Marxism And Economic Theory Essays - Economic Ideologies

Marxism and Economic Theory Human relationships have always been dynamic. Change and adaptability have gone hand in hand with the passage of time for human society. Systems have been developed to regulate, direct and control the resources of this society. The systems are referred to as governments and the resources as the populace or inhabitants and forces of production. A government must be dynamic in its nature reflecting the change in society. At times these systems have resisted the necessity to adapt with its components (Society) creating a deficit between the system and those it regulates. As the deficits develop, they cause instability, and could lead to revolution.1 Theories have been developed to explain the systemic phenomenon called revolution. This paper will discuss three modern theories and apply them to the English revolution of 1640. The first theory, developed by Carl Marx (Marxism), will address the economic evolution in English society. This theory will emphasize and explain how the shift from a feudal/mercantile system to capitalism affected English society. The second, called the Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) developed by Charles Tilly, will explain how the English organizations (the Crown and the Parliament) effectively obtained, amassed and managed resources. Samuel Huntington's, "Institutional Theory", will argue that the existing government at that time was unable to incorporate the demands and personnel that the socio-economic changes created. Marxism was formulated in the 19th century. Carl Marx and his associate Frederick Engels observed the socio-economic changes that were transpiring in Britain. England was the dominant world power and had the largest industrialized economy during the 1800's. The development of the factory and the institution of the assembly line created a large demand for workers. This demand was satiated by migrating peasant from the rural areas in England and Ireland to developing urban centers. As these urban centers or cities evolved using industry as the economic backbone for the population, a large number of factory workers were accumulated to operate the machinery in horrid conditions. These workers, which would be termed as the peasantry under a feudal system, were now the working class or proletariat. They entered cities with hopes of bettering their lives and survival. Though revolution never took place in England during this period, it allowed Marx to study industrialization, urbanization and imperialism. The theory of Marxism has three basic concepts: historic materialism, forces of production and relations of production. Historic materialism is defined as a society's past performance and present capabilities of satisfying the basic means of life. Humankind's basic needs of eating, drinking and shelter need to be met properly. The forces of production (technology, capital, the infrastructure of society, etc.) are important for the simple fact of who ever controls them controls the society. The last aspect of Marxism, the relations of production, deals directly with the relationships between classes of people (the aristocracy, the middle-class and the working class).2 Marxism includes a predictive analysis of socio-economic structures. Using history, logic and the dynamic nature of humankind as guidelines, Carl Marx attempts to map out a sequence of events which will eventually lead to utopia (anarchy). In his work, Das Capital, Marx details the six steps. These steps are primitive socialism, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, communism and then anarchy. The evolution of the English economic system during the 16th and 17th centuries points to a shift from feudalism to capitalism. This shift is exemplified by the enclosures. The landlords began to fence their property in the common land areas. The "commons" were large plots of grazing and farmable lands that were used by both farmers and artisans. When the land-owners and manorial lords began to partition these lands the concept of private ownership of property was introduced to the socio-economic system.3 During the time period of the 16th and 17th centuries the crown's economic base began a gradual decline. This economic shrinkage came to a spearhead during the reign of Charles I. The monarchy favored a monopoly market system over a competitive one. The purpose for this position was for taxation and control of the profits. As the artisan and merchant populations increased, the policy of the crown began conflicting with economic growth. This created instability in three areas. First, the English

Iousa Solutions Essays

Iousa Solutions Essays Iousa Solutions Paper Iousa Solutions Paper The united States public debt is money that is borrowed by the federal government Of the United States. In September of 2008, the national debt was 9. 6 trillion dollars. In March of 2010, the national debt increased by which is 126 trillion dollars. The total unfunded promises and liabilities of the United States is over 62 trillion dollars. In order to pay for our major liabilities and promises, the United States needs that money invested today but of all that money they have zero of it. The federal debt includes money that the government owes to social security, Medicare, and debt owed to the public, By the end of 2010, the federal government will owe almost 9 trillion dollars to the public. Also, our gross domestic product is expected to reach 14. 6 trillion dollars by the end of 2010, The public debt to gross domestic product ratio is used to determine how much we borrowed relative to our national income, By the end of 2010, our public debt to gross domestic product will be around 62 percent. The federal government was formed in 1789 and the government has been having problems with the national debt since. Many factors lead to our national debt like war and the great depression but eve always managed to bring the dent down. In the early sass, the national debt began to grow quickly. In the late sis and early 20005 the government was running budget surpluses. As a result, our federal budget has been low and the national debt has been increasing rapidly. Sixty-eight percent Of the money borrowed by the United States government came from foreign sources. The foreign countries are becoming impatient with our deficit. If foreign countries were to Stop loaning us money, then Will have to raise interest rates dramatically, cut spending or, raise taxes. Estimated spending levels will be twice as large as revenues. Government spending includes all government consumption, investment but excludes transfer payments made by a state. Defense and other spending is the largest spending. Military spending is projected to be a very large cost for the Limited States. Since September of 2001, law makers provided 1. Trillion dollars for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other war related activities. If we cut those spending, we can lower the potential future debt levels. Our nations mandatory spending policies are growing at a fast rate. By 2019, we will be spending 92 percent to all the revenues on entitlements and payments on the national debt, That will leave little money for all other expenditures, We ill have to cut discretionary spending or w e will continue to run large in growing our budget deficit. Some solutions can be to reform social security by increasing the retirement age, increase pay roll tax revenues, reduce growth in benefits for the better-off, and reduce COLA for benefits. I believe the national debt is too large to try and pay it off. There are many solutions that have been proposed yet we still have a very high debt Even though our generation does not want to pass this problem to future generations, believe they Will face the national debt problem and they might be living in worse economy than we are.

