Friday, September 6, 2019
Donnie Darko - Detailed Summary Essay Example for Free
Donnie Darko Detailed Summary Essay Donnie Darko is an intelligent, yet delirious and emotionally-ill teenager, whos idealistic fantasy of correcting the wrongs in society, finally appears possible in a tangent universe (an imaginative reality), where he is guided by an imaginary friend Frank, who appears as a malevolent giant bunny in Donnies day-time hallucinations. In the early stages of the film, Frank literally lures Donnie from reality and introduces him to a tangent universe where Donnie observes what wouldve been, (yet ultimately is) his own death in reality, where he is crushed by a plummeting airliner engine that crashes through the roof of his house directly above his bedroom where he sleeps. In the tangent reality though, he is merely a bystander, bemused and frightened by the calamity of the aftermath, as he returns home the morning subsequent to the disaster. He realizes that his long sleep-walk adventure the previous night, (Summoned by Frank) had ensured the avoidance of his death. The viewer is initially under the impression that Frank is a product of Donnies disturbed and inventive sub-conscious, as he is but a vehicle to allow Donnies inhibitions to express themselves through acts of desecration. In many ways, Frank seems to take advantage of Donnies mental state by coercing him to perpetrate crime. Yet Donnie appears to advocate his own actions, indicating his intentions for societal change, reformation, and also for companionship he fears the prospect of dying alone, in which case, Frank is an ally who can assist Donnie in coping with his emotional struggles and hardships. The fact that Donnies mental condition is later classified as paranoid schizophrenia by Dr Thurman (Donnies psychiatrist), would appear as another viable theory or impression, for the viewer to follow. However, it proves not as strong. The reason being, is that the initial or aforementioned theory supports the films noteworthy theme that destruction is a form of creation (an idea propagated by Donnies secondary literacy teacher, Mrs. Pomeroy), whereas the latter is a shallow, yet logical conclusion that isnt glaringly in keeping with any underlying messages of the film itself. Later in the film, the tangent universe allows for the discovery of Frank, as an authentic person, who is murdered by Donnie as he is directly responsible for a fatal car accident involving Donnies much- adored tangent girlfriend, Gretchen. This enlightens us as to the reason for Franks contact with Donnie. Frank has traveled back through time, to in-turn; open a port-hole to Donnies future and enable Donnie to view aspects of his life ahead as a series of visual manifestations, (ie post airliner engine catastrophe). In doing this, he informs Donnie that Armageddon will arrive in twenty-eight days, which conveniently serves as a manipulative motive to aid his primary objective: To discourage Donnie in continuing his life in reality; in the hope that Franks life will be spared. At this point in the film, the recurring theme of time travel claims its stronghold, regardless of previous acknowledgements and inferences. For instance, in one particular scene Frank implies he is from the future, and in numerous others, Donnie is seen eagerly researching and discussing theoretical revelations, pertaining to the philosophy of time travel. Evidently though, these scenes and others, such as the Frank-influenced despoilment of Donnies school and the arson of a corrupt perverts house, illustrate critical stages of Donnies inner journey that is, from a disillusioned teenager, troubled by the folly of mainstream attitudinal beliefs, to an individual who transcends reality in order to subsist in an idealistically superior society, of his own invention. After twenty-seven days of endeavor through outrageous public displays and clandestine defilement, the foretold event of Armageddon looms near. Donnie ambles through the final moments of his tangent existence (inner journey), as his character-defining tenacious dynamism begins to fade. As expected, he assumes his fatalistic mentality of all living things have a set path, and that humans are merely vessels traveling along Gods channel, gradually nearing a pre-determined destination. At this stage, Donnies mindset suggests a search for spiritual solace and religious meaning. Whilst denying an utterly defeatist outlook, Donnie exerts a courageous exterior by modestly welcoming his fate, in the hope that there will be so much to look forward to. He is of course referring to a reformed humanity that is devoid of inadequacy, corruption and suppression. It is here, that the film takes an unexpected turn, whereby Donnies inner journey in the tangent universe is virtually thwarted due to the sub-conscious acknowledgement of an audible phrase, originally voiced by his late girlfriend, Gretchen. It is part of her conjecture of emotional solace: What if you could go back through time, and replace all those hours of pain and darkness with something better? At this point, Frank uses his god-like essence to summon Donnie in reality, assuming that hed been subjected to enough to be dissuaded, and, much to the viewers astonishment, Donnie awakes in bed, hysterically laughing in awe and disbelief of his dream. Whilst conscious, he remembers the tangent visions of pain and anguish, including Gretchens death, and the murder of Frank, and decides that his future should be exempt from more emotional suffering. Donnie opts to conclude his inner journey heroically, by means of self-sacrifice that is, to allow the plummeting airliner engine to destroy him, thus ensuring an extended life for his beloved female tangent counterpart, Gretchen. The film Donnie Darko is significant to the theme of imaginary journey as it details a persons sinister epigrammatic voyage into the future, and consequent development of emotional alteration. Director Richard Kelly uses the character Donnie as a representation of idealistic thought inherent in society. It is no undisclosed fact that society itself, is pervaded by thoughts and ideals that are in contrast with expected societal opinion. Kelly hints at the notion that we are engaged in the journey of life, yet our propulsion is suppressed somewhat, by theà undeniable need to conform to societys bounds and restrictions thus society would seem to preclude humans from achieving their primary goal(s) or concluding their journeys. Also intertwined with this perception, is the suggestion of the faà §ade of human nature. Kelly suggests it is unnatural for veritable human inclination to be constrained, hence the rationale of life-long journeys that are embarked upon to discover a sense of self. Donnies self discovery is shown through his sacrifice for Gretchen. Whilst on his imaginary journey, Donnie identifies with her troubled emotions and sinister background of family trauma. He discovers a person remarkably similar to himself, so his sacrifice in essence could be perceived as an effort of self-preservation as he was intent on ensuring continuity of his spirit within a physical entity other than himself. This is a viable interpretation, relevant to a reflective inner journey, as it is a primary motive for initial commitment to the journey itself. Kelly realizes that Donnies journey is exceedingly implausible and unrealistic. Without detracting from the intended solemnity, it seems a feat such as Donnies could only be surmounted by a philosophical super-hero with ethereal powers. Kelly deliberately captures the fervent yet slightly naà ¯ve central vision of Donnies ideological expectations in the films title, and in Donnies heroic bravado. Nonetheless, he encourages provocation of thought and motivational urge on our set path in life, or inner journey. The reason being is that humans are inclined to stray from reality, if indeed; there is an absence of true accomplishment in their existence. By this, Kelly infers that an inner journey is necessary to undergo, as it induces self-gratification and contributes to the conservation and perpetuation of ones psyche. Director Richard Kelly uses the medium of time travel to symbolize the eternal human endeavor/journey in Donnie Darko. I use eternal, because we yearn for such an easy method as time travel to reveal future outcomes and destinations, yet we are simultaneously disenchanted by its obviousà impracticalities. Kelly expresses his interpretation of fatalism via liquid spears, which consist of water and metal, and appear as a cylindrical protrusion from a humans chest. In the scene known as the liquid spear waltz, (tangent universe), Donnie in his hallucinatory state, sees these spears connected to the chests of his friends and family. He observes that the individual always follows the path of the spear, to their immediate destination. For example, Donnies spear leads him to the fridge on one occasion, whilst he was thirsting for a drink. He wouldve made that same trip even if the spear wasnt there. Furthermore, the inclusion of mystical activity in the film, such as the liquid spear, adds to the surrealism of the tangent universe, reinforcing the imaginary focus of Donnies journey. Kelly has portrayed the same dream-like atmosphere via other medium also. For example, many of the tangent universe scenes are in slow-motion, and filmed from an aerial perspective. This informs the viewer of the simulation of the tangent universe, whilst creating a mystic atmosphere and mood. Finally, Kellys concept of fatalism may well be perceived as a mere scapegoat for human failure, yet such a perception would be grossly incorrect. He emphasizes that; we shouldnt knowingly inhibit ourselves because we travel on a set path in life. If anything, a pre-determined future should provide motivation, and encourage one take advantage of daily opportunities and prospects. After all, we are oblivious as to when exactly, our journey of life shall ultimately cease.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Sustainability Strategies for Proctor Gamble
