Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Estimation on the Value of Information Systems Dissertation

The Estimation on the Value of Information Systems - Dissertation Example The accessible writing and examines need fitting examination to draw out the genuine estimation of data framework appropriate in the wellbeing area. This investigation is planned for proposing an incorporated general data framework model that can be appropriate in emergency clinics in the UK and shows the convenience and estimation of the model for key medical clinic the board and patient’s wellbeing. Presentation More Hospitals in the UK have been confronted with strong guidelines and strain to better their clinical quality, speed and systems of administrations, diminish costs, extend get to and improve the general clinical excursion taken by patients in various medical clinics. This circumstance has prompted emergency clinics to put resources into data frameworks and data innovation with an end goal to defeat a portion of these referenced issues. In emergency clinic conditions where data frameworks have been presented, there has risen the need to assess the system’s u sage as related social insurance suppliers are encountering expanded consideration requests and better standards with regards to support conveyance (Goldszal and Bryan 102). The greater part of the examinations led before offer experiences on the data frameworks esteem comparable to speculation returns, related investment funds and costs, and quantitative estimations types. Concerns have been raised anyway with respect to the sufficiency of estimating adjustments created by emergency clinics that have actualized data frameworks and data innovation in as it is accepted to disregard the impalpable incentive from the included partners. In spite of the fact that it has been seen that data frameworks and innovative advances have enormously been accomplished throughout the years, there has been insignificant accord on the effect level of these presentations on understanding consideration. The vast majority of the investigations focus on logical and quantitative viewpoints making it diffic ult to evaluate the potential gains in a subjective nature (Huang 250) The observational piece of this examination will be led in chosen emergency clinics in the UK which have been recognized as being on the front line in the utilization of IS/IT applications to help both non-clinical and clinical capacities in the UK. An aggregate of fifteen emergency clinics were recognized and inside and out meetings led with staff and specialists from various offices with an end goal to think of a wide scope of various information and perspectives (Laet, Naudts and Vandevivere 198) Literature Review The utilization of data frameworks which have been licensed to improve the social insurance quality have prompted quality estimation through fusing quality and clinical markers as progressively obvious parts of value improvement endeavors in medical clinics are expanding sought after. Such frameworks contain the wellbeing organization of human services fragment frameworks to guarantee comfort in the wellbeing organization framework. The wellbeing profound respect framework is exceptionally compelling in deciding the quality result just as the manner in which assets are used. There are rich writing previously settled on the estimation of data frameworks on the wellbeing division yet at the same time the consequences of such writing are inadmissible. One of the principle set backs of the effectively settled writing is that they don't give a quality relationship the accreditation prerequisites even in circumstances where emergency clinic consistence with detailing and accreditation necessities is adequate. Such written works have been seen to bring about conflicting, incomplete and clashing outcomes.

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Book Riots Deals of the Day for July 31st, 2017

Book Riots Deals of the Day for July 31st, 2017 The latest episode of our new documentary podcast series, Annotated, is the best one yet. It is the story of Belle da Costa Greene, who at the turn of the century was the most glamorous and influential librarian in America. But she also had a scandalous secret that, if uncovered, could have ended her career. Come give it a listen here, or you can subscribe to Annotated in  Apple Podcasts,  Google Play, or in your podcast player of choice.. Each episode of is designed to be just around 20 minutes and focuses on some interesting story about books, language, and reading. Todays Featured Deals The Golem The Jinni by Helene Wacker for $1.99. Get it here or just click the cover image below: Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister for $1.99. Get it here or just click the cover image below: In Case You Missed Yesterdays Most Popular Deal: Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon for $1.99. Get it here or just click the cover image below: Previous daily deals that are still active (as of this writing at least). Get em while theyre hot. The Novice by Thich Nhat Hanh for $1.99. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter Sweet  by Jamie Ford for $2.99. Fates and Furies  by Lauren Groff for $3.99. Let the Great World Spin  by Colum McCann for $2.99. Girl Through Glass  by Sari Wilson for $1.99. Rich and Pretty  by Rumann Alam for $1.99. Horrorstor  by Grady Hendrix for $1.99 The Small Backs of Children  by Lydia Luknavitch for $1.99. I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isnt)  by Brene Brown for $1.99. The Forty Rules of Love  by Elif Shafak for $1.99. Surfacing  by Margaret Atwood for $1.99. Ancillary Justice  by Ann Leckie for $2.99. 10% Happier  by Dan Harris for $1.99. Kindred  by Octavia Butler for $1.99. The Fifth Season  by N.K. Jemisin for $2.99. How to Start a Fire  by Lisa Lutz for $2.99. The Passage  by Justin Cronin for $1.99. Night Film  by Marisha Pessl for $1.99. Shogun  by James Clavell for $1.99. The Notorious RGB  for $1.99. The Valley of Amazement  by Amy Tan for $1.99. The Girl with All the Gifts  by M.R. Carey for $1.99. Graceling  by Kristin Cashore for $1.99. The Rules of Civility  by Amor Towles for $3.99. Ayiti by Roxane Gay for $1.99 Dawn by Octavia E. Butler for $1.99. The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre for $1.99. The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector for $1.99. Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer for $2.99. Mothers Sons by Colm Toibin for $1.99. The Birthday of the World and Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin for $1.99. Galileos Daughter by Dava Sobel for $1.99. Brown Girl, Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson for $1.99. An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage for $1.99. Tell the Wolves Im Home by Carol Rifka Brunt for $1.99. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury for $1.99. After Henry by Joan Didion for $1.13. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller for $1.99. The Toughest Indian in the World by Sherman Alexie for $1.99. The Last Samurai  by Helen DeWitt for $1.99. The Last Policeman  by Ben H. Winters for $1.99. Notes of a Native Son  by James Baldwin for $1.99. Labyrinths  by Jose Luis Borges for $1.99. All the Birds in the Sky  by Charlie Jane Anders for $2.99. A Study in Scarlet Women  by Sherry Thomas for $1.99.. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life  by Benjamin Alire Sáenz for $2.99. We, The Drowned  by Carsten Jenson for $2.99 Big Fish  by Daniel Wallace for $1.99. The Terracotta Bride  by Zen Cho for $1.40. The Geek Feminist Revolution  by Kameron Hurley for $2.99. The Girl at Midnight  by Melissa Grey for $1.99. Cloudsplitter  by Russell Banks for $1.99. Queenpin  by Megan Abbott for $0.99. The Good Lord Bird  by James McBride for $4.99. The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick for $2.99 Frog Music by Emma Donoghue for $1.99 Bitch Planet, Vol 1 for $3.99. Monstress, Vol 1 by Liu Takeda for $3.99 Paper Girls, Vol 1. by Vaughn, Chiang, Wilson for $3.99. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova for $1.99 The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1  for $3.99 The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin for $9.99 The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith for $0.99 We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for $2.99 Sign up for our Book Deals newsletter and get up to 80% off books you actually want to read.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Essay on King Lear and a Brave New World Similar Themes...

In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New world and William Shakespeares King Lear, the reader will find that both works use similar motifs that mirror each other to increase further the similarities and significance of the works. The Brave new world tries to destroy any of human emotion, which is why Huxley has chooses Shakespeare as the basis of Johns system of beliefs involved in personal connection. Although the story lines in both of the publications are quite different from one another, there is no doubt that there are themes that allow one to create a comparison between the two books. The most evident motifs in both novels are madness, nonacceptance and the concept of betrayal. that create an exciting plot and unite the general†¦show more content†¦Bernard Marx has always been considered different from everyone, because of his small size, unfortunately for him largeness in the new world, and smallness is travestied. Resulting him to face an inferiority complex, which leads him to pose behind a superior air,and as a result, he does not fit in well others and not popular. It seems as of Bernard was not condition correctly as he we see he is individualistic enough to defy some of the rules. The Director of the Hatcheries knowing the infractions, threatens to send Bernard to Iceland . Edmund the illegitimate son of Gloucester faces the same conflict of being an out cast because of his background. This is when Gloucester introduces Edmund to a friend:though this knave came something saucily into the world before he was called for, yet was his mother fair; there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged.† (act 1 scene 1). Gloucester smiles and abuses his son, and Edmund smiles right back at him, showing that this is something normal, but this is Shakespeare, and Edmund being a villain plans to settle the score between his father and his legitimate brother Edgar. The actions Edmund takes are cruel, but its not hard to see where the impulse comes from, Shakespeare has really gone out of his way to construct the reason for EdmundsShow MoreRelatedNegative Effects of Technology in Brave New World2663 Words   |  11 Pagesâ€Å"Brave New World† Essay Technology has been used negatively in Brave New World to create a future where individuals are incapable of producing or affecting change. Discuss this statement and show HOW Huxley has demonstrated this idea to his readers. Aldous Huxley’s â€Å"Brave New World† explores the extreme impact of science and technology on an unreal world. The novel fits the science-fiction genre as a dystopia to the reader. Huxley wrote the novel in1932 and presented his thoughtsRead MoreMacbeth9435 Words   |  38 Pages  Macbeth  most clearly reflects the playwright’s relationship with the sovereign. Macbeth  is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named  Macbeth  who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commitRead MoreWho Goes with Fergus11452 Words   |  46 Pageslevel shore because of it. The deep woods woven shade = the unknown. And in response to the previous comment, in my opinion I think that brazen cars is in reference to battle/warfare. Summary The poet asks who will follow King Fergus example and leave the cares of the world to know the wisdom of nature. He exhorts young men and women alike to leave off brooding over loves bitter mystery and to turn instead to the mysterious order of nature, over which Fergus rules. Analysis This short poem

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Ethical Issue Of Anthem Essay - 1702 Words

