In what ways has the post-Cold War economic globalization expose Essay

In what ways has the post-Cold War economic globalization expose workers, consumers and countries to new insecurities and how can the risks associated with process be managed - Essay Example The Cold War, after all, albeit essentially a geopolitical divide spawned a great economic divide between two blocs that characterised the world set up since the end of the World War II until the late 1980s. Since the divide did not confine itself between the then two superpowers but spread throughout Europe, Asia Africa and Latin America the ensuing economic split was extensive and thorough throughout the globe. Economic competition was all-consuming between the two blocs and the trade between them and their allies was virtually reduced to barter and countertrade. Internal trade within each bloc however, grew during the Cold War as represented by such pacts and agreements as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) for the US bloc and the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) for the Soviet bloc (Aldonas 2009 29-30). With the end of the Cold War, economic changes far and wide ensued. Gone were the restrictions and barriers that characterized the economic and trade relations between countries belonging to the respective Soviet and US blocs. More significantly, it freed up the economic resources that were previously used to fund the excessive manufacture of weapons and armaments on both sides. Trade liberalisation unfettered by ideological constraints brought China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and saw the latter’s rise and emergence, along with India, as the new economic superpowers. The new economic freedom facilitated world economic growth that reached a new height in 2004 at 3.8 per cent, an economic development that exemplified the rapid economic growth that outpaced that of the last three decades combined (Aldonas 2009 29). Yet, along with the unprecedented rapid economic growth, the unification of the world market or globalisation in the post-Cold War

The definition and features of a marginal costing system

The definition and features of a marginal costing system Introduction The costs that vary with a decision should only be included in decision analysis. For many decisions that involve relatively small variations from existing practice and/or are for relatively limited periods of time, fixed costs are not relevant to the decision. This is because either fixed costs tend to be impossible to alter in the short term or managers are reluctant to alter them in the short term Marginal costing definition Marginal costing distinguishes between fixed costs and variable costs as conventionally classified. The marginal cost of a product -is its variable cost. This is normally taken to be, direct labor, direct material, direct expenses and the variable part of overheads. What is Marginal Costing? It is a costing technique where only variable cost or direct cost will be charged to the cost unit produced. Marginal costing also shows the effect on profit of changes in volume and type of output by differentiating between fixed variable costs. Salient Points: Marginal costing involves ascertaining marginal costs. Since marginal costs are direct cost, this costing technique is also known as direct costing; In marginal costing, fixed costs are never charged to production. They are treated as period charge and is written off to the profit and loss account in the period incurred; Once marginal cost is ascertained contribution can be computed. Contribution is the excess of revenue over marginal costs. The marginal cost statement is the basic document/format to capture the marginal costs. Features of Marginal Costing System: It is a method of recording costs and reporting profits; All operating costs are differentiated into fixed and variable costs; Variable cost charged to product and treated as a product cost whilst Fixed cost treated as period cost and written off to the profit and loss account Advantages Marginal costing is simple to understand. By not charging fixed overhead to cost of production, the effect of varying charges per unit is avoided. It prevents the illogical carry forward in stock valuation of some proportion of current years fixed overhead. The effects of alternative sales or production policies can be more readily available and assessed, and decisions taken would yield the maximum return to business. It eliminates large balances left in overhead control accounts which indicate the difficulty of ascertaining an accurate overhead recovery rate. Practical cost control is greatly facilitated. By avoiding arbitrary allocation of fixed overhead, efforts can be concentrated on maintaining a uniform and consistent marginal cost. It is useful to various levels of management. It helps in short-term profit planning by breakeven and profitability analysis, both in terms of quantity and graphs. Comparative profitability and performance between two or more products and divisions can easily be assessed and brought to the notice of management for decision making. Disadvantages The separation of costs into fixed and variable is difficult and sometimes gives misleading results. Normal costing systems also apply overhead under normal operating volume and this shows that no advantage is gained by marginal costing. Under marginal costing, stocks and work in progress are understated. The exclusion of fixed costs from inventories affect profit and true and fair view of financial affairs of an organization may not be clearly transparent. Volume variance in standard costing also discloses the effect of fluctuating output on fixed overhead. Marginal