Competition Bikes, Inc.
Should the company change to activity-based costing?

Before deciding whether the company should change to activity-based costing (ABC), it is critical to understand what ABC is. ABC is a "special costing model that identifies activities in an organization and assigns the cost of each activity with resources to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each. This model assigns more indirect costs (overhead) into direct costs compared to conventional costing models" (The Economist, 2009). The real benefit to ABC costing for Competition Bikes, Inc., is that it would permit the company to see what part of the overhead expenses were being used for the Titanium Xl and the CarbonLite modes. Each Titanium XL uses $136 in direct labor and $240 in manufacturing overhead. Each CarbonLite uses $294 in direct labor and $420 in manufacturing overhead. However, the models have significantly different selling prices. Therefore, just knowing….

Competition in these markets, therefore, is unlikely to be on the basis of product innovation. Service innovation is possible to some degree with the Internet, but there are only so many ways to deliver insurance -- it is a product centuries old and not subject to much innovation. In a market like this, service and price are two methods of gaining competitive advantage. Private insurance firms use proprietary actuarial tables to set rates, and this might be the only way that an insurance firm can gain advantage, since it is nearly impossible to derive sustainable competitive advantage from service. Thus, profit margins are slim and a firm can improve the spread between the table and the consumer price only by increasing volume. This leads to a price war as firms fight for market share. Knowing that price wars are devastating to businesses on already thin margins, the companies in….

However, because fast food is in part defined by its price point, the companies have only limited pricing power at the high end. Firms in the industry also tend to adopt either permanent or temporary cost leadership strategies (such as 99 cent menus) in order to attract business. The companies are unable to sustain low prices in this industry because the margins are inherently low and because most other firms are capable of matching those prices, negating any market share gains the low prices offer. Thus, fast food companies only have a small degree of pricing power, another characteristic of monopolistic competition.
The fast food industry exists within a broader "food" industry, which is a more competitive environment. Fast food companies are able to set their own prices in order to compete and fast food companies have simply chosen to follow cost leadership strategies. The segment of the food industry….

Competition Laws in Hong Kong
Competition is a mainstay in business just as much as it is for any sports team. Businesses, in general, would probably rather that they have their industry all to themselves, but healthy competition drives the market. Without it there would be no need for innovation, and the one company could set the price of goods wherever they wanted to. Therefore, competition is good for a business because it is good for the consumers. In recent years, the governments of Hong Kong and the People's epublic of China (PC) have both enacted competition or merger law which is supposed to make for a fair free market within the country. This has been met with opposition and with skepticism, but the general feeling is that it could open markets to both smaller investors and foreign firms. This essay will focus on defining what competition law is, the specifics….

Competition Bikes Budgetary Analysis
Budgetary Areas Raising Concern in the Budget Plan.

Competition Bikes, Inc. - Year 8 Budget Concerns

The master budget for year 8 of Competition Bikes, Inc. has all of the required schedules and data. The data is generally sound and there are but a few concerns with regards to its presentation and content.

Concerns -- Lack of Quarterly Activity Reporting

The merger committee's first concern is that all of the reported activity is not broken down by quarter. Since bicycling is usually practiced in the outdoors and is weather dependent, we can assume seasonal the usual seasonal trends with regard to competitions and events that revolve around professional cycling teams.

Without a separation of production (especially by product category, e.g., Carbonlite, etc.) activity by quarter, we cannot forecast and respond to peak and low seasons. For example, many materials are purchased without regard to seasonal activity. In other words, if the peak….

In this case, the average total cost will continue to decline as the scale of production increase, because fixed (or overhead) costs are being spread over higher and higher levels of output" (Natural monopoly, 2010, Tutor2U). According to economic theory, it is efficient to allow for a natural monopoly because competition would require too large of a diversion of available resources for a competitor. When natural monopolies exist, they are often heavily regulated by the federal government. Examples of natural monopolies include local economic entities such as utility companies (electricity, water, gas, telephone, and cable television services). Given the large investment it takes to provide utilities, and the frequent stress upon the environment it is deemed mutually beneficial for all to have such legal, natural monopolies (Crawford 2005).
Today, four major antitrust laws exist. The first was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 which forbade the existence of trusts and….

