Case study- Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case study- - Coursework Example This will result in many followers and will raise the popularity of cloud computing. a) For a new entrant it is hard to invest huge amount in infrastructure to build own data centre. Here cloud computing lessens their cost to substantial level (Pay-Per-Use facility might be recalled of as an example). Capacity Planning: - This is a course of action that an organization use to determine the production required to meet varying demands for its products. Here though Amazon is a retail organization, they shift their business from retail to cloud computing technology, since lots of small organization who are dealing with large data sets are opting to be their clients. In the long run to reduce the risk of server downtime they are simultaneously useing public and private cloud. Scalability: This is the capacity of a system to accomplish large number of works in a competent style with ultimate achievement of growth. Amazon is handling a large number of data of many organizations with flexible computing power, messaging and other services. Circumscribing this dimension, Amazon is equipped with huge resources directed towards helping an array of small firms entering new business and struggling to maintain huge database. On the other way, subscribers of Amazon for example, Zynga is using a business model where they use private and public cloud jointly. At the juncture when Zynga decides to launch any new application they use public cloud because they are uncertain about their future applicability. Once this application stabilizes in the market they shift to its own cloud computing dynamics for the reduction of risk related to the server downtime problems. TCO: Total cost of ownership is an estimation of cost method and is used to assist consumers and project managers to establish direct and indirect costs of a product or

Understanding the accounting cycle and importance of accounting

Understanding the accounting cycle and importance of accounting The Importance of Accounting To understand accounting information and use accounting information is important for any business. Information that is provided to external parties who have an interest in a company is sometimes referred to as financial accounting information, according to Williams, Haka, Bettner, and Carcello (2006, p. 4). The main reason in providing accounting and financial information is the use of said information in decision-making purposes. Many groups, including company management, government regulatory agencies, creditors, and suppliers, use financial information in various ways to determine a companys financial health and ability to meet obligations as such obligations become current. Companies and their personnel must understand the various steps in the accounting cycle and how such steps provide reliable information to the users of financial information. What is the Accounting Cycle? The accounting cycle is the sequence of accounting procedures used to record, classify, and summarize accounting information in financial reports at regular intervals (p. 94). The final preparation of formal financial statements is always started with the recording of business transactions and this cycle repeats so the business can prepare new, current, financial statements in response to business transactions conducted by the firm. The accounting cycle is composed of eight steps and includes journalizing transactions, posting journal entries to ledger accounts, preparing a trial balance, making end-of-the-period adjustments, preparing an adjusted trial balance, preparing financial statements, journalizing and posting closing entries, and preparing an after-closing trial balance. Remember debits increase assets while credits increase owner equity during the recording and adjustment phases of the accounting cycle. An account has only three elements: (1) a title; (2) a left side, which is called the debit side; and (3) a right side, which is called the credit side (p. 95); such accountings are called T accounts because, on paper, the recording of such accounts resembles the letter T. A sample T account is below: The account balance is determined in the difference between the debit and credit sides of the account. If the debit total is more than the credit total, the account is said to have a debit balance. If the credit total is more, then the account is said to have a credit balance. In asset accounts, the debit recording increases the amount in the asset account and a credit decreases the amount in the account. Under liability and owners equity accounts, the debit decreases the amount in the account, while a credit increases the amount in the account. This aligns with the equation and is known as the system of double-entry account. Journalizing Transactions The first step involves placing the business transactions into a journal, which records the business transactions chronologically (day-by-day). The amounts entered in this section are transferred to the debit and credit sections of the accounts in the ledger. A person investing in the firm pays $80,000 in cash in exchange for stock in the firm. The two accounts affected by this transaction are the Cash and Capital Stock. The first step in journalizing this entry is entering the name of the account debited (Cash), which is written first, along with its dollar amount entered in the left-hand money column. The name of the account credited (Capital Stock) appears below Cash and is indented to the right, with the dollar amount appearing in the right-hand money column. A description of the transaction appears below the journal entry. Below is a sample journal entry: Posting to Ledger Accounts Posting simple means updating the ledger accounts for the effects of the transactions recorded in the journal (p. 98). If the person reads the journal entry aloud, this means the previous journal entries are read as Debit Cash $80,000; credit Capital Stock, $80,000. A person copies the journal entry amounts into the general ledger, which is a series of T account entries; this is performed in the ledger as follows: This process is continued until all journal entries are record in the ledger. Once all of the ledger entries are calculated, the next step is the preparation of the trial balance. Trial Balance The trial balance is prepared to ensure debits and credits equal one another. All of the ledger accounts are listed, with debits in the left column and credits in the right column (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, 2007). The debit column is added first, then the credit column. If the totals do not agree, the issue could be a debit was recorded instead of a credit, mistakes in arithmetic, and clerical errors in copying account balances into the trial balance. Both columns should be equal; however, this does not mean that a transaction was recorded in the wrong account. A sample trial balance is displayed below: Making End-of-period Adjustments Adjustments after the trial balance is created to record accrued, deferred, and estimated amounts and posting the adjusted entries to the ledger accounts. Once the entries are entered in the ledger, the accountant prepares the adjusted trial balance, which contains similar steps to the unadjusted trial balance; however, the adjusted trial balance contains the adjusting entries. Accrued items would include salaries, interest income, and unbilled revenue; deferred items would include prepaid insurance, office supplies, and depreciation. Preparing Financial Statements Publicly owned companies-those with shares listed on a stock exchange-have obligations to release annual and quarterly information to their stockholders and to the public (Williams, Haka, Bettner, and Carcello, 2006, p. 192). The financial statements include the income statement, the statement of retained earnings, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows (also known as the cash flow statement). The income statement is prepared first because it determines the amount of net income in the statement of retained earnings. The statement of retained earnings is prepared next to provide information for the balance sheet. The balance sheet is prepared from the assets, liabilities, and equity accounts of the firm. Finally, the cash flow statement is prepared using data from the other financial statements. Preparing Closing Entries to Journals and Ledger Accounts Closing journal entries closes temporary accounts such as revenues and moves these accounts to a temporary income summary account. The balance is then transferred to the retained earnings account, which is a capital account; likewise, dividend or withdrawal accounts are closed to capital. Closing entries are then posted to the ledger accounts. After these tasks the after-closing trail balance is created to ensure debits equal credits. Error-checking and correction is made to this trial balance. The Importance of the Accounting Cycle Re-visited All businesses prepare financial statements, so it is important all accountants understand the accounting cycle to ensure the proper entry of data and credible financial information out put. Eight steps comprise the accounting cycle, from the journalizing of business transactions to preparing after-closing trial balances. Without the accounting cycle, the information provided in financial statements would not be reliable and decision-making processes would be difficult to perform by users of financial information.

