,875 4,21,875 3,15,000 7,36,875 10,000 7,46,875 12,65,625 9,45,000 22,10,625 30,000 22,40,625 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 12 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Howell will reflect the following information in his revised forecast for the fourth quarter. Toronto Business Associates currently has 25 consultants on staff, 10 for management consulting and 15 for computer systems consulting. Three additional management consultant have been hired to start work at the beginning of the fourth quarter in order to meet the increased client demand. †¢ The hourly billing rate for consulting revenue will remain at 90 per hour for each management consultant and 75 per hour for each computer consultant. However, due to the favorable increase in billing hour volume when compared to the plan, the hours for each consultant will be increased by 50 hours per quarter. †¢ The budgeted annual salaries and actual annual salaries, paid monthly, are the same: 50,000 for a management consultant and 46,000 for a computer consultant.Corporate management has approved a merit increase of 10 percent at the beginning of the fourth quarter for all 25 existing consultants, while the new consultants will be compensated at the planned rate. †¢ The planned salary expense includes a provision for employee fringe benefits amounting to 30 percent of the annual salaries. However, the improvement of some corporate wide employee programs will increase the fringe benefits to 40 percent. †¢ The original plan assumes a fixed hourly rate for travel and other related expenses for each billing hour of consulting. These are expense that are not reimbursed by the client, and the previously determined hourly rate has proven to be adequate to cover these costs. †¢ Other revenue is derived from temporary rentals and interest income and remains unchanged for the fourth quarter. General and administrative expense have been fa vourable at 7 percent below the plan; this 7 percent savings on fourth quarter expenses will be reflected in the revised plan. †¢ Depreciation of office equipment and personal computers will stay constant at the projected straight-line rate. †¢ Due to the favourable experience for the first three quarters and the division's increased ability to absorb costs, the corporate management at Maple Leaf Services has increased the corporate expenses allocation by 50 percent. Required: 1) Prepare a revised operating budget for the fourth quarter for Toronto Business Associates that Ramachandran will present to corporate management. 2) Discuss the reasons why an organization would prepare a revised operating budget. Question: 17 Ford ltd. anufactures and sells 15,000 units of a raft, RF17, in 2001. The full cost per unit is Rs. 200. Ford earns a 20% return on an investment of Rs. 18,00,000 in 2001. Required: (1) Calculate the selling price of RF17 in 2001. Calculate the markup perce ntage on the full cost per unit of RF17 in 2001. (2) If the selling price in requirement 1 represents a markup percentage of 40% on variable costs per unit, calculate the variable cost per unit of RF17 in 2001 (3) Calculate ford's operating income if it had increased the selling price to Rs. 230. at this price ford would have sold 13,500 units of RF17. Assume no change in total fixed costs. Should ford have increased the selling price of RF17 to Rs. 230? 4) In response to competitive pressure, ford must reduce the price of RF17 to Rs. 210 in 2002, in order to achieve sales of 15,000 units. Ford plans to reduce its investment to Rs. 16,50,000. If ford wants to maintain a 20% return on investment, what is the target cost per unit in 2002? L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 13 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Question: 18 Amrutha, president of PAL Electronics (PE), is concerned about the prospects of one of its major products. The president h as been reviewing a marketing report with Krishna, marketing product manager, for their 10-disk car compact disk (CD) changer.The report indicates another price reduction is needed to meet anticipated competitors' reductions in sales prices. The current selling price for their 10-disk car CD changers is Rs. 350 per unit. It is expected that within three months PE's two major competitors will be selling their 10-disk car CD changers for Rs. 300 per unit. This concerns Amrutha because their current cost of producing the CD changers is Rs. 315, which yields a Rs. 35 profit on each unit sold. The situation is especially disturbing because PE had implemented an activity-based costing (ABC) system about two years ago. The ABC system helped them better identify costs, cost pools, cost drivers, and cost reduction opportunities.Changes made when adopting ABC reduced costs on this product by approximately 