Sustainability Strategies for Proctor Gamble 1. Introduction: Procter and Gamble is an organization which produces diverse products, and its ambition is to reach the consumers demand. PG began in the 1911; with the theme of innovation by producing every time a different product. For every product they go through three stages. The first stage was to make innovative needed products; the second was to proceed with the successful products with suitable quantities; and the third is to have more investments of capital to enlarge the company. These three stages preserve the success of PG. PG is a multinational corporation with 156 branches in more than 70 countries. There are three main development centers, the first center is in Germany in which paper products like Always and Pampers are developed. The second is in Brussels, used to develop detergents. The last center is situated in the United Kingdom where soap and shampoos are developed. PGs environmental science department plays a unique role to ensure that their products are safe to use for the consumer as well as for the environment. Environmental safety is an internal part of the quality that PG builds into its every product. The Company is committed to produce best quality of products to refine the consumers of whole world. The companys actual performance could be deduced by looking at its 2009 Annual Report. Its worldwide net earnings for the year 2009 were 13,436 million dollar, which is 13.61% increase over the prior year. It has total assets of $134,833 million and liabilities of $71,451 million. PG has been paying a dividend for 120 consecutive years since its incorporation in 1890 and has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years at an annual compound average rate of approximately 9.35%.This is an evidence of how much consumers demand PGs product and how this initiates the company to develop 300 brands to satisfy five billion consumers all over the world. Alan G. Lafley became chairman of PG in 2000, he made it clear that he wanted innovation across the spectrum-in how the company invents, markets, manufactures, and distributes its products. 2. Methods 2.1 Data collection methods We get the data from the documentary analysis of the PG which come from the website of the PG. The data is easy accessed in the internet. PGs annual plans are useful in the research. At the same time, we keep contact to PG via emails. They give us information on the plan of the companys development. 2.2 Issues and challenges Biases different comments of PG in massive aspects, often find data from some organization within the PG. that circumstances may cause biases, which influence comments to become less objective and even flattery. It is significant to distinguish the information because possibly comments on one aspect could go opposite and cause dilemma. Detailed resource constraints it is not difficult to find general information about PG. However, it was not easy to search details and depth objections. Although, connecting PG for details may work, yet it cannot be certain that the opinions gained from PG are 100% objective and real. Collecting from dispersive information a majority of resources is dispersive. It means much time consuming and less efficiency. Also some information may mislead ideas to somewhere wrong. 2.3 Analysis Through the analysis of companys annual report, we know the performance of PG. according to the structure and culture of PG, we can forecast the development foreground. We evaluate the approaches to management and leadership. We use the view of a manager, trying to give out a better way. We are based on management principles and analysis the existing business model. PG has a unique pattern in the business management which was widely praised by consumers. 3. Business strategy, mission and goals 3.1 Introduction PG products touch the lives of people around the world billion times a day. This happens because PG provides products of best quality to improve the lives of all consumers around the world. This results in sales, profit and value creation, between the company and the consumers in which they operate to prosper. Its business is divided into three global units: beauty, health and well being, and household care. It also makes pet food and water filters and produces soap operas. Some products of PGs brands are billion-dollar sellers, including Gillette Fusion, Always, Braun, Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Downy/Lenor, Folgers (which it reportedly plans to spin off), Gillette mach 3, Iams, Olay total, Pampers, Pantene pro v, Pringles, Tide lemon jasmine, and Wella, among others. The above products were mentioned by Robert N. Lussier(2009) in annual report 2009. The PG consists of over 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries. It began as a small, family-operated soap and Candle Company which now not only provides products but also concentrate on services of best quality and value to consumers in more than 180 countries. In PG, they are focusing their efforts on where they can make the most meaningful difference in both environmental and social Sustainability. According to Andrea Redmonds (2010) research, their dedication begins with PGs Purpose, values and principles, in which Sustainability is embedded, and manifests itself in a systemic and long-term way. They try to make their company better. 3.2 Mission and goals In 2007, PG implemented five strategies to Sustain goals for the future. In March of 2009, PG made a progress to emphasize their commitment to achieve more significant goals. The five strategies are as follows: Strategy1 Products: Delight the consumer with sustainable innovations which improve the environmental profile of the products. They have developed the market which was at least $50 billion in cumulative sales of sustainable innovation products, and products that have an improved environmental profile. Strategy 2 Operations: Improve the environmental profile of PGs own operations. An additional 20% reduction (per unit production) in CO2 emissions, energy consumption, water consumption and disposed waste from PG plants, leading to a total reduction over the decade of at least 50%. PROGRESS (percent reduction per unit production) Since July 2007 Since July 2002 Energy Usage 11% 48% CO2 Emissions 10% 52% Waste Disposal 30% 53% Water Usage 13% 52% Strategy 3 Social responsibility: Improve childrens lives through PGs social responsibility programs. Enable 300 million children to Live, Learn and Thrive. They prevented 160 million days of disease and also saved 20,000 lives by delivering 4 billion liters of pure water for the Childrens Safe Drinking Water program. Strategy 4 Employees: Engage and equip all PG employees to build Sustainability thinking and practices into their everyday work. Strategy 5 Shareholders: Plan the future by working transparently with their shareholders so that they can work with freedom to innovate in a responsible way. Beside the five strategies, they have several goals on the market. 1. Designed to Matter In PG, they focus the Sustainability efforts on improvements that matter, to make the most meaningful impact they can. 2. Purposes, values principles PGs Purpose, Values Principles formulated their shared vision, a common sets of behavior and their beliefs about the business and its potential. 3.3 Marketing strategy Many people think that multi-brand strategy will result in a situation that internal competition happens, but P G believes that the best strategy is to compete with their own product. Gary Armstrong (2009) said this is because the market economy is a competitive economy, while its opponents to develop new products to share the market. As their challenge themselves and overcome their own, so that their productsÃâà brands may occupy a different market, in order to consolidate its leadership position. 