Ratios assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ratios - Assignment Example Average collection period can also be referred to as the number of days the sales are tied up in the accounts receivable. Thus, the average sales per day for the four years have been increasing. A snapshot on the yearly collection period, the year 20X1’s average is half the year 20X2’s average; this is a ratio of 1:2 associated with the increase in net sales by the same ratio. Inventory turnover measures the rate by which the inventory is used annually. From the computation, the rate at which inventory is used annually is 4, which is equal in the four years. This implies that inventory is used equally across the years. Current ratio measures solvency. This is the ratio between current assets and current liabilities. In the year 20X1, they current ratio is 3.333 which implies that for every one dollar of the current liabilities, the company has $3.333 in the current assets. For the year 20X2, the company has $1.90 in the current assets, in 20X3 the company has $1.542 and in 20X4 it has $1.339 in the current assets for every $1 of the current liabilities. This trend has been reducing from the 20X1 to 20X4. Quick ratio measures liquidity which is the number of dollars in cash and account receivable for every single dollar in the current liabilities. For the year 20X1, the company has a quick ratio of 1.333 which means that for every single dollar o current liabilities, the firm has $1.333 in the cash and accounts receivable to pay the liabilities. The trend of quick ratio is decrease from year 20X1 to 20X4, 1.333, 0.7, 0.541 to 0.459. Debt to equity measures the financial risk of the company which is the number of times dollars are owed for every single dollar in the net worth. From the computations, the year 20X1 has a quick to equity of 1.250 which means that for every single dollar of the net worth invested by the stockholders, the company owes $1.250 of the debt to the creditors. Hence, the trend of debt to equity for this

Leadership Management and Motivation in Organisation

Leadership Management and Motivation in Organisation As the century unfolds, new realities are becoming clearer. New models of Leadership and Management are blossoming, some with unfounded success. For instance, focusing on working better as teams and empowering those closest to the customers to make important decisions have led to great accomplishments (Kurtzman, 2010). Management is often referred to words like efficiency, planning, paperwork, procedures, regulations, control, and consistency whereas Leadership is often associated with words like vision, creativity and risk-taking (Yukl, 2005). It has also been said that management is basically a control-laden activity; whereas leadership is basically a value-choosing, and thus a value-laden activity (Bass et al., 1990). Overall Management is defined as The organizational process that includes strategic planning, setting objectives, managing resources, deploying the human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives, and measuring results (Burgoyne, 1989). Leadership is defined as A process in which leader and followers interact in a way that enables the leader to influence the actions of the followers in a non-coercive way, towards the achievement of certain aims or objectives (Rollinson and Broadfield, 2002) In Kotters (1996) view Management relates to planning, controlling and organising whereas leadership relates to visioning, networking, creating, coping with change and building relationship. Leadership is often considered grander, more lucrative and admirable, in a word: better, than the less visible, fundamentally based, management (Hughes et al., 2009). The relationship between management and leadership is summarised in Appendix 1. From this we can argue are managers leaders or vice versa. As Zaleznik (1977) claims that in a bureaucratic society which breeds managers may restrain young leaders who need mentor and emotional interchange to develop. But Raelin (2004) argued that managers are not excluded from leadership. He says there is a potential for leadership to emerge from any individual under the right sets of circumstances. I would argue from my personal experience that managers can be leaders and vice versa depending on individual capabilities, skills and adapting change, as in Lloyds banking Group (LBG) we have managers as our team leaders and are quite successful in switching their roles and understanding the responsibilities of both managers and leaders. The concept was that as managers have some formal authority to influence subordinates behaviour they can easily occupy the role of leadership. However, just because the authority was there, it did not mean that subordinates will willingly assent to its use. There had been issues initially when they find it hard to switch over and look from leaders point of view, which caused problems in bonding with employees and lack of motivation. This resulted in getting all the managers trained on leadership programmes and understanding the needs or requirements of employees from their leaders. This was again based on how individual managers reacted to situations where they were able to keep their managerial ego aside and think as a team. Some of the managers were very good at switching over and thinking from a team perspective whereas some struggled. Overall we can argue that Zaleznik argument regarding management and leadership requires different types of people can be true, if an individual cannot cope with the changing organisation requirements. But in LBG we have seen that managers successfully play leaders role and vice versa to save cost or to adapt change