15 percent during the last two years. Now it appears that costs will need to be reduced considerably more to remain competitive and to earn a profit on the 10-disk car CD changers. Total costs to produce, sell, and service the CD changer units are as follows: 10-Disk Car CD Changer Per Unit Material Purchased components All other material Labor Manufacturing, direct Setups Materials handling Inspection Machining Cutting, shaping, and drilling Bending and finishing Other Finished-goods warehousing Warranty Total unit cost Rs. 110 40 65 9 18 23 21 14 5 10 Rs. 315 Amrutha has decided to hire Damodar, a consultant, to help decide how to proceed.After two weeks of review, discussion, and value engineering analysis, Chandran suggested that PE adopt a just-intime (JIT) cell manufacturing process to help reduce costs. He also suggested that using target costing would help in meeting the new target price. By changing to a JIT cell manufacturing system, PE expects that manufacturing direct labor will increase by Rs. 15 per finished unit. However, setup, material handling, inspec tion, and finished goods warehousing will all be eliminated. Machine costs will be reduced from Rs. 35 to Rs. 30 per unit, and warranty costs are expected to be reduced by 40 percent. Required: (1) Determine PAL Electronics' unit target cost the Rs. 300 competitive sales price while maintaining the same percentage of profit on sales as is earned on the current Rs. 350 sales price. 2) If the just-in-time cell manufacturing process is implemented with the changes noted, will PAL Electronics meet the unit target cost you determined in requirement (3)? Prepare a schedule detailing cost reductions and the unit cost under the proposed JIT cell manufacturing process. Question: 19 The management of Alliance Enterprises recently decided to adopt a just-in-time inventory policy to curb steadily rising costs and free up cash for purposes of investment. The company anticipates that inventory will decrease from Rs. 36,00,000 to Rs. 6,00,000, with the released funds to be invested at a 12 percent return for the firm. Additional data follow: L. Muralidharan, FCA. Grad. CWA. , 14 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS †¢ Reduced inventories should produce savings in insurance and property taxes of Rs. 27,000. †¢ Alliance will lease 75 % of an existing warehouse to another firm for Rs. 2 per square foot. The warehouse has 30,000 square feet. †¢ Because of the need to handle an increased number of small shipments from suppliers, Alliance will remodel production and receiving-dock facilities at a cost of Rs. 6,00,000. The construction costs will be depreciated over a 10-year life. †¢ A shift in suppliers is expected to result in the purchase and use of more expensive raw materials.However, these materials should give rise to fewer warranty and repair problems after Alliance's finished product is sold, resulting in a net savings for the firm of Rs. 25,000. †¢ Three employees who currently earn Rs. 30,000 each will be di rectly affected by the just-in-time adoption decision. Two employees will be transferred to other positions with Alliance; one will be terminated. †¢ Reduced raw material inventory levels and accompanying stockouts will cost Alliance Rs. 70,000. Required: (1) Compute the annual financial impact of Alliance's decision to adopt a just-in-time inventory system. (2) If the just-in-time system is implemented in proper fashion, what is the likelihood of excessive raw material stockouts?Briefly explain. (3) Adoption of a just-in-time purchasing system will often result in less need for the inspection of incoming materials and parts. Why? (4) In comparison with a traditional purchasing system, why does a just-in-time system give rise to an increased number of small shipments to the buying firm? Question: 20 The product structure and the lead times for a finished product ‘X' are given in figure below If 100 units of X are required in week 12 and if none of the components, sub-asse mblies and the end product are either on hand or on order, compute the amounts and dates of the planned order releases for all the components and sub-assemblies.Assume that there is no particular order size and therefore all the order quantities are lot for lot. X, LT = 2 P (1), LT = 3 Q (2), LT = 1 R (3), LT = 3 S (2), LT = 3 P (2), LT = 3 R (3), LT = 3 Question: 21 S (2), LT = 3 The lead time to procure Paracetamol from a supplier is four weeks. At present, 54 kg of the drug is available with us. There is also a scheduled receipt of 45 kg of it in four weeks. The production requirements of paracetamol over the next nine weeks are as: Week Amount in kg 1 24 2 3 29 4 11 15 5 – 6 5 7 19 8 27 9 18 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS If we use an order quantity of 45 kg, when