Lao-Tzu vs. Machiavelli - 1606 Words

Lao-tzu vs. Machiavelli Government is the essential authority of a country or state, which is directly, affects society because it provides key securities. Two of history’s greatest thinkers Lao-tzu, authors of the Tao-te Ching, and Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince have similar but very contrasting ideas of government, and how people should be governed. Lao-tzu was born in the Chinese state of Ch’u. He spent most of his life working in the library of the Chou dynasty. Once he decided to leave a gate keeper convinced him he would write down his thoughts, Thus creating the Tao-te Ching. Lao-tzu’s view of government is the master should not have optimal power over the people. He feels as though people should be ignorant of†¦show more content†¦To avoid such a catastrophe he must come across as a â€Å"miser.† Eventually he will prove he is not as greedy as eh was thought to be. Once this is evident he can protect himself and wage war without raising taxes and stressing his subjects. Therefore, it is actually better for him to be miserly than generous. Machiavelli thinks it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. For a prince who is loved will be compassionate towards others, mainly his soldiers. When danger is at bay his men will hold him in the highest regard. Should an attack occur they will very quickly turn their backs on him. He may be viewed as weak and untrustworthy, thus easier to overtake. As he explains, â€Å"And men are less hesitant about harming someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared because love is held together by a chain of obligation which, since men are a sorry lot, is broken on every occasion in which their own self-interest is concerned: but fear is held together by dread of punishment which will never abandon you† (p.46). If he is loved rather than hated he can never keep an army of soldiers under his command. However, he must not be so feared to the poi nt he is hated to do so he must not take what does not belong to him, and keep his hands off the wives of his subjects. According to Machiavelli, as wise Prince will not keep his word if the circumstances for which he made that promise are no longer relevant.Show MoreRelatedLao Tzu Vs. Machiavelli850 Words   |  4 PagesGovernment (Lao-tzu V. Machiavelli) What is government? Government is the governing body of nation, state, or community. Government determines the way any group of people are ran. There a several different types of government used all around the world. In the United States for example, uses a type of government that has three different branches of power. The Legislative Branch is the law making branch. The Judicial branch is the courts and the low enforcement. Lastly, the Executive branch is the

Decide If Private School is Worth the Money

When assessing if private school is worth the money, its important to consider all the factors look at many students’ experiences at private school from a cost-benefit perspective and many come up with the conclusion that attending a private school does not in any way guarantee access to an Ivy League or equivalently competitive college.  There is no clear answer to the cost-benefit analysis of whether private school is â€Å"worth it,† but here are some ways to think about the equation. Examine Your Criteria Most articles that seek to answer the question about whether private school is worth the cost look at one factor; college admission. Particularly, many choose to look at admission  to a very selective bunch of schools, namely the Ivy League and other similar colleges and universities. However, these elite colleges and universities may not be the goal of all or even most private school parents and students. In fact, many private school graduates are fortunate to have the added bonus of working with highly qualified college counselors whose jobs are to help graduates find the best fit higher education institutions, and not the most prestigious. What good is an ivy league degree if youre not getting the support you need to succeed and do well? Yes, its true that  some private schools thrive on advertising the admission of their recent graduates into Ivy League and equivalent schools, but college admissions results can never sum up the true value of private school education. Does an ivy league education guarantee  success and fulfillment? Not always. But that isnt necessarily the one deciding factor to consider. Instead, parents and students who want to understand what a private school education offers them need to look at the process of the education and what it has provided students in order to prepare them for life after high school. Improved time management skills, increased independence, introduction to a diverse community and rigorous academics; these are just a few of the skills that private school students gain from their experiences that cant necessarily be captured by their college admission lists. Understand the True Value of Private School The benefits of a private school education may not always be summarized in the list of where recent graduates attended college. For example, one study found that the benefits of a boarding school education extended well beyond students’ senior year of high school and the college admissions process. The graduates of private boarding and day schools felt much better prepared for college than did public school students in the survey, and graduates of boarding schools achieved advanced degrees and career success to a greater extent than did the graduates of private day or public schools. Parents and students can often understand what private schools offer when they look at the complete trajectory of graduates’ education and careers. Want to learn more about life at an all-girls boarding school? Find the Best Fit for Your Child In addition, statistics and summaries of vast numbers of students do not always help you understand what type of education is best for your child. The best school for any child is the one that fits his or her needs. For example, if your child loves horseback riding or surfing or English poetry or another academic or extra-curricular interest, a certain school may provide him or her with the best environment for advancing his or her interests and development. It is by no means true that a private school is always better than a public school, and it is true that public schools can often be more diverse than many private schools. However, the cost-benefit analysis of any particular school must be carried out with a particular student in mind. The true value of a school is what it offers to that student, not just what it offers in terms of college admissions. The true value lies in what the school offers with regard to a student’s life-long learning. Applying to private school, despite the hefty price tag, might be the best thing youve done yet.

