Labor Cost Essays (Examples)

The company entered into new deals with both the CA and the UA in order to shed some of the legacy costs (Merx, 2009). The deal in the United States gave the union-run Retiree Health Care Trust a 17.5% stake in the post-bankruptcy version of GM and a warrant for another 2.5% stake in exchange for GM's $20 billion obligation to the trust. In other words, GM has swapped out what was essentially a debt owed to the retirement trust for equity, reducing their burden by $20 billion (Associated Press, 2009). The company asserts that the deal will bring its total hourly labor costs in line with those of Toyota.

Information with respect to GM's labor costs is highly transparent. The story is a major news item and the firm is up front with its cost structure, both in the media and on its website. The major decisions have already…

(ILO Report, 2006)

In reality the global opportunities are now making employees seek independence. While on one hand the employers look out for more flexibility and accommodative modes of production from employees while on the other hand the collective representation and bargaining power of employees post globalization is wanting. Added to that, the casual labor, seasonal employment and specific purpose contract-based employment have come in vogue. The boundary between the traditional employer and the employee is slowly getting blurred. (Dundon; Rollinson, 2004) This may not be so in the food and beverages section, but youth look to better jobs and employment in other areas and systems. Those who are then available are costly.

In such a scenario, the following are the facts:

Firstly, the food section needs to be outsourced and the system can be created where the chefs, and the other employees form a small firm and source the…

Within the United States, labor and its corresponding rates have become both a divisive and contentious issue. COVID-19 has only exacerbated an already combative labor environment. For example, COVID-19 resulted in massive layoff and furloughs for millions of Americans. The tourism, retail, entertainment, airline and energy sectors have all declined precipitously as consumer demand declined throughout the year. As consumer demand declined, corporations were forced to make the difficult chance to eliminate or cut their labor force. Adding more pressure to the prevailing labor rates, were consumer driven initiatives such as the “The Fight for $15”. The unforeseen and precipitous decline in consumer demand and the popularity of raising the minimum rage have created unique variables as it relates to the labor rate. As retail was one of the hardest hit industries, I believe a study of Wal-Mart is warranted due to the amount of people it employs and its…

Labor Relations in Public Sector

Collective bargaining in the public sector organizations will be quite different from that of the private sector organizations. The factors that drive the collective bargaining process in the private sector might not be present in the public sector. Private sector organizations are more concerned on the profit maximization philosophy whereas the public sector firms are more focused on serving general public therefore their priorities would be totally different and management approaches to collective bargaining would also be different. Moreover, private sector firms project for long-term budget forecasting, whereas in the public sector it is managed through third party legislature depending on the voters. These create challenges for the public sector to formulate a policy document that looks after the labor relations.

The Public Employees Fair Employment Act, commonly known as the Taylor Law, is a labor relations ruling policy document that covers public employees in…

Labor Economics

Labor is a commodity that needs to be purchased for business activity. In the uncivilized world of the past labor could be exploited to the extreme, but in modern times trade union movement, increased public consciousness, health, safety and environmental regulations and labor regulations have meant that the near slavery condition of the past are totally unacceptable.

Nevertheless, labor remains a commodity requiring efficient, humane and cost effective management to increase profitability and balance human rights and investors' interests. This effort has resulted in labor economics developing as a branch of microeconomics. This paper reviews labor economics and its importance in the modern day economic and business activities.

Outline

Abstract

Introduction

Important Components of Labor Economics

Labor Supply and Demand

Quality of Labor (Investments in Human Capital)

Wages

Non-Wage Labor Costs

Wage Differentials

Workers Mobility

Pay & Productivity

8. Economics of Discrimination

9. Social Accountability

10. Trade Unions…

While cases such as that of Kukdong graphically illustrate the importance of CS and codes of conduct, anti-sweatshop activists continue to display considerable hesitation and equivocation as they wrestle with implementing CS in China. In the words of the late activist Trim Bissell of the Campaign for Labor ights, China has become a "planetary black hole" attracting global production with its cheap labor, but "the anti-sweatshop movement has been without a China strategy."9For example, in January 2000, the University of California (UC) announced that it would not allow any university-licensed products to be produced in countries that do no tallow freedom of association and collective bargaining, in effect banning products made in China (China and the American Anti-Sweatshop Movement (http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:MfmUl9ll5pwJ:laborcenter.berkeley.edu/globaleconomy/china_american.pdf+china+sweatshops+unions&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=9&ie=UTF-8)."

Efforts are underway to accomplish several things when it comes to China's sweatshops. The first thing that the union and labor leaders are demanding is that the world pay closer…

Nu Star Energy L.P. is a limited partnership that is publicly traded and headquartered in San Antonio. It has 9,063 miles of pipeline, eighty-six terminal facilities, four storage facilities for crude oil and two refineries for asphalt. It is the second in size among independent liquid terminal operators in the United States. It operates in the U.S., Netherlands, Canada, United Kingdom, Antilles and Mexico. The entire system of the partnership can hold up to 86 million barrels in its storage infrastructure. It has refineries for asphalt, crude oil and has pipelines for refined products. Also present are terminals for refined products, a storage facility for petroleum, a terminal operation as well as storage facilities for crude oil. NuStar strives to protect the environment and continually works to improve its programs and processes so as to meet even the most stringent of environmental practices. This has resulted in better environmental performance.…

