A Budgetary Control Systems Accounting Essay

A Budgetary Control Systems Accounting Essay I have re-read my last years HNC paperwork and used my current years HND paperwork to help with the various aspects of the report. I used my HNC costing booklets and lecture notes, HND Investment Appraisal literature, HND Business Tax literature, HND Capital Allowances literature and HNC Standard Costing literature. I went to the library and used college resources such as ebray for information of more in-depth budgeting control systems. I used Cost and Management Accounting books which covered cost assignment of direct and indirect costs. They covered issues about fixed, variable and semi variable costs. I used Accounting Theory and Practice for in-depth budgetary planning and variance analysis. I used an up to date Taxation book to allow me the most up to date tax percentages to be used, the correct Asset Investment Allowances applicable and the written down values for Capital Allowance calculations. CASE STUDY ANALYSIS This formal report has been requested by the Managing Director by Ergo design He requires a full business report which will appraise the launch of a new quality ergonomic chair. As well as the appraisal, the managing director would like advice on how to set up and implement an efficient budgetary control system. Ergo Design already make a different range of products and are wanting to find out if it would feasible to undertake the making of another new product. The company currently has spare capacity and as they dont want spare capacity are looking into making a new chair. This however involves the purchase or hire of a new asset namely a new machine which will be capable of making the new product. This asset is not inexpensive and cost  £125,000. Ergo Design are guaranteed an order for 1 year amounting to 1800 chairs to be distributed evenly over the month. The factory is only open 48 weeks of the year to allow for maintenance, repairs etc and therefore leaves 12 periods of 4 weeks to evenly distribute 160 chairs per 4 weeks. The company have had a trial p eriod and all seems to be well. The MD awaits reports before committing final sanctions. APPENDICES 1-9 Attached as appendices is the Activity Based Costing comparison followed by the functional budgets then Capital Investment Appraisal and lastly a Break Even Analysis based on my figures. Appendix 1. Activity Based Costing comparison. I have used Activity Based Costing (ABC) to work out the costs of producing the new product. Ergo Design in previous years have recovered costs using a blanket wide rate based on the number of machine hours. The last two years however they have changed to ABC. I have made a comparison using traditional overhead recovery and ABC. ABC was developed in order to more accurately reflect the factors which cause overhead costs to arise. Overhead costs are attributed to products on the basis that it is activities that cause costs to arise. Each activity can be identified with a cost driver and the cost drivers I have used are machine hours, Labour hours, number of orders, production runs, set up hours and inspections. After the cost drivers have been identified then each cost drivers overheads are collected together. These collections of costs are called cost pools. Each pool is then divided by its driver, for example all overheads in the cost p ool for the materials ordering process would be divided by the number of orders placed to give a value for the cost of placing an order. The costs of all activities relating to a product would be added together to give the overhead element of the cost of production. Because activity based costing shares out overheads using cost drivers compared with the traditional costing systems which use departments, then a greater number of drivers can be used, reflecting all the different activities taking place in the manufacturing process. This leads to a fairer and more accurate way of charging overheads to the products. The traditional methods ignore the detail of many of the activities that actually take place. In my findings the cost of producing the new product using ABC is  £167.95 per unit whereas the blanket method only  £150.18 is allocated for cost, This would give a higher contribution and a higher profit. I have assumed that we are going to be charging  £195 per unit and at this price we are still making a profit of  £63,975 for the first year. We can look at raising prices at the end of the initial 3 year period if the turnover is still constant. My creditors are to allow me credit purchases payable for : Aluminium Sheets. 1 month Memory Foam.2 months Fabric1 month Hardware3 months My debtors are to be allowed 1 months credit sales. A new asset is to be purchased at a cost of  £125,000, which will gather depreciation over 10 years straight line method. The new machine will need to be replaced after this time and will have a residual value of  £15,000. Maintenance will need to be carried out regularly to allow for optimum usage and guarantee residual value. The maintenance cost will be estimated at 5% of the capital cost per annum. The asset is purchased with a long term loan for the full  £125,000. The loan will have a 3% fixed rate interest per annum. The interest is added to the original amount and not compounded yearly. This is to be repaid over 10 years with repayments and interest payments split. The total cost of the loan is  £162,500 with repayments being  £62500 every 6 months and Interest being  £1,875. There is currently spare capacity within Ergo Designs production facilities and can therefore produce 2 batches of 20 chairs per week for the full 48 weeks that the factory is open. This allows for surplus stock of (1920-1800)=120 chairs surplus at the end of the year. We will supply 150 chairs per month to the customer and make 160 chairs to allow for full capacity, this will leave us a surplus of 10 chairs which will be opening stock for the month of Feb and the units will 10 more units every month compounded. The following budgets are prepared for the first six months of the new multi-level chair and include: Appendix 2. Opening Balance at beginning of the month of Jan. This is the beginning of the month and lists the purchases made to enable the company to begin production and sell them at the end of the month. Appendix 3. Key Variables input. As the figures were given for batches I had to break them down into single units costs so that a uniform approach was taken across the board. The direct material costs have accounted for the biggest costs followed by the labour then the variable overheads. Appendix 4. Sales budgets- This is also the main budget which has to be prepared first. It shows that we are to sell 150 units per month at a cost of  £195 creating a sales value of  £29,250. Production budget- This budget is prepared after the sales budget and states the amount of units to be produced within the period. I have carried over excess units in case of any unforeseen circumstances which will reduce production in later months e.g. machinery breaking down and staff absences etc. The machinery is also working at full capacity if I make the amount required as well as the excess. Direct Material usage budget is prepared next and the figures are for 1 single unit which is obtained from the key variables sheet shown in Appendix 2. Direct material purchases budget is next with figures for the required production for each month and the cost of goods to be purchased. The cost figure is taken from the key variable appendix 2. Direct labour budget figures come from the production budget for the amount to be produced multiplied by the cost of the direct labour unit from key variables appendix 2. Overhead budget gives us monthly fixed overheads and depreciation figures taken from key variables in appendix 2. Variable cost budget†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.This budget takes the amount of units to be produced multiplied by the variable cost per unit. Both these figures are from the key variables sheet. Production cost budget†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦This budget gives us a breakdown of how much each unit will cost to produce. It takes into consideration the material and variable costs and add the figure to the raw material costs. Debtors budget†¦..We have been giving our debtors 1 month to pay after receiving their finished goods. Creditors budget†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦We have 4 of these for each of the different raw materials we need. Each shows opening balances, purchases, payments and closing balances. Appendix 5. The Cash budget shows the inflows and outflows and gives a final figure for the bank balance to go into the Balance