cost data becomes unrealistic in case of highly fluctuating levels of production, e.g., in case of seasonal factories. Application of fixed overhead depends on estimates and not on the actual and as such there may be under or over absorption of the same. Control affected by means of budgetary control is also accepted by many. In order to know the net profit, we should not be satisfied with contribution and hence, fixed overhead is also a valuable item. A system which ignores fixed costs is less effective since a major portion of fixed cost is not taken care of under marginal costing. In practice, sales price, fixed cost and variable cost per unit may vary. Thus, the assumptions underlying the theory of marginal costing sometimes becomes unrealistic. For long term profit planning, absorption costing is the only answer. Marginal Costing Formulae:- MARGINAL COST = VARIABLE COST DIRECT LABOUR + DIRECT MATERIAL + DIRECT EXPENSE + VARIABLE OVERHEADS Theory of Marginal Costing The theory of marginal costing as set out in A report on Marginal Costing. In relation to a given volume of output, additional output can normally be obtained at less than proportionate cost because within limits, the aggregate of certain items of cost will tend to remain fixed and only the aggregate of the remainder will tend to rise proportionately with an increase in output. Conversely, a decrease in the volume of output will normally be accompanied by less than proportionate fall in the aggregate cost. The theory of marginal costing may, therefore, by understood in the following two steps: If the volume of output increases, the cost per unit in normal circumstances reduces. Conversely, if an output reduces, the cost per unit increases. If a factory produces 1000 units at a total cost of Rs. 3,000 and if by increasing the output by one unit the cost goes up to Rs. 3,002, the marginal cost of additional output will be Rs.2. If an increase in output is more than one, the total increase in cost divided by the total increase in output will give the average marginal cost per unit. If, for example, the output is increased to 1020 units from 1000 units and the total cost to produce these units is Rs. 1,045, the average marginal cost per unit is Rs. 2.25. It can be described as follows: Additional cost = Additional units Rs. 45 = Rs. 2.25   Ã‚  Ã‚  20 The ascertainment of marginal cost is based on the classification and segregation of cost into fixed and variable cost. In order to understand the marginal costing technique, it is essential to understand the meaning of marginal cost. Marginal cost means the cost of the marginal or last unit produced. It is also defined as the cost of one more or one less unit produced besides existing level of production. In this connection, a unit may mean a single commodity, a dozen, a gross or any other measure of goods. For example, if a manufacturing firm produces X unit at a cost of Rs. 300 and X+1 units at a cost of Rs. 320, the cost of an additional unit will be Rs. 20 which is marginal cost. Similarly if the production of X-1 units comes down to Rs. 280, the cost of marginal unit will be Rs. 20 (300-280). The marginal cost varies directly with the volume of production and marginal cost per unit remains the same. It consists of prime cost, i.e. cost of direct materials, direct labor and all variable overheads. It does not contain any element of fixed cost which is kept separate under marginal cost technique. Marginal costing May be defined as the technique of presenting cost data wherein variable costs and fixed costs are shown separately for managerial decision-making. It should be clearly understood that marginal costing is not a method of costing like process costing or job costing. Rather it is simply a method or technique of the analysis of cost information for the guidance of management which tries to find out an effect on profit due to changes in the volume of output. Marginal costing technique has given birth to a very useful concept of contribution where contribution is given by: Sales revenue less variable cost (marginal cost) Contribution may be defined as the profit before the recovery of fixed costs. Thus, contribution goes toward the recovery of fixed cost and profit, and is equal to fixed cost plus profit (C = F + P). In case a firm neither makes profit nor suffers loss, contribution will be just equal to fixed cost (C = F). this is known as breakeven point. The concept of contribution is very useful in marginal costing. It has a fixed relation with sales. The proportion of contribution to sales is known as P/V ratio which remains the same under given conditions of production and sales. The principles of marginal costing The principles of marginal costing are as follows. For any given period of time, fixed costs will be the same, for any volume of sales and production (provided that the level of activity is within the relevant range). Therefore, by selling an extra item of product or service the following will happen. Revenue will increase by the sales value of the item sold. Costs will increase by the variable cost per unit. Profit will increase by the amount of contribution earned from the extra item. Similarly, if the volume of sales falls by one item, the profit will fall by the amount of contribution earned from the item. Profit measurement should therefore be based on an analysis of total contribution. Since fixed costs relate to a period of time, and do not change with increases or decreases in sales volume, it is misleading to charge units of sale with a share of fixed costs. When a unit of product is made, the extra costs incurred in its manufacture are the variable production costs. Fixed costs are unaffected, and