and thus falsify Zalezniks argument. But as Rollinson and Broadfield (2002) often focus on managers can be leaders, this is not an inevitable state of affairs. Even though it is widely assumed that leadership can be taught to anybody, it is probably far more realistic to regard management and leadership as two complementary activities (Kotter, 1988), each one having its own unique functions. Motivation Quality work being top priority in organisations all over world as the use of contingent workers is on the rise. Managing knowledge workers continues to perplex experienced managers across divergent industries. And globalization and the challenges of managing across borders are now the norm instead of the exception. These changes can have a profound influence on how companies attempt to attract, retain, and motivate their employees (Steers et al., 2004) Motivation, in contrast, results when the person believes that engaging in the behaviour will result in some desired experience or outcome. Motivation is then differentiated into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Herzberg et al., 1957) Intrinsic Motivation is where people may be motivated by the relationship between the worker and the task. It takes place when people feel that the work they do is interesting, challenging and have opportunities for advancement and growth. Extrinsic Motivation takes place when people may be motivated by factors in the external environment such as pay, supervision, benefits, and job perks The process of motivation is broadly based on a number of motivational theories. In this paper we will asses few motivational theories (Appendix 2) and asses these theories to identify what motivates people. Instrumental Theory: Initially in the second half of 19th century a concept of Instrumental Theory stated that people work only for money. Motivation using this approach is exclusively based on system of external control and fails to recognise a number of other human needs (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005). Maslow Needs Theory: The basic of this theory is the belief that an unsatisfied need creates tension and disequilibrium. Maslow (1954) formulated the concept of hierarchy of needs and believed that reasons people go to work changes. It starts from the fundamental physiological needs and leads through safety, social and esteems needs to the need for self-fulfilment. He believed that only an unsatisfied need can motivate behaviour and the dominant need is the prime motivator of behaviour. Herzbergs Two-Factor Model (Motivation-Hygiene): Herzbergs (1957) theory sates that the factors giving rise to job satisfaction are distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. His research led him to conclude that hygiene factors such as pay, status, security, company policies and administration were rarely high motivators. People tend to take fringe benefits and good working conditions for granted, but when they are removed they had a highly demotivating effect. A salary increase had a short-term motivating effect when it was felt to be deserved, while what was felt to be an unfair salary was a long-lasting demotivator. Overall all these theories adopt a psychologically universal view, which assumes that everyone has a common set of needs and conveys the impression that people are predictable in terms of what motivates them. Moreover all these theories mostly ignore the crucial issue of individual differences and also to the potentially powerful effects of different national and organisational cultures as factors that can shape human needs (Bagher, 2010). In a work environment, it is sometimes viewed as the difference between what people can do and what they will do. In the practical workplace LBG uses various motivation models one of the highly used motivational models is Support and Challenge Principles Model. Support and Challenge Principles Model (Sheppard Moscow, 1980): This model suggests that to achieve working relationship requires a balance of appropriate and agreed supportive and challenging behaviours. The two axes of support and challenge when put together create four potential workplace environments as shown in fig below: High Support Comfortable high S performance performance U environment environment P P O R T apathetic stressful performance performance environment environment CHALLENGE High Challenge To get the most from your working relationships, it is important to agree how best to work together to maximise performance and minimise tension. One way of thinking about this is to think of in the terms of developing a way of working that is both challenging and supportive. The list of behaviours in each of the categories is detailed in Appendix 3. Different roles and situations will use different mixes of these two categories and depending upon the situation, the same individual can find any of these conditions or characteristics supporting or challenging. If the workplace situation remains very comfortable or alphabetic for a long time, then additional challenges will stimulate the move towards high performance. On the other hand if the workplace situation remains very stressful for too long, then support to help manage the implications is highly effective. Though, there will be times when short periods of high challenges or high support are appropriate e.g. at the end of a particular busy period, comfort is a reward and high challenges can be very stimulating and energising in short bursts (LBG, 2011). Managements main interest in motivation is in the prospects it offers for bringing employee behaviour under tight control. Thus what interest managers most is not the process of motivation but employee behaviour. However