Financial crises and Fair Value Accounting (Historical cost,deprival Essay

Financial crises and Fair Value Accounting (Historical cost,deprival value and replacement cost) - Essay Example hand, the supporters of fair value accounting method argued that the role of this method of valuation was minimalistic in the financial crisis and that the use of other methods of accounting could not have prevented the crisis. They identified that certain macro-economic factors like account surpluses, dispersing of loans without credibility checking, excess level of risk taking by the banks and the sharp fall in the prices of mortgage backed assets to be the main factors driving the financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 was a deep recession which impacted almost all the nations of the world. Therefore, the reasons that have caused the crisis have been extensively studied by the economists and scholars. One of the most studied topics in this respect is whether the use of the fair value accounting by the financial institutions has been a driving force for the downturn. The financial crisis of 2008 led to major debates among the researchers, academicians, banks as well as other participants of the financial markets regarding the role of Fair Value accounting in driving the failure of the financial markets in during the financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 was characterized by liquidity and volatility problems in the financial markets and the collapse or quasi breakdown of the major financial institutions of Wall Street like Lehman Brothers, Merry Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland, Citicorp, AIG, Bear Sterns and Dexia (Ryan, 2008, p.14). The non-supporters of Fair Value Accounting argued that the use of fair value accounting methods in the financial reporting of the major financial institutions was the main accelerator and amplifier of the high intensity of the financial downturn. According to them, many financial institutions marked down the asset values in their financial reports due to the drip in the value of many financial instruments. Th e marked down representation of the asset values in the balance sheets weakened the capitalization ratios of

GEOINT and Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GEOINT and Europe - Essay Example However they were less helpful in the both world wars were easily grounded and conquered, there were several reasons to it, They were shaped in different forms ranging from polygonal to ring shape fortress however never survived and were not able to fulfill the purpose of its existence. One of reasons was its stagnant and motionless own existence as a giant body in itself. Despite its high walls and masonry. Walls were directly exposed to cannon fires, Explosive shells and artillery fires. Although advancements were made and in order to to kill the effect of cannon fires, Steel and concrete forts were introduced, and bunker concept was introduced to avoid the assault by enemies.. however despite all this and thick shielding there were couple of reasons that resulted in the whole scheme being a failure , the advancements in the machinery, the weapons, and later in world war two the use of Tanks meant any target in sight was vulnerable ,and in a way it was exposing yourself directly to the enemy. With fighter plans available, the forts presented a case of sitting duck that was waiting to be shot from above. By 2nd world war nuclear capabilities were achieved that would eliminate and erase whole of city, a fort being a small area. Any fort that had bunkers in it, a counter was created for it.and bunker busters were introduced and implemented on the forts strategy. Bunker busters are especially designed for such materials that are hard in nature .they were highly penetrative. The permanent existence of fort at one point, being a static entity, allowed the enemy to prepare itself and collect and gather all the information that was necessary to attack and launch an assault, therefore forts stood no ground of preventing and standing the enemy’s attack. By 2nd world war, the battles were fought on mobile basis. Any fixed position

Methods Used for Process Costing

Methods Used for Process Costing A process costing method is used for Indus trick producing chemical, petroleum, textile, and flour, pharmaceutical, shoos and coal. This type of costing is also used by firms manufacturing such things methods is the assembly type industry which manufactures such things as type writers, automobiles. Airplanes and house hold electric appliances. Finally certain service industries, such sagas, water, and heat, cost their products by using process costing methods. In fact process costing procedure are often termed continuous or mass production cost accounting procedure. http://www.principlesofaccounting.com/ART/c20art/steelprocess.JPG What is Process Costing? Process costing is a type of costing system that is used for uniform, or homogeneous, products. Process costing averages the costs over all units to come to the per unit cost. This is in contrast to other types of costing systems, such as job-order costing that is used for products that are in differentiated batches. Unlike job-order costing, process costing is tracked using a work-in-process account for each department, rather than through subsidiary ledgers] Process Costing In accounting, process costing is a method of assigning production costs to units of output. In process costing systems, production costs are not traced to individual units of output. Costs are assigned first to production departments and then to units of output as they move through the departments. The process costing method is typically used for processes that produce large quantities of homogeneous products. The process costing method is in contrast