sheet. Appendix 6. The Operating statement lists the cost of sales when taken from sales will give us a profit. Expenses are then deducted leaving us with healthy net profit of  £25,744.25 Appendix 7. The Balance sheet is the 6 month balance sheet ending on 30th June 2013. Our current assets are a higher amount than our current liabilities and therefore give us net current assets to be added to the fixed assets. Once the long term liabilities come off then this leaves us with a balance of  £25,844.25 Appendix 8. Capital Investment appraisal. I have started this by working out the inflows for the first 3 years as we know the selling price and we know the change in production. After year 3, I have assumed that turnover will remain stable and have therefore carried out my Capital Allowance calculations over 10 years. I have deducted the Asset Investment allowance of  £25,000 and written down value for each year at 18%. I have assumed a residual value of the machine to be  £15,000 and added the balancing allowance figure to the capital allowances. Using the inflow figures and deducting capital allowances for each year, I was able to work out the taxable amount and tax it at this years appropriate amount. I carried out 2 Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methods , 1 being Net Present Value (NPV) and the other is the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The DCF includes all cash flows and the time value of money telling you what you  £1 will be worth in X years ahead. The IRR also includes th e time value of money and includes all cash flows but the IRR if far more easily understood. If the net present value is zero or positive, the project is accepted, I have used 15% and 45% discount factors and they are both returning a positive number so the project should be accepted. You can think of IRR as the rate of growth a project  is expected to generate and a higher IRR value would provide a much better chance of strong growth. The rate for this project is 59.93 so again promoting the acceptance of this project.. Appendix 9. I have put in an extra break even analysis chart for your perusal as break even charts work well with a single product. The break-even analysis is a calculation of the approximate sales volume required to just cover costs, above which production would be profitable or unprofitable break-even analysis focuses on the relationship between fixed costs, variable cost, and profit. The summary shows that the BEP in units 1058 and the margin of safety in units is 742. Costs taken into account are distinguished by variable costs which change in according to the production level. BUDGETARY CONTROL SYSTEMS A budget is a financial plan for an organisation prepared in advance for a given period. Budgets can be prepared as a whole or broken down into component departments e.g. sales and production or purchases or cash or capital etc. There can be many different types of budgets and for a variety of departments such as sales or production or financial items such as capital, expenditure, manpower, purchase etc. The budgeting process is a vital part of a businesss planning and control. The overall objective of the company is prepared in advance and agreed with cooperation and detailed into a feasible plan of action. It is about planning, monitoring, reviewing and amending budgets to suit management objectives. When the long term strategies are written down everyone is starting from the same place and it will not matter if new people come and go, the long term plans will still be there. Long term objectives after being decided need to be broken down into manageable chunks of short term objectives. A limiting factor needs to be distinguished and a budget is prepared solely for this. The most common limiting factor is sales and this needs to be as accurate as possible as all other budgets will be based on the limiting factors budget. Once all the budgets are prepared a master budget is drafted and given to all of the budget holders for agreement. Once any tweaks or changes are made and an agreement reached then the master budget is presented to senior management. When the budgets need to be prepared again for the next period then actual figures are measured against budgeted figures and there are favourable and adverse variances produced showing management what areas need attention and where money is being lost, it may be efficiency problems that are highlighted for attention etc. There is actually an 8 step plan involved in advanced preparation budgeting. Step 1 is agreeing long term goals Step 2 Changing long term goals to short term goals Step 3 Identify limiting factor Step 4 Prepare limiting factor budget Step 5 Prepare all other budgets Step 6 Bring all budgets together to prepare the master budget Step 7 Agree with all budget holders Step 8 Present to the management There are many benefits to having financial planning and good budgetary control to name a few, by doing extensive planning there is a much clearer picture on where the business is going. It will reduce stress in the work place with all staff knowing where, when and how things are to done. Management can keep on top of things and have peace of mind. With budgeting control there is a more detailed structure of how the business is organised. With all the planning, organising and controlling it is easier for management to keep on top of changes and variances and make it easier to quickly adapt to the said changes. There is co-ordination with everyone working in the same direction. Budgets can be used to make communication and motivation more effective using them to exchange information concerning ideas, goals, achievements etc. thus giving staff a sense of togetherness and teamwork with everyone working towards the same goal. There is however barriers with a lack of knowledge, resources or motivation making the planning extremely difficult to start. Maybe not knowing where to start or even how to start. Maybe needing to sacrifice some things for others. Budgets are a time consuming job and to draw up each individual budget is a laborious task but it is still worthwhile as the benefits usually outweigh the efforts. If there is no co-ordination then the planning will fall apart. Preparing budgets is extremely subjective and they are based on predicted assumptions. ADDITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES The company has taken out a loan for the CNC machine perhaps they could have hired it for a year or so, see how the product is doing then maybe buy it later on. Leasing equipment means there is not maintenance or repair costs to consider. Instead of keeping the CNC machine for 10 years with a value of  £15,000, Ergo designs can sell it sooner when it is worth more money. The company have adequate production facilities at this time and are therefore not considering contracting out however with proper budgetary controls in place it will be easier to spot any variance changes with efficiency or cost and it may be that in the future it may well be cheaper to contract certain parts of the process out to someone else. They do not run at full capacity in the other products they make and look at contracting out some of that work instead. The company should put in place an advertising campaign for when they believe sales will stabilize to generate renewed interest in the product which can be researched by potential buyers now as it has been on the market for 3 years. As Direct material has accounted for the biggest cost maybe Ergo Design can look around for cheaper suppliers or substitute certain ingredients for others. A price increase could be implemented in later years. CONCLUSIONS The launch of this new product is feasible. It is returning a good profit and there is lots of potential for increasing profitability in the coming next few years and there is room for selling price increases. The new asset can be used for its economical life, sold off earlier or can be hired out to other companies so more room for increased profitability. RECOMMENDATIONS A proper budgetary control system should most definitely be put in place. Future advertising is also a must. They need to do this sooner rather than later as they have only projected increases in turnover for the next 2 years. As the cost of materials are so high, I would recommend that the buyers look around for alternative materials or try to negotiate more with the current suppliers for larger discounts. Lets be aware of the future, this can be done easier with the budgetary control in place. We need to be aware of what our competitors are up to and trends in markets. We need to be aware of what the government is changing and how it will affect the business e.g. Higher corporation taxes, inflation rates etc.

