The annual budgeting process has been criticised

The annual budgeting process has been criticised The annual budgeting process has been criticised as a cumbersome process which occupies considerable management time; concentrating unduly on short term financial control; having undesirable effects on motivation of managers; emphasising formal organisation structure. Introduction A budget is a quantitative measurable long term plan with specified corporate goals set to be achieved within a specific time period. The annual budget is usually divided into sub-plans usually quarterly and is based on an annual strategic business plan. It is formulated by following a process that requires careful analysis and evaluation of organizational objectives, alternatives, strategic options, decisions and actions and implementation of objectives as well as monitoring of results. The comprehensive nature of the budgeting process thus require participation of managers and executives who are responsible for the planning of actual operations, coordination of activities, communication of plans to responsibility centres; motivate managers to achieve budget goals; controlling activities; and evaluating performance. In all of these processes and activities, one notices the conflicting roles of budgets that involve planning, motivation and performance evaluation (Drury 2004). Due to these conflicting roles of budgets, in the recent years critics are of the opinion that the annual budget process is merely a waste of resource and a burden to management rather than enabling them to control their management environment. In the following discussion the researcher shall discuss the factors concerned and offers some recommendation for improvement of the annual budget process. Discussion a. Management time consumption Conventional annual budget process is a quantified plan prepared and approved to define the course of action and activities to be carried out during a specified time period utilizing certain amount of resources to achieve given objectives (Drury 2004). The process deals with projection of activities, contingencies, strategies and interaction of processes within an organization. Budgets are also controls in the planning process to ensure the organization does not deviate from its financial and operational goals. These activities and processes require extensive analysis of organizational processes; plans for targets to be achieved by individual departments and by the overall organization; and results expected to be achieved etc. Consequently, one observes that the annual budgeting process is a complex and tedious process that requires top management directives and participation of lower management and staffs. Not only this but according to Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser (2003) the tradit ional budget process require four to five months for completion and efforts of 20 to 30 percent of the manager's time. Furthermore, traditional budgeting is based on incremental budgeting whereby expenditures or revenue estimations are based the increments on the previous outcomes, and does not necessarily reflect the need of the environment in which the firm operates resulting in unachievable targets and undesirable outcomes. To resolve modern day organizations are focussing more on rolling forecasts and driver based budgeting models which are concentrated on participation and usage of drivers that operate the organization (Hunt 2003). b. Short financial control Another aspect of the annual budget process is that it is divided and based on quarterly objectives and results. Whether the organization is segmented into profit centres; cost centres; revenue or investment centres, the basic premise is that each of these centres are responsible for the designated outcome set by the annual budget. The overall outcome is estimated based on the quarterly results. The objective for quarterly results is to enable management to estimate expected results at the end of the year and also to use budgets as financial controls to counteract deviation, if there are any before the situation proliferate out of hand. Yet this very factor not only takes up a lot of management time but it also forces managers to dedicate significant time to target achievements, financial objectives and compliance with the process therein instead of concentrating on management excellence. c. Undesirable effect on manager motivation The pressure to deliver as Hope and Fraser (2003) note force managers and their teams to concentrate on sales targets; customers order of goods whether they want it or not; and achieve financial objectives. There is less and less time for managers to concentrate on team building; motivation; performance level; evaluation; or even time for designing effective and productive departmental structure to achieve better results. For this reason budgeting process tend to motivate managers to set their objectives to financial objectives and deliverables rather than on working as a team. The managers are thus the gatekeepers while the team members are forced to become dissociated from the organization's structure. d. Emphasis on formal organizational structure Given the emphasis on extensive and detailed planning at the departmental level, it is imperative that organizations have formal structure so that budgeting process can be integrated into the forecasting and goal achievement activities. Formal organizational structure is also required for building and approving budgets through communication and coordination. Managers are therefore expected to align day to day activities with organizational strategies and budgets in order to achieve the desired objectives. Without a formal organizational structure, it would be difficult for the management to have a control over operational activities and financial consequences therein. Conclusion Given the above discussion, the researcher deduce that the annual budgeting process is a tedious process that eats up the time of management and lower staff alike without much productivity. The reason for this low productivity despite well planned budgeting is because of the long process that entails and the nature of the budgeting process. Budgeting from a top down approach is usually an imposition rather than participation. In modern day organization participation of team members, managers and supervisors with the top management is imperative for efficient operation. Dictated objectives and plans do not help in this regard. For this reason many organizations are changing their approach to budgeting by focussing on operational outcomes and inputs to fixate targets reinforced by incentives rather than outlined targets to be achieved without any motivation. As McGregor indicate in his Theory X/Y human beings are liable to work better if their desired motivation are in place (2005) and they are satisfied. Similarly, effective organizational planning in the form of budgets should be based on firm's ability to respond to change and more importantly on the satisfaction of those who are responsible for carrying out the plans. Increased participation not only encourages responsibility but also makes accountability easier as individuals feel they are responsible for the operational outcomes. They are not bogged by the imposed accountability (Hunt 2003). References McGregor, D. 2005, The Human Side of Enterprise, Annotated Edition. McGraw-Hill. Drury, C., 2004, Management and Cost Accounting, London: Thompson Business Press, 6th Edition. Hope, J. and Fraser, R. Feb 2003, Trash The Budget. Optimize, Issue 22. Hunt, S. Aug 2003, Budgets Roll With The Times. Optimize, Issue 22.