The Works of J.D. Salinger Essay -- Biography Bio

J.D. Salinger: The influence of an author and his writings on 1950s America The end of World War II and the beginning of the 1950s saw a time of prosperity and success in mainstream America. Less than a decade after the United States allied with Great Britain and the Soviet Union, forming one of the most powerful forces in history to defeat the axis powers in the war, the U.S. was deeply entrenched in a nuclear arms race and "Cold War" with the Soviet Union. As a result, the country put on a collective fa†¡ade of stability and strength to cover up many injustices that were taking place during the time. Americans, equipped for the first time in a long while with a good amount of money, flooded to the suburbs and replaced any sorrows they might have had with material products and consumerism -- creating an America of conformity and extravagance that Salinger would devote much of his writing to critiquing. With the publication of Catcher in the Rye in the summer of 1951, America was introduced to Holden Caulfield, a character who would continue to remain in the American psyche for over half a century. Holden was the voice of this young generation who did not seem to have the same conformist attitudes or mainstream goals as their parents. Predictably, this critique of society and questioning of traditional American values was quickly met with an attempt to censor the message of dissent. Beginning in 1954 and continuing for decades, Catcher was criticized for its cynical tone, its "un-American" content, and its foul language ("237 goddams, 58 bastards, 31 Chrissakes, and 1 fart," according to one complaint" Steinle 3). But despite this controversy, and no doubt at least partially because of it, countless numbers of Americans read ... ...es H. "Incommunicability in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye." Western Humanities Review, XI (Spring 1957), 188-190. (Reprinted in Studies in J.D. Salinger by Marvin Laser and Norman Fruman). Lomanzoff, Eric. "The Praises and Criticisms of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye" (1996) www.levity.com/corduroy/salinger1.htm Pinsker, Sanford. "The Catcher in the Rye and All: Is the Age of Formative Books Over?" The Georgia Review 50: 4 (1986): 953-967. Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Salinger, J.D. Nine Stories. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1953. Steed, J.P. The Catcher in the Rye: New Essays. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 2002. Steinle, Pamela Hunt. In Cold Fear: The Catcher in the Rye Censorship Controversies and Postwar American Character. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2000.

