...Comment on the relative performance of the UK, France, Germany and the USA since 1997. Over the last 10 years the economic performance of the European countries and the US has varied a lot, due to the external shocks (terrorist attacks) and economic policies. While France and Germany do not have control over their monetary policy, the UK and the US do. Therefore the rest of this essay will analyse the difference in the economic performance of those countries over the last 10 year and provide some explanations for the difference that occurred. Graph 1. Relative GDP Performance Source: Euro State, 2007 From Graph 1, it can be seen that the UK has the most stable growth over the last 10 years, while Germany had the highest variation in its GDP performance. All of the countries saw a sharp decline in their GDP growth after the 9th September 2001, with the USA worst affected. However, such a sharp decline has also allowed the US to reshape its GDP the most by 2004. In comparison, Germany’s sharp decline in 2001 has led to a further GDP decline in 2002 and in 2003 the country saw negative economic growth. Over the last 10 years the US saw the highest overall growth in its GDP (28.9%), closely followed by the UK (28.5%) and France (22.8%). Germany struggled with only a 15.5% increase. Graph 2. Relative GDP performance of Germany and France against EU15 Source: Euro State, 2007 Graph 2 shows the performance of France and Germany relative...
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...A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a type of industrial process that allows equipment to be used for more than one purpose, though they may be somewhat related. The equipment is often used to make customized parts, or make different parts for different models of product. This type of flexible manufacturing system may be changed by hand, but is more likely to be controlled by a computer, and changed through an entirely automated process. The main goal of a flexible manufacturing system is to offer the speed needed to change with market conditions quickly, but not sacrifice any quality. Equipment that does this most effectively is likely designed for two or more purposes. While it may be possible to modify or retrofit some types of industrial equipment to do a job adequately, most flexible manufacturing systems are designed for more than one purpose from the very outset. Though the equipment for a flexible manufacturing system may initially be more expensive than traditional equipment, the overall goal is to reduce expenses. Manufacturers can save money by using the same equipment to essentially perform two or more functions. With traditional equipment, manufacturing two different products may not only require different pieces of equipment, but also two different lines and perhaps two different facilities. Therefore, a flexible manufacturing system may reduce overhead, despite higher start-up costs initially. One of the most common examples of a flexible manufacturing...
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...CRM eWeekly Date: 28th October, 2015 Content: CRM system’s contribution towards B2B2C Model B2B2C is a business model where a business develops a product, service or solution partners with another business to use a particular service for the end customers or clients. The consumer goods market often throws organizations into both the B2B and the B2C environments, sometimes simultaneously. Moreover, “CRM” applies in both contexts, regardless of whether we are discussing software or strategy. The B2C applications seem to be all the rage with consumer goods firms today. After all, it is the consumer who makes it happen for both manufacturers and distributors/retailers. But with the changing era, the importance of B2B part of this compound relationship cannot be underestimated. Moreover, when an organization is looking forward for a brighter future in today’s global business marketplace, they need to focus on few important pillars which can help the organization to excel i.e. improve customer satisfaction, customizable CRM systems, integration of CRM with all internal systems, flexible pricing for different organizational types and security for customer & organization. Let’s examine each of them in detail for better understanding: I. Improve Customer Satisfaction: - a) It focuses on fulfilling the needs of customers on timely basis. It demands for creating comfortable environment for customers or clients, which is going to help them in sharing their issues...
