Ricardo Semler And New Zealand Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction The biggest challenge facing any business today is change. Ricardo Semlars approach to management revolutionized they way in which Secom did business. However it is of question if Semlars model of business can be successfully transplanted into New Zealand’s business environment and change the way in which they operate. This essay will therefore discuss if Ricardo’s unique approach to business, and how it can be successfully used in the New Zealand business environment. This essay will firstly discuss the idea that profit sharing can motivate workers and how this idea is set up in the New Zealand business environment. Secondly the ways in which employee participation work in New Zealand, and how managers can better understand their workers. Lastly the importance of information sharing to a success of a company, and ways in which this idea has helped New Zealand companies find business success. Therefore this essay will show that Semlar’s approach to management can be successfully adapted to the New Zealand business environment. Background Ricardo Semler at the age of 24, implemented three main management schemes to try and successfully run a business. Stated by some as unique, Ricardo Semelr has gone and taken these schemes and used them in his fathers business Semco. After struggling for many years (close to bankruptcy) because of the high Brazilian inflation rate and poor business model, Ricardo was able to turn this all around. Within 8 years Semco had become one of Brazil’s fastest growing companies with a profit margin of 10% on sales of $32 million. Ricardo puts this down to his three core management techniques of profit sharing, employee implementation and the free flow of information.(Semler, 1989) These management schemes are not new, but Ricardo Semler was able to successfully implement these schemes into the Brazilian business environment, while other companies in Brazil and international companies such as Allis Chalmers failed. Thus it is of question if whether or not New Zealand companies can do wh at Ricardo Semler did. Profit sharing The first of Ricardo’s management schemes is the idea of profit sharing and the effect it has on the employee. Profit sharing is formed on the bases that employees should receive a share of the profits of the company. Semler (1889) believes that the idea of profit sharing shouldn’t be a gimmick... ...environment and hopefully more businesses will do so. Reference list Bell, D.W, & Hanson, C.G. (1987) Profit Sharing and Profitability. London. Kogan Page. Foster, B. & Mackie B.L (2002) Weddels Tomoana: A retrospective study of Workplace Reform. The New Zealand Journal of Human Resources Management, 2, p. 1-10 Killian, K. & Perez, F. (1998) Ricardo Semler and Semco S.A (Report No. A15-98-0024. Thunderbird: American Graduate School of International Management Light, E. (1997) Living the Dream. NZ Business. P34-36 Macfie, R. (2001, October 1st) Making it in New Zealand, Unlimited p. 14-17 Maetzig, R. (1999, December 20th) Not to chicken to try new approach. The daily News. P.5 Semler, R. (1989) Managing Without Managers. Harvard Business Review September/October, 76-84 Sinoski, K. (2004) No Incentive. The independent: New Zealand’s Business Weekly. August/September. P. 18 Smith, A. (1996, September 11) The Highs and Lows. The Dominion, p.20 Smith, D. (1977) Worker Participation: A critical appraisal of present practice in New Zealand. Wellington. Victoria University of Wellington Upfront-Unearned Rewards.(2004) Management . September/October. P. 12