Liberal Reforms and its Impact on the Lives of the People Free Essays

â€Å"To what extent did the liberal reforms in 1906-1914 improve the lives of people? † The Liberal government introduced a series of reforms aimed at moving away from the Laissez-faire ideology and toward a more self help scheme aiming to move people away from poverty and to make Britain a better country both in health and prosperity; Churchill said â€Å"If we see a drowning man we do not drag him to the shore, instead we provide help to allow him to swim ashore†. To do this the Liberals aimed at giving aid to the young, the old, the sick, the unemployed and the workers; these groups will be discussed throughout the essay. These reforms were later regarded as the foundations for the welfare state. We will write a custom essay sample on Liberal Reforms and its Impact on the Lives of the People or any similar topic only for you Order Now Children were one of the most critical groups for the government to help because they were unable to help themselves. They were also the next generation of workers and soldiers and knowing that war was looming meant that the government were very eager to improve their health. In 1906 an act was passed called â€Å"Provisions of Meals Act† which meant local authorities were allowed to provide free school meals for destitute children; however this was not made compulsory until 1914 and so only a few councils took it on board right from the start. These free school meals were effective in two ways; they were found to have vastly improved children’s diet and growth and also improved the children’s concentration during school. Parliamentary papers quoted â€Å"Children are unable by reason of lack of food to take full advantage of their education† this proves the point that children were so hungry they could not concentrate and benefit from a proper education. In 1907 the â€Å"Administrative Provisions Act† was passed which introduced free medical inspections in schools checking the children’s weight, height, eye sight and general health but it was not until 1912 that free medical treatment was provided before any illnesses were observed, but little could be done by poor families who could not afford treatment also some parents believed it what their duty to look after their children and keep them healthy a historian Pugh said â€Å"much of the states activity in connection with children – vaccination, medical inspection, school meals, arrangements for taking them into care was represented by parents as an infringement of their role. †. Both of these acts did not improve the overall lives of the young in Britain and showed that not enough was truly being done to effectively make change and that the illusion of change was not enough. Arguably the most important of reforms for children was the â€Å"Children’s Charter† which was introduced in 1908. The general idea of it was to protect children from cruelty and corruption: juvenile courts were set up, imprisonment would occur in borstals, identity was protected, neglecting parents could be fined and age restrictions were placed on products such as alcohol and tobacco. The minimum age restrictions to products had limited success to start off with but it did make a difference. Overall, these acts together were believed to guarantee better lives for children. The elderly were helped by being given an old age pension. In 1908 the government paid up to 5 shillings a week to people over 70. The pension received depended on income and was set on a sliding scale so those with the highest income received for the least (or none) in pension money. The idea of pensions was admirable but there were many unfair features of it when first introduced. Not all elderly British citizens could qualify for it; those who had avoided work, had a criminal record, or were habitually drunk were excluded. Also, the fact that it was provided for the over 70’s meant that not many people lived long enough to receive their pension and also those who did had not received it early enough as monetary aid since it would have been required many years before it was provided. Finally, the pension given did not raise the elderly income above the poverty line; Seebohm Rowntree’s minimum income for comfortable survival was over 35 shillings a week, Taylor stated the government â€Å"provided a meagre pension for the needy over the age of 70† which shows many people believed that the amount paid for the pension was not nearly enough to live on. Therefore, despite the idea and intensions being good they did not go far enough to improve the lives and ensure security for the elderly. The sick were another group the government tried to help. A contributory scheme was introduced for workers in case of illness. At the time there was no free national health service and the poor usually could not afford medical