Now the stores want to make sure that the turkey that they sell is the best turkey and cost the least. In this situation they are competing for the consumer's business.
However, business owners of a monopoly situation disagree with the government. When there is a business that has the potential to become a Competition vs. Monopolies 2 monopoly the government watches it very closely and the business has to go through the government for mergers and such. The more the business becomes a monopoly, the more the government says no to the business's requests. For example, there is Microsoft. The government has been working to keep Microsoft from being the big business that it is today.

So, in conclusion, a perfect competition economy makes benefits for the consumer. Likewise, a monopolistic economy makes benefits for the business owner. On the flip side, a perfect competition shows drawbacks for the business….

ather, it is clear Toyota management became too arrogant for its own good, often side-stepping the most critical parts of the TPS quality management initiatives in order to make the production schedules that sent between 40,000 to 60,000 Camry autos to the U.S. For sale every month (Potter, 2010). The TPS today is actually the source of greater knowledge about how to solve their brake and recall problems. The current problems aside, the TPS has proven to be a knowledge sharing network that is very effective for competing in a market duopoly where intelligence not costs are the main differentiator (Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000).
Lean manufacturing concepts from the foundation of competitive strength of the two dominant companies that form the market duopoly. While each share this common foundation, their respective approaches to manufacturing execution vary significantly. Airbus deliberately created their organizational structure to support more of an engineer-to-order supply chain,….

They did not seek a partner or an acquisition (Schoolcraft, 2007). As of yet, however, they have not made an entrance into the Atlanta market, as their move came at the outset of the economic downturn.
The Atlanta situation exemplifies a shift in Lennar's approach. For much of the past, the company had relied heavily on joint ventures as a means to enter new markets, in part to mitigate the risks and in part to reduce the cost of entering the new markets. However, the financial crisis has left some of their partners unable or unwilling to meet obligations. As a result, Lennar was forced to writedown many of these ventures, and shifted their focus towards a more secular growth model (2008 Lennar Corporation Annual Report).

The Lennar Corporation operates is 57 markets around the country (Lennar.com, 2009). They have used a number of different market entry strategies to fuel this….

Competition Bikes, Inc. is a company that manufactures and sells high-end 2-wheel bicycles for sporting enthusiasts, racers, and professional bikers. This is a highly competitive industry and is likely price elastic because it is more of a luxury good -- not a necessity with a limited but global market. Key data for our analysis is based on the Income Statements and Balance Sheets for Years 6, 7, and 8. Our data may be viewed thus:
The clear issue for the company is that the growth experienced in Year 7 did not match sales in Year 8. Further data analysis shows that the company is relatively healthy, but does show some weaknesses when compared with industry standards:

CBikes

(Ave 7/8)

Industry

Analysis

Current Ratio

CBI has assets that exceed its liabilities by almost 6 times, higher than industry average.

Collection Period

Lower than industry by almost 14 days, or close to three business weeks. This impacts cash flow.

Debt Ratio

Higher debt….

Competition Comes to the U.S. Farm Sector
The United States has always supported its farmers through a number of different policies. This policy has included programs designed to distribute the nation's land in an equitable fashion, increase productivity, raising the standard of living of American farmers and helping them to market their products (estcott and Price, 2001). U.S. farm policy since the 1930s focused on price and income supports. Until the introduction of the 1996 Farm Bill, the price support system relied on a series of acreage limits and storage programs (estcott and Price, 2001).

The basis of the current farm policy began during the Great Depression. The focus of the original farm policy was limited; however, the past 15-20 years have seen a broadening of this policy to include many other things other than price support. (estcott and Price, 2001). In 1985 policy changes were instituted that moved the farm industry….

Competition Bikes Inc.'s financial status requires evaluating its internal operations reflecting the horizontal, vertical, ratio, and trend analysis, as well as its working capital. hese reviews provide profit margins allowing for projecting any necessary budget restraints in overhead costs and sales potential. Yearly production performance comparisons, based on overhead vs. profit, enable a budget projection for ordering production materials on a month-to-month basis. (Shim, J. And Siegel, J. 2009).
Horizontal Analysis

he horizontal analysis is the study of percentage changes of comparative statements in the case of Competition Bikes Inc.'s years six and seven, and seven and eight. Using the horizontal analysis chart, Competition Bikes Inc., shows the accounts payable, between years six and seven increased as it did between years seven and eight.

