The maintenance of accurate records Essay Example

The maintenance of accurate records Essay Example The maintenance of accurate records Essay The maintenance of accurate records Essay unless there is a change in circumstances when a different approach might be warranted. In this situation full disclosure is made in the accounts. * Prudence concept: provision for doubtful debts and valuation of stock are examples of the prudence concept. The company requires to give a conservative profit figure when there is any doubt, this avoids an over optimistic appearance of the companys annual reports. * Going concern concept: this states that the organisation will continue operating in the foreseeable future. The annual reports are drawn up with no intention to decrease the size of the company; otherwise assets could have different values that will have a huge amplify on its balance sheet. Accounting policies: This policy emphasises on the method each business uses, to demonstrate the effect of transactions, assets and liabilities in its accounts. Referring back to the example in the consistency concept, a business needs to select one appropriate method to depreciate each class of fixed assets e.g. reducing balance method or straight line method. Accounting standard: Accounting standards are a set of rules to frame the accounting of a limited company, which fall under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or UK Statements of Standard Accounting Practise (SSAP). The choice of standards will depend on the type of company. A publicly listed company is required by law to produce its financial statements using IFRS. FRS 18 Accounting policies: This policy is an extended version of the consistency concept; it states that a business needs to select the most relevant accounting policies to its business circumstance in order to give a true and fair view. The accounting policies need to be reviewed at regular intervals to make certain that they are still relevant to the business circumstances and are adjusted when required. Enough information is revealed in the financial statements to allow users to understand the accounting policies used and how they have been implemented. SSAP 5 Accounting for Value Added Tax (VAT): VAT is a form of tax that is charged on the supply of goods at a rate up to 17.5%, which is charged at each stage throughout the production and distribution channel. Businesses generating a certain amount of turnover must register for VAT, and generally each quarter makes VAT payments on the total of output tax collected on sales made subtracted the total of input tax collected on purchases to HMRC. If a circumstance where the amount of the input tax is larger than the output tax, the business has got the right to claim the difference of the VAT from HRMC. Besides personal taxation and VAT, the company is liable for corporation taxation as well. Russell Stokes needs to pay out a certain percentage of Corporation Tax calculated from its net profit; all companies in the UK are liable to this tax as stated under various Taxes Acts. Companies that generate taxable profits (being reported profits adjusted for certain items allowed by tax laws) up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300 000 need to make a payment of 19%; companies generating taxable profits over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.5 million are charged 30%. Companies generating taxable profits between à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300 000 and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.5m are charged Corporation tax on a marginal rate of 32.55 to claw back the benefit of the small companies rate by the time the upper profit limits is reached. The full rate of Corporation tax will decrease to 28% with effect from 1 April 2008. Any internal stakeholder at Kutz ltd, who is classified as an employee is eligible for National Insurance payments to cover state benefits (including medical through the NHS and pensions). Employees with earnings below à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 per week make no contribution. Between à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100-670 per week employees pay 11% over the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 and employers pay 12.8% over the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 floor. An additional 1% is paid by employees and amounts exceeding à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½670 per week and employers pay an additional 12.8% on the wages exceeding à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½670 per week. A new company has specific rules which need to be obtained when deciding under what name the company can trade. The Business Names Act 1985, Company and Business Names Regulation 1981 states that a business cannot register and trade under the name of an existing company e.g. Marks ; Spencer, words such as Royal and Government are not permitted to use and names that origins discrimination or offence are not permitted to use as well. Limited companies have special formalities that must be followed: Public Limited Companies (plc) * The company is required to display on all its paperwork that it is a plc. * A starting up authorised share capital of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 000 distributed to its share holders. * It must have a minimum of two directors and two members, and a secretary to be able to operate. Private Limited Companies (ltd) * The company is required to display on all its paperwork that it is an Ltd. * It must have a minimum of one director and a secretary to be able to operate. Companies trading as a Plc or Ltd must both complete the following forms which needs to be sent to Companies House * An Article of Association * a Memorandum of Association * Form 10 * Form 12 Article of Association: This document states the following: * The companys internal workings * The issue and transfer of shares * The meetings and voting of members Memorandum of Association: * The business objectives * The location of the companies registered office e.g. Wales, England or Scotland. * The companies name Form 10: This form must be completed be signed and completed by a new establishing companies, it states the following: * The details of the first director and secretary * The address of the registered office * Name and address of the company * Date of birth, occupation and details of the board of directors Form 12: This form needs to be signed by a professional legal person e.g. the companies solicitor or secretary, it is a statutory declaration that states that all legal requirements regarding to a limited company has been completed. The legal requirements of partnerships and sole traders are less onerous compared to a limited company. Sole trader and partnerships must also comply with the Business Names Act and Regulations as discussed earlier. Similar to a limited company, partnerships and sole traders are also liable for taxations. A sole trader needs to make a payment of up to 40% on its taxable profit for Corporation tax, whereas in a partnership the rate of tax that is due per partner depends on the ratio distribution of the profits each partner receives and the level of profit. . For example: partnership xyz has a taxable profit of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300 000, it will need to pay à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½120 000 tax allocated between the partners based on their share of interest in the partnership. The owners or partners (who are classified as self employed for tax purposes) need to make a contribution towards National Insurance which is a fixed amount of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.20 per employee weekly. If annual generated profit is less than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4635, then the partner or sole trader is not charged for National Insurance. Even though a sole trader and a partnership have lots in common due to its similar structure of ownership, there are some differences as a partnership has a statutory framework to follow. The Partnership Act 1890 shows the details of the statutory framework, which include the following: * The partnership is shaped to make a profit and there must be a sharing distribution for the profits * The partners must have common actions, to enable them to have an equal say in the management * The partners must be carrying on a business, I.e. they must be operating a trade (for example, accountancy partnerships carry on the business of providing accounting, tax and audit services) Layout/Template As technology is advancing it enables businesses to use computerised accounting systems instead of manual book keeping, which helps in the production of accurate and efficient decision making. Small businesses such as a sole trader could use spread sheet for forecasting and financial modelling. The use of spreadsheet ensures the accounts are more accurate due to the automatic calculations and formulas. As everything is linked to each other due to the formula, when something is adjusted everything will be automatically updated. Computers set up properly tend to make fewer mistakes than humans! As Kutz ltd is a Limited company it can make use of accounting packages such as SAGE to record its book keeping and to produce annual statements. The key advantage of using accounting softwares is that it can produce automatic reports , which will helps with the control and monitor of the business as the reports can be used as statistics to analyse trends occurring, which will be an important factor to rely on when analysing ratios. Furthermore it decreases the chance of mistakes occurring as entry is made only once for each transaction. Nevertheless, the main drawbacks of a computerised system include capital cost of the installation, the cost of training employees to be familiar with the system, health problems occurring and the danger of system crashing. Even though the introduction of the computerised accounting system could cause short term difficulties it will have long-term benefits; it will have a clear view of its debtors, which will enable quicker debt collection that will increase the inflow of money. For this reason I think it is a very useful tool to use. It also tends to be more accurate, reliable, quicker and able to deal with large volumes. The key reasons to use templates or to follow a specific layout when preparing annual statements (e.g. trading, profit and loss statement (P/L) and balance sheet), it allows the business to make comparison between companies and firms operating in a similar industry worldwide. It is more accessible to external stakeholders such as shareholders, who are interested if investment is worthwhile. The layouts of the annual statements of a sole trader are slightly different compared to the annual accounts of a limited company because of the different industry the business is operating in. Referring to appendix 1A, the P/L template of a sole trader has a clearer structure as it is separated into three columns; it represents an understandable view of its income and expenses. While the P/L template of a limited company has got two columns, especially a public limited company because as they need to publish their accounts to the public they would want to represent the company positive as possible, (Referring to Appendix 1B). The trading account, which is the top section on the P/L of a sole trader and limited company are done in the same way; the way gross profit is calculated. The major difference is in the profit and loss account, the bottom section. In a sole trader P/L, after adding any income and deducting any expenses from the gross profit it will have a net profit figure. Wh ile the P/L of a limited company will have an appropriation section at the bottom, which will show the distribution of net profit. Corporation tax is deducted from profit before tax to give an after tax number. Tax is another expense of the business. The appropriation section is divided into the following sections: * Interim and final dividends * Retained profit Interim dividends paid This is dividends that are paid half way through the year to shareholders. They come in two forms depending upon the capital structure of the group, ordinary shares and preference shares: Preference shares: the shareholders that get paid off first e.g. employees Ordinary shares: the shareholders that get paid off after preference shares. Dividends proposed A share of the profits paid to share holders after dividends have been paid; this again comes in two forms preference shares and ordinary shares. Referring to appendix 2a/b, the balance sheet of a sole trader and limited company have similar headings; fixed assets, current assets, current liabilities and long term liabilities. However, the bottom section represents the equity in the business owned by the shareholders. The financed by section of a sole traders balance sheet will be funded with the owners equity; opening capital, net profit and drawings. While the financed by section of a limited company will be funded by; authorised share capital, issued share capital, capital reserves and revenue reserves. * Authorised share capital: is the value and number of the shares the company is permitted to issue. * Issued share capital: is the value and the number of shares the company has issued. * Capital reserves: represent other reserves generally established by law. This might include the share premium account representing the amount received upon the issue of shares in excess of the shares nominal value (if a company receives à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 per share for a share that has a nominal value of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1, a share is issued at a premium of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9 and this is taken to the share premium account that can be used only for certain purposes prescribed by law). * Revenue reserves: retained profit from the Profit and loss account Task F Ratio After drawing up final accounts, a business would want to assess the businesss strengths and weaknesses. This can be done through calculating ratios, which enables management to draw up conclusions on the profitability, solvency and performance of the business. The ratios enable Russell to analyse current years performance, identify trends occurring through comparing the ratio with previous years and to compare its result to a business operating in the similar industry as a bench mark. Unfortunately I could not have access to the annual accounts of a business operating in the similar industry as Kutz ltd as the information is kept confidential; therefore I was not able to measure Kutz ltd ratios to a bench mark The table below represents Kutz ltd ratio figure and its calculations are on the workings page see appendix. year 2006 year 2007 Profitability Ratios Profitability Ratios Gross margin 62.04% Gross margin 61.94% Net margin 0.74% Net margin 10.89% ROCE 2.22% ROCE 41.00% Liquidity ratio Liquidity ratio acid test ratio 10:1 acid test ratio 2.68:1 current ratio 22:1 current ratio 6.49:1 Performance ratio Performance ratio debtor collection period 34 days debtor collection period 73 days creditor collection period 15 days creditor collection period 55 days stock turnover 183 days stock turnover 242 days * Profitability ratios It shows the relationship between profit, sales turnover, assets and capital employed. Basically how much profit the business makes weighting it against its size. Gross profit margin This represent the gross profit figure, it shows the link between the revenue generated (sales) and cost of sales. It indicates how much profit the business has made on every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of sale before subtracting any expenses. The higher the gross profit margin is the better. A successful business needs to have a sufficient figure for gross profit margin to be able to cover its expenses and to maintain an up to standard return on capital. If there is a huge decrease in the gross profit margin compared to the previous years, the business should start making investigations into the selling price and purchasing. The table above demonstrates that for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of sale, the gross profit earned was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½62.04 in 2006. The following year it dropped to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 61.94. There is a minor decrease of 0.1% in the gross profit margin that is not a big issue; this could have occurred due to the increase in the prices of raw materials while the same selling price is retained or a decrease in the volume of sales. To prevent the decrease over the long term to happen in the years following, Kutz ltd should take action to avoid bigger decreases through looking for suppliers with lower prices or to persuade the salons with offering discounts, to increase the volume of sales. Net profit margin This represents the net profit figure; it shows the link between the revenue generated and the total expenses of the business. It indicates how much profit the business has made on every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of sale after subtracting all expenses. The net profit margin figure should increase each year if possible, which shows that the business is keeping its expenditure under control. As with gross profit, net profit should be investigated when a huge decrease occurs. The table shows that in the year 2006 for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of sales the business earned à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½0.74 after all operating costs and cost of sales had been covered. The following year it increased to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.89, this is a positive aspect as Kutz ltd will receive a higher return on capital; huge increase in net profit. Bearing in mind that net profit and gross profit are strongly linked together, this is not always necessarily true as you can see Kutz ltd has increased it net profit by 10.15% whereas it has decreased its gross profit. It could have happened due to a huge decrease in expenditure. Kutz ltd should try to maintain the reduction of expenditure through building up good relationships with its creditors and try to negotiate lower prices or making use of economies of scale. ROCE Return on capital employed is the most significant ratio; it shows the link between the capital and net profit earned. The best way to measure the ROCE is to compare it to other investments, for example would I receive greater return on my capital if I put the capital in a savings account? The table shows that in the year 2006 for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 invested into the business, the profits were à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 2.22. The following year for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 invested into the business, the profits were à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½41.00; this shows an increase of 38.78% a better result. This has been occurred due to the huge increase in the net profit margin. The current interest rates are 5.5%, so if I was putting à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 into a savings account I would be receiving a return of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 5.5 for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100. However, as an investor I would be investing my money into Kutz ltd because I would be receiving a greater return on my capital with à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½41. In conclusion the overall profitability is positive, Russell should try to maintain on this level of performance if not try to increasing the profitability would be better * Solvency ratios: This shows the financial stability of the business, how quickly the business can cover its current liabilities with its current assets. (How quickly it can pay off its debts) Current ratio This shows the link between current assets and current liabilities. An ideal figure would be 2:1, which means the business will have assets worth à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2 to cover every liability worth à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1. You need to consider that this ideal figure is not applicable to a business operating in a retail industry because immediate payments are made for sales; this decreases the number of debtors. This will result in a lower current ratio figure e.g. 1.5:1 or even less. The table shows that in the year 2006 the current ratio was 22:1. In the year 2007 the current ratio was 6.49:1, it decreased nearly 3 times it has improved. Kutz ltd had tied up assets in unproductive resources in 2006, which was more under control in 2007. It is currently still a huge figure compared to the ideal figure, therefore the Kutz ltd isnt in its best state of liquidity it should have been. Furthermore Kutz ltd has got an enormous amount of cash tied up in working capital of stock of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½150000 and debtors of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½104000 outstanding. Acid test ratio This ratio works in the similar way to the current ratio; the only difference is that stock has been omitted. Stock has been omitted as it is the least liquid asset; it takes long to convert it into cash. The ideal figure is 1:1; the business will have for every à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 of liability à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 of assets to cover it. The table shows that in the year 2006 the acid test ratio was 10:1. In the year 2007 the acid test ratio was 2.68:1, a decrease of 7.32 a positive aspect. Even though the figure of the acid test ratio has decreased, it is quite high currently compared to the ideal figure. Comparing the current ratio to the acid test ratio, it decreased nearly 3 times. This shows that Kutz ltd relies mainly on its stock of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½150000, which is why it has not got enough cash flowing in. Russell should use its assets more efficiently through selling off its stock using discounts and making use of just in time production in the future rather than having too much stock piled up, this will enable him to expand in the current product range as he suggested because then he will have enough fund that will support his suggestion. In conclusion, overall the solvency of Kutz is lacking and the suggested improvements should be made, which were discussed earlier on. Performance ratios This shows how effectively management controls the current aspects of the firm, whether assets and liabilities are being utilised properly. Creditor collection period This ratio shows on average, how long the business takes to pay its creditors. This figure should be higher than the debtor collection period; if its shorter the business might face cash flow problems. The table shows that in the year 2006, it took Kutz ltd15 days to pay its creditors. In the following year it took him 55 days, an increase of 40 days which is a good thing although too long, might impact relationships with suppliers. Russell could use this as a useful temporary source of finance; however payments over 60 days can cause problems. Russell should try to prevent an increase in the years following as this will establish poor relationships with its suppliers, which will have a negative impact on Kutz ltds reputations. Debtor collection period This ratio shows on average, how long it takes a business to collect it debts the ideal figure is 30 days. The quicker it can collect it debts the better. If the number of days is rising from year to year, the firm might be facing difficulties in collecting money it is owed to. The table shows that in the year 2006, it took Kutz ltd 34 days to collect it debts, which is an acceptable figure. However in the year 2007, it took him 73 days. This is nearly increased twice, which is a bad result. The huge increase could make Kutz ltd end up in cash flow problems as he does not have enough inflows to pay of his outflows e.g. creditors, instalments and interest of his loan. When comparing the debtor and creditor, the creditors are being paid much quicker than cash is being received from the debtors. The situation should be the other way around. Kutz ltd could prevent this through offering discounts for early payments or charge the creditors for late payments. I predict that if Russell doesnt take any action based on the debtors collection period, it should increase the provision for doubt full debts. Even though this will decrease gross profit but it will prevent him from overspending and getting trapped into current liabilities he cannot afford. Stock turnover: This ratio measures how many times a business turns its stock around in an accounting period. The table shows that in the year 2006, Kutz ltd turned its stock over every 183 days. In the year 2007, it took Kutz ltd 242 days to turn it stock over, it has increase by 59 days, this has worsened the situation. This shows that the stock has either increased or the trading has slowed down, increased investment in stock means that the stock is piled up in the warehouse. As part of my secondary research, we went to Price Waterhouse Coopers. I received feedback from my mentor on my work; he suggested to me that Russell should stop purchasing more stock and perhaps invest into a new product range that might result in a quicker stock turnover. In conclusion, overall the performance of this business is lacking as well, it should try to make improvements for the future. Limitation of ratios: Bearing in mind that ratio is a useful business tool to use to analyse; performance, solvency and the profitability of the business, however it has got its draw backs as well: * Different companies use different accounting policies, which makes comparison difficult. * It does not necessarily show future performance as the data is based on numbers only, it should bear in mind the external factors it could affect; economical influences. * It needs to be compared with the businesss past performance, in Kutz ltd case it only had one previous years to compare the data with, which didnt enable me to identify trends occurring as the data was very narrow. Task G Cost of the business having too much cash, including loss of interest and opportunity costs. It is a superior aspect to have a positive bank balance, because this prevents Russell to suffer from cash flow problems; a good state of liquidation. Nevertheless if Russells bank balance is too huge this might mean that he is using his cash ineffectively. Even though he will be earning interest on his cash at the bank account but as shown in the example of ROCE, it could be earning a greater return if he invested the money in other more profitable operating activities. He could also make use of the business tool; opportunity cost in this situation, as he can only spend his money once he would need to consider his most relevant option. For example, If Russell had a huge bank balance and he chooses to expand through investing in new machinery or diversification through buying new beauty products. The danger he would be facing is that if he suddenly needs his money to support the financial state of the business, he would need to sell the machine or his stock most likely at a lower pri ce, which will result in a loss. Costs of the business holding too little cash, such as inability to meet creditors demand and need to borrow at expensive rates It is a negative aspect to have too little cash, because this could make Kutz ltd suffer from cash flow problems as he would not have the funds to cover his current liabilities. If the business is facing problems to cover its current liabilities, during the short term Russell could obtain an external or internal