help. The â€Å"National Insurance Act† of 1911 gave some medical benefits for the worker who, when working, had paid into the scheme which their employer and the government would then add too. One of the main causes of poverty was the sickness and subsequent absence from work so any amount of income during absence from work would benefit the worker and their family greatly. However there were many problems with the scheme. For a start the workers did not like the idea that 4 pence of their money every week would be taken from them despite the possibility they may not claim on their insurance and they may have need the 4 pence for their own survival at the time. Also, it was only the workers themselves who were able to claim from the insurance despite the difficulties another illness in the family may put upon the other family members. Thus, to be of greater use and to have been viewed in greater favour by many this scheme would need to cover a broader spectrum of difficulties within the family unit and appear more obviously beneficial to the majority rather than just the worker. Unemployment was another important factor of society which the Liberal reforms attempted to tackle. They did this by introducing â€Å"Labour Exchanges Act† in 1909 where workers could find out where work could be found. Part of the National Insurance Act dealt with unemployment; it was a contributory scheme like that from illness from both the worker and the government for which they would receive a payout when unable to find work. However, this payment only lasted for up to fifteen weeks so if they were unemployed any longer no help was given. The scheme also only applied to seven particular jobs. Churchill explained â€Å"there are trades in which seasonal unemployment is not only high, but chronic; marked by seasonal fluctuations†. It was not designed to deal with long term unemployment and the labour exchanges act was slow and inefficient. The workers were helped by the government by introducing a â€Å"Workman’s Compensation Act† in 1906 that covered 6 million workers who could claim compensation for disease or injury that was a result of poor working conditions. However, in many trades and industries the government failed to establish a minimum wage level or a limit to working hours therefore did little to improve the lives of people during this period of change. On the other hand there were many positive reforms passed to help this category. In 1908 miners secured an eight hour working day. In 1909 the â€Å"Trade Borders Act† tried to protect workers from the sweated industries by setting up trade boards to fix minimum wage in jobs where workers were liable to exploitation and where trade unions could not protect them. Finally, in 1911 a â€Å"Shop Act† limited working hours for shop assistants and guaranteed a half day when the shop is closed. The government did make changes to this group but did not solve all their problems. To conclude, it is certainly true to say that the Liberal reforms marked a change away from Laissez-faire† to a more interventionist approach which meant that the government took some responsibility for the welfare of everyone in the country. It is wrong to say the Liberals created a welfare state . They did however mark a transition point between the old attitudes and the new attitudes towards pov erty. The reforms did help to improve the lives of many people living in Britain during this time but did not solve all problems faced by the government and by the citizens of Britain; poverty was not solved and many people still lived under the poverty line, housing was not improved and there was still no free health care and so until these issues were dealt with overcoming these major problems would be difficult to do. How to cite Liberal Reforms and its Impact on the Lives of the People, Papers

Accounting For Managers Bonanza Handtools LTD Proposal

Question: (1)Bonza Handtools Ltd. manufactures a popular power drill suitable for the home renovator. Financial and other data for this product for the last twelve months are as follows : Sales 20000 units Selling price $130 per unit Variable manufacturing cost $50 per unit Fixed manufacturing costs $400000 Variable selling and administrative costs $30 per unit Fixed selling and administrative costs $300000. The directors of Bonza Ltd. want to try to increase the profitability of this product and invited senior staff to suggest how this might be done. Three suggestions have been received. The accountant, Jan Rossi, believes that a price increase of $10 per unit is the best way to boost profits. She would spend an additional $125000 on national advertising and contends, that if this is done, sales volume would not drop appreciably from last year. The production manager, Tom Tune, thinks that an improved quality product could increase sales volume by 25% if