no extra fixed costs are incurred when output is increased. Features of Marginal Costing The main features of marginal costing are as follows: Cost Classification The marginal costing technique makes a sharp distinction between variable costs and fixed costs. It is the variable cost on the basis of which production and sales policies are designed by a firm following the marginal costing technique. Stock/Inventory Valuation Under marginal costing, inventory/stock for profit measurement is valued at marginal cost. It is in sharp contrast to the total unit cost under absorption costing method. Marginal Contribution Marginal costing technique makes use of marginal contribution for marking various decisions. Marginal contribution is the difference between sales and marginal cost. It forms the basis for judging the profitability of different products or departments. Presentation of Cost Data under Marginal Costing Marginal costing is not a method of costing but a technique of presentation of sales and cost data with a view to guide management in decision-making. The traditional technique popularly known as total cost or absorption costing technique does not make any difference between variable and fixed cost in the calculation of profits. But marginal cost statement very clearly indicates this difference in arriving at the net operational results of a firm. Following presentation of two Performa shows the difference between the presentation of information according to absorption and marginal costing techniques: Summary Marginal cost is the cost management technique for the analysis of cost and revenue information and for the guidance of management. The presentation of information through marginal costing statement is easily understood by all mangers, even those who do not have preliminary knowledge and implications of the subjects of cost and management accounting.

Gladiatorial Contest In Rome Essay example -- essays research papers

Gladiatorial Contest in Rome   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rome was a warrior state. Since the state was a great fighting state in their time, the wars sort of formed the gladiatorial contest in ancient Rome. The Romans were fascinated and pleasured by violence, bloodshed, and human suffering the gladiatorial games.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The gladiatorial contests began at the reign of their first emperor Augustus to pay tribute to their warrior traditions. The Romans built artificial battlefields within amphitheaters in cities and towns for public entertainment. It is very obvious that gladiatorial contest were important because of the enormous size of the amphitheaters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In A.D. 80, the Colosseum, which seated fifty thousand people, was used to accompany a hundred days of games. On one of the days three thousand men fought and on another day nine thousand animals were killed. The public killings of men and animals were a Roman rite believing that this was a religious sacrifice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everyone in Rome was not entertained by these barbaric acts. The philosophers and Christians lobbied against such events. To little effect the gladiatorial games continued until the early fifth century A.D. and wild-beast killings went on until the sixth century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Evidence suggests that the contest was part of the Roman funeral process. A Christian critic named Tertullian at the end of the second century wrote, â€Å"Once upon a time, men believed that the souls of the dead were propitiated by human blood, and so at the funerals they sacrificed prisoners of war of slaves of poor quality bought for the purpose.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 246 B.C., two nobles in honor of their deceased father, held the first recorded gladiatorial event with only six gladiators. But over the next two hundred years, the contests started to become common and gain popularity resulting in the increase of gladiatorial shows. An example of a gladiatorial show was in 46 B.C. when Julius Caesar dedicated the games to his dead daughter and the victory over Gaul and Egypt. Caesar didn’t have only the traditional individual fights, but also he had fights between whole detachments of an infantry and between squadrons of cavalry who were mounted on horses and elephants. The games consisted of professional gladiato... ...ll of the animals were killed for entertainment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gladiators were heroes to their culture. Even though most of the gladiators were slaves, women were attracted to them. But gladiators were also degraded by society. They were not allowed to be buried in normal burial grounds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Women also fought in gladiatorial games also. The women fought in the arena were men fought. An example of women fighting was found on a small stone relief, depicting two female gladiators, with one breast bare, called Amazon an Achillia. Sports today are on a much milder basis than gladiatorial games in ancient Rome. Today those type of games would be considered insane, but for Rome this was part of their religion and probably the most entertaining shows they had. Boxing and hunting presents violence similar to the gladiatorial games, but I don’t think it is as barbaric. For instance, boxers don’t fight to the death, only 12 rounds, and hunters can only kill plentiful animals, such as, deer and ducks during certain times of the year. Between these two different society, violence is proved to be the number one entertainment source in the two cultures.