source of finance. It could get an arranged bank overdraft, which is an effective way to cover the cash flow shortage. Nevertheless, overdrafts are very expensive due to the high interest rate charged. It could also try to pay off his creditors as late as possible to use the cash somewhere else for the time being, however late payments could cause problems with Kutz ltd creditor. Furthermore creditors could also charge interest on the debt as a penalty for late payments or they could start to lose confidence in Kutz and stop trading with them. In addition, this will have an effect on the profitability and solvency of the business. Russells current ratio suggests that he has excess cash stored in his business, which is not a good aspect as discussed earlier. Whereas when comparing the current ratio with the acid test ratio, a conclusion can be drawn up that he has not got excess liquid cash (once stock had been taking out). Based on the analysis of the ratios it shows that the business has a huge amount of stock piled up in its warehouse; 242 days. In addition the business has got too much assets, which is not being use effectively. Kutz ltd could be converting the huge amount of stock into liquid cash through selling off his stock in bulks and offering discounts to its customers, as a result this will improve the cash flow of the business He should also send out reminding letter to his debtors that are overdue as his debtor collection period has increased enormously compared to the previous year. As stated earlier, otherwise in view of his large amount of debtors, his provision for doubtful debts could increase in the future and he would not be able to meet his liabilities. To prevent the decrease in Kutz ltd cash flow in the future, it should try to decrease the number of stock purchased through applying the business term just-in-time to its stock as discussed earlier. Kutz ltd doesnt have a huge problem in its state of cash but he is using it ineffectively, which results in a poor cash flow management. The huge decrease in its stock turnover shows that Kutz is having lower volumes of sales; there is not enough demand compared to the supply he is offering, he could improve this through introducing a new product range related to hairdressing e.g. beauty products. My advice to Russell is to use the cash available for expansion through purchasing a new range of beauty products; using diversification as he mentioned as one of his aims. I suggest that he purchases a small amount of beauty products at the beginning and see how profitability, performance and solvent his new investment is, particularly if the stock turns over has increased. If it is very successful he should continue operating with the new product range, as he will be able to utilise his cash quicker because he will make higher profits than the current product range. However, if the product range is not successful it can try to invest in a new resource and it would not have a big impact upon the business as he has only invested in a small amount of beauty products. Methods of improving cash flow It is a significant factor to monitor the business cash flow as it enables Russell to have a better understanding regarding its income and expenses; if it is able to meet his current liabilities. The cash flow forecast will also help him to predict when an internal source of finance needs to be obtained. Furthermore this will help him to avoid problems rising, like overspending or being unable to get the external finance when needed. As discussed earlier it can send out warning letters to its debtors that will increase the inflow of the business, basically a method shortening the length of time taking to collect the debts. My advice to Russell is to take immediate action based on its debtors because if he remains paying off his creditors before he receives any debts that is owed to him, Kutz ltd will be financial unstable that obviously will have an enormous impact on the cash flow of the business. Bearing in mind that his loan repayment is due soon he needs to have sufficient cash flow in order to pay off the loan on time, without affecting the relationship it has with the bank currently. He therefore needs to increase his provision for doubtful debts, to get a picture of the financial stability of the business in the future and try to look for different alternatives for the problems he will be facing. A credit payment can be up to 60 days; Russell should try to negotiate his credit payment period from 55 days to an extended period of 60 days. He should be able to exceed the creditor payments as he is a medium to large size business, he will have some influence upon its suppliers as he most probably buys in bulk. Cash versus profit Profit does not necessarily mean the business has a got efficient cash flow. Profit is the money the business makes when all expenses have been subtracted from revenue, it takes into account the non monetary values such as depreciation and provision for doubtful debts. Cash is the money that enables a business to operate that doesnt take into account the monetary values, for example paying off his loan, dividends to its shareholders, water and gas bills. The non monetary values will have an effect on the profit of the business as they are deducted from the net profit the business generates, however this will not have an impact on the out flow of the business as it is not deducted on the cash flow. Another difference is that on the profit and loss statement outstanding payments to be received will still be included in the turnover when net profit is calculated, but as the business has not received the actual money it will not have an inflow on the cash flow statement. This has the sam e affect on purchases that are outstanding. The profit and loss statement will include the figure of purchases that are still outstanding; this will result in a lower gross profit. While it will not be included in the business outflow as it has not been paid off yet, therefore it will not have an effect on the cash flow of the business. As touched onto earlier, Kutz ltd is in its poor state of solvency. As profitability and solvency ratios are linked to each other, I suggest he should improve its net profit through introducing the new product range, which I assume will increase the volume of sales. To prevent a decrease in the gross profit due to the new expenses, it should try to switch to a cheaper supplier. As the volume of sales are increasing the rate of stock turnover will automatically increase; stock is sold quicker at the same time, which means more cash is available to the business. In conclusion this will solve both problems at the same time as Kutz ltd will have a better cash flow, which will not affect the profit of the business. The business changing its aim due to such things as expansion, diversification, downsizing, and its impact on financial planning. In my opinion Kutz ltd should develop and expand, as it is a limited company it should take the advantage of the limited liabilities it will have, it is easier for him to get access to external finance. The main reasons I think Kutz ltd should expand is to use make use of economies of scale, as the firm is growing it can produce at lower average costs compared to smaller businesses. For this reason they can give consumers lower selling prices which will help them increase their sales and profits. It should diversify its product range (beauty products) as it can sell into different markets, therefore it can reduce the risks that a decrease in sales of one product will have a negative impact on the business; there is less threat to their profit. In my opinion to solve the current cash flow problems Kutz ltd faces, he should also take on the request of the national hairdressing business as he is not using the first floor at the moment; the income he will be receiving from renting out the space could be used to fund the repayment of the loan. Kutz ltd should invest its capital in a delivery service to get ahead of competitors, as this will also help to increase the customer base and the volume of sales. Conclusion The most significant aspect to Kutz ltd at the moment is improving its state of liquidity; a suggestion to recover this problem is through cutting stock. I will be prioritising the significance of the steps Russell could take to become solvent. Reduce level of stock Russells first priority should be reducing the number of stock he purchases as I have discussed previously, he has got excess amount of stock piled up in Kutz ltd warehouse, which could be used to improve his state of liquidation. First of all, I have suggested that he has a 50% cut in his stock (therefore purchases will drop from 238384 to 117374.5) I assume this will deduct his revenue by 10% only (therefore sales will drop from 500000 to 450000) as he turns his stock over at an enormous slow rate. After he implements the changes, Kutz ltd will have a negative net profit (as demonstrated in appendix). From my secondary research at PWC, my mentor emphasised on the fact that cash is king and profit does not equal cash (source Partner at PWC; Simon Friend). Russell is legally insolvent as he has the sufficient assets that could be used to fund his financial obligations but converts them with insufficient time into cash. Furthermore he faces a cash flow shortage through using his assets ineffectively as I have explained earlier. Referring to the words of Simon Friend, lower profits do not indicate the business is not successful; the most important aspect is that the business is solvent. I advice Russell to implement the changes as this will improve the cash flow management of Kutz ltd and at the moment he needs a good cash flow to fund the repayment of his loan, otherwise he will be creating poor relationships with his external shareholders e.g. bank. year 2007 stock turnover: average stock=(100000+150000) = 125000 2 125000 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 365 = 242 368468.5 After the reduction of stock stock turnover average stock=(100000+150000) = 125000 2 125000 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 365 = 124 368468.5 Based on the analysis of the ROCE Ratio, the time taking to turn over stock has increased nearly twice from year 2006 to the year 2007. As demonstrated above after implementing the changes, the time taking to convert stock into cash has decreased nearly by 50%. This shows that even though Russell has got a negative net profit the overall performance of the business has increased by 50%, which is an excellent aspect. Collect debts quicker/ extend creditor payment periods Russells second priority should be taking action on the period of time he receives his debtor payments. I believe he should send out warning letters and stop offering credit payments to its debtors, he should insist on direct cash payments as 80% of his sales are on credit. Through this Russell will receive immediate cash from its sales and could decrease the amount of provision for doubtful debts. Furthermore if sales increase rapidly, I assume Kutz ltd would end up with a positive net profit while having a healthy cash flow. Russell should also try to negotiate a longer credit payment period. If he succeeds to collect his debts quicker and get longer credit payment period offer, he will have more liquid cash around that can be used to fund the repayment of the loan or to invest in the new product range. In conclusion, this will enable Russell to finance the business with its short term liabilities that will be beneficial to Kutz ltd as it does not increase the business cost with in terest payments if he had to take an external source of finance to fund the business. Take request Russells next best option would be renting out the first floor to the National Hairdressing business. The reason behind this is that this form of internal finance, besides being used for the repayment of the loan and investment of a new product range as discussed earlier. It could be used as reserves for the future, instead of risking making repayments including huge amounts of interest on bank loans for investment in other operating activities; it could use the reserves to fund the business objectives without the business facing financial difficulties. Diversify, expand and develop The internal sources of finance that has been collected from reducing the level of stock, taking on the request, collecting debts quicker and extending the creditor payment periods can now be invested into the purchase of a delivery van that will help to increase the customer base and increase volume of sales. It could also be used to diversify into beauty products, which will with anticipation to result in an increasing volume of sales. This means that Russell will still end up with a positive net profit figure and a healthy cash flow, even though I discussed earlier that profit is not important compared to cash but external stake holders might have a different view towards it. So to prevent the loose of stake holders and creating a bad public image, Russell should expand and diversify Kutz ltd. Appendix Trading, profit and loss account of Kutz Ltd for the year ended 31 may 2007 after the reduction of stock *Workings Sales 450000 less sales returns -1923 net sales 448077 opening stock 100000 purchases 121009.5 less purchase returns 3635 117374.5 carriage inwards 1094 less closing stock -150000 cost of sales 368468.5 Gross profit 79608.5 Add other income: bank interest received 42 discount received 14887 94537.5 less expenses rent and rates 2 66000 motor vehicle expenses 7720 advertising expenses 14500 sundry expenses 2 34977 light and heat 3 16460 wages 76251 discount allowed 11238 Depreciation 1 10050 doubtful debts 4 (5200+2080 7280 loan interest 3 22500 266976 operating profit -172439 less directors dividends 12000 retained profit -184439 add retained profit at the beginning of year 2000 balance of retained profit at the end of the year -182439 *The workings are found in appendix