PESTEL and Porter’s Five Force Analysis of QANTAS Essay

Executive Summary The following paper provides an analysis and evaluation of the current market position of Qantas and the airline industry. By assessing the company both internally and externally by applying PESTLE and Porter’s Five Force frameworks, this report will assess Qantas’ opportunities and strengths within the aviation industry. In addition to this, the report will focus on the specific resources and capabilities that enable Qantas to obtain a competitive advantage over its competitors through the use of the VRIO framework. A final analysis will be conducted to identify issues Qantas face and recommendations of how they can rectify these issues. 1. Background Qantas began in the Queensland outback during 1920. It was first registered as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS) and has since grown to be Australia’s largest domestic and international airline, as well as one of the strongest brands in Australia, employing close to 35,000 personnel worldwide (Qantas, 2010). Based out of Sydney, Qantas currently operates close to 5000 weekly flights across Australia, New Zealand, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia, flying close to 50 global destinations (Qantas, 2010). There a four major domestic airliners that have the majority of the market share in Australia; Qantas, Virgin Blue, Tiger Airways and Jetstar (Dixon, 2006). Nicknamed ‘The flying Kangaroo’, Qantas is the largest Australian global airlines and is a charter member of the â€Å"One world Alliance†. Qantas operates domestically under ‘QantasLink’, which carries out 2000 regional flights weekly. They also operate their low fare airline ‘Jetstar’, and Qantas Freight (Qantas Airways, 2012). 2. PESTLE ANALYSIS Applying the PESTLE analysis on the aviation industry will help to identify the environmental influences by arranging them into six categories; Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (Issa, 2010). Future trends and requirements for change based on these trends can be identified through this analytical tool (Johnson, et al, 2008). 2.1 Political Terrorism has had a major affect the aviation industry. It is still a very  real possibility of airplanes being hijacked or blown up in mid air and this has put a negative impact upon the industry. The recent Malaysia Airlines tragedies are evidence of this, as is September 11. 2.2 Economic Oil prices have a significant impact on the airline industry. Due to recent developments in the oil markets, airlines have to employ non-monetary methods; techniques include hedging or airline alliances, in order to increase fuel-buying power. This will allow airlines to buy fuel in larger quantities and create contractual agreements with oil suppliers (Thompson and Gamble, 2012). The most recent and economically crippling factor that has influenced the airline industry is the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)(Nuguid, 2011). This presents a potential weakness or threat for Qantas who may come to feel that their premium price for quality service is not enough to get the customers to fly with them. 2.3 Social The number of people using airlines to fly to holiday destinations has increased due to economic growth. Therefore, the market has expanded and new opportunities for tourism have opened in previously frequented countries. How society is observed as it transmits to air travel has a great deal to do with September 11, 2001. As a result of this tragic event, the judgments of the world have become increasingly profound to the background of passengers traveling on planes. It has shaped something of a undesirable perception for particular cultures and beliefs. This discourages people to travel with other passengers or airline, directly affects the airline industry (Reilly.N.J, 2010) 2.4 Technological Technological developments have both created new opportunities as well as threats for the aviation industry. Development in information and communication technologies has enabled strong communication and has  consequently provided customers with an alternative for frequent travelling, for example; Qantas Frequent Flyer programs. Airlines are now able to expand their outreach directly to consumers through e-commerce. For example, airlines like Qantas are able to introduce ticketless travel through the use of technology (Thompson and Gamble, 2012). 2.5 Legal The implementation of the carbon tax had a negative affect on the aviation industry, as the airlines could not absorb the higher cost of fuel. This meant to offset costs travelers would pay extra in ticket prices (Herald, 2011). Some governments provide subsidies that provide an unfair advantage and prices lower than market conditions which affects the functioning of airline industries directly and Global environmental policies regarding emissions and international route deregulation may affect airline operations in present as well as in future (Fulton.J, 2010). 2.6 Environmental The aircraft’s emissions have a significantly high impact to the environment as they travel several kilometers above the surface of the earth. Aircraft emissions cause significant damage to the atmosphere (Penner et al. 2001). Noise polution is another major environmental concern (â€Å"Aircraft Noise is Unhealthy†, 2008). 3. Porter’s five forces In order to analyse the industrial environment of Qantas Airlines and evaluate the nature of the competition faced by the company, the following analysis was carried out using Porter’s Five Force framework (Porter, 2008). 3.1 Competitive Rivalry The competitive rivalry in airline industry has been increasing, especially through mergers, acquisitions and subsidiaries. Qantas established it’s low-cost airline Jetstar in 2003 creating a two-brand strategy. By having these â€Å"two brands† the Qantas Group is able to assess different market opportunities and deploy the best product to suit the opportunity and  specific market conditions this also creates a competitive advantage. New rivals have emerged following the footsteps of Qantas, such as Singapore Airlines and British Airways, and are threatening Qantas’ market share in the no-frill, low-price trade by offering lower costs and attending customer service (Mouawad, 2010). 3.2 Entry Barriers There are high barriers to enter this industry, as it requires a large initial capital investment. In conjunction with the price wars and low profit margins, it has become difficult to make substantial profit. It is very common for airlines to project losses in their financial statements. Therefore a new entrant must be able to handle losses at the beginning. Another barrier to entry is the limited availability of landing slots in Australian airports. The slots are already reserved by established airlines and are difficult to obtain especially in airports with high passenger demand (Czemy 2008). 