The ethical issue Anthem faced is that employees felt they were betrayed and that Anthem violated their relationship which was built upon promises. This happened as result of a company decision and its communication thereafter. Description of Anthem Anthem Inc, a leading health insurance company that provides health insurance for personal, business and government entities across the States. Anthem is a prosperous company, ranking within the Fortune 50 list, with total assets equaling $61.7 Billion. They have over 52,000 associates to serve over 39.8 million members. The company has presence in 14 States and continues to offer its services in growing markets (â€Å"Stats and Facts†). Although Anthem is regarded as highly lucrative, the company’s profit margins are extremely low due to the highly competitive and regulated industry. Because there is limited opportunities for market growth, health insurance companies remain competitive by merging with other companies. Anthem is currently in the process of finalizing an acquisition deal with Cigna. This deal has been faced with much scrutiny and pushback from government due to monopoly regulations. If the deal does not go through, Anthem will have to pay a large penalty fee to Cigna. Along with this financial cost, Anthem would also lose time and resources that they have dedicated to this strategy over the past two years. Because of the competitive environment and high stakes, Anthem began cutting costs throughout the company.Show MoreRelatedColin Kaepernick s Kneeling Protest1316 Words   |  6 Pagesknee or sitting during the national anthem. This stand has become way more than a simple silent stand as many people around the nation are starting to voice their opinions on this subject. Even though everyone argues their thoughts on this subject. The president of the United States who is also the commander in chief for the United States military, Obama, has stated that everyone is strongly encouraged to stand during the playing of the countries national anthem. However he continued to say in a pressRead MoreEthics : Ethical Hacking Gaining Access1695 Words   |  7 PagesEthical Hacking Gaining Access Name Institution Ethical Hacking Gaining Access Introduction Ethical hacking is the testing of access to a system, also known as white hacking. The process entails similar tools, methods, and techniques that most hackers employ though with a legal aspect to it. The goal of hacking is done with the permission of the intended target with a goal to show varied areas of weaknesses from the hacker’s perspective. It is part of information risk management allowingRead MoreThe Most Enduring Phenomena Spawned The Great War Created A Literal Response1564 Words   |  7 Pageshuman cruelty and suffering which are carefully structured to convey meaning, and through the use of figurative language conveying the sights and sounds of the battlefield and of trauma. With reference to ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, ‘The Next War’ and ‘Anthem Of Doomed Youth’, Owen’s intention were to arouse an awareness of the fluctuations of fortune and mood during war and to promote an understanding that a these shifts were reflec ted in an enormous body of literature. Owen successfully portrays theRead MoreThe Rhetorical Analysis Of Mary Crow Dog And Graduation By Maya Angelou1640 Words   |  7 Pagesare like animals and savages; the Indians being the animals, and the nuns and priests being the savages. Her argument is effective because it still applies in society today. The rhetor’s essay is kairotic because racism has always been a pressing issue and when Crow Dog went to St. Francis Mission School, it was during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. She was treated poorly there, and began to question the education she was receiving. Angelou argues that the African American race survivesRead MoreAnalysis Of Bush 9 / 11 Speech826 Words   |  4 PagesCongress, which was nationally televised, declaring war on terrorism. In order to console the United States in the wake of one of the darkest events in modern history and gain support for the approaching war, President Bush uses emotional, logical, and ethical appeals. Bush employs connotative diction and imagery to create pathos, consequently achieving his goal of unifying a grieving nation against the common enemy of terrorism. By using the phrase â€Å"lighting of candles† (Bush), Bush makes a connectionRead MoreInformation Systems : Computer Ethics1525 Words   |  7 Pageson decision making, values, responsibility of one’s own data and also others data (Wong, 1995) [3]. Computers store lot of information in their memory like personal information, banking information, health information, here privacy is an important issue of computer ethics. Specific guidelines, policies, rules should be developed by organizations which should be acceptable by majority of computer users in following computer ethics. People who follow morals and values in everything they do automaticallyRead MoreDemonstrations of the Power of Dictators in Anthem by Ayn Rand581 Words   |  2 PagesAnthem Essay Hitler once stated â€Å"He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.† This means that whoever is in control of the youth will control what is going to happen, because the youth are the future. 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Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision-Making Free Essays