Free Essays on German Historical Art

Many people know that Adolph Hitler was an artist in his youth as an Austrian, but just how much art played a role in the National Socialist Germany seems to get underrated in history books. Just as a radical war waged against the Jewish population and the military fought the French and Slavic people, an artistic cleansing for the Germanic culture was also in progress. Special Nazi units were searching the ancient arts of antiquity for evidence of a great Germanic race that existed well before history. Hitler had monuments and museums built on a grand scale with carefully designed architecture that would last a thousand years. Art of this nature was a priority because Hitler wanted to capture Chronos, not Gaea. He wanted to dominate the rest of time, not the limits of the earth. Hitler was born and raised in the town of Linz. As a youth he studied art, primarily as a painter capturing mostly the surrounding Alpine Mountain landscapes that he grew up with, but he also had an interest in architecture. When he turned eighteen he applied to the Vienna Art Academy, and was rejected. Along with art, Hitler was facinated with Linz, Antiquity, and Wagner. It was at this time in his youth that Hitler and his friend, Kubicheck would try to finish an opera that Wagner had abandoned. This opera was about a leader trying to establish the Roman Empire by overthrowing the Papal government, nation, and people. It is not just coincidence that he would be surrounded by National Socialist leaders with backgrounds in the arts. Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda and head of the Reich Chamber of Culture, was an experienced writer and aspiring poet. Rosenberg was a painter and Von Sherot wrote poetry. Hans Fredrick Munch of the Reich’s Chamber of Literat ! ure once said â€Å"This government born out of opposition to rationalism knows the peoples inner longings and dreams, which only the artist can give them† (Cohen). Less tha... Free Essays on German Historical Art Free Essays on German Historical Art Many people know that Adolph Hitler was an artist in his youth as an Austrian, but just how much art played a role in the National Socialist Germany seems to get underrated in history books. Just as a radical war waged against the Jewish population and the military fought the French and Slavic people, an artistic cleansing for the Germanic culture was also in progress. Special Nazi units were searching the ancient arts of antiquity for evidence of a great Germanic race that existed well before history. Hitler had monuments and museums built on a grand scale with carefully designed architecture that would last a thousand years. Art of this nature was a priority because Hitler wanted to capture Chronos, not Gaea. He wanted to dominate the rest of time, not the limits of the earth. Hitler was born and raised in the town of Linz. As a youth he studied art, primarily as a painter capturing mostly the surrounding Alpine Mountain landscapes that he grew up with, but he also had an interest in architecture. When he turned eighteen he applied to the Vienna Art Academy, and was rejected. Along with art, Hitler was facinated with Linz, Antiquity, and Wagner. It was at this time in his youth that Hitler and his friend, Kubicheck would try to finish an opera that Wagner had abandoned. This opera was about a leader trying to establish the Roman Empire by overthrowing the Papal government, nation, and people. It is not just coincidence that he would be surrounded by National Socialist leaders with backgrounds in the arts. Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda and head of the Reich Chamber of Culture, was an experienced writer and aspiring poet. Rosenberg was a painter and Von Sherot wrote poetry. Hans Fredrick Munch of the Reich’s Chamber of Literat ! ure once said â€Å"This government born out of opposition to rationalism knows the peoples inner longings and dreams, which only the artist can give them† (Cohen). Less tha...

Scholarly Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scholarly Project - Essay Example Such writings made it possible for future generation to know the culture of Native Americans as well as their contribution to American life. Therefore, it can be observed that the Native Americans made some significant contribution. The following are some of the most significant contributions of Native Americans to American life and culture namely; they made a significant role in maintaining the land by ensuring that the ecology was in good condition. For example, Native Americans could not destroy the land or kill an animal that they did not use instead they preserved it for the sake of future generation. Secondly, Native Americans made a significant contribution in agriculture; they grew food like potatoes, pepper, sunflower tomatoes, corns, sunflowers, to mention just but a few. It has been reported that Native Americans made a significant contribution prior the coming of European settlers in America. For example, they shared their food and farming method with the European settler s who came to settle in the Northern parts of America. Research indicates that most of the groups such as scouts and played in the present America were invented by the Native American. Example of those games includes; American soccer, tag of war-games to mention just but a few (Nabokov, 197-390). In above connection, Native Americans made a profound contribution in terms of the present administration system in America. It was reported that the idea of having a federal government in the United State was borrowed from the Native Americans where administrative power were distributed to the central government and states. Moreover, the Native American made a great contribution in the field of medicine, they used to each plants that are reached in Vitamin to prevent certain diseases like scurvy, they passed this idea to the Europeans who later passed it to the present American natives. Moreover,

Final Exame Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Exame - Essay Example When individual living in the society will have a clear idea about the basics of his life then the positive aspects of the culture are also adopted by the neighboring civilizations. There are various primary functions of religion. One such function is provision of mental peace. Human being is surrounded around difficulties and insecurities therefore religion provides them the binding force. Religion also promotes positive social values such as honestly and integrity. Another function of religion is the promotion of solidarity. It provides the platform at which people of different races can unite together. Question 2: Not all religious practitioners are equal in terms of their strength of their prayers. Religious practitioners are important part of the religion since these are the real people who are transferring religion to the younger generations. Religious practitioners are classified into four broad categories. These include individualistic, shamanistic, communal and ecclesiastica l. Individualistic is the basic practitioner of the religion. Shamanistic is the part time religious practitioners who practices religion on behalf of other people which could also be his clients. Communal practitioners propagate the religious values to the group of people. Ecclesiastical practitioners are those who practice religion with a proper hierarchical structure. Catholic Church can be considered as an example of these practitioners. Question 3: The whole world has become one marketplace this is an era of globalization. Therefore immigration is inevitable in this modern world. Tourism is going to flourish in this modern era because of the changing demographics and psychographic elements of the world. Indigenous will interact with international artistic works. Only those people will survive who can provide best possible things (Nanda & Warms, 2009). Question 4: Expression of body art is becoming one of the most popular artistic works in the modern world. Instead of portraying on paper, experts are of the opinion that body expressions can describe the conceptual background in an effective manner. It is a difficult task for an artist to provide attention to details. Therefore body art is the best way to project the concept clearly. Question 5: Colonialism has played an important role in the development of modern culture in majority of the regions where British has ruled. The language of colonial areas is influenced by the culture and values of those people who have ruled them. For example Hindi has adopted various words of English language. Similarly many African countries still understand French because African countries had been French colonies in the past. There are many Muslim states like Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey which have taken influence from European Colonialism. Majority of the countries which were ruled by British, have adopted their political culture. Most of the English and French colonies are still based on democratic system. L egal system is one of the key components for the efficient and effective functioning of the state. Colonial era’s law is still followed in majority of the countries with certain amendments. People living in these areas are of the opinion that they have learnt a lot from different civilization with which they have interacted. The architecture of colonial areas reflects the adoption of English or French design in the construction. Sociologists are of the opinion that interaction of two different civilizations has brought positive results for the overall development