3.3 Threat of Substitutes There are many substitutes in terms of long distance travel such as; cars, trains and cruise boats and these are generally cheaper. However, air travel has the absolute advantage in terms of time. Thus, the threat of substitute is relatively low. 3.4 Bargaining power of suppliers Boeing and Airbus are the main aircraft suppliers for large airlines like Qantas. Qantas plans to spend capital investment worth around US$17 billion in more fuel efficient, next generation aircraft, such as the Airbus A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A320 neo (Qantas, 2014). Qantas is heavily dependent on the price of oil for its profit margins, which implies high bargaining power of oil suppliers. Price hedging is limited and high rises in prices can manipulate Qantas’ fuel costs. Due to the limited number of aircraft suppliers, and the continuous need for fuel, it can be said that the bargaining power of suppliers is quite high. (Thompson and Gamble, 2012). 3.5 Bargaining power of buyers Consumers have high bargaining power with Qantas, which is mainly attributed to their price based preference. Receiving the same service, the consumers will select the airline that offers them best value for their money. Due to  the widely available information technology tools, such as Flight Center and SkyScanner, consumers have the ability to compare flight services and prices before making their final selection. Since the switching costs for customer is very low, the bargaining power of buyers is high. 3.6 Analysis Qantas gains its competitive advantage through its strategic capabilities that are gained from its resources and capabilities. It is through these, that the company can respond to its external environment and succeed. The airline industry is very competitive and as a result, profit margins are usually low. Also, the bargaining of the supplier is very high which undermines companies in the airline industry to exercise control over their supplier. With high entry cost, new competition into the international airline market is very low. Qantas can continue to dominate this market while still competing with domestic market using the Frequent Flyer program to increase loyal customers. 4. Opportunities and Threats By conducting both the PESTLE and Five Force analyses for the macro-environment we are able to determine a number of opportunities and threats that the aviation industry possess. Opportunities Threats Offers continual expansion opportunities for both leisure and business destinations Technology advances can result in cost savings, from more fuel efficient aircraft to more automated processes on the ground Technology can also result in increased revenue due to customer-friendly service enhancements like inflight internet access and other value-added products for which a customer will pay extra A global economic downturn negatively affects leisure, optional travel, and business travel The price of fuel is not the greatest cost for many airlines. An upward spike can destabilise the business model Terrorist attacks anywhere in the world could negatively affect air travel Government intervention could result in new costly rules or new international competition 5. Resources and Capabilities The following is an evaluation of Qantas internal resources and capabilities. Resources Capabilities Airport locations/hangers Engineering facilities Trained personnel In-flight food (Neil Perry’s involvement) Qantas lounges/restaurants Storage facilities for inventory, ranging from machinery to uniforms Training facilities for flight attendants and pilots New IT systems to promote more efficient operations including the evolution of e-tickets New development in cost effective service (e.g. with food, cutting costs on ingredients) New developments for the ‘frequent flyer’ scheme to adapt to competitors’ similar concepts including the Chairman’s Lounge Fleet development: â€Å"The airline has been constantly growing since its inception as a result of increasing fleets. Qantas has been purchasing Boeing aircraft makes like the 747-400. The availability of more aircrafts meant that the company can maintain schedules and meet maintenance needs of the old aircrafts (Qantas, 2014). By applying the VRIO framework to Qantas we can observe that not all resources sustain a competitive advantage. Jetstar, QantasLink and the Qantas brand in general are all strong resources that allow Qantas to sustain their competitive advantage. However, from the aforementioned  resources this competitive advantage for the Qantas Group as a whole is unsustainable. From the analysis, Qantas’ core competencies can be identified as their two-brand strategy, their diverse services and their reputation. 6. Issues The following is a list of weaknesses/ issues as identified by the SWOT framework: 1. Competitors 2. Higher labor and other operating costs than its competitors 3. The current strategies Qantas include their low-cost carrier and the Frequent Flyer Program (Jones, 2009) 4. Ongoing disputes between Qantas management and militant unions 5. Speculation that British airways will quit its $1.3 billion stake in Qantas (Qantas, Working Towards Our Vision, 2013) 6. Outdated IT systems. Recommendations To help reduce the affect of the aforementioned weaknesses Qantas could: Attract customers through improved customer service Advertise in social media  Engage employees and establish a better employee management system Adopt a corporate level strategy, which is the long-term direction of an organisation (Porter, Smith, Fagg), for Qantas this will focus on cost reduction. Develop a business level strategy that focuses on the need for differentiation (Michael A. Hitt, 2006). Focus should also be on the increased use of IT, to increase operational efficiency ie. Cloud Computing (Harrison, 2005). 7. Conclusion The Qantas Group has adopted potential alliances and partnership strategies to expand in the aviation business. However, there are some threats that will always affect them such as fuel costs, low cost airlines and alternative transportation. Qantas has remained strong by applying their core competencies like their two-brand strategy and their service diversity. To survive in both the global and domestic markets, the Qantas Group need to  establish efficient strategies to maintain the firm position in aviation industry as well as preparing for the unexpected. 8. References: â€Å"Aircraft Noise is Unhealthy†, (2008) Health Hype.Com. Available from http://www.healthhype.com/aircraft-noise-is-unhealthy.html (cited on 20th, March, 2013) Czemy, A (2008). Airport Slots: International Experiences and Options for Reform. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Dixon, G. (2006, February 23). Qantas not afraid of competition. The Age . G.G. Dess, G.T. Lumpkin, M.L. Taylor, A.A. Thompson, and A.J. Strickland III, Strategic Management (Boston, McGraw Hill, 2004) pp. 141-148. Harrison, M. A. (2005). The Blackwell Handbook of Strategic Management. Wiley-Blackwell. Herald, S. M. (2011, July). Airlines count the costs of carbon tax. Business Day , 1-2. Issa, Tomayess and Chang, Vanessa and Issa, Theodora. 2010. Sustainable business strategies and PESTEL framework. GSTF International Journal on Computing. 1 (1): pp. 73-79. Johnson G. Scholes K. Whittingham W. 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy. 8th edition. Prentice Hall Jones, C. H. (2009). Strategic Management Theory: An Int egrated Approach Strategic Management Series. Cengage Learning. Keith Porter, Paul Smith and Roger Fagg, â€Å"Leadership and Management for HR Professionals,† Chapter 10, Third edition, Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier, Page 381- 411 Michael A. Hitt, R. D. (2006). Strategic Management Concepts (Vol. 7). Cengage Learning. Mouawad, J (2010). Pushing 40, Southwest Is Still Playing the Rebel. New York Times. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/business/21south.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (cited on 20th, March, 2013) Nuguid, A. (2011). IBIS World Industry Report I6402 Domestic Airlines in Australia. IBIS World. Porter, M. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review , 78-91. Thompson, A. and Gamble, J. (2012). South West Airlines in 2010: Culture, Values, and Operating Practices. Case 13. In Essential of Strategic Management. McGraw Hill. Qantas. (2010). Qantas Fact file. [Online] Available from: http://www.qantas.com.a u/infodetail/about/FactFiles.pdf Qantas. (2014, July 1). Fleet Development. Retrieved September 1, 2014, from Qantas: http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/fleet-developments/global/en Qantas. (2013). Working Towards Our Vision. Sydney: Qantas Group.