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...Assignments will count Question 1 (28 points) Last year, Bandana Corp produced and sold 10,500 bandanas. Each bandana has a standard requiring 2 feet of material at a budgeted cost of $1.50 per foot and 30 minutes of sewing time at a cost of $0.30 per minute. The bandanas sell for $ 14.75. Actual costs for the production of 10,500 bandanas were $33,880 for materials (22,000 feet @ $1.54 per foot) and $92,800 for labour (320,000 minutes @ $0.29 per minute). Required: a. Compute Bandana’s direct material efficiency/usage variance. Indicate whether this variance is Favorable (F) or Unfavorable (U). Compute Bandana’s direct material price variance. Indicate whether this variance is Favorable (F) or Unfavorable (U). Compute Bandana’s direct labour efficiency variance. Indicate whether this variance is Favorable (F) or Unfavorable (U). Compute Bandana’s direct labour price/rate variance. Indicate whether this variance is Favorable (F) or Unfavorable (U). b. c. d. Question 2 (32 points) John Fleming, chief administrator for a district hospital, is concerned about costs for tests in the hospital’s lab. Mr. Fleming has asked you to evaluate costs in the hospital’s lab for the past month. The following information is available: Basically, two types of tests are performed in the lab—blood tests and smears. During the past month, 1,800 blood tests and 2,400 smears were performed in the lab. Small glass plates are used in both types of tests. During the past month, the hospital purchased...
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...operating at a loss. Although the plant is known for hiring semi-skilled workers, the new iPhone contract required a complex assembly process entirely based on handwork by 325 workers, with 140 steps involving 100 components during 5 days. To anticipate the need for qualified workers, Danshui had raised their factory wages by almost 30%. But even with the wage increase, Danshui was not able to hire enough qualified workers to assemble the complex new product. Another issue was that, based on original modeling, Danshui was actually operating at a loss and was unable to fill the expected 200,000 per month iPhone quota in the first three months. To begin analyzing the root causes for the shortfall, the controller had considered preparing a “flexible budget” to provide a more realistic comparison of the performance to the budget. If the plant does not analyze the root causes of the problems and find the alternatives ways, it will not be able to deliver on the Apple contract, in the short-term, and in the long-term will lead to inefficiency of controlling the material costs, labor and overhead. Problem Statement: Danshui Plant No. 2 faced two major important issues: The fact that for the first three months of the Apple...
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...Despite their initial popularity, the theoretical considerations have not escaped criticism.Section 3 reviews the criticism of these theories.A conclusion is provided in Section 4. Keywords : Exchange rate regime, the structural approach, credibility, flexibility, the bipolar view. 1 - Introduction The literature on the selection of exchange rate regimes can be divided into three main groups : the structural approach, the trade-off between credibility and flexibility and the“bipolar view“ or “corner solution“. Classical literature refers to earlier studies which examined systematic differences between floating and fixed exchange rate regimes.The analysis in these studies is closely related to the literature on the choice between fixed and flexible regimes based firstly,on the nature of the shocks generated by changes in...
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...Eli Lilly & Company Flexible Facility Decision (1993) Case Context Set in 1993, the case focuses on a difficult decision faced by Steve Mueller, manager of strategic facilities and planning at Eli Lilly, about the type of manufacturing facility to construct for the three new pharmaceutical products that the company plans to launch in 1996. A number of growing industry and company specific conditions have made this decision particularly relevant and have sparked debate with management and throughout the company. In response to these conditions, Lilly management decided to establish a set of company-wide goals that focused on improving time to market for its products in development and a reduction of manufacturing costs. Specifically, these goals were: 1. Reduced new product time to market by 50% from the current 8 -12 year process 2. Reduce the cost of manufacturing by (25%) The key to achieving these goals was Mueller’s decision of what kind of manufacturing facilities should be used to produce the new products. This equated to a debate between a strategy of “specialized” manufacturing plant which had worked well for Lilly in the past, and a proposed strategy of building “flexible” manufacturing facilities that could accommodate almost any of the company’s new products. It was required that whichever facilities strategy chosen must align with the two company goals listed above. Our Recommendation Based on our analysis of the situation and the assumptions...