1. Differentiated brands If P Gs multi-brand strategy to be understood as simply more brands, it would be wrong. Actually the pursuit of similar products, the differences between different brands, including features, packaging, promotion, etc., to form each brand distinctive, such as Procter Gamble brand strategy so that each brand has its own development, the market will not overlap, and it will not lead to market its brand in the consumer confusion. The words above are supported by Piero Morosini (2005) 2. Manufacture of USP According to the report, USP means unique selling proposition. It is proposed by the American advertising guru Rosser Reeves (said Brent Green 2006). Marketing theory: the core of its content: Advertising should be according to the characteristics unique to the consumer for rhetoric,Ãâà and allow consumers to believe that this feature is not available to others or others not mentioned. These features can bring tangible benefits to consumers. 3. Unique way: numbers brands in one organization As Michel Philippart (2005) and Hangzhou da Xues (1994) study, multi-brand strategy is very difficult to succeed. While a single image of the brand extension strategy to facilitate the unity of management, reduce marketing costs, easy-to-be customers to accept, but it is not guaranteed, because of a branding, the easy formation among consumersÃâà fixed image, resulting in the customers mind-set is not conducive to the extension product. 4. Overall structure: The Procter Gamble Company (PG) is divided into three main worldwide units, which are household care, beauty and grooming and health and well-being (Marketing magazine: 2009). Every units report is sent to Susan E. Arnold, who has been promoted from vice chair of PGs beauty and health department to the position of president of global business units. The beauty care section is also managed by Susan Arnold. PG has restructured its hierarchy of top executives, who include Arnold, in order to meet the changing needs of their larger, more flexible and faster-paced global business. Lafley, who is the chairman of PG, announced that PG has nearly doubled its business since 2000 with the acquisitions of the Clairol, Wella hair care businesses and Gillette. The change in structure is designed to meet the needs of a larger business that is also developing new initiatives faster than in the past (Balendu: 2007). Initially, PG managed its international operations through an international division of foreign expansion, in the same manner many other multinational enterprises. A variety of products were identified to match national differences and preferences. Consequently, a portfolio, consisting of subsidiaries, run by country general managers was established. However, this management structure may result in two basic problems. Firstly, the cost of operating these subsidiaries is high, and secondly the ferocious autonomy of national subsidiaries prevented the global roll out of new products and technology improvements (Lin, 2008: 9). Therefore, PG needed innovation in the subsidiaries management structure. It concluded that the matrix structure, in which subordinates report to more than one superior (MacKenzie, 2002:22), is a better alternative for PG, as it allows authority to be kept at lower levels. However, most firms would have some difficulty implementing this Matrix structure into their organization because it is difficult to organize multinational activities through this complex structure. For example, dual reporting can lead to disagreements and confusion and a possible overlap of responsibilities. This may result in a loss of accountability and wastes time. Through time PG has been trying to optimize its structure. The current structure resulted in a culture within PG, which was viewed as slow, conformist and risk-averse (Lin, 2008:11). This led to a decrease in productivity and an increase in inefficiency in the organization. Moreover, these factors would slow down the decision making process and reduce the competitiveness of the company. Although, the management structure of PG seems imperfect at the moment. However, the Procter Gamble Company is still a giant in the area of consumer goods and the leading maker of household products in the United States. PG operates its business in over 80 countries around the world and has approximately 300 brands in more t han 160 countries. The matrix structure helps PG develop its global business structure into more specific areas. As a result, the company has become more flexible to change within market competitions and the different expectation of PG. The final stage of completing the innovation process of management structure is to transform the formal structure and responsibilities of the company. For example, the global business units of PG were established in order to manage product development, manufacturing and marketing of their respective categories all around world. Furthermore, global business service units were established to organize with the transactional activities such as Accounting, HR, IT, etc. Eliminating bureaucracy and increasing accountability is another main objective of structure change (Bartlett, 2004: Chp 4). The Procter Gamble Companys corporate structure has been mainly dependent on worldwide subsidiaries and merging. During this time of restructuring, PG has continued its active acquisitions pace. For instance, PG entered the European tissue and towel market through the purchase of Vereinigte Papierwerke Schickedanz AGs European tissue unit and added the luxury fragrance business of Giorgio Beverly Hills, Inc. In the same year, PG returned to the South African market following the lifting of U.S. sanctions. PG has altered its geographic management structure gradually. As a result, PG has divided its operations into United States and other countries, which mainly includes four regions North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe/Middle East/Africa. PG announced a new restructuring initiative in September 1998. A key factor of this restructuring was a shift from an organization centered around the four geographic regions to one centered on seven global business parts based on product lines: Baby Care, Beauty Care, Fabric Home Care, Feminine Protection, Food Beverage, Health Care Corporate New Ventures and Tissues Towels. PG has continued to restructure and adapt to different markets and different financial situation worldwide. According to a firm press release announcing the new structure, This change will drive greater innovation and speed by centering strategy and profit responsibility globally on brands, rather than on geographies 5. PGs Culture: Culture plays an important role in any organization to run their organization well in this fast growing business world. According to Scheins theory of culture it is defined as A pattern of shared basic assumption that the group learned as it solved its problem of external adaptation and integration that has work well enough to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new members as a correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problem-(Scheins 1992, p12, italics altered). According to Schein organizational culture is the acquired outcome of group experience, as it is to a large extent unconscious. Schein considers culture to the three layer phenomenon. From figure 1 it is clearly seen that the organizational culture comprises of three layers first one is the artefacts, espoused values and underlying assumption. Artefacts Innovation culture is the mission statement of Procter and gamble organization in which they state that the consumer is boss, consumer should be the heart of all PG do from ideation stage through the purchase of the product. For example if 30 seconds with a deodorant or one minute with a disposal diaper have made a small part of your life a little bit better then PG made a difference. PG policies made the company a unique one that respect of governments and law, respects in workplace and respect in the market place (annual report of PG, 2005). PG is a multinational company and it is widely spread geographically. They maintain open work system in lots of work places around the world. Executive offices do not have doors. Leaders do not have a secretary cordoning them off. The executive floors on all the offices at Procter and gamble are open, conference room is an open round space. They made it round as a small symbol of the new approach (Lafely .A, 2000 CEO of PG). Espoused values PG is having hierarchy of company ethics principles. PVP(Purpose, Values and principles), corporate policies, worldwide business conduct standards, operating policies/procedure/practices. For