Two Levels of Control: Strategic and Operational

Two Levels of Control: Strategic and Operational Imagine that you are the captain of a ship. The strategic controls make sure that your ship is going in the right direction; management and operating controls make sure that the ship is in good condition before, during, and after the voyage. With that analogy in mind, strategic controlstrategic controlThe process by which an organization tracks the strategy as it is being implemented, detecting any problem areas or potential problem areas that might suggest that the strategy is incorrect, and making any necessary adjustments. s concerned with tracking the strategy as it is being implemented, detecting any problem areas or potential problem areas suggesting that the strategy is incorrect, and making any necessary adjustments. [716] Strategic controls allow you to step back and look at the big picture and make sure all the pieces of the picture are correctly aligned. Operational control : A process concerned with executing the strategy. , in contrast to strategic control, is concerned with executing the strategy. Where operational controls are imposed, they function within the framework established by the strategy.Normally these goals, objectives, and standards are established for major subsystems within the organization, such as business units, projects, products, functions, and responsibility centers. [717] Typical operational control measures include return on investment, net profit, cost, and product quality. These control measures are essentially summations of finer-grained control measures. Corrective action based on operating controls may have implications for strategic controls when they involve changes in the strategy.Types of Control It is also valuable to understand that, within the strategic and operational levels of control, there are several types of control. The first two types can be mapped across two dimensions: level of proactivity and outcome versus behavioral. The following table summarizes thes e along with examples of what such controls might look like. Proactivity Proactivity can be defined as the monitoring of problems in a way that provides their timely prevention, rather than after the fact reaction.In management, this is known as feedforward controlfeedforward controlsThe active monitoring of problems in a way that provides their timely prevention, rather than after-the-fact reaction. ; it addresses what can we do ahead of time to help our plan succeed. The essence of feedforward control is to see the problems coming in time to do something about them. For instance, feedforward controls include preventive maintenance on machinery and equipment and due diligence on investments. Table  15. 1. Types and Examples of Control Control Proactivity |Behavioral control |Outcome control | |Feedforward control |Organizational culture |Market demand or economic forecasts | |Concurrent control |Hands-on management supervision during a project |The real-time speed of a production line | |Feedback control |Qualitative measures of customer satisfaction |Financial measures such as profitability, sales | | | |growth | Concurrent Controls The process of monitoring and adjusting ongoing activities and processes is known as concurrent controlconcurrent controlsProcesses that entail monitoring and adjusting ongoing activities..Such controls are not necessarily proactive, but they can prevent problems from becoming worse. For this reason, we often describe concurrent control as real-time control because it deals with the present. An example of concurrent control might be adjusting the water temperature of the water while taking a shower. Feedback Controls Finally, feedback controlsfeedback controlsProcesses that involve the gathering of information about a completed activity, evaluating that information, and taking steps to improve the similar activities in the future. involve gathering information about a completed activity, evaluating that information, and taking steps to improve the similar activities in the future.This is the least proactive of controls and is generally a basis for reactions. Feedback controls permit managers to use information on past performance to bring future performance in line with planned objectives. Control as a Feedback Loop In this latter sense, all these types of control function as a feedback mechanism to help leaders and managers make adjustments in the strategy, as perhaps is reflected by changes in the planning, organizing, and leading components. This feedback loop is characterized in the following figure. Figure  15. 4. Controls as Part of a Feedback Loop [pic] Why might it be helpful for you to think of controls as part of a feedback loop in the P-O-L-C process?Well, if you are the entrepreneur who is writing the business plan for a completely new business, then you would likely start with the planning component and work your way to controlling—that is, spell out how you are going to tell whethe r the new venture is on track. However, more often, you will be stepping into an organization that is already operating, and this means that a plan is already in place. With the plan in place, it may be then up to you to figure out the organizing, leading, or control challenges facing the organization. Outcome and Behavioral Controls Controls also differ depending on what is monitored, outcomes or behaviors. Outcome controlsoutcome controlsProcesses that are generally preferable when just one or two performance measures (say, return on investment or return on assets) are good gauges of a business’s health. re generally preferable when just one or two performance measures (say, return on investment or return on assets) are good gauges of a business’s health. Outcome controls are effective when there’s little external interference between managerial decision making on the one hand and business performance on the other. It also helps if little or no coordination wi th other business units exists. Behavioral controlsbehavioral controlsThe direct evaluation of managerial and employee decision making, not of the results of managerial decisions. involve the direct evaluation of managerial and employee decision making, not of the results of managerial decisions. Behavioral controls tie rewards to a broader range of criteria, such as those identified in the Balanced Scorecard.Behavioral controls and commensurate rewards are typically more appropriate when there are many external and internal factors that can affect the relationship between a manager’s decisions and organizational performance. They’re also appropriate when managers must coordinate resources and capabilities across different business units. Financial and Nonfinancial Controls Finally, across the different types of controls in terms of level of proactivity and outcome versus behavioral, it is important to recognize that controls can take on one of two predominant forms: f inancial and nonfinancial controls. Financial controlfinancial controlThe management of a firm’s costs and expenses to control them in relation to budgeted amounts. nvolves the management of a firm’s costs and expenses to control them in relation to budgeted amounts. Thus, management determines which aspects of its financial condition, such as assets, sales, or profitability, are most important, tries to forecast them through budgets, and then compares actual performance to budgeted performance. At a strategic level, total sales and indicators of profitability would be relevant strategic controls. Without effective financial controls, the firm’s performance can deteriorate. PSINet, for example, grew rapidly into a global network providing Internet services to 100,000 business accounts in 27 countries. However, expensive debt instruments such as junk bonds were used to fuel the firm’s rapid expansion.According to a member of the firm’s board of dire ctors, PSINet spent most of its borrowed money â€Å"without the financial controls that should have been in place. †[718] With a capital structure unable to support its rapidly growing and financially uncontrolled operations, PSINet and 24 of its U. S. subsidiaries eventually filed for bankruptcy. [719] While we often think of financial controls as a form of outcome control, they can also be used as a behavioral control. For instance, if managers must request approval for expenditures over a budgeted amount, then the financial control also provides a behavioral control mechanism as well. Increasing numbers of organizations have been measuring customer loyalty, referrals, employee satisfaction, and other such performance areas that are not financial.In contrast to financial controls, nonfinancial controlsnonfinancial controlsProcesses that track aspects of the organization that aren’t immediately financial in nature but are expected to lead to positive financial perfor mance outcomes. track aspects of the organization that aren’t immediately financial in nature but are expected to lead to positive performance outcomes. The theory behind such nonfinancial controls is that they should provide managers with a glimpse of the organization’s progress well before financial outcomes can be measured. [720] And this theory does have some practical support. For instance, GE has found that highly satisfied customers are the best predictor of future sales in many of its businesses, so it regularly tracks customer satisfaction. Key Takeaway Organizational controls can take many forms.Strategic controls help managers know whether a chosen strategy is working, while operating controls contribute to successful execution of the current strategy. Within these types of strategy, controls can vary in terms of proactivity, where feedback controls were the least proactive. Outcome controls are judged by the result of the organization’s activities, w hile behavioral controls involve monitoring how the organization’s members behave on a daily basis. Financial controls are executed by monitoring costs and expenditure in relation to the organization’s budget, and nonfinancial controls complement financial controls by monitoring intangibles like customer satisfaction and employee morale.