Labor and Union Studies in ashington and Oregon States

The United States labor movement has its roots in the complex trappings of the industrial revolution. Laborers were just starting to come to the United States from foreign countries because they had learned that there were many jobs available for even the most unskilled worker. People were also moving from rural areas in America to the cities in an attempt ti have a better life also without the uncertainties that governed farm profits. The growth in many industries was a result of new technologies that allowed people to purchase items that had previously been made by hand far cheaper because the products could now be mass produced in the factories. The problem was that the owners of these factories did not care how the workers were treated because there were many more begging to have a low-paying job in a factory…

Labor

The Department of Labor is present today to promote, foster and develop the welfare of the employees or the labor force in the United States. The labor system focuses on the improvement of the working conditions and the fulfillment of opportunities for more profitable employment. As it would be known, rules and regulations are there to keep things in order. Similarly, the Labor system in the country is guided by laws that guarantee the rights and privileges of the labor force of the country.

The Department of Labor has made laws concerning working conditions, minimum hourly wage, and freedom from employment discrimination, worker's compensation and unemployment insurance. The labor system also aids in job training programs and it helps workers find jobs. Everyone needs a decent source of income and if a person has some sort of skill or talent, they should definitely make use of it.

The basic…

Goodyear which effectively denied employees the right to sue for wage discrimination after the passing of 180 days that "Justice Ruth ader Ginsberg was so incensed she read her scathing dissent aloud from the bench. She defended Lilly Ledbetter's right to sue her employer, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Inc. For pay discrimination on the basis of sex, giving a not-so-gentle reminder of the realities of the American workplace." (Steiger, 2007) Specifically written by Justice Ginsburg is that as follows:

worker knows immediately if she is denied a promotion or transfer, if she is fired or refused employment. And promotions, transfers, hirings, and firings are generally public events, known to co-workers. When an employer makes a decision of such open and definitive character, an employee can immediately seek out an explanation and evaluate it for pretext. Compensation disparities, in contrast, are often hidden from sight." (Steiger, 2007)

Steiger reports that…

The more effective such systems of transport, the easier it is for labor to either to commute to work a fair distance from their home. Cities provide concentrated sources of labor that may not need to commute far distances. Also, the willingness of laborers to leave their home communities and relocate is an important cultural factor to remember, as well as the cost of transportation. Finally, in some areas, gas for cats is quite expensive, while public transportation is fairly cheap, which will affect labor patterns of migration and may be different than one might expect from one's experience in America.

Minorities:

Local attitudes to international companies, towards a diverse workforce, and to employing refugees may vary from country to country.

Labor market:

The diversity of the labor force, whether it is primarily skilled or unskilled, diverse or homogeneous in its ethnic, age, or skill composition will affect what types…

Labor and Union Case Study

The objective of this work in writing is to conduct a case study on labor and unions and to answer the questions of: (1) Is the grievance process an effective method for resolving workplace disputes? And (2) How would you suggest that unions and employers improve their ability to correctly interpret the collective agreement?

In the case study at focus, several employees have a discussion, which results in an altercation, and two employees are fired as a result. The employees were then advised that they could file a grievance. One of the employees, named Green met in the cafeteria with a representative of the Grievance Committee and related her side of the story and believed that by meeting with the Grievance Committee member that she had filed an official grievance. One week later the other employee, Swallows, was reinstated. When Green inquired about the grievance,…

ubstance Abuse Testing - the substance abuse testing policy for the construction industry that are union workers in British Columbia allows for: (1) pre-access testing prior to entering a job site; (2) voluntary testing; (3) post-accident testing; (4) reasonable suspicion testing; (5) return-to-work testing; and (6) testing following a probationary status. (eale, 2008) However, pre-employment and random testing for substances is considered unacceptable in British Columbia. (Harassment - the law in British Columbia makes it a violation of an employer to allow or contribute to sexual harassment of an employee in the workplace. Ministry of Attorney General, British Columbia, 2008)

Employment Contracts and Restrict Covenants - Restrictive covenants make the provision for several limitations: (1) Employee may be prohibited from working for business competition for a period of time after they leave their employment:; (2) territorial limits may restrict the employee from joining competition within defined a defined territory; (3)…

Labor, GDP and Firm

Labor is an important factor of production for all firms. The most recent unemployment rate is estimated at 9% (January 2011). Economists have identified three types of unemployment. Which type would affect your firm? Explain.

The three types of unemployment include: structural, changes in technology and shifts in tastes. Structural is when there is a lack of demand for workers with particular skill sets. Changes in technology, takes place when innovations and scientific breakthroughs are leading to a shift in the way businesses are operating. This is the point when there is a decrease in the total number of employees working for a particular firm. Shifts in taste are occurring when consumers want to purchase a particular product or service based on the underlying amounts of popularity. During times when there is a change in tastes, is the point that sales will decrease and those employees…

All of the employees on an airplane, for example, could form themselves into a vertical bargaining unit if they chose, the unit including stewards and stewardesses, as well as pilots. Similarly, in a school, teachers, janitors, and office staff could all form a vertical unit. In contrast a horizontal bargaining unit unites all those who perform similar work. The fact that the pilots at Spirit Airlines belong to a pilots union that includes pilots from other airlines means that they constitute a horizontal bargaining unit. As well, teachers in the Chico school could form a horizontal bargaining unit if they joined with other teachers at different schools, and even in different districts. Members of a bargaining unit agree to work together because they share common interests and goals. Bargaining units appear either as elements of unions or as workers uniting for a common purpose. An entire union is also frequently…

he intersection determines the amount of investment in education / productivity factors by all individuals and institutions.