shall we release the orders for Paracetamol?Question: 22 Having attended a CIMA course on activity-based costing (ABC) you decide to experiment by applying the principles of ABC to the four products currently made and sold by your company. Details of the four products and relevant information are given below for one period: Product Output in units Costs per unit: Direct material Direct labour Machine hours (per unit) A 120 (Rs. ) 40 28 4 B 100 (Rs. ) 50 21 3 C 80 (Rs. ) 30 14 2 D 120 (Rs. ) 60 21 3 The four products are similar and are usually produced in production runs of 20 units and sold in batches of 10 units. The production overhead is currently absorbed by using a machine hour rate, and the total of the production overhead for the period has been analysed as follows: (Rs. Machine department costs (rent, business rates, depreciation and supervision) Set-up costs Stores receiving Inspection / Quality control Materials handling and despatch 10,430 5,250 3,600 2,100 4,620 You have ascertained that the ‘cost drivers' to be used are as listed below for the overhead cost shown: Cost Set up costs Stores r eceiving Inspection / Quality control Materials handling and despatch Cost Driver Number of production runs Requisition raised Number of production runs Orders executed The number of requisition raised on the stores was 20 for each product and the number of orders executed was 42, each orders being for a batch of 10 of a product. You are required. a) To calculate the total costs for each product if all overhead costs are absorbed on a machine hour basis; (b) To calculate the total costs for each product, using activity-based costing; (c) To calculate and list the unit product cost from your figures in (a) and (b) above, to show the differences and to comment briefly on any conclusions which may be drawn which could have pricing and profit implications. Question: 23 Sumantra Technology Ltd. ,. manufactures several different types of printed circuit boards; however, two of the boards account for the majority of the company's sales. The first of these boards, a television circuit board , has been a standard in the industry for several years. The market for this type of board is competitive and price-sensitive. Sumantra plans to sell 65,000 of the TV boards in 2001 at a price of Rs. 50 per unit. The second high-volume product, a personal computer circuit board, is a recent addition to Sumantra's product line. Because the PC board incorporates the latest technology it can be sold at a premium price. The 2001 plans include the sale of 40,000 PC boards at Rs. 300 per unit. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 16 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Sumantra's management group is meeting to discuss how to spend the sales and promotion Rupees for 2001. The sales manager believes that the market share for the TV board could be expanded by concentrating Sumantra's promotional efforts in this area.In response to this suggestion, the production manager said, â€Å"Why don't you go after a bigger market for the PC board? The cost sheets that I get show that the contribution from the PC board is more than double the contribution from the TV board. I know we get a premium price for the PC board. Selling it should help overall profitability. † The cost-accounting system shows that the following costs apply to the PC and TV boards. PC Board Direct material Direct labour Machine time Rs. 140 4 hr. 1. 5 hr. TV Board Rs. 80 1. 5 hr. .5 hr. Variable manufacturing overhead is applied on the basis of direct-labor hours. For 2001, variable overhead is budgeted at Rs. 1,20,000, and direct-labor hours are estimated at 2,80,000. The hourly rates for machine time and direct labor are Rs. 10 and Rs. 14, respectively. The company applies a material-handling charge at 10 percent of material cost. This material-handling charge is not included in variable manufacturing overhead. Total 2001 expenditures for direct material are budgeted at Rs. 1,06,00,000. Andrew Fulton, Sumantra's controller, believes that before the management group proceeds with the discussion about allocating sales and promotional Rupees to individual products, it might be worth while to look at these products on the basis of the activities involved in their production.Fulton has prepared the following schedule to help the management group understand this concept. â€Å"Using this information,† Fulton explained, â€Å"we can calculate an activity-based cost for each TV board and each PC board and then compare it to the standard cost we have been using. The only cost that remains the same for both cost methods is the cost of direct material. The cost drivers will replace the direct labor, machine time, and overhead costs in the old standard cost figures. † Budgeted Cost Procurement