Free Will in Experimental Philosophy Essay

Although the â€Å"free will† problem envelops a spectrum of ideas, I agree with the following belief: â€Å"The folk are compatibilists about free will. † While there are, of course, incompatibilists and indeterminists, for the most part, the general population consists of compatibilists. Now, I know experimental philosophy has a problem with the use of generalizations without actual statistics, but throughout this paper, I will explain exactly why the world revolves in a generally compatibilist manner. Firstly, to speak of compatibilism, you’d have to assume that the world is deterministic, meaning that everything that happens from here on out, including human action, is caused by the facts of everything that has happened before it. With that assumption in mind, compatibilist believe that we still have free will as long as we aren’t operating under external limitations. The problem with that is that although compatibilists believe we are free, there is still disagreement on just exactly how free we may be, which is the weak spot indeterminists and incompatibilists use to try to break the argument. One nature of compatibilism is referred to as classic compatibilism. This means that we’d be acting freely as long as we, without being impeded by any outside force, take a course of action that we personally choose for ourselves. These compatibilists believe that it is the presence of impediments such as â€Å"physical restraints, lack of opportunity, duress or coercion, physical or mental impairment, and the like† that would cause us to not act freely (Caruso, 2012). However, this line of reasoning is not accepted by those who support the Consequence Argument. In the simplest terms, this argument states that no one has power over the facts of the past and the laws of nature. Also, no one has power over the fact that the facts of the past and the laws of nature entail every fact of the future (i. e. , determinism is true). Because of that, no one has power over the facts of the future (McKenna, 2004). Compatibilists respond to this by saying that the focal point should be the differentiation between free and un-free, and not by the absence of causes. Other philosophers argue that we act freely when our first order and second order desires become aligned. Because our mental processes are more developed than those of younger children and simpler animals, we have the rationale to decide whether our instincts or raw desires should be acted upon. That rationale is referred to as the second order desires (Frankfurt, 1971). For example, Chris is at the bar with his girlfriend Ana. While Chris has stepped away to the restroom, Jose approaches Ana and flirts with her in a manner that she does not feel comfortable with. Once out of the bathroom, Chris sees this. Enraged, he initially wants to go and physically put Jose in his place. In spite of this, he remembers that he is up for a promotion at work, and getting into a bar fight probably won’t help his chances of receiving it. He tells Ana to collect her things. They leave. What we see here is the protagonist, Chris, experiencing first order desires that make him want to hurt Jose. His second order desires are what tell him that although he is feeling those first order desires, his second order desires are not in agreement and therefore, he shouldn’t act on them. Although some compatibilists seem to be satisfied with this reasoning because it justifies the causation of our actions, it doesn’t explain whether our thoughts and desires are consequences of the past as well. An example would be that Kate feels the desire to take a run in the park and does so. Yet, if determinism is true, which compatibilists believe it is, she is already determined to feel that way, and although she may want to feel that way, without any outside force acting on her she is not free (McKenna, 2004). Her first order and second order desires may even align, but without the ability to do otherwise, due to determinism, she would not be free. Even so, compatibilist Michael Levin says â€Å"minding or accepting one’s desires is as much an effect of past causes as the desires themselves,† but if our internal desires are causally determined, they cannot also be free. All it would be is a different form of causality (Caruso, 2012). Nevertheless, compatibilists argue that it isn’t necessary for an individual to have been able to do otherwise (Nahmias, Stephen, Nadelhoffer, & Turner, 2005). If there were the choices of A through Z and someone that could manipulate me into doing A that would do so if I didn’t do it on my own, I would still have free will if I picked A without the manipulation. In this case, compatibilist see me as having had free will because I chose A on my own. My 1st order desires were aligned with my 2nd and that is why A happened. If I had been manipulated to do so, then the problem of free will would once again come into question, but being that the manipulator is fairly irrelevant to the story since I acted on my own accord, and would have done the same thing without the potential manipulative factor. Also, there a couple of studies done to determine what relationship non-philosophers believed existed between free will, determinism, and moral responsibility. In Study 1, there were three scenarios. Scenario 1 was negative. Scenario 2 was positive, and Scenario 3 was neutral. In all three cases, between 68 – 79% of folk said there was free will. While there were some fluctuations in percentages when it came to the association between free will and the ability to choose otherwise, the amount of participants making judgments that disagreed with incompatibilism was two to three times greater than those that followed along with incompatibilist intuitions. This study was supported by their second study. In this study, they tell the subjects that everything in the universe is caused completely by their genes and environment. The scenario takes twins, Fred and Barney, and places Fred with the Jerksons and Barney with the Kindersons. One day they both find a wallet with $1000. Fred keeps it, while Barney returns it to its rightful owner. When polling