Managing Team Conflicts Essay Example for Free

Managing Team Conflicts Essay Why do you think that Carly didn’t come to you sooner to discuss the project delays? Carly didn’t come sooner to discuss the problem delays with the supervisor because of the affective conflict that arises between her and Morris (Team Conflict: How to Manage it, n.p.). Truly, it is quite undesirable to present â€Å"human conflict† as a reason in the delay of a certain project. It is obvious that Carly was threatened by the wits that Morris have. Since Morris obtained a higher level degree than Carly, the manager seems to be insecure about her status. She sees Morris as a competitor in her position and not as a member of the team. 2. Why do you think Carly hasn’t had a conversation with Morris, or vice versa, about their differences? How do you think each of them would respond to this type of conversation? Explain. Both person (Carly and Morris) did not initiated to have a conversation regarding their differences because both parties are afraid that upon the conduct of their conversation, they might not be able to work on and come out with the proper solution to address the problem. On the conduct of the conversation, they may reach a point that both of them would be in denial regarding the delay of the project. Both people possess different personality and dealing with their differences might be a critical approach to be done. Carly, being insecure with the wits that Morris have, might put all the blame on the latter mentioned person. On the other hand, if Carly would over impose her power in the conversation, the immediate reaction of Morris would be to defend his self and try to make Carly realize that she also has a fault regarding the problem. What would happen in this conversation is that, both parties would tend to throw off their own defence regarding themselves thus, rather than solving the problem of conflict, the outcome could be to worsen the situation. What is the biggest problem with the way these team members interact? What could they do to remedy the problem? Explain. The biggest problem with these team members is that they do not know on how to deal with their own differences. Differences in terms of personality as stated above is just but common in a team. Such differences could be positively or negatively affect the team. In the case given, Carly and Morris chooses to embrace the negative side thus, bringing the project to a delay. Communication is the element that is missing in the case presented. Communicating in a constructive manner would give each person a chance to express his thoughts and ideas clearly and directly. Coupled with his expression of thoughts, respect (for each other and for the work of the team) should also be reflected (Ten Qualities of an Effective Team Player, 2005, n.p.). The scenario being pictured out in the case is that Morris seems to be tongue tied to express his thoughts while Carly is too much dominating in expressing her thoughts, thus the communication process is not working well. Another element that is lacking in the case is the quality of active listening. In order for a team to function effectively and meet its goals, every member should be a good listener. Every member should consider and listen to the ideas of other team members and should avoid biased reaction regarding the proposed ideas. Arguing or debating every idea presented would not do any help (Ten Qualities of an Effective Team Player, 2005, n.p.). Members should also be prepared and willing to hear and accept criticisms. It would be better if one would listen first and then react to have an effective conversation and get things settled. Firmness of thought is important as a team player, but one should make her mind open to what other members has to offer. Do you think Carly should continue to serve as Project Manager? Explain. Yes, Carly should continue to serve as Project Manager but she should first change her attitude in handling the job. She should note that she is part of the team. Although she has a higher position compared to the other members, it is not right to over used this power because of being threatened by others wits and guts. As a project manager she must be confident in her own capability and sees the ability of other members of the team as an asset and not as a threat. She should reassess her self and avoid being a problem-blamer. She should not look for others to fault but instead, she should look at the problems that arise as a common thing that occurs in a team. Being regarded as the project manager, she should address problems (not create problems) and bring this out for discussion with other members of the team (Ten Qualities of an Effective Team player, 2005, n.p.). Upon doing such, she would be most likely to find the right solutions for the problem. Though Carly obviously has a fault on the delay of the project, she should continue to work on as the project manager because she was given that job and trusting her that job means that she is knowledgeable enough and rightly fitted for it. 5. How would you begin to address this situation? Come up with a plan to remedy this problem and outline a plan for getting the project back on track for the January 1 release. The first action had been done, that is to talk with the persons involve in the conflict as well as with other team members. The next step would be to review to the team regarding their purpose and goal. I would be emphasizing on their role as a team in achieving the targeted goal and meet the targeted deadline. I would preferably design a team building activity that would reunite them and develop their working ability as a team. I would consistently remind them that there is no â€Å"I† in a team and that presence of conflicts is inevitable. I would also relay to them the essence of conflict management. Rules in order to lessen conflict would be implemented incorporating processes or behaviours that the group will be allowed or prohibited (Team Conflict: How to Manage it, n.p.). The following will serve as a guide in getting the project back on track for the January 1 release: Conduct Team building activity Relaying the concept of conflict and conflict management. Assess the characteristics of members in position. Assess the overall coordination of the team. Project Plan Guide Review the goal and extent of the project. Identify weaknesses and strengths in the conduct of the project. Retain strengths and address the weaknesses. Strategic Planning for the Completion of the Project Address conflict in the workplace. Set timeframe and task to be completed within a week and make sure that all materials to be used would be provided (How to Organize Successful Project Teams, n.p.). Constantly check and collaborate with the team regarding the progress of the project Acknowledge the team’s effort upon the completion of the assigned task. References AllBusiness.com, Inc. (2005, August 12). Ten Qualities of an Effective Team Player. Retrieved May 16, 2008, from http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-team-building/8516-3.html How to Organize Successful Project Teams. Retrieved May 16, 2008, from http://www.ehow.com/how_2156392_organize-successful-project-teams.html Team Conflict: How to Manage it. Retrieved May 16, 2008, from http://www.chumans.com/skills3.htm.

Teen Pregnancy Essay -- Teenage Mothers

In the US, teen pregnancy rates have been decreasing in the last decade even though current rates remain twice as high as those found in other industrialized nations (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1994). In spite of decreasing rates, among African American teenagers, the pregnancy rate is particularly high. In 1996, the pregnancy rate was 178.9 per thousand among African-American females aged 15 to 19 years, compared with a pregnancy rate of 82.6 among whites (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1999). Additionally, on the basis of the findings of the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, it was determined that African American females (48%) aged 15 to 17 were more likely than their white (34%) counterparts to have had sexual intercourse since menarche. On the basis of information provide by the National Center for Health Statistics (1997), African-American females aged 15 to 19 were more likely than their white peers to have had their first sexual experience (i.e., intercourse) without u sing effective contraception (24% versus 14%, respectively). Consequently, on the basis of such risky behavior, African American teenagers are at greater risk than their white peers for experiencing a pregnancy. pregnant, especially if it was with the baby's father. A concluded by Harris, most of the mothers believed that sexual intercourse was a behavior they were going to continue to engage in, regardless of threat of disease or pregnancy. As compared to the adolescent fathers participating in the study, Harris reported that most of the fathers indicated that they were now engaging in protected sex. Environmental Influences As many have suggested, while engagement in unprotected sexual intercourse at an early age places adolescents at risk for pregnancy, there are a number of other factors that influence African American teen pregnancy rates. According to Dervarics (2004), African American teen mothers and fathers are often represented among the rising number of minority "disconnected" youth in the US. This group is comprised of teens ages 16 to 19 who are both out of school and out of work. Dervarics reported that nearly A quarter of African Americans ages 18 to 19 falls into the disconnected category. As a consequence of being disconnected, as explained by the author, African Amer... ...with poverty. It is these issues that attention must be directed towards in order to reduce teen pregnancy rates. References Alan Guttmacher Institute. (1994). Sex and America's teenagers. NY: The Alan Guttmacher Institute. Alan Guttmacher Institute. (1999). Teenage pregnancy: Overall trends and state-by-state information. NY: The Alan Guttmacher Institute. Dervarics, C. (2005). Minorities overrepresented among America's 'disconnected' youth. Population Reference Bureau. Found online at: http://www.prb.org/Template.cfm?Section=PRB&template=/ContentManagement /ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11335 Lardner, J. (2005). Arline Geronimus on teen parenthood. Inequality.Org. Found online at: http://www.inequality.org/teenparenthood.html National Center for Health Statistics. (1997). Fertility, family planning, and women's health: New data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