Catholicism in Quebec and the Quiet Revolution Essay

Montreal is Quebec’s largest city, has always been renowned for its many churches and basilicas, earning it the nickname la ville aux cents clochers. Mark Twain once said â€Å"This is the first time I was ever in a city [Montreal] where you couldn’t throw a brick without breaking a church window†. Today, it is better known for the diversity of its people and its culture painted streets, such as the Quartier Latin and the booming Quartier des spectacles. The city is home to over a hundred and twenty cultural communities and seventy-five languages; seemingly fitting since well over a quarter of the population was born abroad. In the June 2008 issue of Monocle, a London based magazine, Montreal was dubbed â€Å"Canada’s Culture Capital†. It seems hard to imagine that the Catholic Church had a monopoly over not only Montreal but the entire province of Quebec simply half a century ago. How did a land founded and built on Catholicism become a place renow ned for its cultural diversity? This essay will explore how the Catholic faith’s image developed in Quebec after the Second World War, touching the province’s strong religious foundation, the Church’s control of the education and medical systems, and how the Quiet revolution paved the way for the prosperity of the French language and the multicultural land we have today. Jacques Cartier officially claimed Quebec in the name of the King of France in 1534, bringing the first sign of Christianity by putting up a cross in Gaspà © that is still visible to this day. The farm, family, faith and language were until recently stereotypical symbols for the Quebecois, but gradually became symbols of French settlers instead. However, these hadn’t always been symbols of the colonists; farming and permanent families were not part of the mindset of the early colony. Samuel de Champlain first met with the Algonquin people on his exploration journey in 1603 and the two parties were quick to form an alliance. The French and Algonquin began trading firearms for furs to keep warm throughout the winter but were mainly sent to be sold in France. During the long alliance with the Algonquin people many Jesuits, members of the Society of Jesus, a Christian male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, sought to evangelize and convert the aboriginal people. This created a bitter divide between the traditional practitioners of Midewiwin and the Catholic converts. Champlain returned in 1608 to create a settlement in what is now Quebec City, however at the time the French were interested in trading, fishing cod fish and later hunting beaver. This lifestyle made it difficult to attract potential colonists, and upon Champlain’s death in 1635 there were only 300 settlers in New France. King Louis XIV began encouraging members of his military to remai n and settle in New France after discharge, and also hiring young laborers to work in the colony then encouraging them to stay as well. The recruitment efforts of the King of France resulted in a 2:1 male to female ratio, thus he supported les filles du roi, a plan where poor women without a dowry migrated to New France to be married and bear children. By 1681, the marriages and families of these women grew the population to 10 000. These 10 000 French settlers would produce most of the francophone population of Canada (Phan, 292). Once King Louis XV signed the Treaty of Paris, handing over the French territories to the English, the French military, upper-class and business elite all returned to France. The abandoned settlers turned to the Roman Catholic Church as the clergy begun opening schools and hospitals. The French colony of Quebec wanted to avoid an American influenced political policy which stood for Protestantism, republicanism and war, as well as severing its ties with France following the Treaty of Paris and the French Revolution’s religious prosecutions. The colony then adapted policies of the Church, associating the land with the Vatican instead. The Church system worked well for the prosperity of the people at the time, but later Pope’s decisions would eventually lead to the downfall of faith in Quebec. The early 19th to mid-20th centuries saw the farm, family, faith and language become the sacramental lifestyle of the Quebecois. At the end of the 19th century in Rome, Pope Leo XIII called for a renewal of ecclesial studies to modernise the Church’s lessons to aid in the application against the challenges of the new world. Reform-minded scholars were thus encouraged to explore and revise the conventional positions of the church and were given much elbowroom until the Pope’s death in 1903. His successor, Pope Pius X, had a much different approach. In 1907 the Pope published Pascendi Dominici Gregis, a letter condemning modernism as the synthesis of all heresies (Jodock, 56). The Vatican began enforcing anti-modernism, which set the stage for what would later be the Quiet revolution. `The period leading up to the 1960s was one through which the province had long been