string(52) " accounting in a firm are planning and controlling\." Table of content: Page number Executive Summary—————————————————- 2 Introduction —————————————————– 3 What is Cost Accounting? ——————————————- 5 Importance of data collection —————————————- 6 Accounting data for productivity measurement —————– 7 Accounting data for decision making ——————————- 9 Identifying profitable segment’s using accounting————— 11 Managerial Accounting changes———â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 13 Conclusion —————————————————————- 14 Reference —————————————————————- 15 Executive summary: The report titled ‘Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision-Making’ provides an analysis and evaluation of how accounting data is used by companies to promote their profitability and to improve their productivity. Most of the data and information has been collected from online journals. The journals collected were written by renowned professors and researchers from established universities. We will write a custom essay sample on Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision-Making or any similar topic only for you Order Now The journals dealt with not only the importance of data collection for promoting profitable segments but also on the recent change in accounting practices around the world with primary focus on developing countries. Results of the report suggest that data mining is an essential activity for firms who are committed to advance their productivity. The findings also suggest that such information allows for firms to obey their budgets. The report finds that more and more firms have recognized the importance of data collection for their organization and are finding new ways to promote efficient accounting practices. The report also investigates certain limitations of the journals used. The journals are often much generalized rather than using information about a certain organization. Moreover the data provided in the journals ranges over long periods of time through many different firms in many nations. Thus the findings may not be applicable for all firms. Introduction What is managerial accounting? Managerial accounting  is concerned with the provisions and use of  accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions. In contrast to  financial accountancy  information, management accounting information is: * primarily forward-looking, instead of historical model based with a degree of abstraction to support decision making generically, instead of case based * designed and intended for use by managers within the organization, instead of being intended for use by shareholders, creditors, and public regulators * usually confidential and used by management, instead of publicly reported * Computed by refe rence to the needs of managers, often using  management information systems, instead of by reference to general financial accounting standards. According to the  Institute of Management Accountants  (IMA)-Management accounting is a profession that involves partnering in management decision making, devising planning and performance management systems, and providing expertise in financial reporting and control to assist management in the formulation and implementation of an organization’s strategy. Managerial accounting as practice extends to the following three areas: * Strategic management—advancing the role of the management accountant as a strategic partner in the organization. * Performance management—developing the practice of business decision-making and managing the performance of the organization. * Risk management—contributing to frameworks and practices for identifying, measuring, managing and reporting risks to the achievement of the objectives of the organization. The Institute of Certified Managerial Accountants (ICMA), states  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A managerial accountant applies his or her professional knowledge and skill in the preparation and presentation of financial and other decision oriented information in such a way as to assist management in the formulation of policies and in the planning and control of the operation of the undertaking†. Managerial accountants therefore are seen as the value-creators amongst the accountants. They are much more interested in forward looking and taking decisions that will affect the future of the organization, than in the historical recording and compliance aspects of the profession. Managerial accounting knowledge and experience can therefore be obtained from varied fields and functions within an organization, such as information management, treasury, efficiency auditing, marketing, valuation, pricing, logistics, etc. (Managerial Accounting,2011, para:1-2) Importance of Managerial accounting for firms in general Managerial accountants record financial information for their companies that is used by the organization’s management team to aid in the decision-making process. Managerial accountants develop budgets, perform asset and cost management, and create important reports used by the management team. Managers depend greatly on the information provided by managerial accountants to develop effective business strategies. Small business owners make most of the decisions within their company. The information presented by managerial accountants affects the owner’s ability to make sound business decisions. The two primary functions of managerial accounting in a firm are planning and controlling. You read "Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision-Making" in category "Papers" Both of these help managers accomplish decision making. Managerial accountants have a dual reporting relationship. As a strategic partner and provider of decision based financial and operational information, managerial accountants are responsible for managing the business team and at the same time having to report relationships and responsibilities to the corporation’s finance organization. The activities managerial accountants provide inclusive of forecasting and planning, performing variance analysis, reviewing and monitoring costs inherent in the business are ones that have dual accountability to both finance and the business team. Examples of tasks where accountability may be more meaningful to the business management team vs. the corporate finance department are the development of new product costing,  operations research, business driver metrics, sales management score carding, and client profitability analysis. Conversely, the preparation of certain financial reports, reconciliations of the financial data to source systems, risk and regulatory reporting will be more useful to the