Importance of Preparing Budgets and the Budgeting Process Essay

Importance of Preparing Budgets and the Budgeting Process - Essay Example The main advantage of budgeting and the budgeting process is that it provides a way of communicating management’s plan for the future and the financial need for the future (Garrison and Noreen, 2002). The budget helps in setting the targets that all the departments have to achieve, and also acts as a standard for measuring the performance of the company. The budgeting process also forces the manager to think about the future, instead of focusing on daily emergencies and to make long-term plans (Garrison and Noreen, 2002). Without the necessity of preparing a budget, management would not be forced to consider long-term plans for profitability and growth. The budgeting process also helps management in allocating financial resources to the areas of the organization that show the most potential for growth. From an analysis of operations, the budgeting process can also uncover potential drawbacks before they occur (Garrison and Noreen, 2002). As already stated, the budgeting process analyzes all areas of operation of the company, and as such, helps in identification of potentially problematic areas. This helps the company to plan for contingencies and extra financial resources. The above analysis also highlights another importance of the budgeting process, where the budgets are used to establish the financial needs of the company (Garrison and Noreen, 2002). The master budget helps in the identification of expected cash inflows and outflows from operations, and from this, the company can determine the cash deficiencies and excesses at the end of the financial period. This helps in determining whether the company will need to borrow funds or invest any excess returns. Finally, budgeting helps the organization to integrate all its functions and centralize the planning function (Garrison and Noreen, 2002). From the budget, all the functions of the different departments are identified, and  since it acts as a master plan, all the functions of the organization are directed at a common purpose. This also serves as a benchmark for all operations, where the performances of the different departments are measured against the standards set by the budget.  

Critical Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Response - Essay Example Population growth and reduction in resources has been a widely discussed dilemma since nineteenth century. However, initially the idea of lack of resources was put forward in 1789, by Reverend Thomas Malthus; his worst fear was global starvation. He pointed out, when growth of a population is not controlled with rapidly depleting non-renewable resources and degrading the capacity of the environment to support its inhabitants; such area is overpopulated and soon becomes the victim of famine, disease or war and requires reducing its human overload. Malthus advocated delay in the time of marriage to check overpopulation, which was purely hypothetical and its implementation was difficult. Malthus predicted overpopulation and tried to stabilize the long term economy of the state, but his theory of late marriages became rather controversial and was considered impractical (Overbeek, 1977, p 4). His theory was condemned by many critics, as it failed to identify the source of the problem and didn’t provide any potential solution, to increase food resources through science and technology. His theory put a stop on the enthusiasm of some of the scholars, who considered growth of population as a sign of development. None of the attention was shed on the subject as his theories were considered misanthropic in that time. Colin D. Butler further explains the scenario by giving examples from the start of 1934, when biotechnological research reached their pinnacle and increased life expectancy, thus decreasing global food supply to nourish the increasing human population. This situation also alerted politicians, demographers as well as the common public and US presidents of different time periods increased their support to different family planning campaigns in different zones of high population. Almost every Theorist and Scientist accept the kind of stress the world is facing and most of it is due to lack of resources. Arguments arise when reasons of these deficiencies a re being discussed. Anup Shah in Global Issues suggest that the reason to most of the problems might be related to the way we produce, consume and waste our resources, which also reflects our lifestyles and its related issues. (Shah, 1998, p 3) In 1970, new crop strains were introduced by â€Å"Green Revolution† which in the period which was predicted to be shadowed by famine, war or disease. Fortunately, this period turned out to be a period of optimism for health sector. The introduction of contraceptives reduced the fertility rate, but did little to control the annual global population growth which concerned many global demographers and scientists. Norman Borlaug, father of Green revolution warned that the organization can feed three decades, only with correct fertility control measures. After which, China announced its one-child policy in 1979. Infliction of forced abortions and restriction on birth caused more psychological problems than ever. This has imbalanced the nat ural process of reproduction and is an artificial method to control the population, which shows not an extensive change in economic condition. Thus, it has become a reason of reduced production in human capital. (Chow, 2007, p 203) Butler further described extensive revolutions that occurred in the economic environment of many countries during 1970s that led to the concern of overpopulation fade away. US decreased its foreign aid, but continued its policies such as Keynesianism, which