over 170 years PG purpose values and principles has been guiding the way they do business and it is shown in the fig 2 below. There purpose is to provide branded products and services of superior quality and values that improves the lives of the worlds consumer. PG lives with its people and values, they recruit the finest people in the world who built organization by promoting and rewarding people without regard to any difference related to performance. Lafely said that PG have been fortunate that some of this flexible multifaceted ethics exist in our heritage. For example Procter and Gamble pioneered a system which is technician based in its manufacturing plants during the 1960s and 70s. In this system they avoided the approach in which one person assigned to do only one job. The technician sys tem still operates today and working well. To get the highest evaluation rating in PG factory, you learn how to do all the jobs on line and once you have that rating, company expect you to be that much capable of problem identification, problem solving, and innovation. This background has made it easier for company to plug manufacturing and engineering in to the innovation culture. PG CEO Lafely said in one conference that once people in our organization have succeeded at innovation then you can see the energy in the company changing. People at PG routinely says that we can do this, this is feasible and the change of attitude of the people in PG is incredible to watch. Integrity, leadership, ownership, passion for winning and trust are the main asset values of PG. By considering purpose and values they made their principles like the show respects for individual, interest of the company and individual are inseparable and innovation is the cornerstone of PG success. These are the offi cials objectives which had been espoused by the company head and it is common for PG organization all over the world. Fig 2 PVP of PG 2003 sustainability report Underlying Assumptions It consists of unconscious, taken for granted beliefs, perception, thoughts and feelings. PG are having problem relating to external adaption and internal integration. PG keep refining their products, launch model from ideas, to prototype, to development, to qualification and to commercialization. Applying this sequential practice on large scale and replicate them does not mean to eliminate judgment, thats why PG needs active leaders and a strong innovation culture. Therefore PG introduces the inclusive culture for leaders and they expected to build inclusive work environment that welcomes and embraces diversity an environment where people feel comfortable. Forced diversity training/learning process are utilized to equip leaders to values and nurture difference in management experience, style of leadership and problem solving approaches. By analyzing the PGs culture it is seen that PG is having a strong and dominant culture and that culture follows in every part of the world. Innovation is the main theme of PGs success and to bind organization culture together. 6. PGs management leadership: Innovative Management and Leadership of PG When we observe organizations and try to classify, we tend to classify them in terms of their success and describe them as highly successful, successful, struggling to succeed or unsuccessful. There are certain factors influencing their success. Management in the organizations has to perform some functions like planning, organizing, staffing, directing, leading and controlling for success. Management consists of implementation of the vision and strategy provided by leaders, coordinating and staffing the organization and handling day-to-day problems. By Koontz and Weihrich management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals work with such performance for optimizing efficiency in reaching goals. HENRI FAYOL identified the main operations in business management- technical, commercial, financial, security, accounting and administration. The administration function he further subdivided into organizational, coordinating, commanding, controlling and purveyance. The purveyance further included the concepts of forecasting and planning.à [i]à PG was facing certain disadvantages using the Henri Fayol method because it was not an empirical but more theoretical. Moreover PG wants to be innovative and wants to differentiate products by its formation. So they adopted the Cooper-Kleinschmidt study of innovation method which was based on the triangle process. The Innovation Diamond in Exhibit 1 began as a triangle process, Resources, and strategy the result of a 1990s Cooper-Kleinschmidt study of innovation across a Broad range of businesses.4 Procter Gambles management in the 1990s subsequently transformed the triangle into their Initiatives Diamond, shown in Exhibit 2.à [ii]à The Innovation Diamond is a guiding framework to help management focus on whats important to success: innovative strategy, a good idea-to-launch process, portfolio management, the climate and leadership. PGs Initiatives Diamond serves as a guide for each businesss product innovation efforts, and helps to focus managements attention on what is important to success. Heres what Bob McDonald, PGs Vice Chairman of Global Operations, says: The Initiative Diamond played a significant role in improving the business results in PGs Fabric Home Care global business unit. This work brought us a new discipline to manage our innovation programs, and yielded a major increase in the in-market success of our initiatives. We aligned our organization on how to use Stage-GateÃâà ® success criteria and portfolio and resource management to deliver better innovations for the consumers we serve.à [iii]à The top half of PGs diamond in Exhibit 2 is strategic in nature, and captures the businesss product innovation strategy: goals, the mix of new products required to meet those goals, and the required resources. Portfolio management (or project selection) is thus closely connected to strategy. The bottom half of the diamond is more operational and focuses on delivering specific new product projects or initiatives: what resources must be put in place for each project; and how individual new product projects are managed so they succeed using PGs idea-to-launch SIMPLTM Methodology? Thus how the PGs business success has been generated through focusing on effective innovative Management. Peter F. Drucker says Leadership is the lifting of mans thinking to higher sights, the increment of mans performance to higher standard, the building of mans personality beyond its normal limitation. Alan Bryman offers the working definition of leadership as: the creation of a goal about a desired future state which seeks to mesh every members of an organization in its net. Many commentators trait spotting approach to; have argued or assumed that the performance of an organization depends on the quality of leadership exercised by its leaders; same is the case with PG organization. The single most enduring thing PG leaders can do is to identify develop our next generation of leaders. If we can get the right people with the right skills and experiences in place to run our business, the rest will take care of itself. By Lura Mattimore, Director, Leadership development PG. So the leader is someone who exercises influence over other people leading is a process of actuation. It provides an electrifying effect to the organization makes people action-oriented and bridges gaps within the organization. Distribution of work, delegation of authority and supervision of work should be done meticulously. There are various approaches to leadership such as trait spotting, style counseling, content fitting, New leadership. PG uses the trait spotting approach to leadership. PG leaders are built from within because they believe that their future success is entirely dependent on the ongoing strength of talent pipeline. So the first trait spotting in PG is done by PG leaders itself who select the next leader of the company by searching a quality of dedication towards the work. PG leaders are not born leaders at first they are just the ordinary people of the company. For PG people are the company most important asset. Their success depends entirely on the strength of the talent which they build from within manage with a disciplined process led by the CEO the senior leadership team. This is an essential element of how PG is designs to lead. Thus PG develop leaders whose purpose is to centre on improving more consumers lives in all parts of the world. Thus PG uses two dimensional style of leadership because it concerns for the production as well as for the people. People are the main asset of PG and for production they always wanted to get differentiated by their innovation method. Thus PG uses the two dimensional style. (Blake Mouton 1964) According to the Likerts there are four leadership