corporate finance team as they are charged with aggregating certain financial information from all segments of the corporation. In corporations that derive much of their profits from the information economy, such as banks, publishing houses, telecommunications companies and defense contractors, IT costs are a significant source of uncontrollable spending, which in size is often the greatest corporate cost after total compensation costs and property related costs. A function of management accounting in such organizations is to work closely with the IT department to provide  IT cost transparency. Managerial accountants help drive the success of the business while strict financial accounting is more of a compliance and historical endeavor. The goal of managerial accounting in a firm is to provide information for internal decision making, primarily for planning and control purposes. The types of decisions made by managers rely substantially on accounting information. Because financial accounting information does not provide enough detail for internal decisions, it must be broken into more detail of the individual products or services provided by a company. Not only do managers need to know the cost of a product or service, they need the costs broken into smaller components so they are able to perform what-if analyses and forecasts for the future. Some types of decisions that managers often make include pricing products, dropping a product or product line, buying new equipment to replace old, evaluating the performance of managers or divisions of a company, or making rather than buying a part or product. What is Cost Accounting? Cost accounting  is a process of collecting, analyzing, summarizing and evaluating various alternative courses of action (Wikipedia, March 23, 2013, Revised Standard Version). It helps to find out the detailed information to the manager to control operation based on cost efficiency and capability. Managers made decisions for their own firm. So they need to manage the cost regarding productivity and strategic decision making. Cost accounting helps managers to control and manage resources. Strategic decisions based on cost reduction and rising costs are based on cost accounting. Basically the information is designed for managers as they take all the decisions for the organization. Important strategic decision making are made depending on the costs that the company can manage to pay for. Thus cost accounting is an important tool for the managers for productivity management and strategic decision making. Importance of data mining: Data mining is primarily used today by companies with a strong consumer focus. The application of data mining is ever-increasing in today’s business as in enables business to pull out hidden information from huge amount of data for better understanding of the consumers (Chopoorian et al. , 2001). The information is analyzed based on different perspective and summarize into useful data that can be used to increase revenue or cut costs. Although data mining is a relatively new term, but large companies are using it to find co-relation among huge amount of data in large database. The importance’s of data mining for modern business are given below: Data mining is used in restoration of hidden data which helps to extract the valuable information and construct practical analysis for decision making. * Data mining gives financial institutions information about loan and credit reporting (â€Å"Zentut†, â€Å"n. d. †). * It also helps banks detect fraudulent credit card transactions to protect credit card’s owner (â€Å"Zentut†, â€Å"n. d. †). * It is being used ever more for understanding and forecasting consumer buying actions, buying tendency, customer profile and industry analysis (â€Å"Articlebase†, July 18, 2009). Data mining can be used as decision making tools in market research, industry research and competitor analysis which made it more beneficiary for the business industry. * It can manipulate large database swiftly and effectively accomplishes entire data analysis process. * Data mining helps government agency by excavating and scrutinizing records of financial transaction to build molds that can identify money laundering or criminal activities (â€Å"Wordpress†, December 5, 2006). * It can be used in every sector like science, business and others and it is cost effective. Limitation: Data mining has uncountable benefits and importance in today’s modern business but it has some limitations. Most of them are based on technological advancement, which is considered as the foremost advantage of data mining. Additional limitations are discussed below: * Security concern: One of the major limitations of data mining is the security issue. Most of the businesses accumulate their customers’ social security number, payroll etc. Hackers can easily go across their accounts and steal such sensitive data of the customers (â€Å"Zentut†, â€Å"n. . †). Thus customers do not feel safe to share information through data mining. To avoid the unwanted security concern, companies ought to take several crucial precautions so that the customers can trust them with no trouble. * Privacy concern: The misuse of internet has threatened the privacy concern among its users. People are afraid to share any of their personal information as it can be collec ted and used in unethical ways. Customers’ do not prefer to buy goods online in apprehension of getting any information revealed (â€Å"IT Law WIKI†, â€Å"n. . †). As business has to collect many of the information, they must take care about the privacy policy so that the information cannot easily disclose. * Inaccurate information: Unethical businesses or people might use information that is given in data mining for some other purposes or can inequity against some other people. Moreover the information or the assessment published in data mining is not absolutely accurate if the data has been entered wrong. Thus people cannot reliance completely on data mining. Possible benefits: Data mining is useful for modern business today as particular user will be