he major criticisms to the Neoclassical model come from the assumption competition holds, namely that individuals act to maximize profit in all scenarios; factor mobility is unlimited; marginal returns to labor don't increase with wage rates, and other simplifications which rarely hold true in the workforce. Nor are all workers the same to the firm (discrimination), and workers' productivity and labor supply decisions change at different wage levels. hen we have to consider frictional unemployment; information asymmetry; product substitution; any number of real constraints that complicate the pure "Marginal Demand for Labor" theory (Kaufman & Hotchkiss, 2000, p. 31).

he main counter to the Neoclassicals arose in the early-mid-20th century Institutional school after Veblen, Commons and Mitchell, ironically at the University of Wisconsin 1920-30. Institutionalist focus on real evidence counters the Neoclassical theory…

Labor and Monopoly Capital

HAY BAVEMAN's book Labor and Monopoly Capital carries the tradition of Marxist schools. The author focuses on the labor process under the Fordism, arguing that how the work, under the discipline of scientific management, becomes disjointed, dull, and repetitive. According to him, the work is degraded. Like Marx, Braverman is a deterministic and looks into the question of how technological change in Fordism affected the attributes of work and the discrimination of working class.

The labor process under capitalism is one of the central themes of Braverman. Its main emphasis lies in providing a voice to the working-class movement. Taking his insights from Marx, Braverman is considered the latest follower that has accurately appreciated the profundity of Marx's work. Supporting his work from Marx himself, and drawing on his own experience as a trained craftsman, a socialist militant and journalist, and a manager of two publishing…

Many Chinese workers, including children, are forced to work in poor conditions (Ka Wai, 2004). Many workers are working in the town ship and village factories. According to a government report in 1984, the majority of township and village enterprises in China have at least one major problem that causes occupational disease. Many factory workers are working in dangerous conditions, in which poisonous chemicals, dust, and noise are predominant. As a result, many workers suffer from a variety of preventable health conditions.

Companies like Nike and eebok often subcontract factories in poor countries because they do not have to deal with production. By distancing themselves through subcontracting, benefiting from low production costs without having to take responsibility, they make huge profits.

In Indonesia, United States sportswear company Nike is often at the center of labor concerns (CNN, 2001). Workers at nine Indonesian factories under contract by Nike say they have…

Another concern is represented by the fact that the massive imports from China materialize in cheaper consumer products, which render the domestically produced items less competitive. Other issues include currency fluctuations which impact the fiscal stability of the countries, as well as security concerns, as the Chinese gain more access to American resources (Singh, 2012).

4. Conclusions

The economy of the United States is shaped by a wide array of elements, such as political measures, the economic recession, the access to credits, the socio-demographic changes and so on. One important piece in the economic puzzle is represented by the state of international trade operations completed by the country. In this sense, the current project has assessed the issues of international trade as they relate to the impacts on employment, unemployment, incomes and equality, as well as the national concerns regarding the country's trade partners (Japan, Mexico and China).

At the…

Labor and Employment Law

WORKPLACE SITUATIONS

Situation A -- The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 or FMLA was enacted to help employees balance family and work requirements (WHD, 2013). It aims at protecting and helping those with family or personal health problems. The rise in single-parent households and women employees often leads them to compromise work for family or vice versa. The law intends to strike a balance between. If an employer is connected to FMLA, an employee who has worked for one year or 1,250 hours in the preceding year is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within the 12-month period. The employer is qualified to offer FMLA if it has 50 or more employees. Employee A and his employer are, thus, qualified (WHD).

The qualified employer is obliged by law to grant FMLA leave when the qualified employee requests it with a qualified reason (WHD, 2013).…

In refusing to bargain or negotiate with Mr. Bolton, attorney for Mr. Allen, the Postal Service was upholding its contract with the Union to consider the Union the sole bargaining agent for Mr. Allen and other rural mail carriers. The Union's claim that management discounted the information provided by Mr. Bolton because he was a non-bargaining agent is a gross misrepresentation of the occurrence; no real information was provided by Mr. Bolton that had bearing on this case, and management politely but firmly denied to further correspond with the attorney for matters it had contracted to negotiate through the union. Management had stated that Allen would be reinstated should the charges be dropped or Allen acquitted, and until that time the grievance and dismissal were solely labor -- and not criminal -- concerns.

There is no reason that the Union should not be allowed to provide character witnesses attesting to…

Dibsa should turn towards the market-based pricing strategy, which sees the implementation of competitive prices for the 3-in-1 Lawnmower. The selection of this combination of strategies would generate several impacts upon the company, but most of them would be obvious at product lifecycle level. In this order of ideas:

The sales revenues would be significantly high throughout the first six months and they would allow the company to cover for the large costs incurred in the manufacturing of the product as well as register profits; they would however decrease with the implementation of the market pricing strategy and the 3-in-1 Lawnmower would metamorphose from a star product into a cash cow

The costs incurred in the manufacturing of the new lawnmower have already begun to decrease and will continue to do so; the actual impact of the pricing strategy is limited, with the specification however that these costs will not…

The raw materials needed as ingredients for detergents require extraction from natural resources, and extraction costs increase as the amounts needed rise. This means that it costs more to use more materials and thus produce more detergent, making materials a variable cost. The factory where the ingredients are mixed into detergent, however, would cost roughly the same to build whether the plan was to produce 100 or 10,000 units per day -- as this cost does not increase as production increases, it is a fixed manufacturing cost. Energy is semi-variable, in that it would require a significant amount of energy for the factory to operate at all, even if it was only producing one box of detergent a day. At the same time, the factory would certainly use less energy producing 100 boxes than it would producing 10,000.