Strategic public relation - Philadelphia Spread Cheese Research Paper

Strategic public relation - Philadelphia Spread Cheese - Research Paper Example e something that makes them noticeable from the crowd, something that makes them more attractive and fascinating to both the media and members of the public (Heath 103). A positive image can help augment a companys sales and unconstructive publicity can harm a companys reputation and decrease sales. Many people perceive PR as a way to turn news and information, thus portraying the news or information in the best possible way for the company (Doyle 2). For instance, if a company announces retrenchments, its PR department will allege that the company is cutting down on its costs and making itself more proficient to serve its customers better and offer lower prices (Walter 42). As long as it is true, then the PR section will be doing a great job of guarding its reputation and image. Stretching the true reality to create a positive image, on the other hand, can end up being damaging to the company if hyperboles or even half-truths are exposed (Jacque 4). The globalization of the food and beverage industry has transformed the process of producing and distributing food products in a way that clearly separates food production from food consumption (Agee 19). As a result of this circumstance, the links between productions and consumption are diverse and consist of elements of technology and heterogeneous socioeconomic producers, suppliers, and consumers (Lindenmann 3). In the current, very dynamic and multifaceted business environment, the importance of a product and its reinforcement is one of the key areas in the spotlight. The large, modern Middle East markets such as Saudi Arabia also show that significant further long-term growth is potentially high. This report sets out the market position of Philadelphia (philly – world-renowned cream cheese) cheese spread in UAE and Saudi Arabia. Philadelphia is a billion-dollar brand by Kraft. Philadelphia cheese spread is trying to break into the Middle East market. This report provides a background in which to view public

Interview methods for children as eyewitnesses Essay

Interview methods for children as eyewitnesses - Essay Example The special circumstances under which children may be interviewed such that their testimony yields credible, admissible evidence requires special support in recent legal reforms. For this reason, advances in legislation in many countries have greatly improved the manner in which children are interviewed in court.1 This is because young children above the age of 5 are highly susceptible to suggestive influences that may affect the credibility of their testimony in court. Suggestibility of very young children Bruck, Ceci, Francoeur & Barr 2 studied the influence of postevent suggestion on children’s accounts of their visit to the doctor. After their DPT shots, children were given one of three types of feedback: (1) that the shot hurt (pain affirming); (2) that it did not hurt (pain denying); and (3) that the shot is over (neutral). One year after, the children were again visited, and were again given either pain denying or neutral feedback in three separate visits. They were als o given either misleading or non-misleading information about the actions of the nurse and doctor. Children given pain denying feedback reported that they did not cry or hardly at all, and said the shot did not hurt, or at least hurt less than the children who received neutral feedback. Also, children who were given misleading information about the actions of the nurse and doctor made more false allegations about their actions than children not given misleading information. ... The study showed that timing of the misinformation affected the memories of single and repeated events, depending on the combination of event-misinformation and misinformation-test delays rather than overall retention interval. In the study by Milne and Bull,4 and that of Holliday,5 the objective was to examine if the cognitive interview would enhance the recall of events when used with children, and whether the cognitive interview increased children’s resistance to suggestive questions. (The cognitive interview focuses on the cognitive processes respondents use to answer survey questions, and the interview is held in some private location such as a laboratory environment.6) In the experiment, eight to ten year old children were shown a video recording of a magic show. The following day they were interviewed individually, some using cognitive interview and some using structured interview. A pre-set list of leading or suggestive questions was given to the children either before or after the interview. The findings were that the children who were interviewed using the cognitive interview had a better and more accurate recall of significantly more details. They were also more resistant to suggestive questions subsequently asked. The study established that the cognitive interview was found to comprise a reliable interviewing technique that enhance recall and enables children to be more resistant to the influence of misleading and suggestive questions. There were implications in other studies. For instance, it was found that both true and false memories tended to increase with age, but did not differ for children who were maltreated as against those who were not.7 Also, suggestibility effects were

JP Morgans Financial Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

JP Morgans Financial Risk Management - Essay Example ures established by the bank to control the credit derivatives trading carried out by the chief investment office were insufficient to shield the bank from the external material risks that arose from the trading strategies and positions adopted by the CIO; The risk management model adopted by the bank lacked adequate processes and procedures to monitor, measure understand, and control the risk arising from the credit derivatives trading activities of the chief investment office; and The valuation procedures used by the chief investment office lacked adequate and effective assessment as the credit derivatives trading strategy adopted by the CIO increased the CIO’s risk based on the Value at Risk model adopted by the bank. This resulted in the CIO adopting a new Value at Risk model, which increased its risk but continued to use the risk limits used in the earlier ‘VaR’ model (Belshaw, 2013). Belshaw, G. 2013. Department of the Treasury: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Consent Order. Consent Order. Accessed February 11, 2014