Activity Based Costing

Probably the most popular proposal to upgrade the traditional cost accounting system is activity-based costing (ABC). The purpose of ABC systems is to focus on the causes behind indirect costs. It is primarily a system of allocation. Activities rather than traditional departments are emphasized in order to isolate the cost drivers, which are the factors most likely to cause or contribute to the incurrence of costs. ABC systems are designed to be complementary with the technological changes in the factories due to enhanced global competition. t refers to the basis for cost accumulation, either direct or indirect, to products or services.The traditional approach to assigning costs to products is to attach those costs that are directly traceable to the product and allocate the indirect costs by a measure of volume, such as direct labor hours, direct labor dollars, or machine hours. According to Anderson and Kaplan (2004), a cardinal principle of ABC is this: if products or services are made to specifications known to add value for the customer, then activities, and hence costs, that can be removed without compromising these specifications are unnecessary and should be removed. Benefits of ABC Systems to CompaniesCompanies can benefit from ABC through the system’s attempt to improve the allocation of indirect costs by identifying the activities that are responsible for the costs. Costs and expenses that cannot be economically traced directly to a cost objective are to be allocated on a rational basis. Costs and expenses that can be directly traced to a revenue-producing division, a single product line, or to any defined cost objective need not be allocated. Traditionally, only direct materials and direct labor were assumed to be directly traceable to separate product lines.That assumption will no longer be followed. Instead, it will be assumed that elements of manufacturing overhead, administrative expenses, and marketing expenses may be economically traced to product lines, or revenue-producing divisions. ABC as a process-based approach represents one capital budgeting strategy for analyzing investment opportunities which allows managers to vary the underlying activity drivers in business processes in order to study the impact of different levels in the process itself.Managers have the potential to learn much more about investment risks when they study the uncertainties in the business processes, rather than the traditional overview approach. This traditional approach has typically focused upon highly aggregated revenue and cost items that are merely the result of business processes. Contemporary organizations normally develop activity-based costing systems to provide more accuracy in assigning indirect and support costs to activities, business processes, products, services, and customers.ABC systems have recognized that organizational resources are needed both for direct production of goods and services and for indirect or support ac tivities (Neely, 2002). The goal of organizations is for the ABC to measure and then price out all the resources used for activities that generate the production off and services for customers. The principal difference between the traditional costing methods and ABC systems is the number and type of cost drivers used.The traditional product costing systems uses allocation bases that may or may not have been cost drivers. Companies may find that direct labor is not a cost driver and may never be a cost driver, especially in highly automated production environments. Therefore, these companies utilize the ABC system because it uses a much larger number and variety of cost drivers than the one or two volume-based cost drivers typical for a traditional cost system. As a result the ABC method increases accuracy. Application and Benefits of ABC in the Pilgrims Manufacturing Inc.Company Activity-based costing system is effective and appropriate for the company because, as Hammer and Champy (1993) state, it facilitates the use of process-based management that represents an evolving management strategy for highly competitive environments, as opposed to the traditional, departmental management focus. Moreover, activity-based costing focuses upon the broader control span of cross-functional processes of how work really gets done in organizations, as opposed to the narrow control span of individual departments of organizations.Business processes have been discussed as a series of activities that are cross-functionally linked to achieve specific organizational objectives. An activity-based costing system should be developed within the company to satisfy some of the weaknesses of the traditional systems of accounting for and controlling costs. It is important to recognize the place of ABC systems in the overall picture of cost management. In traditional cost systems, direct materials and labor are the only costs traced directly to the product.Manufacturing overhead costs, by definition, are not traced, but allocated to the product. They may be traced to an activity or a service department or some other cost objective, but not to the product itself. Administrative, engineering and marketing expenses are not included in production costs even when they can be traced directly to the product. ABC along with other new concepts such as computer-integrated manufacturing and total cost management advocate changes in the traditional system to coincide with technological changes in the production process.Once the factory has been reorganized to provide maximum efficiency and minimum wasted resources, the cost system can be streamlined to serve the needs of managers, not just to satisfy the presentation of data in the financial statements. ABC seeks to identify activities that cause or drive costs. Once these activities are identified, product costs are assigned according to the activities consumed. Typical activities would be storage time, wait time, number of se tups, number of engineering changes, and move time.The traditional cost system usually assumes that the only relevant activities are volume (measured in units of product), direct labor hours, or direct labor dollars. ABC expands these activities and claims better assignment of overhead as a result. WORKS CITED 1. Anderson, S. & Kaplan, R. (2004). Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing. Harvard Business Review, November, pp. 131-138. 2. Hammer, M. & Champy, J. (1993). Reengineering the Corporation. New York, NY: Harper Business. 3. Neely, A. (2002). Business Performance Measurement: Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.

An Analysis of Euthyphro †Plato - 1066 Words

An Analysis of Euthyphro – Plato It is believed that the theological discussion between Socrates and Euthyphro is one of the most famous Socratic discussions. The discussion is focused on what is piety or holiness asked by Socrates. Socrates engages Euthyphro to help him understand what piety is as he admits he does not know, in order to help with his case against him. Socrates attempts to grasp an understanding of this elusive concept and uses logic to understand what holiness is as provided by Euthyphro who, in his mind, is acting pious. The concept of holiness in the dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro emerges while both men are waiting on the porch of the King Archon where Socrates has been called to court on†¦show more content†¦There are many other forms (the Good, the True, etc.) and the forms give identity to all sensible objects in the world, as perceived by humans. There is one form of Beauty that reigns over all beautiful things. Socrates, who is known as the lover of wisdom has illustrated in this dialogue his simple love that a true philosopher must have if he is to work his way from ignorance to belief to true belief and finally to knowledge, which ultimately can only be arrived at in death. Plato greatly admired his predecessor and teacher Socrates and most of his dialogues depict Socrates in the best of ways, with a passion for the dialectic. Reference Plato, amp; Jowett, B. (n.d.). Euthyphro. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1642/1642-h/1642-h.htm In Famine, Affluence, and Morality Peter Singer argues that affluent individuals, in fact, almost all of us are living deeply immoral lives by not contributing to the relief and prevention of famine. The causes of famine are various and include human wrongdoing, but this doesnt matter, according to Singer. What matters is that each of us can minimize the effects of the famines that are now occurring and can take steps to prevent those that might occur. As we go about our daily business, living our comfortableShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Plato s The Euthyphro 1723 Words   |  7 Pagesof the greatest reflective thinkers of all time, Plato was the innovator of many written philosophical dialogues. Accompanied by his teacher, Socrates and his most notorious disciple, Aristotle, Plato set the groundworks of Western philosophy and science amid dialogues such as Apology, Euthyphro, Republic and Laws. These dialogues provided some of the earliest handlings of political inquiries from a philosophical viewpoint. In the Euthyphro, Plato composes a dialogue that transpires in 399 BC, weeksRead MoreEuthyphro1289 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of Euthyphro Nikon121 PHI 200 Bob Harris October 15, 2012 Analysis of Euthyphro Socrates was put to death in Athens for subverting the youth of the city. 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