to other costing methods, such as product costing, job costing, or operation costing systems. Using the process costing method is optimal under certain conditions. If the output products are homogeneous, that is, the units of output are relatively indistinguishable from one another, it may be beneficial to use process costing. If the output products are of low value, meaning each individual unit of output is not worth much, it may be beneficial to use process costing. And if it is difficult or infeasible to trace production costs directly to individual units of output, it may be beneficial to use the process costing method. Examples of operations that are likely to use the process costing method as opposed to another costing method include a cola bottling plant, a breakfast cereal maker, a company that makes computer chips, and company that produces lumber, and a company that produces bricks. For example, for the company that bottles cola, it would not be feasible or worthwhile to separate and record the cost of each bottle of cola in the bottling process. Therefore, the company would assign costs to the bottling process as a whole for a period of time, and then divide that overall process cost by the number of bottles produced during that period of time to assign production costs to each bottle of cola. Process Costing Methods 5 Steps for Process Costing Analyze inventory flow Convert in-process inventory to equivalent units Compute all applicable costs Calculate the cost per unit of finished and in-process inventory Allocate costs to units of finished and in-process inventory First, analyze the cost-flow model of the relevant inventory account to determine how much inventory was there at the beginning of the period, how much was started during the period, how much as completed during the period, and how much is left as work-in-process at the end of the period. Second, convert the work-in-process ending inventory into a number of equivalent units produced. This means if there are 1,000 units of inventory in work-in-process, and these units are all 50% complete, then you consider this as the equivalent of 500 units produced (500 = .50 x 1,000). Third, compute the total direct and indirect costs incurred by the production process that need to be assigned to the units completed and the units still in process. This includes the costs associated with the beginning inventory and the costs incurred during the relevant period. Fourth, calculate the amount of cost to be assigned to the completed units of output and the equivalent of completed units of output still in the ending inventory. For example, if 2,000 units were completed, and 1,000 units were left half-finished, then you would divide the applicable costs by 2,500 units. Fifth, allocate the relevant costs to the units of product that were completed and to the units of product that remain in the work-in-process account. Source: Hilton, Ronald W., Michael W. Maher, Frank H. Selto. Cost Management Strategies for Business Decision, Mcgraw-Hill Irwin, New York, NY, 2008. Process Costing Procedures Process costing systems follow specific procedures, and while exact procedures may vary by company or by industry, they will generally follow these steps: While other types of costing start with a sales order, a sales order is not needed for process costing as it is a continuous process The work-in-process accounts are divided by department and are named as such for example: Work-in-process Department Name The first department in the process makes the first entry into the work-in-process account, generally for the direct raw materials As the products move from department to department, entries are made to each work-in-process department account Direct labor costs are recorded by period Actual overhead costs are recorded; no contra-account is needed because there is no over- or under-applied overhead due to the actual cost being applied Indirect costs are applied to the overhead account in actual amounts Normal spoilage is recorded as a cost to the work-in-process account; abnormal spoilage is removed from the work-in-process account and applied to a separate account so it can be addressed by management. When Is Process Costing Appropriate? Process costing is appropriate when products are homogeneous (or identical). Where job-order and other types of costing seek to find the cost per unit for batches of differentiated products, process costing seeks to find the average cost of all units over a period of time. Therefore, process costing is only appropriate when all units are the same. For example, a manufacturing company that produces only one homogeneous product may elect to use process costing. Characteristics and process of costing. The characteristics of process costing are: A cost of production report is used to collect, summarize, and compute total and unit cost. Production is accumulated and reported by departments. Costs are posted to departmental work in process accounts. Production in process at the end of a period is restated in terms of completed units. Total costs charged to a department are divided by total computed production of the department in order to determine a unit cost for a specific period. Costs of completed units of a department are transferred to the next processing department in order to arrive at the total costs of the finished products during a period. At the same time, costs are assigned to units still in process. Characteristics and procedure. Accumulate material, labor, and factory over head costs by departments. Determine a unit cost for each department. Transfer costs from one department. Assign coast to the inventory of work still in process. If accurate unit and inventory costs are to be established by process costing procedure, costs of a period must be identified with units