accompanied by an advertising campaign costing $50000 aimed at tradespeople as well as home renovators. The improved quality would add $5 per unit to the variable cost. Mr Tune believes that the price should not be increased. The sales manager, Mary Watson, wants to undertake a promotion campaign where a $10 rebate is offered on all drills sold during the three months beginning 1 April. Normally 6000 units are sold during that period and Ms Watson believes that this could be boosted to 10000 units if an advertising campaign costing $40000 were launched late in March. You have been asked by the Bonza board to comment on each of these three proposals. Draft a report in response to this request. You are not asked to make an outright choice, but rather to analyse the potential strengths and weaknesses. The sales volumes forecast by each staff member should be treated as estimates only and your report should examine the effects of variations in actual sales from these forecasts. Give figures to support your comments and mention qualitative factors that may also be involved. (2). The Tassie Company estimates that next year it will manufacture and sell 150000 units of its product. On the basis of that level of activity, it has budgeted for the following costs and prices per unit: Direct Material Cost $2.50 Direct Labour Cost 3.00 Variable Factory Overhead 1.50 Fixed Factory Overhead 2.00 Manufacturing Cost 9.00 Variable Selling and Administrative Cost 2.00 Fixed Selling and Administrative Cost 1.50 Total Cost 12.50 20% Mark-up 2.50 Selling Price $15.00 The Company has an opportunity to bid for the supply of an additional 40000 units of its product to a government department. No sales commission (variable selling and admin. cost) is involved and no additional fixed costs will be incurred. Give a reasoned opinion on the level of the bid that should be made in each of the following two circumstances: (i) The capacity of the Tassie Company's factory is 200000 units per year. (ii) The capacity of the factory is only 180000 units per year. (3)Critically discuss the following statements: Word limit for Question 3 - 750 words a budget is a forecast of what is expected to happen in a business during the next year budgets are okay but they stifle all initiative. No manager would work for a business that applies control through budgets. any sensible person would start with the sales budget and build up the other budgets from there. a budget trying to be realistic will not motivate best performance. only adverse variances are worth investigating, because favourable variances, by definition, must be good. (4)ABC Ltd makes trailers. It receives a special order to produce 350 trailers for a local retail outlet. The order will take 2,100 kg of material that costs $16.10 per kg and will require 1,400 direct labour hours and 525 machine hours. The following are the expected/budgeted annual costs for ABC Ltd: Direct labour $327,600 Direct labour hours 25,795 Direct materials $193,200 Indirect costs $98,400 Machine hours 9,840 Required: Calculate the overhead allocation rate: note that the process is labour-intensive Calculate the total costs of the special order Calculate the cost of the special order if ABC Ltd uses machine time as the basis for allocating overheads Calculate the minimum price per trailer that ABC Ltd could accept. Explain how segmented overhead cost pools and activity based costing can assist accurate costing for pricing purpose (200 words) (5)Write around 500 words explaining how segmenting the overheads can help in allocating overhead costs to individual jobs or services. You must support your discussion by real world examples and acknowledge the source of your information (referencing). Answer: (1)Bonanza Handtools ltd. proposal Performance of the company for the last 12 months Calculation of profitability of Bonanza Hand tools for the last 12 months Sales 2000 units Per unit Selling Price $ 130 Income $26,00,000 Variable cost of manufacturing $50 Total variable cost of manufacturing $100,000 Fixed manufacturing cost 4,00,000 Per unit variable selling and administrative costs $30 Total variable selling and administrative cost $6,00,000 Fixed selling and administrative cost $ 3,00,000 Net profit $3,00,000 Proposal by accountant Jan Rossi Sales 20000 units Per unit Selling price $ 140.00 Income $ 28,00,000.00 Per unit Variable cost of manufacturing $ 50.00 Total variable cost of manufacturing $ 10,00,000.00 Fixed manufacturing costs $ 4,00,000.00 Per unit Variable selling and administrative costs $ 30.00 Total variable selling and administrative cost $ 6,00,000.00 Fixed selling and administrative costs $3,00,000 Advertising cost $1,25,000 Net profit $ 3,75,000.00 Proposal by Tom Tune Sales 25000 units Per unit Selling price $ 130.00 Income $ 32,50,000.00 Per unit Variable cost of manufacturing $ 55.00 Total