we can hardly blame managers for believing that motivation theory offers this opportunity, because content and process theories both imply that if we know o persons needs, the person can be motivated (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005). Thus from the above we have seen different aspects of motivation and it might appear that there is an element of contradiction in what they say. Content theories deal with the needs that give rise to motivated behaviour, but perhaps oversimplify matters because they tend to portray human beings as having a homogenous set of needs. Nevertheless, as long as due allowance is made for individual differences, this does not detract from their potential usefulness. Process theories have a different emphasis: they seek to explain the dynamics of the motivation process and so much greater account is taken of individual differences (Bagher, 2010). Leadership Historically, leadership has been conceived around a single individual in a specialised role, the relationship of that individual to subordinates or followers, and the individuals actions. There are several major paradigms of leadership (Appendix 4), such as the traits (great man), skills and styles approaches, situational and contingency approaches, charismatic and transformational approaches (Northouse, 2007, p2; Bass, 1990). Action-Centred Leadership The action-centred theory of leadership is based on extensive research by John Adairs (1984), which focuses on the group and the needs that leader must meet. Adair argues that there are eight functions you must carry out, to meet these needs. These functions can be learned, practised, observed and refined. Source: (Bagher, 2010: 186) Task need: A team leader needs to bring together the group to achieve a task by providing clear instructions and reasons so each member must know and understand what is expected of them. Team need: Good leaders create groups which function best when they share the sense of purpose along with collaborating work efficiently, effectively, with a sense of pride and responsibility by maintaining or setting new standards. Individual need: People or individuals are heart of any team but they have physical and psychological needs like better working conditions, status, opportunities to develop, build confidence and motivation. From this it follows that being effective as a leader is not just a matter of choosing a specific style of behaviour, but arriving at an appropriate balance between the three functions. Encouraging communication between team members is key to creating a team that will continue to work well when the leader is absent. This resilience is valuable and might be referred to as team sustainability. Leadership Power The link between leadership and power is a strong one and many of the theories of leadership can equally be framed as theories of power. Effective leading depends on relying on different power bases at different times as per need. At its simplest, the way you wield power to get compliance can be appropriate or inappropriate. Appropriate use of power can be described as influence, while inappropriate use can be described as bullying. Source: French and Raven (1960) References Armstrong, M. and Stephens, T. (2005) Employee Reward Management and Practice, London: Kogan Page Limited. Bagher, M. (2010) Organisational Behaviour: a contemporary approach, 2nd Edition, Harlow: Pearson. Bass, B., Bass, B. and Stogdill, R. (1990) Bass Stogdills Handbook of Leadership, New York: Simon Schuster. Burgoyne, J. (1989) Management Development: Context and Strategies, Aldershot: Gower. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B. (1957) The Motivation to Work, New York: Wiley Hughes, R., Ginnett, R. and Curphy, G. (2009) Leadership, 6th ed., Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Kotter, J. (1988) The Leadership Factor, New York: Free Press. Kotter, J. P. (1996) Leading Change, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kurtzman, J. (2010) Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Maslow, A. (1954) Motivation and Personality, New York: Harper Row. Raelin, J. A. (2004) Dont bother putting leadership into people, Academy of Management Executive, 18(3): 12-28. Rollinson, D. and Broadfield, A. (2002) Organisational Behaviour and Analysis: An Integrated Approach, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Steers, R., Mowday, R. and Shapiro, D. (2004) The Future of Work Motivation Theory, Academy of Management Review, 29(3): 379-387. Yukl, G. (2005) Leadership in Organizations, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Zaleznik, A. (1977) Managers and Leaders: are they different?, Harvard Business Review, (May/June) 55(3): 67-77. French, J. P. R., and Raven, B. (1960) The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright and A. Zander (eds.), Group dynamics (pp. 607-623), New York: Harper and Row. Appendix 1 A Comparison of Management and Leadership Competencies. Source: Northouse, 2007, p. 10. Appendix 2 Summary of Motivation Theories and their practical implications Theory Theorist Summary of theory Practical implications Instrumentality Taylor People will be motivated to work if rewards and penalties are tied directly to their performance. Conceptual basis of incentives and pay for performance schemes. Needs Maslow Unsatisfied needs create tension and disequilibrium. To restore the balance a goal is identified which will satisfy the need, and a behaviour pathway is selected which will lead to the achievement of the goal. Only unsatisfied needs motivate. Identifies a number of key needs for consideration in developing total reward policies. Two-Factor Herzberg The factors giving rise to job satisfaction (and motivation) are distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. Any feeling of satisfaction resulting from pay increase is likely to be short-lived compared with the long-lasting satisfaction from the work itself. Makes a distinction between intrinsic motivation arising from the work itself and extrinsic motivation provided by employer, e.g. pay. A useful distinction is made between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation which influences total reward decisions. The limited motivational effects of pay increases are worth remembering when considering the part contingent pay can play in motivating people. Expectancy Vroom Motivation is likely only when a clear perceived and usable relationship exists between performance and outcome and the outcome is seen as a means of satisfying needs. Provides the foundation for good practice in the design and management of contingent pay. The basis for the concept of the line of sight which emphasises the importance of establishing a clear link between the reward and what has to be done to achieve it. Goal Latham and Locke Motivation and performance are higher when individuals are set specific goals, when the goals are difficult but accepted and when there is feedback on performance. Provides a theoretical underpinning for performance management processes to ensure that they contribute to motivation through goal setting and feedback. Equity Adams People will be better motivated if they are treated equitably and de-motivated if they are treated inequitably. Emphasis the need to develop an equitable reward system involving the use of job evaluation. Source: (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005) Definitions of key Job Dimensions Job Dimensions Definition Work Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee is satisfied with work, including opportunities for creativity and task variety, allowing an individual to increase his or her knowledge, changes in responsibility, amount of work, security, and job enrichment (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990; Smith et al, 1969) Pay Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee forms an attitude toward pay based on perceived difference between actual pay and the expected pay. Expected pay is based on the value of perceived inputs and outputs of the job and the pay of other employees holding similar jobs or possessing similar qualifications (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990) Supervision Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee is satisfied with his or supervision, as measured by consideration and employee-centred actions of the supervisor and the perceived competency of the supervisor by the subordinate (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al, 1957) Satisfaction with promotions: The degree to which an employee is satisfied with the Companys promotion policy, including frequency of promotions, and the desirability of promotions (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al 1957) Co-workers Satisfaction: The work-related interaction and the mutual liking or admiration of fellow employees (Bazler and Smith et al, 1990, Smith et al, 1969, Alderfer, 1969) Overall Job Satisfaction: The extent to which an individuals desires, expectations and needs are fulfilled by employment (Szilagi, Sims, and Terrill, 1977) Appendix 3 WHEN SUPPORTING EXPLORE Ideas Build on STRENGTHS Offer HELP and guidance Ask OPEN questions LISTEN actively Give PRAISE DISCLOSE similar experiences TRUST intentions WHEN CHALLENGING Ask PROBING questions Point out AVOIDANCE behaviour Offer ALTERNATIVE opinions Tell people what you EXPECT Share FEELINGS State COSEQUENCES Set STRETCHING targets ASSERT your views Having Things Like Resources Time Funding Direction Guidance Assistance Ideas Tools or Methods Willing collaborators A climate of openness and honesty Emotional support Having Things Like Confronting feedback from others New opportunities Unfamiliar grounds Doing things in a different way Working with fresh people Learning new behaviours New tools or processes Demanding stakeholders High work volumes Tight timescales Personal ambition

Inclusion Effective or Ineffective Essay -- Teaching Public Education

Inclusion Effective or Ineffective Since the 1980's more and more school have began to practice the technique of inclusion in their classrooms. Inclusion is a term which expresses commitment to educate each child to the maximum extent appropriate, in the classroom he or she would otherwise attend.( Education Resources. "Special Education" Inclusion. "www.weac.org/resource/june96/speced.htm. Nov 15, 1998).Most schools began this process by main streaming. Main streaming is usually refers to the selective placement of special education students in one or more "regular" education classes.(Education Resources...)For example a student with a learning disabilities would have some classes in the "regular"classroom and other classes would be segregated. The idea is that eventually they would be able to be completely included in the "regular"class. There is one more term that will be helpful in the understanding of this paper and that is full inclusion. Full inclusion means that all students, no matter what their handicap, will be in a "regular"classroom full time.( Education Resources...) The general difference between main streaming and inclusion is that people in favor of main streaming believe that a child with disabilities first belongs in the special education environment and that the child must earn his or her way into the "regular" education environment. Those who support inclusion believe that the child always should begin in the "regular" environm...