the participants, 76% said they both acted on their own free will and could have done otherwise. This shows that the majority of folk believe that compatibilism is true, and while external factors and facts of the past might influence the choice making process, it does not define it; therefore we are free within the confines of a determined universe (Nahmias, Stephen, Nadelhoffer, & Turner, 2005). Now, why do I personally find â€Å"the folk are compatibilist about free will† to be true? Aside from the aforementioned statistics, the reason is that if we did not find a middle ground between free will and determinism, we wouldn’t do any of the things we do. Everything from the grading systems used in schools to receiving a promotion at work all the way to fighting wars is done in a compatibilist manner. The premise of all these concepts is the idea that if you choose do X, having the option of Y, Z will happen. If you work hard enough in school (X), you will receive good grades (Z), even though you can just be lazy (Y). If you are the most productive and pleasant at your job (X), you will receive a promotion (Z). If we go into a war (X), we have the chance of winning (Z). While all the factors in each of those scenarios might have also been determined, there is no reason for us to feel disappointment when we really studied but still managed to only get a B on a test or when we lose troops across seas. Though the previous paragraph does explain that folk believe in free will, it doesn’t explain why folk have the compatibilist view of free will. The reasoning for that is because while compatibilists believe that you can control some aspects of your life, you can’t control all of them. As Michael Levin said, â€Å"Compatibilist usually agree that free will does require behavior at least to be determined, since you cannot freely do what is beyond your control. † For example, we are born and we die. The sun rises. The sun sets. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. There are certain laws of physics that we must adhere to. Some will argue that we believe those to be stable laws of how the universe will operate, but only because that’s what it’s done until now. Tomorrow we might not have the sun rise, and tomorrow we might inhale carbon monoxide and exhale nitrogen. However, since certain things have been fixed for a trustworthy amount of time, we, the folk, have accepted it as determined facts of the universe. The determined factors of the universe are the skeleton upon which we place the flesh that is our free will. ? References Caruso, G. D. (2012). The Folk Psychology of Free Will: Arguement Against Compatibilism. Kriterion – Journal of Philosophy, 26, 56-89. Frankfurt, H. G. (1971, January 14). Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person. The Journal of Philosophy, 5-20. McKenna, M. (2004, April 26). Compatibilism. Retrieved from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/compatibilism/ Nahmias, E. , Stephen, M. , Nadelhoffer, T. , & Turner, J. (2005, October). Surverying Freedom: Folk Intuitions about Free Will and Moral Responsibility. Philosophical Psychology, 18(5), 561 – 584.

Childhood Obesity And Its Effects On Children And Adolescents

Part A: Literature Review Many children living in the world are well nourished and consume foods that contain sufficient amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fat and micronutrients in order to meet their nutritional requirements. However, there has been a downfall of recommended dietary standards considerably fallen short within children’s diets. Furthermore, an insignificant diet as well as physical inactivity, results in an energy imbalance and can lead to a major social issue of childhood obesity. The World Health Organization defines childhood obesity as a ‘serious medical condition consisting in excess body fat that affects children and adolescents.’ To address this problem, assessing the factors that have been suggested as contributing†¦show more content†¦Obesity is quickly becoming the most common nutritional disorder of our time. A range of factors has been suggested as contributing to the development of childhood obesity. The review of the following literature article †˜Reasons for the Prevalence of Childhood Obesity: Genetic Predisposition and Environmental Influences’ written by Gilbert Liu and Tamara Hannon in 2005 specifically centers their article on genetic influences, sedentary lifestyles and the vast availability of fast foods open towards society. Liu and Hannon (2005) introduces the article by questioning the influence or cause of the dramatic and threatening rise of obesity and responded with a metaphor of ‘genes load the gun, the environment pulls the trigger’ (Bray, 1998). The article provides legitimate statistics clearly indicating that genetic prevalence is one of the main reasons to kick off childhood obesity as Liu and Hannon (2005) explain that ‘genetic factors are thought to account for 25% to 40% of the variance in BMI by determining difference in such things as resting metabolic rate and weight gain in response to overfeeding.’ The article further goes on about complex genetic markers that ar e connected with the condition as ‘the human obesity gene map continues to evolve with up to 430 genes that are associated with human obesity phenotype.’ After a thorough explanation of genetics related with Liu and Hannon (2005) exposes how the obesity epidemic is linked within the

Essay about Marcus Aurelius Meditations - 1199 Words

Kurt McGann 11/12/11 Period 1 Mythology Hart Personal Meditations Section 1 Stoicism: â€Å"a systematic philosophy, dating from around 300 b.c., that held the principles of logical thought to reflect a cosmic reason instantiated in nature.† (dictionary.com). Marcus Aurelius (the author of â€Å"Meditations†) was a stoic as well as an emperor. The book he wrote was a collection of thoughts, things he advised himself to do, a piece reflecting his stoicism, and a personal diary of sorts. The kinds of things put into this book were sometimes crazy, sometimes contradictory, yet sometimes very true and insightful. Marcus wasn’t a professional philosopher, and this comes out in his work, but he had an interesting way of living his life. His writings†¦show more content†¦Could you have a hot bath unless the firewood underwent some change? Could you be nourished if the food suffered no change? Is it possible for any useful thing to be achieved without change? Do you not see, then, that change in yourself i s of the same order, and no less necessary to nature?