Production scheduling Packaging and shipping Total Machine setup Hazardous waste disposal Quality control General supplies Total Machine insertion Manual insertion Wave-soldering Total In Rs. ,00,000 2,20,000 4,40,000 10,60,000 4,46,000 48,000 5, 60,000 66,000 11,20,000 12,00,000 40,00,000 1,32,000 53,32,000 Required per Unit Parts: Machine insertions Manual insertions Machine setups Hazardous waste disposal Inspections L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 17 Cost Driver Number of parts Number of boards Number of boards Number of setups Rupees of waste Number of inspections Number of boards Number of insertions Numbers of insertions Number of boards Budgeted Annual Activity for Cost Driver 40,00,000 parts 1,10,000 boards 1,10,000 boards 2,78,750 setups 16,000 Rupees 1,60,000 inspections 1,10,000 boards 30,00,000 insertions 10,00,000 insertions 1,10,000 boards PC Board 55 35 20 3 . 35 lb. 2 TV Board 25 24 1 2 . 02 lb. 1 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONSRequired: (1) Identify at least four general advantages associated with activity-based costing. (2) On the basis of Sumantra's unit cost data given in the problem, calculate the total contribution margin expected in 2001 for the PC board and the TV board. (3) On the basis of an activity-based costing system, calculate the total contribution margin expected in 2001 for the PC board and the TV board. (4) Explain how a comparison of the results of the two costing methods may impact the decisions made by Sumantra's management group. Question: 24 Calton Ltd. make and sell a single product. The existing product unit specifications are as follows: Direct material X: Machine time: Machine cost per gross hour: Selling price: 8 sq. etres at Rs. 4 per sq. metre 0. 6 running hours Rs. 40 Rs. 100 Calton Ltd. , require to fulfil orders for 5,000 product units per period. There are no stocks of product units at the beginning or end of the period under review. The stock level of material X remains unchanged throughout the period. The following additional information affects the costs and revenues: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) 5% of incoming material from suppliers is scrapped due to poor receipt and storage organisation. 4% of material X i nput to the machine process is wasted due to processing problems. Inspection and storage of material X costs Rs. 0. 10 pence per sq. metre purchased.Inspection during the production cycle, calibration checks on inspection equipment, vendor rating and other checks costs Rs. 25,000 per period Production quantity is increased to allow for the downgrading of 12. 5% of product units at the final inspection stage. Downgraded units are sold as ‘second quality' units at a discount of 30% on the standard selling price. Production quantity is increased to allow for returns from customers which are replaced free of charge. Returns are due to specification failure and account for 5% of units initially delivered to customers. Replacement units incur a delivery cost of Rs. 8 per unit. 80% of the returns from customers are rectified using 0. hours of machine running time per unit and are re-sold as ‘third quality' products at a discount of 50% on the standard selling price. The remaini ng returned units are sold as scrap for Rs. 5 per unit. Product liability and other claims by customers is estimated at 3% of sales revenue from standard product sales. Machine idle time is 20% of gross machine hours used (i. e. running hours = 80% of gross hours). Sundry costs of administration, selling and distribution total Rs. 60,000 per period. Calton Ltd is aware of the problem of excess costs and currently spends Rs. 20,000 per period in efforts to prevent a number of such problems from occurring. (6) 7) (8) (9) (10) Calton Ltd. is planning a quality management programme which will increase its excess cost prevention expenditure from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 60,000 per period. It is estimated that this will have the following impact. (1) A reduction in stores losses of material X to 3% of incoming material. (2) A reduction in the downgrading of product units at inspection to 7. 5% of units inspected. (3) A reduction in material X losses in process to 2. 5% of input to the machine pr ocess. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 18 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (4) A reduction in returns of products from customers to 2. % of units delivered. (5) A reduction in machine idle time to 12. 5% of gross hours used. (6) A reduction in product liability and other claims to 1% of sales revenue from standard product sales. (7) A reduction in inspection, calibration, vendor rating and other checks by 40% of the existing figure. (8) A reduction in sundry administration, selling and distribution costs by 10% of the existing figure. (9) A reduction in machine running time required per product unit to 0. 