looking for a pattern not for complete data in the database, it is better to read wanted data than unwanted data. There are some other benefits. They are: * Data mining technique is required pattern will be drawn from database with in short time * Data mining software is easy to use and does not require complicated statistical acquaintance and data preprocessing (Chen and Sakaguchi, 2000) * Data mining tools are programmed in such ways, it automatically present data analysis with visual charts and table to assist understanding Importance of Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement: According to Kaydos (1991), â€Å"Productivity and subsequently performance measurement has become more important and has been regarded as a prerequisite for continuous improvement† (as cited in Phusavat Photaranon, 2006). Accounting data is important for measuring productivity to provide a systematic and comprehensive explanation of changes in profitability. Productivity measurement is one of the criterions for performance analysis of a firm. According to Sink (1985), â€Å"Productivity is simply the relationship between the outputs (goods and services) generated from a system and the inputs provided to create those outputs† (as cited in Phusavat Photaranon, 2006). It is very important that accounting data collected should be correct and reliable otherwise productivity measurement would be inaccurate which will lead to incorrect forecast of cost and profitability data. Both technical and managerial aspects should be recognized in order to ensure successful and sustainable productivity measurement. For this purpose, strong database management is essential in order to ensure timely provision of accounting data for productivity measurement. It is essential to timely collect production-related data and report performance information by the database management to ensure better performance-analysis. According to Harper (1984), â€Å"It is vital for an organization to become continuously more productive in order to sustain its growth† (as cited in Phusavat Photaranon, 2006). The productivity measurement based on accounting data divides production inputs into five categories such as capital, labour, energy, materials, and services. Productivity also includes unit cost, price, factor proportion, cost proportion, product mix, and input allocation (Phusavat Photaranon, 2006). Accounting data consisting of integration between productivity, financial performance (i. e. profitability) at the operational level, and features such as opportunity gain/loss is used for productivity and performance measurement. Management report on opportunity gain/loss is useful for future monitoring and evaluation. Accounting data such as concepts of the opportunity gain/loss and the dynamic/static ratios in both single and partial formats are essential for performance measurement. Accounting information such as value-added labor productivity and ROA are also included in measurement technique. More comprehensive analysis of entity by measurements requires more accounting data to be aggregated (Phusavat Photaranon, 2006). Importance of Accounting in Strategic Decision making: Accounting is essential in managing business performance and the accountants helps to improve decision making by offering strategic and practical advice, by managing risk, and by supporting key decisions at all stages of the decision making process for enhanced productivity and profitability measurements. An accountant can help significantly in the areas of budgeting, investigating, interpreting and communicating results for use by both internal and external decision makers. For example, at the problem recognition stage, they may be the first to detect an opportunity or approaching threat. At the ideas stage, they can help to provide creative solutions (â€Å"Improving strategic decision making†, n. d. ). Profitability is consequence of adopting a market orientation and plays important role in decision making (as cited in Inglis Clift, 2008). Market orientations is composed of three behavioral components, such as customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter functional coordination, and two decision criteria, long-term focus and profitability (Narver and Slater, 1990). Customer orientation component of a market orientation and profitability acts as decision criterion (Inglis and Clift, 2008). There is an identified requirement for accounting information about the costs involved in providing a range of customer product-attributes which help businesses to choose most profitable market segment. According to Gray and Hooley (2002), within the market-orientation, customer value, customer product-attribute needs and accounting information are interrelated conceptually from a managerial and economic perspective (Gray and Hooley, 2002). McNaughton et al. (2002) stated that accounting function develops a sense of those attributes of greatest value to customers and in this way they may provide link between customers, value and profitability (as cited in Inglis and Clift, 2008). According to Inglis and Clift (2008), creating value for customer through product attributes requires accounting information very much for decision making. Function cost analysis and interrelated techniques of value analysis are integral to target costing (TC) which seeks to reduce the life-cycle costs of products while ensuring all customer requirements are met (Shillito and De Marle, 1992; Kato, 1993). According to Inglis and Clift (2008), the accounting function may interact with customers in managing payment procedures and terms for a richer understanding of how to differentiate its business in the market place and assist in creating value for the customer (Inglis and Clift, 2008). Importance of using ABC Method to avoid the problems faced by firms providing financial services According to Hussain and Gunasekaran (2001), activity based costing (ABC) has become highly essential to overcome shortcomings faced by traditional accounting method, in terms of validity, accuracy, completeness, consistency, understanding