produced in the same period. Features/Characteristics of Process Costing Process Costing Method is applicable where the output results from a sequence of continuous or repetitive operations or processes and products are identical and cannot be segregated. Process Costing enables the ascertainment of cost of the product at each process or stage of manufacture. The following features may be identified with process costing: The output consists of products which are homogenous. Production is carried on in different stages (each of which is called a process) having a continuous flow. Production takes place continuously except in cases where the plant and machinery are shut down for maintenance etc. Output is uniform and all units are identical during each process. It would not be possible to trace the identity of any particular lot of output to any lot of input. The input will pass through two or more processes before it takes the shape of the output. The output of each process becomes the input for the next process until the final product is obtained, with the last process giving the final product. The output of a process (except the last) may also be saleable in which case the process may generate some profit. The input of a process (except the first) may be capable of being acquired from the outside sources. The output of a process is transferred to the next process generally at cost to the process. It may also be transferred at market price to enable checking efficiency of operations in comparison to the market conditions. Normal and abnormal losses may arise in the processes There are a number of industries in which process costing can be applied. Elements/Components of Cost Process, cost, accounting, recording, direct, indirect, costs For the purpose of cost accounting, the process industry is divided into separate departments with each department representing a specific process. The Direct Material and Direct Labor/Labor Costs are collected for each department separately and the overheads which are collected over all the departments/processes are apportioned over the various departments/processes on some rational basis. The following are the main elements/components of costs involved in the manufacturing process where process costing method is adopted. Direct Materials There are two types of materials that we come across in process costing. Primary Material Materials which are introduced in the initial process and passed on to the next process as a part of output after completion of processing. Secondary Material Materials which are introduced in the first or subsequent processes in addition to the main material introduced in the initial process. This gets mixed up with the main material and is passed on to the subsequent processes as a part of the output. Direct Labor/Labor The direct labour/labor cost is generally incurred in every process. Identification of direct labour cost is also relatively easy in process costing industry Direct Expenses Expenses in addition to Direct Material and Labor which can be directly attributable to a particular process. These are costs relevant to specific processes. Production Overheads The overhead expenses are generally expended over all the processes involved in production. These are to be apportioned over the various processes in an amicable manner. Methodology of Recording/Accounting Costs Financial Accounting Methodology is adopted for recording costs involved. Process Accounts A nominal account for each process is used to record all the costs relevant to a process. Each process account is Debited with The Primary Direct Material Cost Secondary Direct Material Cost Direct Labor Cost Direct Expenses and Production Overheads allocated and/or apportioned to the process. Credited with The value of output transferred to the subsequent process or finished stocks. Numbers, Alphabets or any word or phrase representing the process are used as suffixes/prefixes in the names (Process I a/c, Process A a/c, Refining Process A a/c, etc.,.) to distinctly identify the processes accounts. Process Stock Accounts Stocks relevant to a process are maintained in a separate stock account. Stock accounts for input may be maintained where all the input acquired/received for a process during a period is not used up. Stock accounts for output may be maintained where all the output produced/completed in a process during a period is not disposed off either by transfer to the next process or by sale. Where the output relevant to a process is sold apart from being transferred to the next process, it generates revenue. These revenues relevant to a process, are generally recorded using the process account or the stock account. FEATURES of Process Costing The product of one process becomes the INPUT OR RAW MATERIAL of the next process; There is a CONTINUOUS FLOW OF IDENTICAL OUTPUT; It is DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY A COST UNIT because each cost unit is part of a process; It is difficult to cost a cost unit hence we can only find the AVERAGE COST PER UNIT over period of time; COST CENTRES are set up and costs are collected by the cost centers; It is possible that JOINT PRODUCTS may be produced in the processes; WASTE may arise during processing eg due to evaporation, etc Each process or department performs a particular operation(s). A certain stage of production is completed in each process. Each process is carried out by a certain department. A person is usually responsible for a process. An account called a PROCESS ACCOUNT is maintained for each process. This process account captures/records the following: All costs-materials, labor and overheads; Scrap Output Opening work-in-process Closing work-in-process Transfers from previous process Losses or gains Reasons for use Companies need to allocate total product costs to