5 hours. Required: (a) Prepare summaries showing the calculation of (I) total production units (pre-inspection), (ii) purchases of material X (sq. metres), (iii) gross machine hours.In each case the figures are required for the situation both before and after the implementation of the additional quality management programme, in order t hat the orders for 5,000 product units may be fulfilled. (b) Prepare profit and loss account for Calton Ltd for the period showing the profit earned both before and after the implementation of the additional quality management programme. (c) Comment on the relevance of a quality management programme and explain the meaning of the terms internal failure costs, external failure costs, appraisal costs and preventation costs giving examples for each, taken where possible from the information in the question. Question: 25 Destiny Products makes digital watches. Destiny is preparing a product life-cycle budget for a new watch, MX3. Development on the new watch is to start shortly.Estimates about MX3 are as follows: Life-cycle units manufactured and sold Selling price per watch Life-cycle costs R & D and design costs Manufacturing Variable costs per watch Variable costs per batch Watches per batch Fixed costs Marketing Variable costs per watch Fixed costs Distribution Variable costs per ba tch Watches per batch Fixed costs Customer-service costs per watch Ignore the time value of money. Required: (1) Calculate the budgeted life-cycle operating income for the new watch. (2) What percentage of the budgeted total product life-cycle costs will be incurred by the end of the R & D and design stages? Rs. 280 160 Rs. 7,20,000 Rs. 1. 50 Rs. 3. 20 Rs. 10,00,000 Rs. 15 Rs. 600 500 Rs. 18,00,000 Rs. 10,00,000 4,00,000 Rs. 40 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 19 Sreeram Coaching PointCOST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (3) An analysis reveals that 80% of the budgeted total product life-cycle costs of the new watch will be locked in at the end of the R & D and design stages. What implications does this finding have for managing MX3's costs? (4) Destiny's Market Research Department estimates that reducing MX3's price by Rs. 3 will increase life-cycle unit sales by 10 percent. If unit sales increase by 10%, Destiny plans to increase manufacturing and distribution b atch sizes by 10% as well. Assume that all variable costs per watch, variable costs per batch, and fixed costs will remain the same. Should Destiny reduce MX3's price by Rs. 3?Show your calculations. Question: 26 A first batch of 25 transistor radios took a total of 250 direct labour hours. It is proposed to assemble another 40 units. What will be the average labour per unit in this lot? Assume that there is 85% learning rate. Question: 27 Bhakatavatsala & Co, a fire arms manufacturer, has designed a new type of gun and a first lot of 25 guns assembled for test purposes had the following costs: Direct materials Direct labour Variable overheads Fixed overheads Total costs 24,500 22,500 16,875 11,250 75,125 Proportional to direct labour BSF being satisfied with this gun have asked the lowest bid for supply of 1,000 guns.The company will pass on the benefits of learning of 85% to the client in setting the bid. The company will set a selling price to earn 40% gross profit margin. Determ ine the unit price that should be bid. Question: 28 One unit of product A contributes Rs. 7 and requires 3 units of raw material and 2 hours of labour. One unit of product B contributes Rs. 5 and requires one unit of raw material and one hour of labour. Availability of the raw material at present is 48 units and there are 40 hours of labour. (a) Formulate it as a linear programming problem. (b) Write its dual. (c) Solve the dual with Simplex method and find the optimal product mix and shadow prices of the raw material and labour.Question: 29 The simplex tableau for a maximization problem of linear programming is given here: Product Mix Cj 5 0 xj x2 S2 cj zj cj – zj Xl 1 1 4 5 -1 x2 1 0 5 5 0 S1 1 -1 0 5 -5 S2 0 1 0 0 0 Quantity (bi) 10 3 Answer the following questions, giving reasons in brief: (a) Is this solution optimal? (b) Are there more than one optimal solution? (c) Is this solution degenerate? L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 20 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEME NT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (d) Is this solution feasible? (e) If S1 is slack in machine A (in hours / week and S2 is slack in machine B (in hours / week), which of these machines is being used to the full capacity when producing according to this solution? f) A customer would like to have one unit of product