undergoing a process of industrialization and urbanization that had dated back to the latter part of the nineteenth century. Various transformations had been taking place, making it no surprise that the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) was able to dethrone the Union Nationale (UN) as leaders of provincial government. During the 1940s and 1950s, the image most frequently associated with Quebec’s French-Canadian people was that of a church-ridden, agricultural society outside the mainstream of the urban-industrial North American way of life. Although the Catholic Church is credited for the preservation of the French language and culture, the Western world had moved its interest away from the large families and agriculture supported by the Church. This seemingly outdated view of Quebec as a society gave politicians a clear view on what to campaign for. Jean Lesage of the QLP was able to garner over 50% of the popular vote and gain 51 seats to defeat the UN, ending a 16 year run for that party in Quebec. The province was about to come out of the period known as â€Å"la grande noirceur†, due to the scandal and corruption that the Union Nationale leader used to remain in power, and to enter a new era that Quebec still finds itself in at this very moment. The Quebecois expected change and Lesage was to come through for them. As the former provincial government had been supported by the Catholic Church, he had started what seemed to be a secularization process that coincided with the status of religion in Quebec at that time. Between the years 1961 and 1971, religious practice in Montreal fell from 61 percent of the population to 30 percent, and only 14 percent among people aged 16-24. The low number of young Catholics raised many concerns for the Church as to wear they would find future replacements for its aging clergy (Gauvreau). The emergence of lay Quebec organizations that defined nationalism in terms of language and political independence instead of religion also hastened a loss of confidence in the church. Not the least of significant markers in the 1960s was the bishops’ decision to dismantle Catholic Action itself. The entire process resulted in a de-Christianization that most defined carefully as not the decline of private belief, but as the rapid loss of a Catholic public identity. Jean-Paul Desbiens wrote a letter under the name Brother Anonymous criticizing the education system, stating the importance of the involvement and control of the provincial government over such services. The characterization of Quebec citizens as a religious people was outdated and the following period gave birth to a new identity for the Quebecois to latch on to. The Premier began this procedure by having the province take control of education by first establishing the Department of Youth (which became the Ministry of Education in 1964) and provided free education up through high school. Lesage would then go on to make schooling up until the age of 16 mandatory with the belief that educating the youth would lead them to become the successful leaders of tomorrow, replacing the Anglophones who were in control of most of Quebec’s businesses at the time. Continuing the reform, he increased government control over the healthcare system, by implementing a hospital insurance plan in 1961 (a prequel to Quebec’s version of a universal healthcare plan in 1972). These two essential institutions, which had been the responsibility of the Catholic Church ever since the birth of New France, were now primarily in the hands of the provincial government, giving substantiation for the many that now believed Quebec was a secular society. In Conclusion, a land founded and built on Catholicism became a place renowned for its cultural diversity after the anti-modernisation of the Church forced the Quebecois to break free from its monopoly over the province. After exploring how the Catholic faith’s image developed in Quebec, it is made evident that the stereotypical symbols of the 19th century Quebecois had to be shaken in the 20th century in order for them to prosper in the 21st century. Works Cited: Tentler, Leslie W. and Kevin Christiano. The Church Confronts Modernity: Catholicism since 1950 in the United States, Ireland, and Quebec. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 2007. Print. 19-90 Jodock, Darrell. Catholicism Contending with Modernity: Roman Catholic Modernism and Anti-modernism in Historical Context. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 2000. Print. Van, Die Marguerite. Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2001. Print. Phan, Peter C. Ethnicity, Nationality and Religious Experience. Lanham, MD: University of America, 1995. Print. Gauvreau, Michael. The churches and social order in nineteeth- and twentieth-century Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2006. Print. Baum, Gregory and Michael Gauvreau. The Catholic Origins of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution, 1931-1970. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005. Print.