variable manufacturing cost $ 13,75,000.00 Fixed manufacturing costs $ 4,00,000.00 Per unit Variable selling and administrative costs $ 30.00 Total variable selling and administrative cost $ 7,50,000.00 Fixed selling and administrative costs $3,00,000 Advertising cost $50,000 Net profit $ 3,75,000.00 Proposal by Mary Watson For three months beginning 1 April Rest period Sales 10000 units 14000 units Per unit Selling price $ 120.00 $ 130.00 Revenue $ 12,00,000.00 $ 18,20,000.00 Variable per unit manufacturing cost $ 50.00 $ 50.00 Total variable manufacturing cost $ 5,00,000.00 $ 7,00,000.00 Fixed manufacturing costs $ 4,00,000.00 Variable selling and administrative per unit costs $ 30.00 $ 30.00 Total variable selling and administrative cost $ 3,00,000.00 $ 4,20,000.00 Fixed selling and administrative costs $3,00,000 Net profit $ 4,00,000.00 (Chapman, Hopwood and Shields, 2007) Among the three proposals offered to Bonza Ltd., the first proposal will result not result in the fall of the sales of the organization with the increase in cost per unit by $10. This will be adopted by additional investment in advertising. The company has to focus on improving the quality of the product. If the price of the product increases without increasing the cost of the product, then the volume of sales will reduce (Coombs, Hobbs and Jenkins, 2005). The second proposal by Tom Tune will adopt the strategy of increasing the sales by improving the quality of the product. Although the cost of product will increase but the customers will prefer improved quality products (Epstein and Lee, 2010). The cost of production along with cost of manufacturing will increase. But there is uncertainty that the improve in quality will enhance the sales volume. In the third case, the profitability of the company will increase if the advertisement cost is adjusted. The income of the organization w ill increase in the third proposal. Among the three proposals, the third proposal will be beneficial for the organization (Khan Jain, 2015). (2) Units of sales 150000 Per unit price of selling $15 Income $ 2,250,000 Per unit total cost $12.50 Total cost $ 1,875,000 Total Profit S 375,000 Condition 1 The capacity of Tassie company factory is 2, 00,000 units Units of sales 150000 Per unit price of selling $15 Income $2,250,000 Per unit Total cost $12.50 Total cost $1875000 Extra Units of sales 40,000 Per unit price of sales $15 Income 600,000 Per unit total cost $10.50 Total cost $420,000 Total Profit S 555,000 Condition 2 Capacity of the factory is 180000 units per year Units of sales 150000 Per unit price of selling $15 Income $2,250,000 Per unit Total cost $12.50 Total cost $1875000 Extra Units of sales 30,000 Per unit price of sales $15 Income 450,000 Per unit total cost $10.50 Total cost $315,000 Total Profit S 510,000 From the above two cases, it is evident that the profitability of the company will increase if it supplies additional 400000 units of the product to the government department. If the company sells additional 400000 units then profitability will be $555,000 and the profitability will be $510,000 if it sells additional 300000 units (Doupnik and Salter, 1995) ; (Young, 2015). (3) (a) Budget is the forecast of the future needs of the organization. It helps in the allocation of the resources. Preparation of budget is essential for an organization because it can have control over expenses. The organization will be able to meet the future capital needs. The profit of the organization can be estimated. The sales volume of the organization can be predicted from the estimation of the budget. (b) Budget helps the manager in making key decisions of the organization. The manager will be able to identify the potential opportunities and threats concerning the organization from the budget. The manager can take strategies to overcome the problems encountered. This will help him to deal with business issues. However the business decisions in an organization cannot be controlled by budget. They must not serve as constraints which might lead to instability in the business organization (McCarthy et al., 2012). (c) Sales budget is essential for an organization to identify the capacity of the organization to meet its deadlines. The profitability of the organization will be affected with the decline in the volume of sales. The budget of the organization is prepared on the basis of the resources available in the organization. The goals of the organization can be met by keeping a balance between expenses and income. (d) Realistic budgets may sometimes be de motivating for the organization. It might not be able to derive the best performance. The realistic budget might put excessive pressure on the employees. The higher management authority will put work burden on the employees. The employees have to work hard to meet the deadline. (e) The variances of