The total cost of producing laundry detergent takes all of these costs…

Another example of pure job costing is web development, where the processes themselves vary hugely from project to project, meaning the cost and time involved also varies.

esponse

Dosch & Wilson (2010) do seem to do a good job of defining job and process costing, and the person who posted this seems to have understood these definitions fairly well in the abstract -- that is, the definitions provided seem reasonable and the application of these definitions to businesses chosen by the poster are explained in a way that clearly links them to these definition. At the same, the poster seems to have had some trouble accurately identifying companies where job costing might be employed, despite grasping the abstract technicalities of the definition of job costing. While it is likely that an individual laborer might be able to identify that they worked on a particular section of an airplane or wall…

Other employment prospects in fields such as petty trading, retailing, transportation and domestic service also developed simultaneously in urban areas. In the nineteenth century, when the industrial working class became much larger and more important in the social structure they begin to assert themselves socially, politically and economically, evolving into the social order we see today.

Growth of Cities

According to Jeffery G. Williamson (1990) Britain grew at an unusually rapid growth rate during the first part of the nineteenth century. Census data of the period indicates that some nineteenth-century cities grew at rates "that would bring cold sweat to the brow of twentieth-century housing committees" (p.2). Glasgow grew at 3.2% annum in 1830's, Manchester and Salford at 3.9% in the 1820's; Bradford at 5.9% in the 1830s, and Dukinfield nearly tripled in size the 1820's. These were the fast-growing cities and towns in the industrializing north.

The British population…

But the sad fact is that most of these people will not meet this future, and will likely spend much of their lives working for different companies, all looking to get the most out of their employees for the least amount of pay and benefits.

Certainly people need to feel like their work is important and like they have a place and are making a positive difference in their community. But many of the jobs that people have currently have no promise of future employment, and the pride and energy that the workers give in the hopes of attaining a better life for themselves and their families will be met with silence from their employers. The American Dream is all but dead, and social class has more to do with where a person will end up in life more than any other deciding factor of potential in a person's life.…

Similarly, the average total costs curve also increases, implying additional costs.

A main theoretical specification that must be made here refers to the long-term relationship between the MC and the average cost curves. This basically states the following:

- if the average cost in decreasing in the quantity produced, or the output, the marginal cost is lower than the average costs

- if the average cost increasing in terms of produced quantities, the marginal cost is larger than the average costs

- if the average cost remains constant, the marginal cost equals the average cost; the situation is similar when the average cost is minimal

- in the case of scale economies, the average cost decreases as the produced quantity increases

- in the case of diseconomies of scale, the situation is reversed as the average cost increases with the increase of the output (Zhao, 2008)

2. Factors in Favour…

This implies that an increase in the wage of one member of the household gives rise not only to changed incentives for work on the market, but also to a shift from more to less time-intensive product on and consumption of goods produced by the household. But as noted by the Nobel-prize winning 20th century University of Chicago economist Gary Becker, as real wages increase, along with the possibilities of substituting capital for labor in housework, labor is released in the household, so that it becomes more and more uneconomical to let one member of the household specialize wholly in household production (for instance, child care). As a result, some of the family's previous social and economic functions are shifted to other institutions such as firms, schools and other public agencies. This creates more jobs, but also means that more luxury jobs may become necessities, such as maids. (Gary Becker,…

Labour-Management Corporation

Advertising

Print Ad

Infomercial

Homecoming Event

Website

Highs and Lows

Achievements

Failures

A New Innovation in Car Manufacturing Industry

In 1982, General Motors (GM) decided to counter the challenge of the Japanese car manufacturers who were continuously enjoying the lion's share in the U.S. market. The consumers had started loving and appreciating the small but high-class Japanese cars. Seeing this, General Motors aimed to change their strategies.

The story began when the General Motors produced The Chevrolet Vega as an answer to Japanese challenge in 1970. A number of problems were identified with this model. Later in 1975, they produced another small car, the Chevette which too had discouraging results. They then produced the Chevrolet Spectrum with Japanese assistance. This model was not up to the mark as well. These disappointing outcomes made people think that the General Motors do not have the capability to manufacture small and…

SOW Cost Estimate

Statement of Work

[Date published]

[Presenter's name]

Time and materials

Client's administrator

Relocation of Office Headquarter

Engagement duration

Begin date

eb' 2012

End date

eb' 2012

Schedule of rates [Include fixed-rate costs for items such as equipment and hourly rates for employee time and service.]