Heart of Darkness Essay

The main theme of the novel Heart of Darkness is the darkness of the human nature and its destructive influence on human beings. This research paper aims to analyze the character and personal downfall of Kurtz and use him as an example for the darkness of the human nature. It will show how easily a man can experience bad fate; Kurtz was an ambitious man full of hope who came to Africa in search for wealth and fortune and ended up going insane and dying. Kurtz is an agent of the Trade Company, in fact, one of the best agents. He works for them in Africa in an ivory country, collecting ivory, and he has the ability to collect a lot more ivory than any other man. He is an ambitious, charismatic person willing to do anything that is needed to achieve greatness. Although Kurtz is the main character of the story, most of the things we learn about him come indirectly to us; there are always some people who tell stories about him. His greatest desire is the one for gaining a fortune through ivory and that desire led him to Africa. But he did not do everything on his own will, he was a representative of the European colonizers, and he only did what they wanted him to do. Just to give an example, when he enslaved the natives and even slaughtered them at the Inner Station, the Trade Company did not do anything about that, they did not stop or accuse him. He was only praised for his talented capacity of collecting ivory. Kurtz was of the belief that he could achieve everything as he wished as long as he tried hard. He was also a very greedy person, as were all of the colonizers; it was a common characteristic for them. That way, he shows a great desire for fame, power and wealth. Kurtz had absolute power at the Inner Station; he had the ability to get everything and everyone under his control. Kurtz made clear statements what kind of men he wanted to work for him, he did not want weak men, or men â€Å"of that sort†, he immediately sent them away: â€Å"‘Yes, ‘answered the manager; ‘he sent his assistant down the river with a note to me in these terms: â€Å"Clear this poor devil out of the country, and don’t bother sending more of that sort. I had rather be alone than have the kind of men you can dispose of with meâ€Å" (Chapter 2, 33). He was as well really cruel, and he ruled the place with the use of his cruelty. The heads of the natives who offended him were standing outside his windows and they only proved Kurtz’s cruelty. He proved his greediness and cruelty once again when he threatened to shoot the Russian if he refused to give him his ivory: â€Å"He declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out of the country, because he could do so, and had a fancy for it, and there was nothing on earth to prevent him killing whom he jolly well pleasedâ€Å" (Chapter 3, 56). Kurtz was a pretty normal, somewhat ambitious person who got in touch with the wilderness of Africa and fell prey to it. He believes that he must approach the natives as a god, ant that only this way he can survive in the wilderness and lead the people to civilization. But his obsession for power and wealth and his greediness did not let him last long in the jungle as the wilderness pretty soon took his sanity and all that was the old Kurtz: â€Å"It had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiationâ€Å" (Chapter 2, 49). Kurtz could not be saved at the end, because he did not want to leave the place where he earned his wealth and fame, even if it meant that he would save his life. All the power that he had did not allow him to leave his territory to other hands. At the end of the story, Kurtz becomes very ill. His sickness could easily be a reflection of his diseased and sick mind. His sickness also shows the great power of the wilderness to suck out all that is human from a man and leave him so weak and helpless as Kurtz was in the end. His last words â€Å"The Horror! The Horror! † (Chapter 3, 71) may represent all the strange and horrible things that he went through in Africa and all his actions, slaughtering and enslaving he did to the natives. Kurtz seems to be regretful about his actions, as it was not really his choice to become the man he was at the end, it was more the wilderness and the act of colonization, which he was a victim of, that destroyed his soul. At that time, he believed that he was doing the right thing by supporting the colonization and enslavement program.