systems: Exploitative Autocratic Benevolent authoritative Participative Democratic Democratic leaders have complete confidence and trust in their subordinates, they allow the subordinates to make decision for themselves; these types of leaders always motivate their subordinates by reward for achieving goals and to share the new ideas and opinion. PG uses the democratic type of leadership system. They believe to build their organization from within; PG consider their most important asset as the people of the company because of their faithful work excellent performance. Procter gamble respect all employees and consumers and offer them their trust on condition that they treat them similarly. PG also uses servant type of leadership because they always feels that the customers are the boss .And in servant leadership, leaders put the needs of their followers first. According to the John Adair Leadership is a social process in which an individual influences the behavior of others without using the path of violence. Below is the example of how the innovative product is developed under the innovative leadership of PG, which shows some relationship between leader and follower of the PGs. PG crank up on one on one consumer research, so the marketers of PG spend a time with the consumers, watching the way they wash, clean their floors, diapers their babies and asking about their habit and frustration. So based on this one on one technique PG opened a diaper -testing centre right down the hall of their office, where moms watch their babies get undressed, diapered, and measured by PG technicians. So one thing the PG learn from this experience is that parents are frustrated by the time it takes their youngsters to be toilet trained and they have to change their diapers every time when they wet those. So thus based on the comments received from the parents PG launch their new innovative product in the line of pampers whose mission was to dry diapers to helping moms with babys development. Thus how the PG is always innovative in the way of leadership to find new products which improves their relationship with their followers, as the consumers are the main boss of the PG. 7. Future Aspects: Strategy improvement: Through analysis of P Gs multi-brand strategy we realize that many of the benefits of this strategy are clear, but it is very difficult to achieve in the market, they have to note that several aspects of business practice. According to Sanjay Tiwari (2000), they can make some improvement by the ways below. A company which operates a variety of brands must have the appropriate strength; the work of brand extension is complicated.Ãâà From market research to product launch, to advertising, every job has a large number of enterprises to spend manpower and material resources. In the specific operation, they must be through careful investigation, to find the product differentiation. The industries in which according to the specific situation of enterprises, such as Procter Gambles consumer products industry which with easy access to a successful multi-brand strategy.Ãâà Structure Improvement: The improvement of structures of PG possibility could be to have wholly autonomous temporary groups or teams that are responsible for an entire project, and are split up as soon as it is successfully completed. Teams are often not very good for decision-making, and they run the risk of relational problems, unless they are small and have a lot of self-discipline. Actually, team members still require a definite leader, which is indicated from decentralization. It means the separation of the organization into competing autonomous divisions. PG has various branch brands, and some in one subject. Competition between own brands may seems unreasonable. However, changing corporate structure may encourage positive challenges among PG. In addition, appropriate manipulating probably is required during the management process. On the other hand, some inefficiency brands or areas may better to be abolished for saving funds and decrease expenses. Decision- making is very crucial of this innovation, which is easy to regret if prediction is wrong. Various differences of brands among PG could be helpful and practical in different occasions. However, this improvement could go to the opposite and create unexpected situation because sometimes the market could be influenced by news in many ways.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Spanish Resistance to Napoleon Essay -- essays research papers
à à à à à Napoleon and the Spanish Resistance à à à à à Throughout time, the military has been considered one of the key features in a civilization. It has been considered the heart and soul of many countries and empires and has been the center of many cultures. Throughout history we have seen many military leaders and military powers. We have seen military techniques and technology change as we progress. Our schools are filled with legends of great war heroes and hard-fought battles. One such hero is Napoleon Bonaparte, perhaps one of the greatest generals who ever lived. In his adventures and conquest, as general of the French army, he warred against many lands. These included Spain, in which Napoleon met a strong resistance. The Spaniards were using a new military strategy called guerilla warfare, one that Napoleon had no experience against. Guerilla warfare is the use of unconventional war tactics, such as ambush and sabotage, coined by the Spanish rebellion to Napoleon Bonaparte, resulting in an uprising that even he couldnââ¬â¢t put to rest. à à à à à To understand why these tactics were so effective, you must first understand the tactics themselves. Before guerilla warfare was popularized, war was mainly a head-to-head meeting between two armies. This idea of mass confrontation was considered a formal and more manly way to conduct war. However, the Spanish noticed drawbacks to this idea. They had far fewer numbers than the French and by using traditional war methods they were destined for failure. The Spanish started to use guerilla tactics. à à à à à Traditional wars at the time were decided, often, just by a couple of mass confrontations between the two opponents. Each battle would usually consist of a significant number of soldiers going straight towards each other until they forced the other to retreat. Guerilla warfare on the other hand doesnââ¬â¢t rely on this premise. In order to successfully defeat your opponent using guerilla tactics, you must rely instead on a series of smaller confrontations (Free Dictionary). By using these ââ¬Å"hit-and-runâ⬠strategies, guerilla fighters can quickly tire theyââ¬â¢re opponents and not lose as many men. Another difference, is that guerilla war relies heavily on ambush. Ambush is when the ambushing force uses concealment to attack an enemy ... ...oleon returned and heard of the defeat he knew it was the end. Finally realizing that his unstoppable armies had been stopped for good he abdicated on April 11th, 1814. The Peninsular War has helped diminish Napoleonââ¬â¢s armies and expose his weaknesses. His enemies had finally caught on and in the end it was the great Napoleon who finally gave up. à à à à à Guerilla warfare is the use of unconventional war tactics, such as ambush and sabotage, coined by the Spanish rebellion to Napoleon Bonaparte, resulting in an uprising that even he couldnââ¬â¢t put to rest. Guerilla warfare, more in depth, is the use of tactics that donââ¬â¢t involve mass confrontation. They rely more on long drawn out smaller confrontations, slowly but surely weakening the enemy. The most prominent of these was the Peninsular War, fought between the French and the British and the Spanish guerillas. The British were able to keep a strong defensive position and with help from the guerillas eventually drove out the French regime. This loss brought Napoleon closer to defeat and his enemies realized it, causing them to go on the offensive and sack Paris, the final blow to the great Napoleon Bonaparte.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Sino-Tibetan Affairs Essay -- Tibet History Government Papers