and relevance. It helps management to make internal decisions and formulate plans to provide new services, improve existing services and measure performances in order to achieve overall competitive strategies and advantages of organizations. The approach further provides a more factual basis for decisions by identifying truly profitable and truly unprofitable products, eliminating unnecessary costs, identifying and distinguishing between true value-add activities and non-value add activities, and pricing products so as to achieve acceptable margins. It is a powerful tool in achieving competitive advantages and in providing operational and discretionary project cost data (Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). Activity based costing in service costs in bank demonstrated by Hussain and Kock (1994) showed unit time is a more complex calculation involving work measurement processes (as cited in Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). Once information obtained the bank can calculate the profitability of various segments, retain highly profitable segments and transform unprofitable segments into profitable ones through actions on pricing, product features, operating improvements and technology introduction (as cited in Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). West and West (1997) demonstrated the need of activity-based costing implementation in services . . . for financial survival without which managers cannot make effective decisions involving long-term captivated contract profitability (as cited in Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). Harr (1990) reports activity-based accounting approach for budgeting and financial performance reduces the costs without losing either the timeliness or the quality of its services. In spite of the advantages, however, ABC costing does not solve all the problems involved in decision making as management might overlook basic analysis needed for customer adaptation, flexibility and economies of scope (Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001). It is important to constantly focus upon customers’ total perceived service quality and to maintain relationships to profitable customers. ABCM can then be accepted as a real tool for management to make strategic decision, formulate plan and operate control (Hussain and Gunasekaran, 2001) Using Target costing to identify profitable segments and maintaining productivity: In the journal ‘Target Costing’ (1995) the authors have stated that ‘product innovation is one of the keys to a company’s survival and competitiveness’ (p. 1). Thus Management accounting and cost accounting play an important role as they help in the creation of new products which attracts customers while maintaining low costs and ensuring profitability. As the effects of globalisation becomes more apparent companies are forced to reconsider their accounting practices, more specifically there management accounting practices. This is where target costing comes in. Target costing has been defined in the book Managerial Accounting (2012) ‘the process of determining the maximum allowable cost for a new product and then developing a prototype that can be profitably made for that maximum target cost figure’ (p. 763). In other words a desired profit margin is deducted from the selling price and a new target cost is determined for the new product. Implementing Target Costing: The different departments of the firm run a cost analysis to develop a target cost for the new product. If the manufacturing cost for the new product is equal or below the target cost then the product can be introduced in the market. Finally the target cost is deducted from the selling price. Thus target costing not only helps find a profitable segment in the market but also makes sure that product is being produce in its most productive capacity. The target profit process has been summarised in Figure 1 (see appendix). The journal further states that the companies that benefit the most from Target costing (p. 6) are: 1. Firms involved in assembly production style. 2. Firms involved in product diversification thus need target costing to determine a profitable market segment. 3. Firms whose product life cycle is relatively short (less than 3 years). 4. Firms wanting to reducing costs during the planning, design and development stages of a product’s life cycle. Managerial Accounting Changes: Research shows that Managerial Accounting has under gone changes in the last decade. According to the journal ‘Managerial Accounting Change in South Africa’ (Waweru, Jan 2004) this is especially true for developing nations. The case study considers four retail firms in South Africa. This helped them to find out the exact changes in Management Accounting Practices and the reasoning behind such changes. The journal reports that the main reason for such transformations can mainly be attributed to three main reasons. They are: 1. Increased Globalisation-This has made sure there is increased competition between the countries of the world. Thus necessitating for changes to take place in the managerial accounting world. 2. Huge variations in Information Technology-Technological advancements in the last decade has revolutionized the way world does business. The introduction of supercomputers has made sure that decision making process is faster and also made information more freely available. 