Item description

Delivery schedule

(Business days)

Cost

(estimate)

desks (with associated chairs)

day- 1st eb 2012

day- 1st eb 2012

Coffee Tables

day- 2nd eb 2012

Armchairs

Small Items (120 X 160 boxes)

rames

day 3rd eb 2012

Computers (with monitors)

day- 1st eb 2012

Payment terms

Phase

Completion date

Payments due

Phase 1 -- Movement of urniture and Computers

2nd eb 2012

$965

Phase 2 -- Movement of rames and Small Items

3rd eb 2012

$350

Phase 3- Cleaning, Organizing and Arranging relocated items at new premesis

4th eb 2012

$100

Statement of work

Assumptions

ollowing assumptions are to be made…

The employer, according to the rules laid out by the IMSS, is expected to contribute at least a minimum amount according to the risk factors involved in the job into the fund, that is, a sum of 17.42% of each worker's wage. Basic health care, medical facilities, accident care, as well as care for illnesses are all taken care of under the social security fund. In addition, the employer is expected to pay about 5% of a fixed payroll tax into a fund that will help the employee find a home of his own easily. This fund is known as the 'National Fund for Employee Housing' or INFONAVIT. "The goal of this federal program is to provide benefits allowing employees to more easily acquire a home"

2% or 25 times the minimum wage, of a worker's salary must also be paid into the SA or the etirement Savings System under…

Product Costing systems (ABC, job costing, put costing, .) advanced topic managerial accounting the thesis statemenit a position body paper show evidence support position. The paper discuss opposite point view discuss position valid.

Product costing systems

Product costing system is a management tool which identifies the actual cost of producing each product. It identifies the profits and loss which can be gained or incurred on each product, hence giving companies the opportunity of identifying and promoting of profitable product while dropping, re-pricing or redesigning of unprofitable products Brierley, 2008.

Product costing is a highly sensitive area for managerial accountants, recently, most of them have changed their focus such that they give their attention to appropriate treatment costs which are directly associated with resources that are committed to support activities, which within the company do not vary proportionally to production once the initial capacities have been set. In such as an…

Classic Airlines

A Nine Step Cost Reduction Plan

Describe the Situation

Identifying the Potential Cause of the Problem

Verifying the Likely Causes by Gathering Data

Identifying Possible Solutions

Evaluating Alternative Solutions

Determining the Best Solution

Identifying and Assessing the Risks

Implementing the Solution

Evaluate the Results

Classic Airlines is currently the world's fifth largest airline which is operating a remarkable 2,300 flights daily to over 240 cities. In the previous period, net profits were roughly $10 million on $8.7 billion in revenues. However, Classic is experiencing negative publicity, declining stock prices, as well as the rising costs of fuel and labor over the past year. Furthermore the destructive reports coupled with low employee morale resulted in Classic's Board of Directors requiring a 15% cost reduction over the next 18 months. Management must quickly act to implement a nine-step problem solving method to overcome the obstacles and provide solutions to meet…

The work and materials required to make and serve regular coffee is considerably different than the work involved in making and serving a venti half-caf mocha-vanilla soy frappucino, for instance, and though some long-term regularity would be expected in the number of each drain that is ordered estimating costs based on a time scale for this area of operations would be cumbersome and inaccurate. Using the job order costing method and determining how much the materials and labor cost for each type of drink (or, in the case of coffee, the cost for making a single batch of the drink), and thus more accurate prices can be set that reflect the company's costs and allow it to continue making a profit (and frappucinos). By utilizing both costing methods as appropriate, then, Starbucks can place itself in a more advantageous position regarding cash flow in and out of the business.

Benefits…

In 1981, President onald eagan fired many striking air traffic controllers employed by Federal Aviation Administration. In the face of various challenges confronting labor unions, the union membership drastically, continue to decline. Since support from political party has declined, many workers believe that union's ability to protect their interests has drastically declined, and thus, many private workers belief that it is no longer necessary to be union members.

oberts, (1997) argue that labor unions have faced hard times and sustained membership loss. The hard times ranging from diminishing influence of bargaining to the intense of global competition and technological changes.

Added to the political influence that contributes to the decline of the union, there are other external dynamics affecting labor unions. Globalization has been identified as the one of the external dynamic that has impact on the unions' strategies.

External Dynamics affecting the Labor Unions

One of the external dynamics…

Taguchi also expanded the focus of quality cost analysis and shifted his emphasis to improving production methods and service. As well as quality control in production, quality control was necessary in product planning and design, process design, and production services after purchase. Taguchi's quality loss function was designed to measure the success or failure of quality control in an absolute fashion, over the entire lifecycle of the item (Taguchi, 2010, Business Dictionary).

Question 2: What factors contribute to a manager's decision to recall a manufactured product? Support your answers with specific examples. How can managers within a service organization improve sales and control costs when utilizing the Taguchi quality control method? Give examples.

First and foremost, the question of product safety must be on the minds of managers when making the decision to recall a manufactured product: a product that has a defect in its design (such as an SUV…

Profit Analysis and Costing for the 21st Century

Value costing is about looking at the different aspects of a business paying particular attention to the opportunity cost they represent, how much they are likely to financially benefit a firm, and how much they are likely to cost it. Through this analysis, it is possible to determine the parts of the business that function the most efficiently and locate the parts that do not.