The ââ¬Å"Tibet Questionâ⬠has evolved into a Western synthesis of affairs and circumstances that govern the uncertainties of Tibetââ¬â¢s national identity- a mere euphemism concerning the improbabilities of Tibetââ¬â¢s political fate. Tensions seemingly escalate by the day, as questions of Tibetââ¬â¢s impending future become more and more desperate, and to the chagrin of many Tibetans, only the Chinese government has the foresight to ascertain a solution. Though the future of Tibet and China is still more or less unseen, it does happen to serve a function in illuminating the aspects of their rough and tumble past. The premise to my essay concerns itself with the chronological development of Sino-Tibetan foreign relations. From its origins in tribute relations, on through Mongol dynastic rule, and ending in the apocalyptic era of Mao, I intend to explore the various strategic purposes and objectives that led to Tibetan neutrality and Chinese antagonism, the definitive stance of todayââ¬â¢s affairs. The evolution of this relationship is no more than a mirror and reflection of the progression of ethnic kinship into a national identity. The fundamental purpose of my essay is to extend the ââ¬Å"Tibet Question,â⬠so as to include the uncertainties and questions of Tibetââ¬â¢s ethnic identity in conjunction with the real question regarding their political fate. I make the assertion that the conflict of today is simply the culmination of prior ethnic conflicts, and not the struggle for supremacy between two proximal nations. The Tibet Question has been misconstrued so as to consider the Sino-Tibetan conflict exclusively one of politics, but in truth, as my essay should reveal, it transcends borders and exposes greater ethnic attitudes. Origins: An Exami... ...: Oxford University Press, 1962., 475. [5] Smith Jr., Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations, 23. [6] Smith Jr., Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations, 22. [7] Smith Jr., Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations, 23. [8] Smith Jr., Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations, 25. [9] Smith Jr., Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations, 27 [10] Smith Jr., Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations, 27. [11] Melvyn C. Goldstein, The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet and the Dalai Lama, 2. [12] Melvyn C. Goldstein, The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet and the Dalai Lama, 4. [13] Hugh E. Richardson, Tibet and its History, 1-2.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Attention Defecit Disorder Essay -- ADD Behavior Disorders Essays
Attention Defecit Disorder Attention deficit disorder, also called ADD, is defined as 'a disorder primarily a characteristic of childhood, marked by a consistent problem in paying attention,' in the book, The Lifespan by Guy R. Lefrancois (1999). It is more common among boys than girls but can effect all ages. Focusing on children between the ages of five thru ten, it is estimated that three to five percent, which is 1.35 - 2.25 million, of all children are living with ADD. When accompanied by serious hyperactivity, ADD is labeled as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. This disorder makes it very challenging for educators to deal with. Understanding the characteristics of this disorder, how to treat the disorder thru medicine, and how to teach a child with this disorder, will make it better for children and educators inside and out of the classroom. In the article, Teaching Children with Attention Deficit Disorder, it is said that there are two kinds of ADD; regular ADD and ADHD. To have ADHD, a student must portray at least eight of the symptoms from the following list: 1.) fidget, squirm, or seem restless 2.) difficulty remaining in a seated position 3.) easily distracted 4.) difficulty taking turns 5.) blurts out answers 6.) difficulty following instructions 7.) difficulty sustaing attention 8.) does not complete assignments 9.) difficulty playing quietly 10.) talk excessively 11.) interrupts or intrudes on others 12.) does not listen 13.) loses possessions 14.) frequently engage in dangerous actions. It also says that having ADD means that you have a short attention span, impulse control problems, and extreme hyperactivity. The disease begins in infancy and does not end until adulthood. It ha... ... do not know how to teach students with the disorder, then you are failing your duty as an instructor. The only way to help these children is to learn about them first. By doing this, a healthier learning environment is created for you, the students, and the school. References I. Franciois, G. (1999). The Lifespan. Belmont CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. II. (1989). Teaching Children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Eric Clearinghouse. Retrieved April 3, 2005. Cook Library database. III. (1992). Providing an Appropriate Education to Children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Eric Clearinghouse. Retrieved April 3, 2005. Cook Library database. IV. Blair, C. (2003). Self Regulation and School-Readiness. Eric Clearinghouse. Retrieved April 3, 2005. Cook Library database. V. Theresa Davis- Relay Elementary School- Baltimore County Public School
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Cmt Communications Essay
The success of any organization is determined by managers being able to plan, set goals, and make decisions. Decision making is the primary function of management and this task should not be taken lightly. Decisions are made to achieve goals and tie them to company actions and outcomes. According to Peter Drucker, ââ¬Å"Whatever a manager does, he does through decision-making.â⬠When making a decision, managers must take all alternatives into consideration and although one may not have all the answers, a manager must be able to move forward, sometimes immediately, in order to be successful and effective in their decision making process. According to Trewatha & Newport, ââ¬Å"Decision-making involves the selection of a course of action from among two or more possible alternatives in order to arrive at a solution for a given problem.â⬠This is a continuous process that requires managers to have specific knowledge, skills and intellectual abilities. Some managers find this t ask challenging as seen in the case of CMT Telecommunications. In the case of CMT Telecommunications, Manager Dave has been selected to take charge temporarily while his boss is on vacation. His issue is that he has to make a decision to select and assign one of two key managers to take the lead of a new project which entails developing a new CD-ROM self-study course for new software. One manager has extensive experience on the technical side of the house and is in charge of the technical publications department. This manager is skilled in developing detailed manuals on how to use the companyââ¬â¢s equipment and software. The other manager oversees the software training department. He is especially skilled in designing training courses that effectively communicate the technical information from the publications departmentââ¬â¢s manuals. He is known for his excellent presentation skills and for the information being customer friendly and easy to follow. This decision is difficult for Dave because he is friends with both managers but also knows that his decision will reflect his managerial competencies which in the long run can affect his opportunities for advancement. There are three models that decision making fall under: Classical, which is based on rational assumptions and managers beliefs; Administrative Model, which is based on human and environmental limitations and is known to be the most effective model; and the Political Model, which allows collaboration amongst and between managers to facilitate the decision making process when there is uncertainty (Daft, 2013). In this case, the political decision making model is evident in the uncertainty of his ability to make a quick decision. This can be due to his diverse interests in both of the managerââ¬â¢s abilities and past experiences. This is a non-programmed type of decision that Dave needs to make in that it is unique. This is a new project that no one has experienced in the company, let alone Dave as a new project manager having to take the lead and make a difficult decision. There are consequences will play an important role for him personally and professionally. Another aspect of the political model is that Dave realizes he has to get both managers to talk to one another and form a coalition however he fears that this may not be possible given that both managers declared openly that the other department lacked the skills needed to ensure project success. Because both managers are highly skilled and each have a powerful team of employees that can assist with the details and tasks required to ensure the success of the project, they need to be able to work together and form an alliance. By using the political decision making model a manager would engage his team to collaborate and share their diverse ideas, interests and skills, while understanding there are conflicting goals and inconsistent viewpoints. The team would work together towards strategically developing specific goals and in this case, each group could take a certain area of the project to work on then bring them together in hopes to acquire a successful cohesive project outcome. The work of Herbert A. Simon proposes that the two concepts: bounded rationality and satisficing are instruments that shape the administrative