A View That Could Change the World Essay examples -- Reflective Writin

A View That Could Change the World The overall purpose of education is to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of the material studied and also their perspectives and views. Education should never end, but should be an ongoing process in which it is built upon by adding new information and new ideas to previous knowledge and past experiences. Another essential part of learning deals with the students’ social development. It is vital for students to learn how to interact with their peers and adults and also how to behave in a way that is acceptable and suiting to the â€Å"norm.† This combined with learning the material given creates a formula for success in today’s society. The reason education is so important is because education brings success in today’s society. The more education, the more success, the better the job. You have to have some basic knowledge of what should have been learned early in your education to get any kind of job. Another reason education is important is for your own reasoning. You can take what you have learned to come to conclusions about your own personal beliefs and you can use what you have learned to defend your beliefs. In a sense, knowledge is power. A good aspect of education is it is something that can be achieved and can not be taken away by anyone. As a future teacher, I plan to give my students a well-rounded education. I plan to use different teaching techniques to relay information in a way that will be suiting to each students learning style. One of my goals is to have a developmentally appropriate curriculum where my students can learn on their level. I do not think anyone should be left behind; teachers should make every effort to help... ...tential it is important for them to be placed in an optimal evnironment. Since the child’s environment plays such a role in their learning experience I agree with Maturationists in the importance of considering how the environment will affect each student’s learning. After receiving my degree in early childhood special education I plan to teach in the public school system until I retire. Possibly after a few years of teaching I will go back to school myself to receive a masters degree. From observing in the public school system I have seen a glimpse of what it will be like when I have my own classroom. Although I know that teaching can be a lot of work it also comes with many blessings and rewards. When I weigh the pros and cons of teaching I find that the good far outweighs the bad and I look forward to teaching the children of America.