It is thought that value costing is no longer relevant because business has become far more complex than the traditional format, and with the rise of the internet and the increase in ebusiness, more and more factors must be added to the equation. It is also though that this form of costing is not only too simplistic, but takes too long to put into practice, and harder still to gain any meaningful results from. Value costing tries…

43 in 2009. Yet current airframe and power plant mechanics are inclined to move to the computer and automotive sector for better work environment. Analysts advised the creation and use of informational recruiting tools to attract these potential workers. in-house training programs on long-term career growth and a sense of commitment to the company would be one form. Another could be employee-retention programs on leadership, technical, and management training courses. Other tools and strategies could be flexi-time, relocation benefits and an improved work environment. Recent mergers and consolidations within the industry are meant to retain employees and serve a wide range of customers. The technology-driven industry requires mechanics with the necessary technological competence in order to provide the wide range of services required by customers. A resourceful information management system could integrate e-business tools and advanced technology into standard business practices. This integration would bring about more efficient and cost-effective…

By focusing measurement on cycle time, productivity, quality and profitability, Guillermo will have better information that can help guide his decision-making with respect to the different strategic choices with which he is faced. If he chooses to continue making furniture, he will be better equipped to improve his processes in the future as this information forms the basis of a much stronger control system than is currently utilized at Guillermo.

Break-Even Analysis

The markets for the retardant and the coating have not yet been established. Guillermo has cost figures but has little idea of how much he can sell these products for on the market. A conservative assumption is a 50% markup but still a conservative figure. Sales figures are also going to be based on the annual production capacity. The market is assumed to be much greater than capacity, as the capacity is underdeveloped at Guillermo currently. Sales figures…

Direct cost is a cost that is involved specifically and directly in the production of a good or service (No author, 2013). For example, in the production of a hamburger direct costs would be the ingredients. If the person cooking the burger only cooks burgers, and does one burger per hour (just an example), then the direct labor cost of that burger would be one hour's worth of wages. Sometimes, however, it can be more difficult to determine the direct cost of producing a good or service, and that is where the risk of errors comes into play.

For example all costs can be taken as direct costs. This is a common error. There is a logical slippery slope involved in attributing costs. So for example, our burger flipper might flip an average of 40 burgers in an hour. The company might be tempted to average that wage over the…

RSMean is used for construction estimating. Many construction projects can be difficult to estimate and the RSMeans database is a useful tool in preparing a bid for a client. The database can be used to calculate a construction project based on square footage, the equipment used and the materials used. The building cost index that is used in the system has been compiled over time and includes cost information about industry averages for specific construction activities. This index can account for the increased costs of a construction project that are due to factors such as inflation, cost of materials, and the cost of labor. For example, cost information from a construction project in the 1980s can be adjusted to represent what a similar project would cost in today's market. The accuracy of such estimates is considered to be within twenty to thirty percent of the actual costs. Therefore there is…

Strategic Recommendations for a Reduction of Operating Costs for Burn Care Unit

Burn Care Unit is a healthcare organization operating the 40-bed unit. Since its formation, Burn Care Unit business has been profitable with an increase in revenues, however, the organization has faced challenges in recruiting the professional nurses, which forces them to adopt the Baylor plan. The plan is an overtime policy that adopts 36 hours pay for nurses who work for 24 hours on the weekend. Nurses who work for 60 hours in the weekdays are paid the equivalent of 70 hours. However, the company has recorded high cost of operations because of the policy. Moreover, Burn Care has incurred $800,000 in nurses' payrolls because of the Baylor plan, and based on the recent increase in the costs of operations, the accountant has suggested that the CEO should discontinue the Baylor Plan to reduce the costs of operations.…

Direct costs are those that can be "attributed to the production of specific goods or services" (Investopedia, 2013). They can be labor, materials or other expenses. In contrast, indirect costs are those that cannot be directly attributed -- at least not easily -- to a specific product or service. For the most part, identifying direct costs is a straightforward, but occasionally there are pitfalls that can emerge.

One pitfall when analyzing direct costs is to attribute all costs as direct costs, on the basis of how a single cost item breaks down. For example, if direct materials are allocated to products based on the allocation of direct labor costs. A two product company could allocate direct labor 40-60, and then use that split to allocate direct materials costs. That would be risky, because there might not be a connection between the two products with respect to their usage of labor…

Globalization and Labor

Globalization is a term used in a multiplicity of senses, such as the global interdependence of nations, the growth of a world system, accumulation on a world scale, and the global village (Petras Pp). All of these concepts, as well as many others, are rooted in the general notion that the "accumulation of capital, trade and investment is no longer confined to a nation-state" (Petras Pp). Globalization in the most general sense refers to the "cross-national flows of goods, investment, production and technology," and for advocates, the scope and depth of these flows have created a new world order, "with its own institutions and configurations of power that have replace the structures of nation-states" (Petras Pp). Globalization has deepened and extended the international division of labor, with everything from automobile parts to information collection and analysis now out-sourced to labor in distant nation-states (Petras Pp). Exporting labor…

Purchasing a CT Scanner

Benefits and Costs of Purchasing A CT Scanner: A Comprehensive Evaluation

"Each year, buyers of CT scanners faced much-improved choice sets; the question is how valuable those improvements were," and thus this is a review to explore whether or not the acquisition of CT scanners are actually worth a hospital committing to such an expensive effort (Ellickson et al. 2001 p 544). Overall, the health benefits of CT scans are often extremely positive to patient care. Still, the machines and organizational costs tied to their maintenance are often costly to both the organization and the patients. Yet, the purchase of such technology does provide greater quality and efficiency within patient care strategies, from a health and organizational perspective. In such, it is clear that the positives of purchasing such technology would then outweigh any potential negatives.