City lifestyle vs country lifestyle

Reading Response practice 38. 8 Why is it that we have so many foreign-born children continuing to speak only their native language and not a scent of English? How successful has bilingual education been? They do live in this country after all, so shouldn't English be their second language? A perfect example to this problem is in the short essay, â€Å"No Comprehend'. Musical describes how hard it Is for foreign children to learn English In public schools, when the only thing being taught to them Is their native language.This frustrates her because the only thing holding back a student's dream, Is not knowing how to communicate with the same language. She believes that this wouldn't be a problem If only bilingual education programs did their Job and made sure that each student completed the English course. It is absolutely crucial for bilingual language programs to stop their limitations and focus on the problems. In the article, â€Å"Current Problems in Bilingual Education† ,Jose Gardens, a Hispanic born native, addresses the ten most common problems in bilingual education programs.One that stuck out the most is the Premature Transition to English. The reason why I found this one so interesting was because it shows that each student transition to a new language can be accomplished at the same time. Because of this, most students are failing to finish the program and it leaves them back to square one. I believe that this Is a huge Issue today, and if given enough attention, It could be fixed. The fact that 40 percent of Hispanics don't graduate high school because they lack proficiency In English Is outrageous. That should never be a reason.I blame the programs, and public schools that allow other native languages to be spoken on campus. If a student is trying to learn how to speak English but is being spoken to in their native language, then how are they ever going to learn? Thieve not. We spend all this time in schools that it should be just as easy t aking a science course as it is learning English. Should the programs and community pay more attention to English course classes, then the problem would be resolved and another child's dream wouldn't be rushed. City lifestyle vs. country lifestyle By illegality English A -err Practice 38. Education been? They do live in this country after all, so shouldn't English be their Comprehend'. Musical describes how hard it is for foreign children to learn English in public schools, when the only thing being taught to them is their native language. This frustrates her because the only thing holding back a student's dream, is not wouldn't be a problem if only bilingual education programs did their Job and made he article, â€Å"Current Problems in Bilingual Education†, Jose Gardens, a Hispanic born this is a huge issue today, and if given enough attention, it could be fixed.The fact that 40 percent of Hispanics don't graduate high school because they lack proficiency in English is outr ageous. That should never be a reason. I blame the programs, and language, then how are they ever going to learn? They're not. We spend all this time in schools that it should be Just as easy taking a science course as it is learning

Functional Areas of Business Essay

The functional areas of business are areas that allow the organization to operate, develop, and progress abiding by laws and regulations when implementing policies and procedures in the organization to all employees and management. There are 10 functional areas of business: Management, law, human resources management, leadership, accounting, finance, economics, research and statistics, operations management, marketing, and strategic planning. The two functional areas that will be covered are human resources management and strategic planning because these are the two related to the human resources manager and developing the organization into a successful one. Human Resources Management Employees and applicants may think of human resources management as a department that hires and terminates employees and nothing more, but this is not the case. Human Resources Management is a vital department of any organization because with this the organization is built and develops. The department is responsible recruiting, interviewing, hiring, consulting, strategic planning, and many others tasks that involve operating the organization. It must confirm the personal information, knowledge, skills, experiences, and creativity of all applicants before making them employees while abiding by all laws set forth by the specific state. Organizations must follow these laws to avoid facing fines or facing other implications that could be set forth by the state. Once the applicants become employees, the organization will strengthen the employees’ knowledge, skills, experiences, and creativity by further training and development systems offered. Human Resources Management