budget can have adverse effects on the organization. This may reduce the profitability of the organization. Thus the variances have to be monitored. The favorable variances will enhance the growth of the organization in future. The management will be able to identify the major issues affecting the organization by considering the adverse variances from the budget. This will provide better solutions to the organization (Vitez, 2015). (4)1. Overhead allocation rate Rate of labor hour = $ 12.70014 Cost of Labor = $17780.19 Indirect cost = $98400 Cost of material = $33810 Other cost = $6667.571 Overhead allocation rate = $5.5342 Total cost of special order Special order material cost = $43810 Cost of labor = S17780.19 Other cost = $6667.571 Special order total cost = $ 58257.76 Cost of special order of ABC ltd. Rate of overhead per hour = $10 Cost of material = $33810 Cost of labor = $14000 Other cost = $5250 Total cost = $ 53060 Each retailer minimum price of ABC ltd Cost = $58257.76 Units = 350 Minimum cost = $166.45 5. Accurate costing using segmented overhead costs and activity based costing The expenses can be distinguished into fixed and variable using segmented overhead expenses. It helps in segregation of the expenses in the manufacturing of the product. The expenses that have been segmented can be identified with various types of operational assets. This will ensure a positive connection between the expenses that are standard and the operational expenses. The segmentation of the overhead cost will help to identify the various expenses which are related to the cost of production. It will add value to the product. In activity based costing, the variable expenses are recorded and results in apportionment of the items. The stocks can be valued by distribution of the overhead expenses. This will help to know the productive cost of the item. The organization can maximize their value by apportioning the expenses to various cost pools. (5)Segmentation of overhead will help in the allocation of overhead cost to the individual job Segmentation helps in segregating the resources into respective units. The income and expenses can be allocated efficiently with segmentation. It will help the manager of the organization identify the segment of the business that will be profitable for the organization. Majority of the overhead expenses are power, rent, light, depreciation and management expenses that do not occur from a specific department. These expenses must be segregated in order to distribute the expenses efficiently (Kenkel, 2015). Example 1. Indirect allocation cost can be the cost to upgrade the copying and fax machine of organization. The administrative expenses such as supply expenses of ink , paper , petty cash expenses , expenses of communication such as fax bills and phone bills can be considered as overhead expenses. 2. The labor expenses of the organizations that are not directly related to the production or operation of the business is regarded as indirect cost or overhead cost. They include contract workers, consultants, employees that are temporary. Other overhead expenses related to labor includes excess expenses of labor supply , insurance expenses , rents and taxes, 3. Overhead allocation costs can also be fringe benefits. They are generally considered in taxation. Holiday pay, sick leave which is paid and compensated vacation days. Other fringe benefit includes health insurance, life insurance and retirement benefits (Vogt, 2015). References Chapman, C., Hopwood, A. and Shields, M. (2007). Handbook of management accounting research. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Coombs, H., Hobbs, D. and Jenkins, D. (2005). Management accounting. London: SAGE Publications. Doupnik, T. and Salter, S. (1995). Advances in international accounting. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press. Epstein, M. and Lee, J. (2010). Advances in management accounting. Bingley: Emerald. Kenkel, P. (2015). Understanding, Allocating, and Controlling Overhead Costs. 1st ed. [ebook] pp.1-6. Available at: https://university.uog.edu/cals/people/pubs/mgt/f217.pdf [Accessed 6 Jan. 2015]. Khan Jain, (2015). Management Accounting. pp.1-13. McCarthy, J., Shelmon, N., Mattie, J. and Gross, M. (2012). Financial and accounting guide for not-for-profit organizations. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Vitez, O. (2015). Why Is it Important for a Business to Budget?. [online] Small Business - Chron.com. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/important-business-budget-385.html [Accessed 6 Jan. 2015]. Vogt, C. (2015). What Are Examples of Indirect Allocation?. [online] Small Business - Chron.com. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-indirect-allocation-26377.html [Accessed 6 Jan. 2015]. Young, D. (2015). Management Accounting in Health Care Organizations.