model of decision making. Satisficing is when managers choose the first alternative that satisfies the minimum criteria of the decision. Bounded rationality is the concept that managers have to be rational when making decisions based on the amount of time and ability to process all of the information needed to make the decision (Daft, 2013). In the case of David, he does have to make a quick decision mostly because the equipment that needs to be purchased for the project has to be placed immediately. Although Dave understands the differences in opinions from both managers, he has to consider his alternatives in a timely fashion for long-term benefits. He also does not come with much project management experience so his ability to make these types of decisions is limited. As Dave, my plan of action would include the following: * Follow the six steps in the Managerial Decision-Making Process * Discuss project plans with each manager, gather their ideas and perspectives * Brainstorm ideas and develop alternatives that meet both managers needs and that allows for collaboration but at the same time allow for some constructive debate * Use the analytical style of decision making first while considering all the alternatives however switch to the directive style when ready to make the decision * Use intuition and trust in my experience, background, and skills * Take a risk in making the best decision possible without being influenced by emotions or friendships built with the other managers, without thinking too much on past decisions and doubts of my decision making capabilities, have some self-efficacy, and think outside of the box to gather the best ideas and develop strategies to move the project planning phase forward. Every problem can be solved differently depending on the manager, their personality, past experience, education, upbringings, but most importantly their intuition and the risk taking abilities they bring. When making decisions, managers must consider the type of decision that needs to be made, their own managerial style when it comes to making decisions, as well as how rational one can be depending on the decision that needs to be made. One should always consider all the alternatives presented to them as well as the time needed to make a decision. As a manager, one should not be afraid to take risks however should understand the levels of risk depending on the alternatives presented. Being true to what one believes is also important and should always play a part of a managerââ¬â¢s decision making process. References: Kalyan City Life Blog. Decision Making Process in Management-Problem Solving. Retrieved from http://kalyan-city.blogspot.com/2010/06/decision-making-process-in-management.html
Revenue Cycle and Control Activities Essay
The revenue cycle for many companies is considered the primary source to earn revenue from the sale of goods or service. Good controls must be established to maintain the effectiveness of receivables and credit sales, not doing so can harm the company and might be costly to the business. Six classes of internal controls guides us in evaluating and designing transaction processing. They are authorization, supervision, segregation of duties, access control, independent verification, and accounting records. We will discuss each department that is involved in the revenue cycle, itââ¬â¢s activities, and control activities.The first section discusses the departments that make the revenue cycle , starting with Sales Department and ending with Billing Department, knowingly that collections must be received and adjustments must be made. The second section discusses the six activities mentioned earlier. Departments The revenue cycle is composed of five independent (in activities and personnel) departments that are required to make function and make a sale. Each department carry out itââ¬â¢s own, and every department depends on the the preceding department in order to function properly. An additional two activities must be considered in the revenue cycle are collection of receivables and adjustments to sales and receivables. Sales Department Every sales process starts with receiving a customer purchase order- by mail, in person, or telephone. Thus controlling the customerââ¬â¢s orders is carefully done, and operating procedures must be maintained in an adequate manners. The department then identifies and reviews items and quantities to determine whether the order can be placed, then they prepare The Sales Order. The sales order is not the standard format that the sellerââ¬â¢s order processing system needs. The sales order has vital information, such as the customerââ¬â¢s name account number, description of the items sold quantities, and prices. A copy of sales order is placed in the open order file, the customer getting the ordered goods might take days or even weeks. The customer might check about the status of his or her order, order file is updated every time the status of the order changes .It also sets instructions to guide various divisions and department, including credit, finished goods, shipping, billing, and accounts receivable units. Credit Approval Department To provide independence to the credit authorization process, the credit department is organizationally and physically separate from the Sales Department. The credit approval department receives a copy of the sales order from the sales department. The document received serves as an authorization to preform a client credit check. The check includes investigating new customersââ¬â¢ ability to pay and creditworthiness, and a line of credit is established. Typically new checking new customers take time more that existing customers. A good control activity is a limit test, which measures the customer have unused credit. This process set an upper limit that the customer must not pass, if passing it the purchase order by the customer will be denied. Warehouse Procedures After a credit check has been performed and approved, and a sales order is received. The warehouse is responsible of issuing merchandise and items that were mentioned in the sales order to the shipping department. In a typical company that have finished goods in itââ¬â¢s inventory, this inventory is supervised and controlled by a storekeeper. He is responsible for issuing the goods. Another control activity must be done is updating the inventory records by the accountant, not by the storekeeper. This separation of duty prevents theft of inventory. The Shipping department When receiving the finished goods from the warehouse, the shipping clerk must reconcile the products received from the warehouse with the products mentioned in the sales order. This is an important control activity, which ensures send the right products and quantities to the customer who ordered them. Then this department prepares shipping documents , such as the bill of lading as they are loaded into the carrier- cars, trucks etc. These documents numerically controlled and are entered in a shipping register before being forwarded to the billing department. A gate control is done when shipments are made by truck, this ensure that goods have been recorded as shipments. The clerk enters these transaction and sends a shipping notice and stock release to the billing department. The Billing Department Upon receiving the Shipping notice and stock release from the shipping department, a sales invoice with any relevant information about the transactions and bills the customer. Billing departments are responsible of serially numbered shipping documents, comparing documents received from other departments, entering data from sales orderers and purchase order on the sales invoice, applying prices and discount to the invoice, make extensions and footing, accumulating total amounts. Controls should be done to ensure the accuracy of sales invoice before sending them to the customer, such as a second person review. The billing clerk enters the transaction into the sales journal and send the documents to the account receivables and inventory control department. Collection of Receivables Most receivables are either consisted of checks, and remittance advice and collected through the mail. The cashier is responsible for checks and depositing them, and the remittance advice will be forwarded to the account receivable or the data processing department, which will be recorded in the appropriate accounts. Reductions in the AR are posted periodically to the general ledger control account. Adjustments to Sales and Receivables All adjustments to sales for allowances, returns, and write-offs of account receivables should be supported by a credit memo which is serially numbered. This memo must be signed by an employee having no cash handling duties or maintenance over the customersââ¬â¢ ledger. Good Internal controls require that goods must be checked and examined before a