units of product for the following reasons: A conducts are manufactured in large quantities, but products may be sold in small quantities, sometimes one at a time (automobiles, loaves of bread), a dozen or two at a time (eggs, cookies), etc. Product costs must be transferred from Finished Goods to Cost of Goods Sold as sales are made. This requires a correct and accurate accounting of product costs per unit, to have a proper matching of product costs against related sales revenue. Managers need to maintain cost control over the manufacturing process. Process costing provides managers with feedback that can be used to compare similar product costs from one month to the next, keeping costs in line with projected manufacturing budgets. A fraction-of-a-cent cost change can represent a large dollar change in overall profitability, when selling millions of units of product a month. Managers must carefully watch per unit costs on a daily basis through the production process, while at the same time dealing with materials and output in huge quantities. Materials part way through a process (e.g. chemicals) might need to be given a value, process costing allows for this. By determining what cost the part processed material has incurred such as labor or overhead an equivalent unit relative to the value of a finished process can be calculated. Comparisons Similarities between job order and process costing include: Both systems have the same basic purpose-to calculate unit cost Both systems use the same manufacturing accounts The flow of costs through the manufacturing accounts is basically the Same. However, there are some important differences between job order and processing costing as described below. Job Order Costing Process Costing Each job is different All products are identical Costs are accumulated by job Costs are accumulated by department Costs are captured on a job cost sheet Costs are accumulated on a department production report Unit costs are computed by job Unit costs are computed by department Study the production flow and the cost flows of companies which use process costing in Exhibits 4-2, 4-3, and 4-4. Note that as units are partially completed in one department they proceed onto another department for further processing. This will require a journal entry such as: Work in Process Department B Work in Process Department A When the products are completed they are transferred from the final processing department to Finished Goods. Study the model journal entries on Pages 149-150. A complication arising in process costing is that not all units may be completed at the balance sheet date. To calculate unit costs, it will be necessary to compute equivalent units of production. Equivalent units can be defined as the product of the number of partially completed units times the percentage completion of these units. If there are 300 of partially completed units at year-end which are 40% complete, then there are 120 equivalent units. If say 5000 units were completed during the period, the managerial accountant would add 5000 and 120 to arrive at 5120 equivalent units completed during the period. Then total department costs for the period (direct material, direct labor, and overhead) would be divided by the 5120 equivalent units to arrive at cost per unit. Equivalent units can be computed in two different ways, the weighted average method and the FIFO method. We only cover the weighted average method in this course and therefore skip Appendix 4A. Companies using process costing prepare departmental production reports. Exhibit 4-9, Page 158, is a production report for Double Diamond Skis Shaping and Milling Department. Note that the production report consists of three parts as follows: A quantity schedule which shows the flow of units through the department and a  computation of equivalent units A computation of costs per equivalent unit A reconciliation of all cost flows into and out of the department Also note in Exhibit 4-9 that the equivalent unit totals are different for material costs and for conversion costs. This frequently happens as all material is input at the start of the production process but the direct labor and overhead costs are incurred sometime later. 7. Mention of sources used 1. Process Costing Systems What is it and when is it used? A process-costing system is a costing system in which the cost of a product or service is obtained by assigning costs to masses of like or similar units. Unit costs are then computed on an average basis. Process-costing systems are used in industries that produce like or similar units which are often mass produced. In these industries, products are manufactured in a very similar way. The companies usually use the same amount of direct materials, direct manufacturing labor costs and manufacturing overhead costs. Industries that use process costing systems are for example: chemical processing, oil refining, pharmaceuticals, plastics, brick and tile manufacturing, semiconductor chips, beverages and breakfast cereals. The difference between job costing and process costing is the extent of averaging used to compute unit costs of product and services. The cost object in job costing is a job that constitutes a distinctly identifiable product or service. The quantity of manufacturing resources is different in any job. It would be incorrect to cost each job at the same average manufacturing cost. So, when like or similar units are mass produced, process costing averages manufacturing costs over all units produced. The costs of a product are important for inventory calculations, pricing decisions and product profitability analysis. Its also important for measuring how well the management is done and if costs are reduced effectively. Illustrating process costing The best way to show how process costing works, is by example: Global Defense, Inc, manufactures thousands of components for missiles and military equipment. One of these is called DG-19. The product-costing system for DG-19 has a single direct-cost strategy (direct materials) and a single indirect-cost category (conversion costs). Each unit passes through two departments: the Assembly Department and the Testing Department. Every effort is made to make sure that all DG-19 products are identical. Direct materials are added at the beginning of the process in Assembly. Additional direct materials are added at the end of processing in the Testing Department. Conversion costs are added evenly during both processes. They include manufacturing labor, indirect materials, energy, plant depreciation and so on. After leaving the Testing Department, the DG-19 component is transferred to Finished Goods. 