† Many things we reap benefits from only come from the change of that item, as marcus explains. As well as getting benefits from change, we can also get cons. If we change things, such as law reforms, many will be mad, and just as many will be happy. So when it comes to change, it can leave bad effects just as well as it can leave good effects. Although Marcus has good intent, I can’t head all of his advice. Marcus believed along with other things, that self-improvement was important over many a things. I agree that self-improvement is well, self-improvement; and by the nature of the phrase itself is a good thing. Marcus holds this true at a more extreme level, putting it before things that lead to your own happiness. If today was your last day to live (assuming you are certain it is your last day to live) and you had a responsibility to better yourself given to you before your death, Marcus would say to go through with that responsibility, even if it resulted in your own discomfort. Marcus sees the improvement of one’s self would be more important than your own happiness, saying that dying a better person is better than dying content. I completelyShow MoreRelatedThe Meditations By Marcus Aurelius1765 Words   |  8 Pagesabout The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. In The Meditations, you read of ways to live y our life without fear of consequences. Forgetting past troubles and current issues will help our employees to work hard at what they have to do, working for our tire distribution company. The universe sets out our life before we are born and it is important to not let fear or mistakes get in the way of the future. If we assign everyone in the company, including those in satellite locations, Marcus Aurelius, I believeRead More Philosophies of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Essay examples2608 Words   |  11 Pages Marcus Aurelius Even today, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is read by every class from kings to common people. The book is a universal classic, meaning it can be related to at any time, by anyone. The philosophies included in his book have spanned the centuries, and Meditations remains to be one of the most influential books ever written. Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD into a family of royalty. His uncle and adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, was the emperor of Rome. Aurelius,Read MoreAnalysis Of The Meditations By Marcus Aurelius2002 Words   |  9 PagesThe Meditations was written by Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor, almost a hundred years after the birth of Christ. This man had all the power in the world, but he remained virtuous and pious as illustrated through his book. 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Einhard s The Life Of Charlemagne - 878 Words

Einhard’s The Life of Charlemagne is one of several prominent texts from Mediaeval Europe. The main focus of the text is on the life of Charlemagne, the Frankish king from the Carolingian dynasty. Under his rule, the Frankish kingdom experiences an extensive period of prosperity and growth, especially in intellectually related areas since Charlemagne himself is a well-known patron of the arts (#). Hence, Charlemagne is the ruler often credited for the â€Å"Roman revival† across Mediaeval Europe. In order to ensure that Charlemagne’s glorious reign will leave its mark in history, all of Charlemagne’s works and accomplishments are accounted for Einhard’s book. As expressed in the preface of the book, Einhard’s intention is to document the life of the greatest king that is often overlooked in other texts (*). Four essential facts are noted in The Life of Charlemagne: 1) The prevalence of alliances foreign relations 2) Cultural revolution throu gh public works endorsement of the arts 3) Promotion of the Christian faith 4) Public reforms throughout the state. The Frankish kingdom rises as the dominant post-Roman European entity through the political and economical stabilization of the state with the use of foreign alliances. Emperor Charlemagne is said to have close relations with Kings of Persia, Scotland, and Constantinople (*). Prosperity in the Frankish kingdom is due to the frequent correspondences that exist between these European states, further promoting the flow ofShow MoreRelatedThe Life of Charlemagne by Einhard1388 Words   |  6 Pages Charlemagne is described by Janet Nelson as being a role model for Einhard. 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Contemporary Business Issues for Patterns- myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theContemporary Business Issues for Purchasing Patterns. Answer: Introduction Contemporary business issues examine the contemporary and emerging issues faced by an organization (Smallbone, Welter and Ateljevic 2014). This study will assess the contemporary business issues faced by Wesfarmers in its global business markets. From the analysis of Assignment Part A, it can be found that changing purchasing pattern of the customers can have negative effect on the business performance of Wesfarmers. It has been found that changing purchasing pattern of the customers may hamper the sales volume of the organization. Such social changes can minimize the sales volume of the organization. The study will assess the factors behind the changing purchasing pattern of the customers and their impact on the business performance of Wesfarmers. The study will also provide some suitable recommendation for overcoming the issues of changing purchasing pattern of the customers. Factors behind the Issue of Changing Consumer Purchasing Patterns Domestic Factor and Its Impact The consumers aged over 65 and older has increased s the world. Naser et al. (2013) pointed out that the trend is also expected to continue through 2050, where the share of senior citizen is expected to increase by 25%. Such trends in the social trend can be harmful for the business growth of Wesfarmers. Moreover, older generations are always encouraged to show their interest in traditional marketing. In such situation, the modern marketing techniques of Wesfarmers may be failure towards attracting old generation customers. On the other hand, Baesens et al. (2014) opined that there is an increasing trend of nuclear family among the customers. In such situation, the members of nuclear families are not making bulk purchase for meeting their daily needs. In such situation, the small purchase from the consumers can hamper the overall sales volume of Wesfarmers. Shifting towards Online Shopping and Its Impact According to Dyllick and Muff (2016), the purchasing patterns of the customers have been changed completely due to online channels. People are getting highly busy day by day due to their work pressure. In such situation, they do not have much time to go physically in any retail shop and purchase their required products. Therefore, such customers are highly inclined towards online shopping for purchasing their required products. Wesfarmers also has initiated their online shopping facilities for their customers. However, the system of Wesfarmerss online shopping is not much improved. On the other hand, Bilgihan, Kandampully and Zhang (2016) opined that customers are highly interested to use the click-and-collect facilities provided by the online retailers. However, Wesfarmers is still lagging behind the online retailers towards provide such quick online services. Therefore, such lack of facilities can hamper the sales volume of the organization. Changes in Quality Perception of Consumers and Its Impact According to Delgado-Ballester et al. (2014), customers in modern society are becoming less sensitive for the price of the products. Moreover, the customers are highly concerned about quality of the products. In the economically developed counties, people are now quite confident upon their spending power having increased disposable income. In such situation, they