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...Eli Lilly & Company Flexible Facility Decision (1993) Case Context Set in 1993, the case focuses on a difficult decision faced by Steve Mueller, manager of strategic facilities and planning at Eli Lilly, about the type of manufacturing facility to construct for the three new pharmaceutical products that the company plans to launch in 1996. A number of growing industry and company specific conditions have made this decision particularly relevant and have sparked debate with management and throughout the company. In response to these conditions, Lilly management decided to establish a set of company-wide goals that focused on improving time to market for its products in development and a reduction of manufacturing costs. Specifically, these goals were: 1. Reduced new product time to market by 50% from the current 8 -12 year process 2. Reduce the cost of manufacturing by (25%) The key to achieving these goals was Mueller’s decision of what kind of manufacturing facilities should be used to produce the new products. This equated to a debate between a strategy of “specialized” manufacturing plant which had worked well for Lilly in the past, and a proposed strategy of building “flexible” manufacturing facilities that could accommodate almost any of the company’s new products. It was required that whichever facilities strategy chosen must align with the two company goals listed above. Our Recommendation Based on our analysis...
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...solutions of the assignment and the “extra-problem” set after the due date. Page 1 Problem 1~25: Multiple choice problems 1. C 2. A 3. D This problem helps you pay attention to the difference between variables and functions. First, whether prices (wages are prices for labor) are assumed to be flexible or 4. C sticky depends on the time horizon. In other words, the assumption of flexible prices is proper in a long-run model while the assumption of sticky prices makes sense in a short-run model. Second, a large part of macro-theory is based on the optimizing behavior of individual agents, such as households and firms, but the main concern of macroeconomics is the movement of the whole economy aggregated from those individual decisions. 5. B Economists, as well as most other social scientists, cannot do controlled experiments. 6. A Consider the National Income Accounts Identity: Y = C + I + G + NX 7. B 8. C Inventory is a kind of investment, so the sale of inventory can be understood as a decrease of investment, but there is an increase in consumption in the same amount due to this transaction. 9. D 10. B 11. A 12. B 13. D 14. C 15. D 16. A This is an important conclusion from the benchmark model in Ch.3. 17. D 18. B 19. A 20. C See page 35 of the slides for Ch.3. 21. B 22. A 23. A The nominal interest rate equals the real interest rate plus the inflation rate. 24. B 25. B One way to solve for the answer is, first, the disposable...
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...____________________________________ Date: ______________ 1. Macroeconomics does not try to answer the question of: A) why do some countries experience rapid growth. B) what is the rate of return on education. C) why do some countries have high rates of inflation. D) what causes recessions and depressions. 2. All of the following are important macroeconomic variables except: A) real GDP. B) the unemployment rate. C) the marginal rate of substitution. D) the inflation rate. 3. Deflation occurs when: A) real GDP decreases. B) the unemployment rate decreases. C) prices fall. D) prices increase, but at a slower rate. 4. How does the distinction between flexible and sticky prices impact the study of macroeconomics? A) The study of flexible prices is confined to microeconomics, while macroeconomics focuses on sticky prices. B) Macroeconomists use flexible prices to explain inflation and sticky prices to explain unemployment. C) Flexible prices are typically assumed in the study of the long run, while...
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...Effectiveness of Fiscal Policy under Both Fixed and Floating Exchange Rates using IS-LM-BP Model In order to examine the degree in which fiscal policy can be used effectively in this model, the variables that directly influence the outcomes of its use need to be identified. These are, exchange rate regime whether fixed of flexible that is in place and the degree that capital is mobile. The level of capital mobility is how challenging or simple it is for private individuals or firms to move funds across borders. Exchange rate regimes fall into two categories fixed and flexible, flexible exchange rate means that it is determine by supply and demand factors of said currency. In a fixed exchange rate scheme the value of the domestic exchange rate is fixed to a certain level, often to another currencies price or other commodity this can make trade between the given economy easier. Here is 8 combinations of fixed and flexible exchange rate and levels of capital mobility and how the outcomes show the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the fiscal policy expansion policy implementation. Fiscal Expansionary Policy within a Flexible Exchange Rate Scheme with Somewhat Mobile Capital The mobility of the capital can be determine by the steepness off the BP curve, the steeper the curve the more mobile the capital as it is in this case. The expansionary policy is implemented and shifts the IS curve from IS1 to IS2 moving the equilibrium point from A to B, this leads to an overall deterioration...