2. Three cases 2.1 Case 1: Process Costing with no beginning or ending work in process inventory During January, the first month of the period, Global Defense starts with the manufacturing process. All units will start and end in this period. Altogether, Global Defense will manufacture 400 units of DG-19 during this period. Direct materials in this period: $ 32.000 Conversion costs in this period: $ 24.000 _______ Total Assembly costs in January: $ 56.000 Global Defense records direct materials and conversion costs in the Assembly Department as these costs are incurred. By averaging, the assembly cost per unit would be $ 56.000 / 400 units = $ 140: Direct materials costs by unit ($32.000 / 400) $ 80 Conversion costs per unit ($ 24.000 / 400) $ 60 _____ Assembly Department cost per unit $ 140 Each unit is identical in this case, so we assume that all units receive the same amount of direct materials and conversion costs. The unit costs can be averaged by dividing total costs in a given accounting period by total units manufactured. This approach is for example used by banks to compute the unit costs of 100.000 similar customer deposits made in a month. It is usually used by organizations with mass production of standard units and no incomplete units after the period. 2.2 Case 2: Process costing with no beginning but an ending work in Process Inventory There is no beginning inventory in February, because all 400 units produced in January had been fully completed. Due to customer delays in placing orders, it was only possible to produce 175 units in February. The 225 partially assembled units as of February 28 were fully processed with respect to direct materials, because all direct materials in the Assembly Department are added at the beginning of the assembly process. Conversion costs are added evenly during the assembly process. Based on the work completed relative to the total work required to be done, an Assembly Department supervisor estimates that the partially assembled units were, on average, 60 % complete as to conversion costs. Total costs for February: Direct materials costs in February $ 32.000 Conversion costs February $ 18.600 _______ Total Assembly Departments costs $ 50.600 Problem: How should Global Defense calculate the cost of fully assembled units and the cost of the partially assembled units still in process? The following four steps help us to find the answer: Step 1: Summarize the flow of physical unit of output Step 2: Compute output in terms of equivalent units Step 3: Compute equivalent unit costs Step 4: Summarize total costs to account for and assign these cost to units completed and to units in ending work in process Step 1 tracks the physical unit of output. It shows, where they come from and how many units are there to account for, and where they go and how they are accounted for. Step 2 measures the output in equivalent units, not in physical units, because not all units had been completed. The 400 units are complete in terms of equivalent units of direct materials, because all direct materials are added in the Assembly Department at the initial stage of the process. So you count all 400 units in equivalent direct costs. The 175 fully assembled units are completely processed with respect to conversion costs. The partially assembled units in ending process are 60 % complete (on average). Therefore, the conversion costs in 225 partially assembled units is equivalent to conversion costs in 135 (60% of 225) fully assembled units. So, 310 equivalent units of conversion costs are assembled and transferred out and 135 equivalent units are in ending work in process inventory. In step 3, equivalent unit costs are computed by dividing direct materials and conversion costs added during February by the related quantity of equivalent units of work done in February: Direct costs Conversion costs Costs added during February: $ 32.000 $ 18.600 Divide by equivalent units work done in February: / 400 / 300 ________ _________ Cost per equivalent unit of work done in February: $ 80 $ 60 In Step 4, total costs to account for are summarized and assigned to units completed and transferred out and to units still in process at the end of February. Since the beginning balance of the work in process is zero, total costs to account for consist of the costs added during February: direct materials $ 32.000 and conversion costs $ 18.600. Direct material costs are 225 times $80 (=$18.000) + Conversion costs: 135 times $60 (=$8.100). Total costs are therefore: $18.000 + $8.100 = $26.100. 