are only concerned about the quality of the products even for premium prices. On the other hand, Yoon et al. (2014) opined that people in modern society are also having high level of sophistication in their life. Therefore, they always seek high quality in their required products. In such situation, the customers are not being highly satisfied with the quality of the products of Wesfarmers. Therefore, the high level of quality perception of the customers may hamper the sales volume of Wesfarmers. Benefit Seeking Tendency and Its Impact Pchelin and Howell (2014) pointed out that wide availability alternate options like independent retails, hypermarkets, supermarkets, grocery shops and others has increased the bargaining power of the buyers. Moreover, increased bargaining power of the customers has increased the competition of Wesfarmers with other organizations in terms of providing offers and discounts. On the other hand, Amos, Holmes and Keneson (2014) opined that customers are becoming more inclined towards seeking benefit in purchasing their required products due to wide availability of alternate purchasing options. In this way, the benefit-seeking tendency of the customers can actually increase the competitive pressure of Wesfarmers in near future. Recommendations for Mitigating the Issue Personalized Marketing for Old Customers The numbers of old customer are expected to increase by 25% by the year 2050. Old customers are not high tech-obsessed and use their mobiles towards searching for required information regarding the products, which want to buy (Tran 2017). In such situation, it can be too much difficult for Wesfarmers to encourage the old customers through digitalized information about their products. In such situation, Wesfarmers should be much more concentrated on personalized marketing for attracting the old customers. Moreover, mobile messaging with simple marketing tone will attract the old customer groups. Improve Online Shopping Facilities Wesfarmers already has high level of online presence for increasing its sales through online shopping system. However, the organization is still lagging behind the online retailers in terms of providing the services like click-and-collect (Bilgihan 2016). Moreover, the organization is not fast enough towards delivering the products and services to the customers. Such delay in delivery system often dissatisfies the customers, which can hamper the loyalty level of the customers. Therefore, the organization should immediately improve its online shopping facilities through concentrating on click-and-collect services. It will help in gaining high level of customer loyalty through fast product and service delivery. Improved Product Quality With high level of spending power, the customers are now being much concerned about the quality of the products rather than the price of the products. Moreover, customers are willing to purchase premium quality products even for high prices. In such situation, low quality or moderate quality of the products and services may hamper the buying behaviour of the customers. Therefore, Wesfarmers should be highly concerned about enhancing the quality of the products. High quality of the products will enhance the loyalty level of the customers, which will enable Wesfarmers towards gaining competitive edge over the rivals. Discounts and Offering on Bulk Purchase Increasing numbers nuclear family are more inclined to purchase little amount of products. In this way, lack of bulk purchase is ultimately hampering the sales volume of Wesfarmers (Sharma 2014). Therefore, the organization should provide attractive offerings and discounts on bulk purchase. Such attractive offerings and discounts will attract even the nuclear families towards making bulk purchase of products. This will ultimately increase the sales volume of the organization through huge sales to the customers. Conclusion While concluding the study, it can be said that it has been found that changing purchasing pattern of the consumer can be harmful for Wesfarmers. The increasing numbers of older customers may not be encouraged with the modern marketing techniques. The improved facilities of online retailers like click and collect can be competitive for the organization. The customers are more inclined towards using the online shopping system of online retailers for getting fast delivery of products and services. It can actually hamper the sales volume of the organization. Furthermore, the benefit-seeking customers are more willing to seek alternative options for getting discounts and offerings. In such situation, the organization should increase its offerings on bulk purchase for encouraging the customers towards bud purchase and increased sales volume. Furthermore, the organization should also improve its online shopping facilities. It will enhance the loyalty level of the customers towards Wesfarme rs. Reference List Amos, C., Holmes, G.R. and Keneson, W.C., 2014. A meta-analysis of consumer impulse buying.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,21(2), pp.86-97. Baesens, B., Bapna, R., Marsden, J.R., Vanthienen, J. and Zhao, J.L., 2014. Transformational issues of big data and analytics in networked business.MIS quarterly,38(2), pp.629-631. Bilgihan, A., 2016. Gen Y customer loyalty in online shopping: An integrated model of trust, user experience and branding.Computers in Human Behavior,61, pp.103-113. Bilgihan, A., Kandampully, J. and Zhang, T., 2016. Towards a unified customer experience in online shopping environments: Antecedents and outcomes.International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences,8(1), pp.102-119. Delgado-Ballester, E., Hernandez-Espallardo, M. and Rodriguez-Orejuela, A., 2014. Store image influences in consumers perceptions of store brands: the moderating role of value consciousness.European Journal of Marketing,48(9/10), pp.1850-1869. Dyllick, T. and Muff, K., 2016. Clarifying the meaning of sustainable business: Introducing a typology from business-as-usual to true business sustainability.Organization Environment,29(2), pp.156-174. Naser, K.A.M.A.L., Nuseibeh, R.A.N.A. and Al-Hadeya, A.H.M.E.D., 2013. Factors influencing Corporate working capital management: Evidence from an Emerging Economy.Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business Research,2(1), pp.11-30. Pchelin, P. and Howell, R.T., 2014. The hidden cost of value-seeking: People do not accurately forecast the economic benefits of experiential purchases.The Journal of Positive Psychology,9(4), pp.322-334. Sharma, M.K., 2014. The Impact on Consumer Buying Behaviour: Cognitive Dissonance.Global Journal of Finance and Management,6(9), pp.833-840. Smallbone, D., Welter, F. and Ateljevic, J., 2014. Entrepreneurship in emerging market economies: Contemporary issues and perspectives.International Small Business Journal,32(2), pp.113-116. Tran, T.P., 2017. Personalized ads on Facebook: An effective marketing tool for online marketers.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,39, pp.230-242. Yoon, S., Oh, S., Song, S., Kim, K.K. and Kim, Y., 2014. Higher quality or lower price? How value-increasing promotions affect retailer reputation via perceived value.Journal of Business Research,67(10), pp.2088-2096.