Subcultures in Organization

Discuss whether an organization might be better considered as consisting of many sub-cultures which are conceptually different, rather than one ‘major' culture. * An introduction Culture, whether in some organization or society, is about people. People play a key role in culture. People create culture.And because people are individual units with different opinions, values, goals, attitudes, wants and needs but at the same time they interact with other people, they share all of these things with others on the base of the communication and they influence each other, so naturally it leads to exchange of their opinions, many confrontation and conflicts. But confrontation and conflicts do not always mean something wrong, it can bring improvement, progress, and change. And likewise, it goes the same in organizations. One person is equal to one opinion in some particular issue.And nobody can say this is a good or bad way or decision. For somebody it is obvious that some manner is the best and for another person it can mean something totally different. More people, more opinions and more points of view. Sometimes it can make more difficulties and another time make things easier. That is why it is not easy and clear to say whether an organization might be better considered as consisting of many sub-cultures which are conceptually different, rather than one ‘major' culture. Because we have to take into account all of these things which I mentioned before.In this essay I try to assess all factors related to corporate culture and its sub-cultures and find out pros and cons of one ‘major' culture and sub-cultures in the organization. * A central part In the beginning let's have a look at two basic terms which are fundamental in this topic. These are corporate culture and sub-culture. Everybody knows what to imagine under these words. But everybody can imagine something else, each of us perceives corporate culture differently and this is the reason why ther e exist a lot of definitions of culture.Of course I will not write down many definitions here but I would like to mention just one which on my opinion is the most apposite. According to Andrew Brown (1995, 1998) who stated the definition of organizational culture in his book Organizational Culture is the following: â€Å"Organizational culture refers to the pattern of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during the course of an organization’s history, and which tend to be manifested in its material arrangements and in the behaviors of its members. Simply said, organizational culture is everything what surrounds us at work. Organizational culture influences everything what it happens in a company, company's success and efficiency. When we are taking into account two companies with the same technological equipment, so theoretically they should be equally successful, but they are not. Why? The answer is different corporate culture. Corp orate culture can support strategy and company's goals but on the other side it can mean for company obstacles in progress, higher cost and low competitiveness. Every organizational culture can contain many sub-cultures.And sub-culture in organization is the second very important term which I want to mention. We can say that sub-culture is natural phenomenon within the company and a subgroup of a larger organizational culture with the unique values and beliefs. Subcultures are caused by a particular employee's interests, different levels of management (e. g. hand worker x manager) different functional areas (people have another scope of employment or solve totally different types of problems or with the same scope of employment but with insufficient cooperation – e. . Human resources x Informatics) or by large distance within the same organization. In many cases the presence of sub-cultures is desirable for company and positive but the culture in the company has to be dominan t and people within the sub-cultures have to follow common goals and values. In other cases it is counter-productive and subcultures deny dominant culture and they can damage the whole company because subcultures can get in to the conflict and complicate integration and coordination within the organization.For dominant culture are typical definite communication within the company, clear company's goal and values, desirable behavior, uniform attitudes and following quick decision making and planning and increasing motivation and team belonging. The majority of company believes in the core values of organization. But the strong cultures have to deal with some problems as less  flexibility,  sticking to the  past experience; company is not too  willing  to accept change, isolation from the surrounding environment and information.On the other hand there exist weak corporate cultures where there are really bad communication among members of company, variety of opinions and valu es and people do not follow company's core ideas. If the managers do not support meetings, cooperation a communication among employees, sharing information and experience, then people look for their own way how to communicate, solve the problems, make decisions and set up the priorities according to their own values, needs and wants. * A conclusion And back to the question â€Å"what is better†? One company = 1 culture or 1 company = many subcultures?Do we want one major culture where the well-defined values and principles will be followed by almost all employees in the company? If course, we do. But what will be happening if these values and principals are not so clearly defined and managers do not follow it? Or these values are considered as fundamental and unchangeable and company never wants to accept another new approach although things are changing with time. The company finds itself in crisis. And what about the other possibility? What about the presence of some subcul tures in the company? The one strong culture and co-existed other subcultures?Subcultures which are different from each other, with different values, needs, behavior for example according to level of management or function but still identifying with the core values of dominant culture of the company. But what will be happening in the case that the culture is not so dominant? Then people in the subcultures will have totally different opinions, they will follow other values and the goal of the company will be different and company will have big difficulties to achieve their goals, satisfy their employees and also customers, the communication will be confused and a lot of conflicts will be occurred.So how to get to the ideal solution? As we know nothing is ideal but we can try to get to ideal solution as closer as possible. In case of one main culture and other subcultures on my opinion the organization should insist on clear and accurate definitions of its strategy, mission – t he fundamental purpose of the organization, what business the company is, vision – where does company wish to go? , core values – what are the desired behavior and characters, attitudes and etc. Also another really important thing is clear formulation of well-arranged conditions of work, e. g. equired ways of behavior at work (dress code, manners), assessment, remuneration, education and trainings (mandatory or voluntary) of employees. Company should inform their employees not only about changes but also about all things mentioned above as much as possible. Each a new employee should be familiarized with company’s strategy, its values, mission, vision and so on. Company should also support communication among particular subcultures for example organizing regular meeting where they will make them acquainted with all news in each subculture, with changes, outcomes, future plans and all important things which happened.Another advice which I would recommend is to ar range teambuilding activities and trips, company-wide actions (cultural, sport, charity) which converge employees together. And managers also take care of different opinions and values of his employees and appropriately motivate them. In case of the one dominant culture without any subcultures in the company I would recommend to target the opened mind during a decision making and take into account and assess more alternative than one and for example the company can hire some external experts in a lot of tasks because they can bring a lot of new ideas into the company.Also an employee participation in many staff trainings, courses and seminars and their exchange of experience there can help to see things in a different light. Because nowadays the life is going really fast, things are change every day, technological progress and also people's thinking as well that is why I think that company should be open to all changes, new approaches and methods so on my opinion and with respect to present time the one strong culture with many subcultures is the most suitable for companies.And we have to take into account that organizational culture is not important only for current employees of the company but also for new coming employees; sometimes people prefer atmosphere in the company to for example salary. And corporate culture gives current employees some confidence what direction the company will take and what they can expect. Because when we have a look at this fast going and changing world it is clear and understandable that people need security jobs and income and the right corporate culture can help to find it and also maintain it.A list of referenced sources Books: LUKASOVA, R. , NOVY, I. and et al. : Organizacni kultura, 1. ed, Prague: Grada Publishing 2004, 176 p. ISBN 80-247-0648-2, s. 64 SIGUT, Z. Firemni kultura a lidske zdroje. 1. ed. Prague: ASPI, 2004. 87 p. ISBN 80-7357-046-7. Internet: SUN, S. cit. : â€Å"BROWN, A. , Organizational Culture. (2nd ed). Pitman Publishing, 1995,1998† in: International Journal of Business and Management 2008, December http://ccsenet. org/journal/index. php/ijbm/article/view/760/726] ——————————————- [ 1 ]. SUN, S. cit. : â€Å"BROWN, A. , Organizational Culture. (2nd ed). Pitman Publishing, 1995,1998† in: International Journal of Business and Management 2008, December [http://ccsenet. org/journal/index. php/ijbm/article/view/760/726]. [ 2 ]. LUKASOVA, R. , NOVY, I. and et al. : Organizacni kultura, 1. vydani, Prague: Grada Publishing 2004, 176 p. [ 3 ]. SIGUT, Z. Firemni kultura a lidske zdroje. 1. ed. Prague: ASPI, 2004. 87 p. ISBN 80-7357-046-7.

Active Listening Essay

Listening requires focus and attention, and failure to listen is one of the key causes of miscommunication (Sole, K. (Chapter 2, 2011).Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc). I think at some point in time everyone has been guilty of believing that they knew someone better than they actually did. When we assume we know all there is to know about a friend or a loved one, I believe that we unknowingly stop listening to them. One perfect example of this would be my best friend Carla and I. Carla and I have known each other for many years, we were friends in High school, roommates in college and godparents to one another’s children, so one would naturally think that we knew each other VERY well. One year for Carla’s birthday she asked me to make her a cake, and obviously I agreed. The day of her birthday celebration I arrived with the cake and presented it to her, only to have her wind up extremely unhappy. Carla was under the impression that she had specified she wanted her favorite cake, which happened to be strawberry, but she did not, had she specified she wanted me to make a strawberry cake I would have declined because i am extremely allergic to strawberries, if I consume them I’m nauseated if I touch them I break out in a sever rash. Even after Realizing that she had not requested a strawberry cake she remained upset claiming that as her best friend I should have known she wanted me to make a specific cake and I remained upset because I felt like she either didn’t know or didn’t care about my allergies and as a friend neither of those options were ok. At some point we were able to realize that we failed each other. Had we communicated with one another we could have avoided an unnecessary fight. One way we could have avoided our misunderstanding would have been to actually say exactly what we wanted each other to know, Carla could have asked for what she wanted from me instead of assuming that since I know how much she loves strawberries, that I’d be making a strawberry cake  and I could have asked more questions about what she wanted rather than assume that because she knows my allergies she knew I wouldn’t be making her favorite cake. Another way to avoid that type of situation is to actually listen and focus on the conversation that you’re having. This is where I think active listening comes into play. We weren’t intentionally ignoring each other but I think that our long-term friendship and assumption about how well we knew each other caused us to only listen partly as opposed to completely. In the future I fully intend to be an active listener and completely engage myself in discussions that I have. References: Sole, K. (2011).Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc Active Listening Essay Active listening is one of the most rewarding skill sets that I have learned from the lesson because it has really contributed to my personal growth and my professional lives. Active listening skills refer to the skill of being fully present when you are in a conversation with someone. Very often when we are in a conversation, we are not paying any attention to what the person is saying. We are just waiting for our turn to talk. We are actually having a conversation in our own heads while the person is talking to us. It is when we are not â€Å"present† in a conversation. Before I realized the importance of active listening, the most important thing in a conversation was that people understood what I was trying to share with them. Meaning that my perspective was the most important thing in a conversation and that they had to understand me. And what I learned over the lesson, was that the best way to nurture a relationship was actually to stop caring about people understanding my point. This lesson reminds me that each of us had different experiences, we grow up with different believes, different values, different rules. And how we think and how we view everything that goes on around us are always filtered based on the environment we grew up. Throughout the lesson, I had many opportunities to practice my active listening skills by actively participating in the class discussions. After completed the lesson, I would not say I am an excellent listener, but I definitely feel that I am a better listener. I find myself paying more attention to the speaker and interpreting his/her non-verbal cues, showing that I am listening by probing and providing feedback and clarifying by asking questions. By listen closely, I am able to gain more information about what the person is sharing and to find things that peak my interest. When the person is done with the sharing, I will ask them about what that peaked my interest and let the person respond. By doing so, I am able to understand their point of view and to see things from their perspective. I will not interrupt when the person is speaking as I know that interruption always limit my ability to connect. Improving active listening skills will enable me to reshape my ideas about myself, my beliefs, and everything that are important to me. From now on, I will remind myself to be fully present and fully aware of what others are saying, instead of feeling the urge to find what I am thinking of and what my response is going to be. I will try the best I can to get rid of thinking on my own perspective and to do everything I can to understand the other person’s point of view and make them my priority.