Science and Shamanism

Just like Science, Shamanism started a very long time ago. As Shamanism is considered as archaic magico-religious phenomenon in which the shaman is the great master of ecstasy, Science is also known as an ancient part of life in which its masters are called Natural Philosophers and later are known as Scientists. There are many commonalities and similarities between Science and Shamanism. Shamanism without their knowing also incorporates scientific methods while performing and making potions from herbs. Same with Shamans, Scientist also perform tasks and experiments by using special tools.Both Shamanism and Science respond to society’s needs. A very good example is by healing. Scientist conduct experiments and tests to discover medicines that can cure illness just like shamans. Thus, we can say that Science and Shamanism somewhat are related to each other, but however there are still factors that keep them apart. First, Shamanism in terms of healing is not really accepted by we stern Science, why? Because both of them can heal certain patients their sources of healing are undoubtedly very different. Shamanism is a range of beliefs, rituals and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world.They heal people by mending souls. Shaman gains knowledge or power to heal an individual by entering the spiritual world or its dimension. The shaman may acquire many spirit guides in the spirit world, these guides direct the shaman in his/her travels. The spirits are always present in the Shaman though others only encounter one when there is a Shaman around. The Shaman heals by returning ‘lost' parts of the human soul from wherever they have gone to. The Shaman also cleanses excess negative energies which confuse or pollute the soul.Science on the other hand is a systematic enterprise of knowledge about nature and organizing and condensing that knowledge into testable laws and theories. These laws and theories are used by scientist to invent things and cure diseases by making medicines and vaccines. Scientists perform research toward a more comprehensive understanding of nature, including physical, mathematical and social realms. Since Science is a complex branch of understanding and has many fields of expertise, thus Scientist don’t call or rely on spirits but rather use scientific knowledge.Scientists study different fields of science to gain knowledge and use that knowledge to help people. This knowledge is used in biomedical research. Biomedical research is a research concerning medicines that cure people scientifically unlike shamans that use spirits in healing. This is another factor that sets shamanism apart from science. Another factor that sets Science and Shamanism apart is the basic implicit principle in Shamanism that there are two realities and that the perception of each depends upon one's state of consciousness.In this principle 2 realities are stated. The first is â€Å"OR† or â€Å"ordinary reality † in which those in the â€Å"ordinary state of consciousness† (OSC) are the ones that are involved in this. Scientists and ordinary people are considered to belong in this â€Å"OR†. On the other hand Shamans believe that they do have another kind of reality. They call this the â€Å"NOR† or non-ordinary reality in which those in the â€Å"shamanic state of consciousness† (SSC) are the only ones who can experience this. And lastly, people who believe that Science is more accurate never relied on Shamanism.Not only in medical purposes but also in anything that Science can prove and study. Thus, a boundary between people who believe in Science and the ones who have faith in Shamanism is made. Since Scientists study things very carefully before ordinary people deal with it, most of the western people believe that Shamanism is just a fiction. On the other hand the ones who believe in Shamanism also think the same way western people think. Because of th is line people who have their own beliefs never tried or tested both. A very great example is during ancient times.Since then Science never believed and accepted that spirits are real. Historical origins prove the attacks of the Church on such pioneering scientists as Galileo and Copernicus during the Renaissance and Reformation. Up to the present Scientist never believed spirits. One of the great scientists that never believed spirits is Einstein. He believed â€Å"spirits† or â€Å"souls† are otherwise anathema and not acceptable as part of the paradigm. This results to the limitation of the parameters of science by decreeing that certain prior phenomena cannot have existence.It also resulted to limitation of science whose Achilles heel is founded upon an unproven belief: the belief that spirits, including souls, cannot exists. Science has never disproven the theory of the existence of spirits. Thus, disproof of theory, or falsification, is a cornerstone of scientifi c method(cf. Popper). As long as the theory of spirits cannot be falsified by science the line between Shamanism and Science will never be gone. However this factors that separate Science and Shamanism apart can still be bridged.As we all know healing both in Science and in Shamanism do have processes. These processes can be studied by science which I think has the greater knowledge to prove things. Once Science has discovered the way shamans heal they can infer scientific methods on the way and methods Shamans perform their healing. Not only that, from what I’ve read like Science, Shamanism can also be studied. Studying Shamanism can be one of the bridges that can unite the two. Another way to bridge the two is by scientist not only studying the Shamans’ methods but also by performing and being one of them.Thus, Scientists can train ecstatically and traditionally for them to have a greater knowledge of how Shamans communicate with spirits. In this ways scientist can p erform trances that can make them one of the Shamans and be on the â€Å"shamanic state of consciousness†. These trances will also help them feel and experience how Shamans talk with what they call spirits and how Shamans experience the non-ordinary reality. Lastly, as Scientists engage and be part of shamanic society there they can prove or falsify if Shamanism is either true or just a fiction.In order to bridge these two Scientists who have more knowledge and grasp of experimenting must use themselves as experiment samples for them to achieve what they want. If they have proven that Shamanism can be true then maybe somehow they can make a way to connect the way Shamans perform their methods because they themselves are also Shamans. In this way scientific method will therefore be broader and can be used in Shamanism. Thus, Shamanism can be considered a branch of science.

Ethical Theories Of Ethical Egoism - 993 Words

Ethical egoism is a consequentialist normative ethical theory. There are two forms of ethical egoism. The first is individual ethical egoism which states that I should act in ways that are in my own best interest. The second form is universal ethical egoism which states that everyone one should act in their own best interest. In both forms, individuals should only consider others interest to the extent that it benefits their own well-being. The determination of morality is based off whether or not the consequences of an action or decision are considered in the best interest of the doer. The universal form has an internal inconsistency because it is not necessarily in our best interest to will others to exclusively consider their best interests. The theory of ethical egoism is wide open for interpretation. What is in one s best interest is decided by each individual for themselves. The theory does not define how or when the individual’s interests must be served. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist normative ethical theory. It states that the action that produces the most utility can be considered most ethical. Utility is defined in different ways within utilitarianism, but in general, utility means to produce happiness. So, the moral choice will be the choice whose consequences maximize the happiness of the most people. Act utilitarianism determines morality of each act on an individual bases. Rule utilitarianism requires the act to be universalized and considered aShow MoreRelatedThe Ethical Theory Of Ethical Egoism1423 Words   |  6 PagesEthical egoism is defined roughly by stating how people do things or react to what is in their best interest. This theory gets its meaning because the word â€Å"egoism† derives from the Latin term â€Å"ego†, meaning â€Å"I† in English (Moseley). The motivation of ethical egoism depends on how the situation will act upon one’s self-interest. 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