2.3 Case 3: Process costing with both beginning and ending work in process inventory In march, Global Defense has 225 partially assembled units in the Assembly Department. During march, Global Defense placed another 275 units into production. Step 1 traces the physical units of production. In march, 400 units are completed and transferred out, 100units are in ending inventory. Step 2 computes the output in terms of equivalent units: 275 equivalent units of direct materials and 315 equivalent units of conversion costs. Step 3 computes equivalent unit costs. Direct materials: $ 80; conversion materials: $ 60 Step 4 summarizes total costs to account for and assigns these costs to units completed and to units in ending work in progress. The costs that get assigned to each of these categories depend, as in all inventory accounting, on the specific assumptions regarding the flow of costs. Next are described to alternative methods, the weighted-average method and the first-in, first-out method. 3. Weighted-average method The weighted-average process-costing method assigns the average equivalent unit cost of all work done to date (regardless of when it was done) to equivalent units completed and transferred out, and to equivalent units in ending inventory. The weighted-average cost is simply the average of various equivalent unit costs entering the work in process account. 4. First-In, First-out Method The First-in, first-out (FIFO) process-costing method assigns the cost of the earliest equivalent units available (starting with the equivalent units in beginning work-in-process inventory. This method assumes that the earliest equivalent units in work in process Assembly account are completed first. 5. Transferred-in costs in process costing Transferred-in costs (or previous department costs) are costs incurred in a previous department that are carried forward as part of the products cost as it moves to a subsequent department. That means, costs move with the units when they are transferred to a new department. So, computations of Testing costs must include transferred-in costs, additional direct materials costs and conversion costs added in Testing. The four -step procedure is used to account for the costs of a subsequent department that has transferred-in costs. Units are fully completed as to transferred-in costs because these costs are just carried forward from the previous process. Direct materials costs have a zero degree of completion in both beginning and ending work-in-process inventories, because in Testing, direct materials are introduced at the end of the process. That completes steps 1 and 2. 5.1 Transferred-in Costs and the weigthed-average method In step 3, the equivalent unit costs are computed. In step 4, the total costs to account for are summarized, that is the total debits to Work in Process under the weighted-average method. After that, these costs are assigned to units completed and to units in ending work-in-process inventory. Beginning work in process and work done in the current period are totaled and merged together for purposes of computing weighted-average costs. A company may split the Work in Process account into Work in Process Testing, Transferred-in Costs, Work in Process Testing, Direct Materials and Work in Process Testing, Conversion costs. The journal entries would contain this detail, though the underlying reasoning and techniques would be unaffected. 5.2 Transferred-in Costs and the FIFO-Method The costs transferred-in from the Assembly Department are different when the weighted-average rather than the FIFO method is used in step 3. In step 4, the total costs to account for are summarized, consisting of the beginning inventory plus costs added during the current period, under the FIFO-method. These costs differ from the total debits to Work on Process under the weighted-average method, because of the different costs of completed units transferred-in from the Assembly Department under the weighted-average and FIFO methods. When assigning costs, the FIFO method keeps the beginning inventory separate and distinct from the work done during the current period. Each department in interdepartmental transfers is regarded as being separate and distinct for accounting purposes. All costs transferred in during a given accounting period are carried at one unit cost figure, regardless of whether previous departments used the weighted-average or the FIFO method. 6. Common Mistakes with Transferred-in Costs Here are some common pitfalls to avoid when accounting for transferred-in costs: Remember to include transferred-in costs from previous departments in your calculations. Such costs should be treated as if they were another kind of direct material added at the beginning of the process. In other words, when successive departments are involved, transferred units from one department become all or a part of the direct materials of the next department; however, they are called transferred-in costs, not direct materials costs. In calculating costs to be transferred on a FIFO basis, do not overlook the costs assigned at the beginning of the period to units that were in process but are now included in the units transferred. Unit costs may fluctuate between periods. Therefore, transferred units may contain batches accumulated at different unit costs. Units may be measured in different terms in different departments. Consider each department separately. Unit costs could be based on kilograms in the first department and liters in the second , so as units are received by the second department, their measure

Personal or Narrative Essay: My Environmental Practices Essay