National Interest of State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

National Interest of State - Essay Example The paper shall look at the various aspects which are imperative in the creation of national and foreign policy. Since the policies framed at the national level are maligned in the structure of foreign policy, it is crucial to understand the growing relation between the two of these policies. â€Å"The main reason why the notion of national interest is given such enormous, indeed decisive, weight in explaining the foreign policy behavior of any country, including India, is because of the widespread belief that the Realism paradigm, even in its crudest form, accurately describes and explains the essential character and functioning of the world order.† The paper shall analyze the disparity, if any, between realism and national interest. This will help the reader understand where the distinction lies between the independence of the policies as well as the dependency on reality for a nation to frame its policies. Current affairs take a major toll in shaping the policy of any state and therefore it is imperative to gain an understanding of the same. Introduction: A state is an actor in international politics which is dependent on other nations. A state does not have a specific way of running the country as the focus of the nation keeps on changing and shifting from time to time. This is so because the external politics of the world also keeps on changing and this influences the current state of the nation at any given point of time. A state has many diverse interests to cater to and this hugely influences the national interest of the state. Lets us define national interest: â€Å"A broad term for any matter of public concern that is addressed by a government in law or policy.† National interest of any state is the matter which concerns the government of the State with respect to its functioning internally and externally. Every country strives to fulfill everything in the notion of achieving its national interest, and it comes as the most fundamental and important aspect in the governance of any country. Therefore, it is crucial to understand that international treaties, deals, partnerships as well as relations are made and broken on the basis of country’s national interest. If the State is indulging in an act and it is not satisfying its national interest then it would not go ahead with such an act. Having established national interest as the most important factor in the actions of any state, we shall now move on to understanding how national interest is governed on a national and international level with respect to Nation-State. â€Å"According to this paradigm the world is basically an inter-state system where states are the primary, unitary and rational actors. Moreover, the state is perceived in a cartographic and not sociological sense, i.e. as a 'national-territorial totality' encompassing that whole space marked on any map as the country in question.† Understanding from the above statement, a State is always inter-related with different nation states. This defeats the idea of t otal independence, which is true in this context to the extent that States are always dependent on each other to perform actions pertaining to their national interests. Looking from a geo-political angle, it is the relations between the states which influence the world

Peace-Building Challenges in East Timor Essay Example for Free

Peace-Building Challenges in East Timor Essay For a country that was under the tyranny of a more powerful country for so long, independence, more often than not, is a word that entails and carries a better and promising future. Most countries enjoyed the benefits of having independence like gaining total control over their lands and most of all the whole population. Timor-Leste (East Timor’s official name), on the other hand, is a country that has a different scenario. Although the actual date of independence was around November of 1975, East Timor was touted to be the first independent country of the 21st century. But this fact didn’t give them enough time to prepare for an independent way of life. The reason behind this was the three hundred and more years of influence and oppression of the Portuguese empire. No wonder that even the culture and the way of thinking of most of the Timorese were a lot different compared to the time when the Portuguese did not rule them. Then after exactly nine days of independence from the Portuguese, East Timor was taken off guard by the invasion of their neighboring country, Indonesia1. Obviously, this was one of the immediate problems that confronted the newly independent country. In fact the invasion became their greatest problem that East Timor sought the help of their former invader. Portugal then turned to the UN and the Security Council to do something about the situation. In response to Portugal’s appeal, the UN gave the Indonesian army a resolution condemning their actions but they were hesitant to do anything else. It was only after twenty-four years did the Timorese people gained back their complete independence. The 24-year military occupation of the Indonesian troop was a brutal experience for the East Timor people. In September 1999, the world witnessed the war between the Indonesian Army and the East Timorese militant after voting for the Independency of the country2. Even though more than a decade had passed since their independence and more than five years since they were self-governing, it will take more than just mere decades to remove the trauma, patterns of criminality and violence, injustice and isolation in the people’s system3. This is one of the immediate problems that East Timor is facing. The nature of the East Timor’s long-term problem falls under the category of standing on it’s own foot. Governing the whole country while enduring the effects of the precedent events is taking its toll on the administration. Scheiner notes that, ‘National visions, shared struggles and promises of prosperity no longer suffice to unify the one million citizens of one of the world’s least developed countries. ’ East Timor endured its past problems with the help of other countries. It is due time to stand up on its own. The problem now lies in the midst of the country and between its people.