credit is given, and the memo should have the serial number of the receiving report on the returned shipment. The treasurer give grant the credit manager the authorization to initiate the process of uncollectible receivable write off. Updating Inventory Records The inventory control function updates the inventory subsidiary from the information included in the stock release document which was prepared by the the warehouse. In a typical perpetual system, every item has itââ¬â¢s own record in the ledger containing data, such as units sold, units received m reorder point, EOQ, and standard cost. The stock release document decrease the amount of the inventory. Over a period of time the total reduction in inventory is summarized in a journal voucher and sent to the general ledger function. Revenue Cycle controls As mention earlier every department of the revenue cycle must have itââ¬â¢s own controls over is activities, doing so might prevent theft, error, fraud, and enhancing the itââ¬â¢s operations. Six controls are to be covered in this section regarding various department and activities in the revenue cycle Transaction authorization this ensure that valid transactions are processed only, and it include credit check and return policy for sales processing and remittance list for cash receipts. Credit Check as mentioned is function carry out by the credit department. This department might uses various test and techniques to determine if the customer is trust worthy or not. Different procedures and done to do credit check, depending on the organization, its relationship with the customer, and the materiality of the transactions. Approving for a new customer might take longer time that existing customer, and a decision that falls within the employee authority may be done quickly. However credit check must be done with consistency of the companyââ¬â¢s policy. Return Policy is also a credit department task, the returns must be authorized by this department before receiving them. the nature of the sales and the circumstances determine the authorization granted. Again policies set by the organization, such as cash refunds, must be taken into consideration for granting returns. Remittance List verifies that customers checks and remittance advice match. This reconciliation might detect errors, such as an extra remittance advice or and absence of a customersââ¬â¢ check, it also might detect a difference between checks and remittances. This list authorizes the posting of a remittance advice to a customerââ¬â¢s account. Segregation of Duties it ensure that separate individual and department processes the transactions. The size and type of an organization affect this type of control, for instance a personally own small business might not need this kind of control, because the owner is the management. The revenue cycle has three rules about the system designers. First, transaction authorization should be separate from transaction processing, such as the warehouse department. The warehouse department cannot issue goods without the confirmation of the credit and the sales department. Second, asset custody should be separate from the task of asset record keeping. For instance, the warehouse department has physical custody over itââ¬â¢s inventory, but the inventory control is in charge of maintaining the record of inventory levels. Last, the organization must be structured so that fraud require collision between two or more individuals. This means that task should be separated, such as different record keeping individuals. An employee with a total record keeping responsibility, in a collusion with an other employee with custody might commit fraud. Separating task needs more people to commit fraud. Supervision is considered a compensating control for companies who have little number of employees to make a segregation of duties. Supervising those employees detects error made, and inadequate functions. This tool is used also in system with a good segregation function. For instance the mail room is a good place to commit theft for check received, cashing it, and destroying and evidence relating to the theft. Although this might be detected when complaints made by a customer about billing him again, but the best solution is preventing it from the beginning. Therefor a good supervision over employees is considered a good prevention control. Accounting Records this control activity describes how a firmââ¬â¢s documents, journals, and ledgers form the system in various stages of processing. Itââ¬â¢s also an important feature of well-designed accounting systems. Prenumbered Documents, are sequentially numbered documents that allow every transaction to be uniquely identified. Tracking event related to documents through t system is easy. Special Journals, The revenue cycle uses a specific journals, such as sales journal and the cash receipts journal. Special journal groups similar transactions into a specific journal. Subsidiary Ledgers, thereââ¬â¢s two subsidiary ledgers in the revenue cycle, the inventory and accounts receivables subsidiary ledgers. They provide links to the documents used to capture the events related to each subsidiary. General Ledgers, these are the basis for every accounting system, and for the preparation of every financial statement. Sales, Inventory, Cost of goods sold, AR, and cash are affected by the revenue cycleââ¬â¢s transactions. Files, temporary and permanent files are opened as a result from the revenue cycle. Some examples are, sales order files, shipping log, credit records file, back order file, journal vouchers, . Access Controls itââ¬â¢s used to grant authorization and permission to employee and access to the firmââ¬â¢s assets, such as the physical assets, cash and inventories. Ways in protecting these assets are: warehouse security, Daily cash deposits, safe/night deposit box, using safes. Access control over information involves restricting access to documents that control physical assets, such as journals and ledgers. Examples of the access risk: Removing oneââ¬â¢s account from Account receivables ledger, do so he company canââ¬â¢t send the customer monthly statements. Access to sales order might trigger unauthorized shipment of a product. Access to general ledger and cash might steal and cover it up by adjusting the ledgers. Independent Verification the main reason independent verification is to verify and assure how accurate and complete the tasks are. Independent verification occur at various point is the process, so that errors are detected and dealt with quickly. Independent Verification in the revenue cycle occur at the following points. First, The shipping department reconciled the goods sent from warehouse with the quantity and type ordered by the customer. this is done by reconciling the stock release document with the packing slip. Second, The billing department reconciles sales ordered with the shipping notice to ensure sending the right invoice with the quantities and prices ordered by the customer. Last, Before posting to any control accounts, the general ledger function reconciles various journal vouchers and summary reports which were prepared independently. Other Controls include verifying approved buyer, this is not frequently used, but sometimes a purchase order might be completed and signed by and unauthorized person from the client company. Stamp approval on sales order. It is possible for sales orders to be fraudulently routed around the credit department and sent to the warehouse,s o an approval stamp to be used on each sales order. Prenumber sales order forms. Only prenumbered sales order documents should be used. By doing so, the company can track which sales order numbers did not reach the billing department, which may indicate that a delivery was not invoiced. Lock up unused sales order forms. It is possible for someone to enter an order to a shell company on an unused sales order form, fraudulently stamp it as approved by the credit department, and route it to the warehouse as authorization for a delivery. References. 1. Whittington, O.Ray, and Pany,Kurt.(2001).Principles of Auditing and other assurance services.13th edition.New York: Irwin. 2. Hermanson, Roger, and Strawser, Jerry, and Strawser, Robert.(1989).Auditing Theory and Practice.5th edition. Boston: Irwin. 3. Bragg, Steven. 2009. Accounting Control: Best Practices. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons Inc. 4. Hall, James. Accounting Information Systems. 7th edition. Ohio. Cengage Learning. 5. Wilkinson, Joseph and Cerullo, Micheal and Wong-on-Wing, Bernard and Raval, Vasant .2000 .Accounting Information Systems: Essential Concepts and Applications.Wiley 6. Mooney, Kate. 2008. The essential accounting dictionary. 1st edition. Illinois: Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of sourcebooks, inc.
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