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...16 Chapter Sixteen Fundamentals of Variance Analysis LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you should be able to: L.O.1 Use budgets for performance evaluation. L.O.2 Develop and use flexible budgets. L.O.3 Compute and interpret the sales activity variance. L.O.4 Prepare and use a profit variance analysis. L.O.5 Compute and use variable cost variances. L.O.6 Compute and use fixed cost variances. L.O.7 (Appendix) Understand how to record costs in a standard costing system. For the second month in a row, profits at our Bayou Division are down and I don’t know why. We budgeted $190,000 in profit for August, but the actual result was only $114,500. We thought we had developed realistic monthly budgets. I know sales were down some, but I’m not sure that is the only problem there is. I am not one who believes that favorable variances are always “good” and unfavorable variances are always “bad.” [See the In Action item, “When a Favorable Variance Might Not Mean ‘Good’ News.”] I need more information from the analysis if I am going to turn things around. What I need to know is whether we should focus on improving the marketing of the division or if we need to take a look at our manufacturing operations. We don’t have a lot of extra resources here at Corporate, so I have asked Philippe [Broussard, the president of Bayou] to identify the primary cause of the shortfall—revenues or costs—and report back to me next week. If Bayou can’t improve, we may have to dispose of...
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...Exchange rate determination model as discussed by Alan C. Stockman A. Stockman did propose an alternative equilibrium explanation of ex- change rate behavior. The explanation is based on a model of the simultaneous determination of exchange rates and relative prices of different goods in international trade in an intertemporal framework with uncertainty and rational expectations. The model emphasizes the role of relative price changes, caused by real disturbances, in determining the behavior of exchange rates and integrates the important issues discussed by the traditional "elasticity theorists" into a general equilibrium framework. 2. In the model developed in his paper, explains exchange rates may be volatile and can exhibit auto correlated deviations from purchasing power parity, even though prices freely adjust to clear markets. Ex- change rate changes may appear to cause relative price changes and generate additional uncertainty even when all markets are in equilibrium. Nevertheless ,the relationship between the exchange rate and the terms of trade cannot be exploited by government exchange rate policies.-' 3. The model shows how a change in the terms of trade caused by relative supply or demand shifts is divided between nominal price changes in each country and an exchange rate change, creating a correlation between the exchange rate and the terms of trade. The greater the changes in the terms of the trade and the larger the role of changes in the exchange rate in...
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...Extreme Business-Models in the Clothing Industry - A Case Study of H&M and ZARA Kristianstad University The Department of Business Studies FE6130 Bachelor Dissertation International Business Program December 2007 Tutors: Håkan Phil Timurs Umans Authours: Susanne Göransson Angelica Jönsson Michaela Persson Abstract In the clothing industry firms compete successfully by applying different businessmodels. H&M and ZARA are two extremes in the clothing industry. H&M’s business-model mainly focuses on outsourcing and ZARA’s business-model mainly focuses on in-house production. The problem is that the existing theories alone cannot explain why two firms competing in the same environment under the same conditions choose different business-models. The purpose of this dissertation is to further expand the idea of why the two clothing firms H&M and ZARA chose different business-models. Our set of Complementarities for H&M and ZARA are based on the information derived from studying theories, the EU clothing industry and the two firms. Finally, Complementarities were analysed by conducting interviews. Our Complementarities partly explain why H&M and ZARA chose different business-models. However, our analysis is applicable for H&M and ZARA since the Complementarities are based on characteristics found in these two firms. The value of Complementarities can be used by other firms if they find their specific characteristics. Keywords: business-models, internalization, governance...
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...system and operation|operation system at same time. | | |function, such as check |system can work well as | | | |inventory; |expected. | | | | | | | | |3) Place order more flexible; | | | | | | | | |Corporate Business |1) Response customer demand |1) Cost more to keep women, |1) Share the public resource for the same | |Model – Centralized and |fast; |men, and kids three full...
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