Now it’s your turn to write a personal or narrative essay. For this kind of personal writing, you are using the first person perspective. Keep your writing informal. You can make connections to your readings, referring to specific relevant details from the â€Å"Ten Things† article, or anything else you have read on how to reduce your negative impact on the environment. In your composition, feel free to share how you feel now about your own environmental practices, any insights you have gained, and ideas you have for the future. Write a five paragraph personal essay or narrative about the connection between your lifestyle choices and how they impact the broader environment. There are three steps to this assignment: Step A: In the first hour after waking up in the morning, make note of everything you use, and the country where it was made. Makes notes also on your connection to these places, and the people in these places, through the things you use. Step B: Make notes on what your best environmental practice might look like, related to the use of these items. In your opinion, is what you are doing right now enough? How might you do more? What is stopping you? For ideas on what else you could be doing to improve your own environmental practices, refer to your answers from Lesson A: Activity 1: â€Å"Ten Things You Can Do. † Step C: Choose to write either a personal essay, or a narrative. Note that personal essays almost always involve some form of narrative, while narrative essays, often written in first person, tell a story from beginning to end; though this does not mean they merely entertain—they explain something to the reader as well. Recall the following characteristics of the narrative and personal essay: Narrative Essay: A narrative essay is a story that describes a sequence of events, in this case, nonfiction. Remember the following elements of narrative essays: makes a point, introduced in the first paragraph has a beginning, middle, and end events are chosen to support the essay’s point includes the devices of story: plot, character, setting, climax, and ending has a consistent point of view (the authors’ –i. e. yours! ) includes feelings about events starts as close to the inciting incident (the event that begins the story) as possible includes only what is necessary to advance the action Personal Essay: The personal essay constitutes a struggle for emotional and intellectual honesty. In writing a personal essay, you show a vulnerability and the courage to admit self-contradictions in the search for truth. Remember the following elements of the personal essay: almost always written in first person makes a point, introduced in the first paragraph, expressed in a thesis statement almost always some autobiographical content or component constructed of personal opinions, hopes, beliefs, doubts, confusions intimate, personal tone—admit the reader into your inner thoughts, musings—as if your reader is â€Å"eavesdropping on a mind in solitude† voice is conversational in style and tone, as though you are addressing a small audience approach is contemplative, but can be humourous, not of very strong emotions, such as rage or bitterness returns to the point in the concluding paragraph with a new perspective Personal/Narrative Essay Checklist: 1. Have you chosen a topic you can be sincere about? Manufactured sincerity doesn’t fly in a personal essay or first person narrative. 2. Have you included some autobiographical component? 3. Are you seeking out a truth in your essay?

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 7 Analysis

The communication of this invitation through Gatsby suggests initially to Nick that ‘something was up'. The air tension is increased by Fitzgerald's use of pathetic fallacy: the weather is â€Å"Hot!†¦Hot!†¦Hot!† so that it, like the atmosphere in the chapter ‘hovered on the edge of combustion'. It is almost the last day of summer, appropriately. There is a feeling that the last chance for Gatsby; that the darker days of autumn and winter are on their way; that things are drawing to a close with the demise of the summer. The telephone call received by Tom at luncheon (from Mrs.Wilson) adds to the air of expectancy and tension. It is also the first time the reader has seen all of the main characters of the play gathered together, adding to the idea that the climax is due soon. Daisy and Jordan's skin is powdered over, suggesting a papering over of cracks, and the falsity of the situation. Nick contemplates ‘the scalloped ocean and the abounding blessed isles', almost palpably desiring an escape. Daisy's public kissing of Gatsby, suggests that she is ready to make the relationship public, but her ‘clogging' on the fireplace suggests an almost hysterical desperation. Tom notes the change in the footing of their relationship, as Daisy exchanges apparently trivial comments that betray their intimacy : â€Å"you always look so cool†. His response to this is an attempt to shield Daisy from Gatsby, by trying to have her travel in his car to New York. He clearly recognises that ‘she had told him that she loved him'. Daisy's ‘presentation' of her child, Pammy, to Gatsby and the assembled company has striking effect upon Gatsby; she is concrete proof of the marriage between Tom and Daisy, inescapable evidence that Daisy has shared the last 5 years of her life with someone else. Tom agrees to Daisy's suggestion that they go to town as a welcome distraction from the almost surreal scene that appears to be brewing at the house. As the girls prepare for the outing, Nick notes ‘the moon hovered already in the Western sky', suggesting that time is again running out. As Tom gets whiskey, Fitzgerald has Gatsby explain the irresistible allure of Daisy's voice: â€Å"her voice is full of money†, This clarifies the whole moral stance of the characters in the text: drawn to the money in her siren's song. Nick thinks of her at this moment as † high in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl† in a vision that simultaneously draws together the multiple images of silver, gold and white that Fitzgerald has used throughout the text to suggest money and wealth. The drive to town provides another opportunity for Gatsby and Daisy to be alone together as Daisy evades Tom's suggestion that he drive her ‘in this circus wagon' – Gatsby's car. This description clearly demonstrates the contempt of the patrician for the vulgar display of wealth by Gatsby, the parvenu.