CT scanners are an impressive testament to the evolution of…

Burn-Care Unit: Reducing Operational Costs- Focus on Labor Expenses

1.0. Executive Summary

To remain relevant in the long-term, the Burn-Care Unit ought to adopt either of these two strategies, or combine both in a hybrid mix: reduce costs or boost the current level of revenues while keeping the current cost levels constant. The most viable strategy for an organization of this nature would be to rein in costs via the adoption of an effective cost minimization strategy or approach. It is important to note, from the onset, that being a reputable burn-care facility at the national level, there is need for the Burn-Care Unit to maintain the integrity of its processes as well as its operational efficiency, even as it seeks to minimize costs. For this reason, the relevance of embracing the most viable course of action towards the minimization of operational costs cannot be overstated. Reducing operational expenses, and…

emaining workers will get jobs at higher than equilibrium wage, the Supply curve shifts to the left, and wage and output stabilize until something else changes like input cost or legislation.

Were firms able to hire workers at less than minimum wage, say like in Figure 4, where the cost of paying illegals including the enforcement cost results in lower demand for legal minimum wage workers, the result would be a total average cost between the two supply lines, increased outcome for the firm, at less than average minimum wage cost. The new Alabama law seems to attempt to drive off the black line "illegals" by mandating stiffer enforcement for services and privileges like business or auto licenses, awls (2011) explains. This creates an interesting distribution of costs if firms derive profit, but the cost of enforcement is being pushed onto others not employing illegals. If the black line in…

Accounting

This accounting report is intended to emphasize the importance of the role of a management accountant in business operational and financial decisions. The focus on two companies engaging in different lines of business with disparate concerns, questions, and issues provides a basis for the reader to understand specific instances in which a management accountant can play a pivotal role in the success of an enterprise. W. White Chemicals was perplexed about their loss of market share and a small drop in revenue. When the executives came together to discuss the problems, they each had a different opinion about the source of the problem and the possible solutions. The management accountant was able to demonstrate how a change from the traditional accounting system the company was using to an activity-based system would help the team interpret the market situation and get a handle on the actual, rather than the obfuscated,…

Low Cost Airline in Thailand

The Study on Improvement of Low Cost Airline in Thailand

Geography of Thailand

Nature of Airlines

Variables under Study

The Profitability of Low Cost Airlines in Thailand

Thai Economy

Operating esults, Selected Airlines, Financial Year 1999

The Economies of Scale Attained By Airline Industry

Human esource Practices

The future of low cost Thailand Airlines

Contrasting Qualities of State Owned and Non-State Owned Airlines

The Study on Improvement of Low Cost Airline in Thailand

Thailand is a global source for customers seeking cheap labor or material inputs. The country is rich in natural resources -- tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, and timber being a few examples. The country is a major source for agricultural products1a.

Thailand also has an abundant supply of low-skilled labor with high participation rates in the workforce 86% for males and 67% for females in 1995. At the same time, the country…

At the same time, it will help to identify what issues will shape the future of air passenger transportation in Asia.

1.6: Hypothesis

he introduction of LCCs in the North American and European markets started a trend that is beginning to unfold in Asia (with the birth of Asian-based LCCs). Part of this is in response to the increases in passenger traffic and the effects of globalization. However, there have been similar airlines in the past, which have tried and failed using the same kinds of business models. A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than, Oasis Hong Kong. his was a low cost carrier that attempted to enter the medium to long haul leisure / business travel market between Hong Kong and London Gatwick. he problem was that they were no match for the FSCs, which offered: more flights and greater flexibility. his is…

" (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) Market saturation is possible according to Traventec, Ltd., due to the constant "influx of new entrants into the low cost carrier and regional space and continued expansion of existing players. When and whether market saturation is actually reached in specific regions of the world depends on how mature regional and low cost air transport is in the first place and the size of the yet under-served demographic area." (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) There is stated to be a potentially huge regional aviation market in South East Asia yet untapped with more than half of the population of the entire world within six hours flying radiuses from "Kuala Lumpur and a five hour flying radius from angkok." (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) the airports in this area have only recently been liberalized with the "international bilateral agreements and vested in the development of airport capacity." (Traventec, Ltd., 2005) When this…

Business 315 and Analyzing Direct Costs

Analyzing Costs

It is crucial for an organization to properly calculate semi-variable costs in order to allocate indirect and direct costs. These costs govern over direct materials, which are "materials that physically become part of a product or service and therefore are clearly indentified with specific outputs or service" (Thompson 2011). Semi-variable costs change often, depending on the volume of the output. These mixed costs are associated with both fixed and variable elements to production. These costs are often broken up using the cost-volume formula which takes into account activity measures like labor as well as the fixed costs and variable unit rate. This helps an organization then outline indirect costs, which are those costs that are unable to be specifically outlined or traced according to a corresponding cost object (Thompson 2011). Essentially, indirect costs are associated with activities of an organization or enterprise…

Budgeting and Cost Estimation

The top-down budgeting approach is the preferable approach. Through the strategy, there are better cost control and management. It employs the experience of top management for better and realistic project approximations. However, various costs accompany such benefits. First, it should be identified that the procedure can cause friction between the top, middle, and lower level managers. The major reason to this is the presence of a zero-sum game where a particular manager acquires what another losses. However, it is pertinent to identify that there are delays in the return on investment. Additionally, the strategy has a lower impact on the overall organization. In this case, the management has to be patient in order to enjoy the benefits that accompany the approach. The approach involves very high deployment coverage during the early stages.