7 HUGE signs you aced your interview

7 HUGE signs you aced your interview Sometimes it’s all too apparent when a job interview hasn’t gone well- maybe there’s a cringeworthy statement you wish you could take back, or an icy glance from an interviewer who doesn’t seem to find your small talk very charming. But what differentiates an okay job interview from one you’ve just rocked? Here are some key signals that you’ve had a great interview. 1. The interviewer has positive body languageInterviewers are professionals (ideally!), but they’re also human. Sometimes the earliest indicator that things are going well is the immediate physical feedback you get. Is the person engaged in the conversation, or is she just asking rote questions? Are you getting a lot of positive affirmation, like nods and smiles or verbal agreement? This isn’t a foolproof way to gauge your progress (hey, some people are just very friendly), but it’s a great first clue.2. The interviewer asks you about your interest in the jobIf the interviewer asks you point blank if you’d be interested in the job, it’s not quite a job offer, but it’s a very positive sign. It may mean the person thinks that you’re a good candidate and they want to test out whether you’re serious about it before moving you to the next step. If the interviewer asks you about where else you’re interviewing, that’s also a good sign. If they weren’t interested in you, they probably wouldn’t be trying to gauge the competition or scoping out whether you’re likely to accept a potential job offer.3. You set up a second interview on the spotThe signs don’t get much clearer than this one. If they actively invite you back for another round of interviews, you’re in very good shape. But don’t forget that while a second interview is a great omen, it still means another round of prep. Aft er all, there could be other candidates coming back for a second interview as well, so it’s important not to go into the next interview thinking you have a job offer on the table just yet.4. You get a personal tourIf your interviewer brings you around the office to show you the space and introduce you to people, or calls people in to meet you, it shows they’re already thinking of you as a potential member of the team.5. The interview goes longA short interview isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, but if your interview goes longer than the allotted time it likely means that the interviewer is interested enough to have a meaningful, in-depth conversation about the position and your qualifications for it. Particularly if you’re meeting with a single interviewer, a long conversation points to a great level of engagement.6. The interviewer goes into day-to-day job specificsMost interviewers will give an overview of the open position to make sure you understand the job. But if the interviewer takes the time to do a deep dive into the job’s responsibilities and integrates you into the discussion (â€Å"you would be doing X,† â€Å"you would be leading this project,† etc.), it suggests they already see you as a good fit.7. Your thank you note nets a responseNo matter what, you need to send a thank you note as a follow-up to your interview. The interviewer, however, is not obligated to respond in any way. If you send your thank you and you get a response (especially a quick one), it shows that your interviewer is engaged in the process and likely had a positive reaction to your conversation. Bonus points if there are specific references to a point you discussed, because that can help you tell if it’s just an automatic response on their part or a genuinely warm reaction. Tone is everything here.The waiting game after an interview can be one of the most frustrating parts of any job hunt. If you’re able to walk out of the room with any of these positive outcomes behind you, it can help reassure you that things really did go well, and that you’re on the right track for a second interview- or maybe even that job offer.