x1 and is willing to pay in excess of the normal price in order to get it. How much should the price be increased in order to ensure no reduction of profits? Question: 30 Management of Ranga Ltd are very much worried about the continuing recession in the country. The company has 7 divisions (A to G). they have decided to close four divisions namely A,B,C and D and transfer some of the employees to the remaining divisions. Personnel at the units to be closed have signified a willingness to move to any of the three remaining units and the company is willing to provide them with removal costs.The technology of production is different to some degree at each unit and retr aining expenses will be incurred on transfer. Not all existing personnel can be absorbed by transfer and a number of redundancies will arise. Cost of redundancy is given as a general figure at each unit is to be closed. Number employed A-200 B-400 C-300 D-200 Rs. thousands per person Retraining costs Transfer to : Unit E Unit F Unit G Removal costs: Transfer to : Unit E Unit F Unit G Redundancy payments 2. 5 2. 4 2. 5 6. 0 3. 6 4. 6 2. 7 5. 0 3. 4 3. 4 3. 3 6. 0 3. 7 1. 7 2. 7 7. 0 0. 5 0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 0. 4 0. 3 0. 6 0. 6 0. 7 1. 3 0. 3 0. 3 A B C D Additional personnel required at units remaining open: E-350 F-450 G-200.To use the transportation method to obtain an optimal solution to the problem of the cheapest means to transfer personnel from the units to be closed to those which will be expanded. Question: 31 A management consulting firm has a backlog of 4 contracts. Work on these contracts must be started immediately. 3 project leaders are available for assignment to the contrac ts. Because of the varying work experience of the leaders, the profit to consulting firm will vary based on the assignment as shown below. The unassigned contract can be completed by subcontracting the work to an outside consultant. The profit on the subcontract is zero. Finds the optimal assignment.Contract Project Leader A B C L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 1 13 15 6 21 2 10 17 8 3 9 13 11 4 11 20 7 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Question: 32 The tit-fit Scientific Laboratories is engaged in producing different types of High-class equipments for use in Science labs. The company has two different assembly lines to produce its popular product â€Å"P†. Processing time (minutes) Assembly A1 Assembly A2 10 0. 10 0. 20 11 0. 15 0. 40 12 0. 40 0. 20 13 0. 25 0. 15 14 0. 10 0. 05 Use the following Random(Rn. ) no's, generate data on the process times for 15units of the item and complete the expected process time for the product. 13 4 7476 4943 Question: 33 A project consists of 7 activities. The time for performance of each of the activity is as follows:Activity A Immediate Time 3 4 5 B 4 4 4 4 4 C A 1 1 1 D B,C 4 5 E D 3 4 5 6 F D 5 7 G E,F 2 3 Probability 0. 2 0. 6 0. 2 0. 1 0. 3 0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0. 15 0. 75 0. 10 0. 8 0. 2 0. 1 0. 3 0. 3 0. 3 0. 20 0. 80 0. 5 0. 5 8343 1183 1915 3602 9445 5415 7505 0089 0880 7428 3424 9309 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 22 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS a) Draw a network and identify critical path using expected time. b) Simulate the project for 5 times using Rn. no's and find critical paths? 8 99 57 57 77 Question: 34 A small maintenance project consist of jobs in the table below. With each job is listed its normal time and a minimum or crash time in days. The cost in Rs. Per day of each job is also given: Job(i-j) 1-2 1-3 1-4 2-4 3-4 4-5 Normal days 9 8 15 5 10 2 Crash days 6 5 10 3 6 1 Cost/Day 40 50 60 20 30 80 13 93 33 12 37 09 18 49 31 34 20 24 65 96 11 73 22 92 85 27 07 07 98 92 10 72 29 00 91 59 a) What is the normal project length and minimum project length? b) Determine the minimum crashing cost of schedules ranging from normal length down to, and including, the minimum length schedule. c) Overhead costs total Rs. 115/day. What is the optimum length schedule in terms of both crashing and overhead cost?Question: 35 Allocate the men efficiently to the jobs given below and Find out the time required to complete the project. No. of persons: 4 Job (I-j) 1-2 1-3 1-5 2-3 2-6 3-4 4-7 5-6 6-7 tn 10 6 5 0 8 10 10 7 5 Men 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 1 2 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 23 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Suggested Solutions L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 24 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Answer to Question No. 1: Elimination of decorative stitching cost. Cost Loss of contribution due to fall in sales (WN-1) 1,35,000 Net benefit = 27,000/(a) Substituting glass eyes by plastic eyes.