uses two strategies: buy-bureaucratic strategy that emphasizes outside recruiting, limited training, exact job definitions, and seniority as the criteria; and make-organic strategy that emphasizes internal promotions, extensive training, comprehensive job definitions, and the employees’ abilities or performance as the criteria (Keh-Luh, Chi, & Chiu-Mei, 2012). These strategies are used to gain knowledgeable employees who will benefit the organization. Strategic Planning Strategic planning in any organization is essential to being successful, changing, and growing in the future. â€Å"Strategic planning is a formal, administrative process that calls for an explicit procedure to determine specific, long-range objectives and generate alternative strategies, requires both strict implementation and a system to monitor results† (Song, Im, Bij, & Song, 2011, p 505, para 4). This can be determined by performing a SWOT analysis, which states an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWTO will help to determine what needs looked at, what needs improved, and how the organization will improve it. The strategic plan will improve these details and enhance the organization when implemented. Developing a strategic plan involves several steps: developing a clear understanding of opportunities and challenges, assessment of the organization’s strengths and limitations, an inclusive approach, a planning committee, involvement, sharing responsibility, learning from the best practices, clear priorities and plan, patience, and a commitment to change (Mittenthal, 2002). These steps will need broken down and followed closely to develop a plan that will benefit the employees and management it is affecting. The organization will be able to implement the changes and record the results to see if the strategic plan was successful. If the results were negative, the organization will have to look at the information again and try different changes in the organization that will benefit more than the previous changes that were made. Mostly following these steps will provide the organization with the success and progress it is looking to gain moving into the future of its operation. Role in Functional Areas In the Human Resources Management and Strategic Planning areas, the specific role of the human resources manager would be greatly involved. First, because the role is acting as a Human Resources Manager, the role in the Human Resources Management area would be recruiting, interviewing, hiring, consulting, strategic planning, and any other tasks that may be presented. The human resources manager is one, if not the only, key person in the organization. This person staffs the organization while following all laws and regulations associated with the specific state it represents. Along with staffing the organization, this person is also responsible for creating and implementing all policies and procedures for employees to follow. This allows the organization to run smoothly and efficiently to complete the tasks it has to get done. Strategic Planning is also part of a human resources manager role because the human resources manager is involved in the strategic plan process of the organization. The human resources manager is involved in assessing the organization to see where it stands, where it needs to be, and how to get there. This is completed only after following specific steps, performing a SWOT analysis, and implementing what is necessary to change. Once the strategic plan is created, it must be presented and explained to the employees involved. The change must be adhered to by everyone to be successful, if not it will not work, and the organization will be where it started. If the organization needs to relook at the strategic plan, it will need to start at the beginning and follow the steps once again. This will help the organization to determine what needs changed and how to implement to see if this change will make a difference. Conclusion The functional areas of a business are important to develop and build the organization further than it is currently. Human Resources Management and Strategic Planning are two of the key areas that help an organization operate and progress further than what it is currently. These two areas complement each other with Human Resources operating the organization and also working with others to establish the strategic plan. Human Resources are responsible for employing qualified candidates for positions and abiding by all laws and regulations when implementing policies and procedures in the organization. Strategic planning is worked on my upper management, including human resources, to identify problem areas of the organization, what to fix, how to fix it, and where to go once the problem areas are fixed. The key to any organization is everyone working together to complete all tasks assigned and making changes as required to progress even further.