Social Media Advocacy How to Develop a Successful Program For Your Brand

Social Media Advocacy How to Develop a Successful Program For Your Brand Social media employee advocacy. It’s a buzzword that has been floating around marketing teams for the past couple of years. While these types programs can be dramatically effective for a plethora of different reasons, including†¦ Brand awareness Sales connections Building company trust teams are still hesitant to adapt them  because†¦ There is risk of posting inappropriate content They are afraid the team won’t want to participate They already have enough work on their plate Whether you’ve started a program with your team and it’s turned into a chaotic mess, or you’re simply not sure how to start, you’ll learn about the resources and tools you need to turn your own employees into your biggest brand advocates. How To Develop A Successful Social Media Advocacy Program That Will Increase Brand AwarenessFirst Things First: Get Your Free Social Media Employee Advocacy Startup Package Before we start, make sure you download our Social Media Employee Advocacy Startup Package. When you download it, you’ll get: An pre-set email template to help you ask your co-workers to join the program A PowerPoint deck to help introduce and train your new employee advocates A brainstorming worksheet that advocates can use to determine their online voice A worksheet that your employees can use to remind themselves of when they need to send social messages That’s right, we did all the work for you. You’re welcome. What Is Social Media Employee Advocacy? A social media employee advocacy program allows you to use your employee’s vast social networks to help promote your company or brand. These employees are called "social employees" or "employee advocates." There are a lot of definitions of social employees, but the definition  that captures it best is from The Social Employee  by Mark and Cheryl Burgess: â€Å"Social Employees can utilize social media tools to act as authentic brand ambassadors in order to cultivate unique relationships with individuals where the end goal isn’t simply a purchase action but a dynamic exchange of ideas.† It’s a long definition, I know. But, the definition above captures both what a social employee is, and their purpose within your organization. It’s also important to note before we continue that when we refer to social media employee advocacy platforms, we’re talking about Twitter and LinkedIn. Let’s continue, shall we? What is social media employee advocacy (and is it right for your brand)?10 Steps To Starting Your Own Employee Advocacy Program Now that you know what an employee advocacy program is we’re going to move on to how to start your own program. The following steps will walk you through how to convince your team to join you, and the process you need to follow in order to get your program off on the right foot. Step 1: Identify Strong Candidates for Your Employee Advocacy Program Whether you’ve started your program and it flopped, or you’re just trying to get your feet off the ground, having the right people on your team is crucial to the initial success of your program. Therefore, check off the following before you  start: Pick a group of 10 people who you think would be good initial adopters of the program Narrow that list down to five Send the introductory email to those five people Depending on the size of your organization, the number of your initial adoptors may vary. We would recommend starting off with five, and growing the program from there. Five may seem like a small number, but there’s a lot of work that goes into setting up this program. Start small, you can always grow. Not to mention, you could run into a too many cooks in the kitchen type of problem. Don’t create that problem for yourself, trust me on this one. Now, I know what you’re thinking. What qualities should I be looking for the initial adopters of my employee advocacy social media program? A potential employee advocate should check off at least three of the following: Eager to learn Social media savvy Passionate about their job Great writing skills Has a wide knowledge base about the company Is already active on LinkedIn, Twitter, or both Is actually excited about the program and the potential it can bring to their department These are just a few of the qualities you will want to look for in your new social media employee advocacy program participants. Remember, you want to narrow it down to the best of the best so your program has a great jumping off point. A quick warning before you start your list. Do not, under any circumstances, force an employee to be a part of your employee advocacy program. No one likes being forced to do anything. It's like forcing a 4 year old to eat anything that's green. It's not gonna happen. If you force your employees to become your brand advocates, your program becomes in-genuine, and your potential consumers will see that coming from a mile away. So how do you approach your employees so that’ll they come and hear you out? Grab your free email template that complements  this post to customize and send to potential employee advocates. Feel free to personalize it to each person you’re sending it too. It may take a bit more time, but the personal touch really helps. Or you could just copy and paste the email from the social media employee advocacy kit. To Do: Make a list ten employees who you believe would be a good fit for your program Narrow the list down to five Send initial introduction email (Grab it from the kit that complements this post) Step 2: Introduce The Employee Advocacy Program To Your Team Why do you need to introduce the program to your employees? Well, first of all, you need to ask them if they want to participate.  Check out that email template from above to help get your started. Secondly, think about their schedule. They’re probably already swamped with a giant list of things to do. Imagine if your boss came to you and said, "Hey, I need you to spend about 3 hours a week tweeting about our company." You’d probably say no. Who wants extra work? No one. Being an employee advocate is not an easy task. It’s one that requires dedication and time. Most importantly, it’s a task that needs to be taken on voluntarily. So how do you convince your employees to take on extra work? Incentivize it. How do you convince your employees to take on extra work? Incentive it.I'm gonna get personal here for a second. When someone puts a competitive twist on things I’m immediately hooked. I have to win. I want to come out on top. Obviously, I'm pretty competitive person. Maybe your employees are the same way, and if so you can capitalize on that. Whether it’s a bonus, fun retreats, or even company swag, having a way for your employees to get rewarded will help them be more open to the possibility of participating in the program. So you've got everyone in the room. Now what? A presentation, maybe? You don't have time to create that. Don’t worry, we did that for you. Download it here. To Do: Download the PowerPoint slide deck from the social media employee advocacy starter kit Brainstorm ways to incentivize your employee advocacy program Get clearance from upper management for those incentives Schedule a meeting with your select five employees to go through presentation Step 3: Determine The Voice Of The Employees Who Will Be Participating In The Program If your employee advocates sound like a corporate robot, that’s what your consumer/customer fan base is going to think of them as. That’s not a good thing. Your employees need to bring their unique voice and perspective in order to breathe fresh life into your content. So how do you do this? Bring your employees to the  table. Schedule a short meeting, 15 minutes maximum to brainstorm and finalize an employee voice. You could even just swing by their desk when they have a minute or two to spare. Remember you want these meetings to be effortless and easy. The less this program interferes with their daily schedule the better. Once you’re in your meeting ask the following two questions and have them record their answers on the one-pager that is in the attached kit. What are five personality traits that make you great at your job? What are five personality traits that are not you? Once they have those written down have them pick their top three. Those become the voice of the employee online. An example is below. For a sales manager (let’s call him Bill), his list could look like: Confident but not arrogant Silly but not unprofessional Informative but not pushy Here's how to help your team develop their social media voice:Still stuck? Let me use myself as an example. I created my professional Twitter profile during my senior year of college because I wanted my potential new employers to know that: I was knowledgeable about social media and knew how to use it. I wanted to stand out among other applicants and find additional ways to showcase my personality. So when it came to creating my voice I had to answer the following three questions: Who am I and what is my personality like? Am I passive in my opinions or unafraid to state them clearly? If a potential employer or professional took thirty seconds to look at my profile what would they think about me? Have your employees try and think along the same mindset. Remember, don’t give them the answers. This is all about them. Have them fill out the worksheet in the kit that complements this blog post, and attach it to a desk, cubicle wall, or wherever they will see it often. This will act as a gentle reminder in case they get stuck on what to post. To Do: Print out voice brainstorming worksheet from kit Schedule a short meeting with participating employees or drop by there desk Brainstorm what their voice will be Finalize voice structure and record on worksheet Step 4: Create A Username  Convention When most companies start their social media employee advocacy program, they’ll usually identify their employees with a naming convention. Usually this means incorporating the company name into the Twitter handle somehow. It is important to note that once you pick a naming convention,  you stick with it. Once you pick a company-wide social media naming convention, stick with it.For example, our friends at Onsharp, a digital marketing and website development company in our home state of North Dakota, has an active social employee program. The handles for each of their employees is @Onsharpname. They cover a wide variety of topics, and are also able to show off their company culture. This not only helps increase their overall credibility,  but if you have a potential employee looking into the company, they have a chance to see genuine interactions that happen within the team. But it’s not just small businesses using username conventions. Discovery  Benefits is making a huge mark on the insurance industry. We recently interviewed their marketing manager,  Abby Boggs-Johnson,  for our Actionable  Marketing Podcast. In it,  Abby mentions how her sales team has started a series of social media employee advocacy profiles that are helping them connect to their customer base. By creating these unique connections between the sales team and their customers, Discovery Benefits is able to showcase genuine interactions which can allow people to build trust  in the company. Like Onsharp, Discovery Benefits has a naming convention @DBIname. It would be easy to say, â€Å"Well, these are smaller companies.†Ã‚  What about big Fortune 500s? Have they tried a social media employee advocacy program? Actually, some Fortune 500s were a few of the earliest adopters. One of them was Adobe. Adobe’s program still exists but unlike Discovery Benefits and Onsharp, Adobe doesn’t have a naming convention. Most of their employees have the @Adobe programming they work for listed in their handle. Why would Adobe forgo a naming convention? The company is huge,  and because there are so many different official Adobe product accounts, it would be impossible to keep one single convention among  all the different products. So if you’re a smaller company with one main Twitter account,  you should have a naming convention.  But if you’re marketing for a major corporation with multiple official Twitter accounts,  use your bio to identify which major company profile you are associated with. But Breonna, how do I create my naming convention? Don’t worry, I have you covered. Here's how to create a naming convention for your social media employee advocacy program:Below is a list of ten naming conventions. Pick one that you think will work best for your company. Some names will be too long. Remember, Twitter has a character limit for it’s usernames, so don’t be afraid if you have to use initials or abbreviations. @CompanyName @Company_Name @CompanyAcroynmName @CompanyInitialsName @Name_CompanyName @NameCompanyName @NameAtCompany @NameFromCompany @NameFrom_Company Company handle in bio To Do: Go through naming convention list Choose a convention and make sure it fits under Twitter’s 15 character handles Step 5: Create Consistent  Profile and Cover Photo Images One of the great ways that you can help distinguish your social media employee advocates is to have a matching profile style image and cover photo. Not only does this help distinguish your actual social employees online, it gives it a nice, clean, polished and professional look to your social accounts. Profile images should be: Headshot style- shoulders and above Contain the same background Any editing style applied to the headshot photo should be the same throughout Here are a couple examples from our team. This is Chris St. Amant, UI/UX Desginer: And Tyler Brazier, Software Engineer: Like the profile images, cover photos should be: Clean and informative Inviting The same throughout all profiles They should look like this: Or this: Everything is clean and consistent. Just the way we like it. It’s important to note that once the standard is set for the profiles, it needs to be followed throughout every single one of them. Why is this consistency  important? It helps users and your customers find your profiles. It also acts as a minor defense system against people who may try to impersonate the account. Once you’ve got your headshots and cover images created,  you can move on to account set up. To Do: Meet with graphic designer and document headshot and cover photo requirements Schedule time for employees to have headshots taken Review headshots and cover photos for final approval Step 6: Set Up Your Social Accounts Now that you’ve got your team on board and their voice has been determined, you’re ready for the fun part. Setting up your profiles. Whether your team is working with Twitter, LinkedIn or both, how you set up the accounts is incredibly important. For some people, this will be the first interaction they ever have with one of your employees. You want your bios to be short and sweet, as well as original. Everyone talks about how they love coffee and traveling. Challenge your employee advocates to think outside the box with another brainstorm session. Have them write down or think about the following: What does their online voice sound like? How can their bio reflect that? They may love coffee and traveling but what is something unique about them? What position do they hold within the company? Do they have a hobby, favorite book series etc, that they will sometimes tweet about? Have them think about some of these questions so they can incorporate them to make a unique bio for their profiles. For example, my professional Twitter bio looks like this: In it, I talk about my field of experience, my passion for theatre, my current position, my alma mater and for good measure I throw in a bit about my Harry Potter obsession. This simple bio does a few things: It establishes my area of expertise and the repertoire I tweet about. It adds personality. Not only do you know that I’m a Content Writer for , you also know that I love theatre and Harry Potter, among other things. This can help establish a connection to a potential client or customer. It makes me approachable. You know,  without a doubt, there is a real human behind that profile. This can make approaching me with a question about our product easier than approaching a company account. Some of you may have noticed there’s something missing in my bio. Can you see it yet? I don’t have a disclaimer in my online bio. Many people will tell you that your professional social accounts need a disclaimer that runs something along the lines of: Opinions are my own Retweet does not = endorsement Many people will add these disclaimers to their social bios in order to protect themselves and the company they work for. It seemed like a simple solution that would protect the employee in case they tweeted something that their employer disagreed with. It’s also thought that adding this disclaimer would protect the employer from public backlash if an employee tweeted something inappropriate. I’m sorry to say that these phrases will rarely protect either the employee or their employer  from backlash if something inappropriate is posted on social media. What can protect me, you might be thinking to yourself? Honestly, nothing but solid common sense. And on that happy note, we’ll continue into step 7. To Do: Brainstorm traits for your employee bios Edit and finalize bios. Add to social profile Step 7: Determine Your Posting Rules If I had to tell you to take away one vitally important piece of information away from this blog  post,  it would be that if you decide to develop your own social media employee advocacy program, determine your posting rules before you start. It may seem like a nonsense task. Why would I have the team take time to write everything down? Because, while great, social media can turn on you within seconds if you or a team member sends the wrong tweet  or message. It doesn’t take much to remember some of the biggest blunders that a company has made on social media. United, Cracker Barrel,  or Pepsi  ringing a bell at all? The internet can be a merciless place, and will never forget anything you posted. Yes, even if you delete it. Social media can turn on you in seconds if you send the wrong tweet or message.Having established rules in place can help you avoid those costly mishaps and give you the peace of mind that content being sent by your team is appropriate, timely and most importantly, connects with your customer base in ways your normal advertising won’t. With that in mind here is an example list of posting do’s that your team can start with and expand on: Post about company milestones Post/Retweet great reviews from other customers Have a blog? Have your employees tweet links back to new content Hosting an event? Have your advocates help promote it? The same goes when you’re attending an event or conference. Make your presence known by tweeting about it If you have fun office traditions, like our #BratwurstBlowout, tweet about it to show off your culture Hiring? Having your advocates post about new positions is a great way to help recruit people to your team Launching a new product or have some big news coming out? Extend the reach of your launch by having employees tweet to If your company is industry specific, have employees share new news or industry trends This is just a starting list. As your program continues to grow, your list will change and grow as your employees find their niche.