Dusk by Saki Essay

Another one of Saki’s dark tales, Dusk reveals the author’s ironic view of man’s infinite capacity for misunderstanding one another. Along the duration of the story, the protagonist, Gortsby, watches and observes people scurrying about at dusk, sitting at a park bench. Inwardly, he believes the people whom he observes looked defeated, and reciprocates dusk as a representation of the time of defeat for humans. The short story features an objective limited point of view, most of the characterization of Gortsby occurs through Saki’s pen on Gortsby’s thoughts. The character possesses a cynical view of the human state and has probably experienced some sort of defeat of his own – Saki never mentioned what sort of failure Gortsby was facing, the only information given was that he had no financial troubles. The story emphasizes on the misjudgement of character by Gortsby of the young male; the theme of the dysfunctions of a subjective mind is a rather importunate throughout. Saki shows this through a shift in Gortsby’s trust in the young lad. He was reluctant to believe in a stranger whose story seemed so plentiful at the beginning, but later surrenders to the boy’s mischief in trying to cheat Gortsby for money. Our protagonist not only gave the young boy money, but had also been transformed by the lie woven. He apologizes, â€Å"excuse my disbelief, but appearances were really rather against you†¦ † This shows how easily the human mind is swayed by external forces (in this case, Gortsby was influenced by the young lad’s lie), and the failures of Gortsby’s original claims of being an excellent judge of character when he was obviously unable to see through the young man’s lie. It was only moments later, the first old man returns to the bench, informing Gortsby that he was looking for his bar of soap; the soap of which Gortsby thought was the young man’s. The truth is finally appealed. However, Saki’s left a twist in the ending for readers to guess Gortsby’s reaction, an element of surprise is apparent. From the â€Å"cliff†, readers can presume to guess Gortsby had realized his misjudgement of character and would therefore recognize the dysfunctions of his overtly confident, self-assured judgmental mind.