3. Recent economic recession-The recession which has gripped the world since 2007 has made businesses reassess their managerial practices. Thus the journal has found that in order to deal with such challenges the businesses have evolved and so has their accounting practice. In developed nations more and more firms are now involved in Target Costing, Activity Based Costing (ABC), Product Life-cycle costing and finally Quality Costing. It should again be mentioned that these changes has only been noticed in developing nations and not so much in developed nations around the world. However the paper cautions regarding such changes by stating that no one accounting system is universally appropriate for all firms. But rather that it varies from company to company. Thus the factors a firm should consider are (Waweru, 2004): 1. Size and type of the firm 2. Foreign competition 3. Economic restrictions 4. Technological advancements 5. Political and Social Considerations Hence we can conclude from this journal that Management practices evolves slowly in developing countries where it is greatly aided by government reforms/deregulations and globalisations and technological improvements. Conclusion: Thus we can say that accounting data has a strong effect on productivity and strategic decision making for firms. Since the data’s collected, both time series and cross sectional data, provides an insight into what has increased output for firms over the years and all the possible actions firms can make to engage in efficient production. Data’s are also used to make important decision. Time series accounting data gives a good understanding of the profitable segments of the firms and the different sectors the firm can further expand into. Hence we can conclude by saying that accounting data are extremely vital for management accounting practices. Reference: 1. So,S and Smith,M. (2003). Managerial Auditing Journal. The impact of presentation format and individual differences on the communication of information for management decision making. 18 (1), p1-3. 2. Farag,M and Elias,R. (2012). Public Accounting Firms’ mix of service revenue and average productivity. Evidence using revenue per person. 7 (8), p1-5. 3. Phusavat,K and Photaranon,W. (2006). Productivity/Performance measurement. Case application at the government pharmacuetical organisation. 106 (9), p1-16. 4. Waweru,N and Hoque,Z. (2004). Management Accounting Change in South Africa. Case studies from retail services. 17 (5), p1-30. 5. Inglis,R and Clift,R. (2008). Market Oriented accounting:information f or product level decision. Market oriented accounting. 23 (3), pg1-15. 6. Liu,s and Chen,J. (2009). Using data mining to segment healthcare markets from patients’ preference perspectives. Using data mining to segment markets. 22 (2), p1-18. . Hussain,M and Gunasekaran,A. (2001). Activity-based cost management in financial services industry. Managing service quality. 11 (3), p1-11. 8. Gagne,M and Discenza,R. (1995). Target Costing. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS INDUSTRIAL MARKETING. 10 (1), p1-7. 9. None. (2012). Management Accounting. Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Management_accounting. Last accessed 12th April 2013. 10. None. (2009). Improving strategic decision making. Available: 10. http://businesscasestudies. co. uk/cima/improving-strategic-decision-making/introduction. html#axzz2QEPImiLQ . Last accessed 12th April 2013. How to cite Accounting Data in Productivity Measurement and Strategic Decision-Making, Papers

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Moral Story free essay sample

A King of Revenge Once upon a time, many years ago, there lived a wealthy King named Alfred. He had more power and more money than anybody in the town of Gershon. King Alfred drove the nicest car and had the biggest castle. He was a handsome man who was married to a gorgeous Queen name Dorothy. It seemed clear that Dorothy did not love Alfred, only his money and power. King Alfred is a rude, self-centered man who has never had to work for anything in his life. On a beautiful afternoon in Gershon, King Alfred and Queen Dorothy decided to take a drive around to show off their new convertible. Alfred was driving the car at an extremely fast speed when all of a sudden the car in front of him slammed on his brakes, causing Alfred to ram into the back of the other car. Queen Dorothy was covered in blood; glass stuck in her body, with a few small tears running down her cheek. We will write a custom essay sample on Moral Story or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page King Alfreds brand new car was severely damaged. He crawled his way out of his scrunched car to see who the man in front of him was. It was another wealthy man named Matthew. Alfred knew this man because he was one of the few wealthy fellows in Gershon. Alfred cursed him out, worked his way back into the car, and drove slowly but surely to the nearest octor. But as they were slowly trembling down the highway there was a moment where King Alfred know that Queen Dorothy was dead. He pulled over to the side of the road and sat in silence. The King did not even shed a tear. However, he was shaking in terror and furiousness. Alfred did eventually get back to his castle. He squeezed Dorothy out of the car and buried her in the backyard. Soon after that he stormed to the top floor and grabbed a hand gun. He ran downstairs and hopped into his older car. He knew where Matthew lived and King Alfred sped off towards his destination. Matthew had a very large home with maids and servants at the doors. King Alfred arrived and parked his car slightly before Matthews house so nobody would notice. He walked around the side of the house to the backyard and there sat Matthew poolside, all alone. The King had a clear shot. He aimed his gun straight for Matthews head but as Alfred pulled the trigger, Matthew stood up. The bullet went straight through his leg. Matthew let out a massive scream of pain and out ran the maids and servants. King Alfred took off sprinting, leaving his car behind. Alfred traveled to an unknown, hidden location. He fgured he would be safe there for a while. The shocking news spread around Gershon and some of the evil peasants took advantage of this. The evil peasants got together and rushed to King Alfreds giant castle, breaking into his vault, and stealing all of the available currency. After some time, King Alfred snuck back into Gershon to go back to his castle and retrieve his money. When Alfred arrived and opened his vault his mouth dropped and he sat down in depression. He had no idea what to do so he Just laid there and closed his eyes. King Alfreds older car was left at Matthews house.