According to the horizontal analysis, Competition Bike Inc.'s net sales between year six and seven increased 33.3% at $1,495,000. Net sales of the CarbonLite product, between years seven….

Considering, things have become even more competitive it is even more essential to have a mission.
Although it was difficult to get a true handle on how many companies now develop mission statements, googling brings up scores of sites that promote their importance. However, a large number of sites still discuss the number of companies who develop them incorrectly or do not follow them once they are written. For example, a 2000 survey found that U.S. workers want their work to make a difference, but 75% do not think their company's mission statement has become the way they do business (Workplace 2000 Employee Insight Survey). Unfortunately this often happens because the management team that developed the mission statement have since gone to other companies or the organization, itself, has been acquired and the direction is completely changed. A third reason this happens is because a mission statement is created and….

Kahn, K.B., Mentzer, J.T. (1996), "Logistics and interdepartmental integration," International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 26 No.8, pp.6-14.

Lambert, D.M., Burduroglu, . (2000), "Measuring and selling the value of logistics," International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 11 No.1, pp.1-17.

Lambert, D.M., Emmelhainz, M.A. And Gardner, J.T. (1996) "Developing and implementing supply chain partnerships" International Journal of Logistics

Management, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 1 -- 18.

Mentzer, J.T. (2004). Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management: Twelve Drivers for Competitive Advantage. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Mentzer, J.T., Min, S.H. And Zacharia, Z.G. (2000) "The nature of inter-firm partnering in supply chain management," Journal of etailing, Vol. 76 No. 4,

pp. 549 -- 568.

Mentzer, J.T. (1999), "Supplier partnering," in Sheth, J.N. And Parvatiyar, A. (Eds.),

Handbook of elationship Marketing, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks,

CA, pp. 457 -- 477.

Morgan, . And Hunt, S. (1994) "The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58 Summer, pp.….

External and Internal Environments
Two segments of the general environment that influence the corporation

The technological developments in the market are important to the achievements of any Smart phone company that is constantly expanding. As competition increases, Nokia must make sure that their smart phones are at the highest innovation level. With features such as internet, camera, email, and social networking necessities on smart phones, Nokia will have to think of other features, to help differentiate and separate itself from its competitors. A number of clients look at the software operating all the functions as a key signal of the achievements and quality of the Smart phone. Therefore, Nokia's partnership with Microsoft Company for their newest smart phones seems an excellent move as the market is cognizant of the technical abilities of Microsoft, and the benefit to technological items. Previously, Nokia dominated in the cell phone market (Burn & Ash, 2000), these….

Management accounting combines traditional accounting responsibilities with management responsibilities, which allows a company to align budgetary considerations with the people handling the money.  There are a variety of different topics in management accounting that could serve as a good springboard for research, because how it is applied can vary tremendously depending on the size, purpose, and structure of an organization.  Regardless of the approach, it is clear that management accounting has become an important component of the decision-making process in business of all sizes and that the continued evolution of this practice should results in....

Stress in sport can refer to two distinct things.  It can refer to physical stress and is compared to recovery periods or it can refer to the emotional stressors experienced by athletes in various sports.  Because you referred to the sources of stress experienced by those involved in sport, we are proceeding under the assumption that you are referring to emotional stressors.  We are going to provide an outline to give you an idea of what we might include in the introduction, main body paragraphs, and conclusion of an essay about that topic.

Essay Outline:

I. Introduction

A.....

Servant leadership is one of the most highly touted theories of leadership in the last several decades.  It advocates that true leaders serve first.  While it is a secular leadership idea, it is often used in the context of religious leadership and religious leaders, with Jesus being sighted as the best example of a servant leader.  However, while this leadership paradigm is popular, servant leadership has some significant weaknesses that need to be acknowledged and addressed.  When they are, it becomes clear that servant leadership is not an appropriate model in all scenarios. 

One of the....

Third party payment, such as health insurance companies or government programs, can distort the healthcare market in several ways:

1. Increased demand: When individuals are not directly paying for their healthcare services, they are more likely to utilize medical services without considering the cost. This leads to increased demand for healthcare services, which can drive up prices and strain the resources of healthcare providers.

2. Lack of price transparency: Third party payment often creates a lack of price transparency in the healthcare market. Since patients are not directly paying for their services, they may not be aware of....