In contrast, the bottom-up budgeting has an advantage of being detailed from the start.…

experienced a significant increase in the cost of health care. In 2004, 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was spent on health care. In 2010, President Obama signed the "Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962)" that has been a topic of heated debate since discussions began decades ago. Health care funding and design has been a major issue for U..

Provide a discussion that demonstrates you have an understanding of the impact the cost of health care has on the economy. Be sure to discuss the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to Forbes (2012), America does not have a debt problem; it has a healthcare one. The price of health care is eating up the economy.

Health care spending is growing to almost 1.5 times the rate of growth of its gross domestic product (i.e. The market value of all its goods and services within a certain…

Divisions of This Department

Quality, Metrics and Statistics Division

INOSHA

Wage and Hour Division

List three things from each of the three divisions you learned from exploring the website

Quality, Metrics and Statistics Division

The Quality, Metrics and Statistics division reports on performance management within the state. They report of occupational illness, injury and fatalities within the state. They utilize six sigma related projects which reduces the amount of injury or illness dramatically within the workplace.

Workplace fatalities have steadily declined from 1992 which was the first year that statistics were collected. Fatalities have fallen from a high of 195 per year in 1994 to 127 fatalities per year in 2014.

Over the past three years, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting related deaths has increased by nearly 40% from 16 in 2011 to 27 in 2014.

b. INOSHA

The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration's primary responsibility is to help…

Business

Outline of a Group Dispute and the Use of Email

The New York Metropolitan Opera has been facing a serious dispute with its employees over pay agreements as they wanted to cut costs. The company, which is the largest performing arts organization located in the United States, employs a variety of staff across many disciplines, not only the singers and musicians, but also people such as set designers, costume makers, engineers, has staff which are represented by a total of 15 different unions (Farago, 2014). The dispute started when the negations for the renewal of employment contracts started. The employees' contracts all ended on the 31st of July, and although management wanted to renew the contracts, they wanted to reduce costs by a stated 16% (Farago, 2014). Management wanted to make the saving by cutting overtime payments and other benefits. Management stated that these changes were necessary as costs…

Labor When it's Flat on its Back," by Thomas Geoghegan.

Specifically, it will discuss whether I agree or disagree with Geoghegan's question and title of his book.

THE LABO MOVEMENT

Geoghegan is a labor lawyer who has a dim view of the modern American labor movement. He believes it is past its prime and usefulness, and will eventually dwindle away, dying a lingering and painful death, and leaving millions of Americans unrepresented in its wake. He believes this will occur if total labor union membership falls below 10% in the United States. "U.S. manufacturing has gone down the drain, and with it, it seems, the entire labor movement. Just 16% of the workforce now [1991], down from 20-25% ten years ago. Maybe it will drop to 12. Once it drops to 10, it might as well keep dropping to zero" (Geoghegan 3).

Unfortunately, the author's predictions seem to be coming…

The law, in its present shape, and operating ethically in fact stalls managers and companies from becoming socially accountable. The regulations make business purpose. Enterprises consider their obligation to the common interest involving functioning in accordance with the law and operating ethically. Abiding by the law comes at a cost. Directors and Officers provide scanty attention to the reality that these practices might spoil the common interest. Business law spread moral and social matters as immaterial, or as faltering impediments to the basic authorization of the corporation. External to the corporation, the impact is increasingly damaging. It is seen that the law that guides companies to purposely ignore damage to every other interest excepting those concerning the shareholders. When noxious chemicals are leaked, forests depleted, workers roll in financial distress, or communities ravaged through closure of factories, companies take these as inconsequential passing events beyond the realm of lookout. (How…

Managerial Accounting for Sleepease Ltd.

"Identify, discuss and critically evaluate the advantages and problems of using the following costing methods for internal reporting purposes":

absorption costing; marginal costing.

"Refer to the Sleepease case as and when necessary"

absorption costing

The absorption costing is the type of managerial costing where both the variable and fixed costs are charged to process or product. Thus, "absorption costing is a method for appraising or valuing a firm's total inventory by including all manufacturing costs as product costs, regardless of whether they are variable or fixed and therefore it is frequently referred as the full cost method." (Nawaz, 2013 p 50).

Accordingly, the company will be able to determine costs of a product after determining both the variable costs and fixed costs. Sleepease will derive several benefits from using the absorption costing for the production of their product.

First, the absorption costing will assist the…

The procedures, rules and regulations for creating the unions are varying in different parts of the world. Moreover, those labors are not accustomed to the working conditions, rules and regulations and provide less desirable attributes for labor works. Hill (2007) also explained with extensive research statistics for the establishment of union programs in different regions such as Mexico.Despite rules and regulations, the labors are forced to work as salves. They are not given the complete incentives that their job description offers. With this in mind, the labor unions continue to present an idea on its rapid growth so that labors can be given their rights with freedoms. According to Hill (2007), labor unions though provide some solutions for immigrant labors however; effective programs and measures are working towards the change that is needed by these unions (Hill, 2007). The formation of labor unions can be useful to control the illegal…