... Amanpreet Mann SUBMITTED TO: Prof. Ting He CASE: Wilkerson Company Introduction Wilkerson Company is in the business of manufacturing valves, pumps and flow controllers. Wilkerson is currently faced with declining profit margins relative to industry competitors. Severe industry wise price cuts in the pump business, which is Wilkerson’s major product line, has badly affected the company’s margins (Gross margin below 20% as against a planned gross margin of 35%). The firm has identified the need to investigate its costing mechanisms and determine their credibility comparable to those exercised elsewhere in the market. The need of the hour for Wilkerson is to identify the proper mix of its product line to regain its profitability. Wilkerson is a quality leader, but this leadership may soon be contested be several competitors. Competitive firms have adopted a strategy of measuring profitability proportionate to the contribution margin i.e. price less variable cost. Wilkerson is considering adopting similar mechanisms and has multiple operational opportunities for re-measurement. Of particular concern, the question is whether Wilkerson’s cost inhibitive production of water purification pumps, and their inability to accurately assign the manufactured cost of the product relative to industry competitors, resulting in a 15% decline in total periodic gross margin?! The problem in the current pricing method used by Wilkerson is that the real manufacturing cost of each product...
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...WILKERSON COMPANY Executive Summary: The Wilkerson Company is not currently accounting correctly for their costs. They should be using an Activities Based Costing method and they will see that Flow Controllers are actually costing them significantly more than their other products and more than is reflected in their current accounting system. Actual gross margins will change noticeably with an Activities Based Costing system. Even operating at full capacity, Flow Controllers at the current price contribute only a .9% profit margin. Wilkerson Company managers have several options to choose from to change their company’s profitability. They have the opportunity to raise the price of Flow Controllers. They may choose to drop this product line completely, or raise the price significantly to achieve their target of 35% profit margin. What Wilkerson Company management views as an inexpensive way to allocate overhead costs is actually a very costly way, because it does not accurately reflect the profitability of their products. Attributing 300% overhead cost to each product is an inappropriate cost allocating method. Using their current method overhead activity is not in proportion to true variable costs. Wilkerson Company also has an opportunity to reduce costs and increase profitability by using unused capacity to reduce variable costs per unit. ------------------------------------------------- From Exhibit 1 Variable Costs are as follows: Machine-related expenses $336...
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...1. What is the competitive situation faced by Wilkerson? Wilkerson’s competitors have cut prices on their pumps, in order to maintain market share, Wilkerson also cut the price of their pumps. This dropped Wilkerson’s GM by about 15%. At the same time, Wilkerson was able to increase the price of their flow controllers by 10% without a drop in demand. The manufacturing manager now feels that the competitors’ valves are of equal quality as that of Wilkerson. Currently, the competitors have not changed their prices and GM has been maintained at 35%. Wilkerson should be aware that its competitors could start dropping the prices of their valves at which time, Wilkerson would need to drop their prices or lose market share. In essence, they would be in the same situation as they are in now with the pumps. 2. Given some of the apparent problems with Wilkerson’s cost system, should executives abandon overhead assignment to products entirely by adopting a contribution margin approach in which manufacturing overhead is treated as a period expense? Why or why not? The current method does not provide and accurate representation of the actual cost to produce the 3 products. The overhead rate is 300% and directly related to the labor costs. Many of the overhead hosts are actually batch level activities and not related to the number of units produced. While adopting the approach in which manufacturing overhead is treated as a period expense would be more accurate and...
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...of college. She is anticipating a large expense on books but is hoping to save some money on purchasing school supplies by looking at discount retailers instead of the college bookstore. Misty has found two companies, Company A and Company B, with some great back to school deals on school supplies. Company A is offering ten percent off each dollar spent on school supplies with no minimum purchase required. While that sounds like a great deal, Company B is offering twenty-five percent off all school supplies purchased after spending an initial one hundred dollars. While both options offer a great discount, Misty wants to determine which would save her the most money. Before moving any further, Misty must determine what her total bill for school supplies might be by identifying the items she will need to purchase and then totaling the final cost. Once that has been ascertained, she will need to calculate the possible savings on each plan to determine which one will be most cost effective. Task B In order to calculate the savings, Misty is going to let (y) represent to total cost of her school supplies after all discounts have been applied. She will use (d) to represent the discount percent she is going to receive from the company. As prices from each company are comparable, she has calculated the total cost of her school supplies to be $230.00 which will be represented as the variable (x). The following is an...
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...of college. She is anticipating a large expense on books but is hoping to save some money on purchasing school supplies by looking at discount retailers instead of the college bookstore. Misty has found two companies, Company A and Company B, with some great back to school deals on school supplies. Company A is offering ten percent off each dollar spent on school supplies with no minimum purchase required. While that sounds like a great deal, Company B is offering twenty-five percent off all school supplies purchased after spending an initial one hundred dollars. While both options offer a great discount, Misty wants to determine which would save her the most money. Before moving any further, Misty must determine what her total bill for school supplies might be by identifying the items she will need to purchase and then totaling the final cost. Once that has been ascertained, she will need to calculate the possible savings on each plan to determine which one will be most cost effective. Task B In order to calculate the savings, Misty is going to let (y) represent to total cost of her school supplies after all discounts have been applied. She will use (d) to represent the discount percent she is going to receive from the company. As prices from each company are comparable, she has calculated the total cost of her school supplies to be $230.00 which will be represented as the variable (x). The following is an algebraic...
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...determination. Southwest’s operations involves low cost methods to get customer to places while the culture focuses on promotion of its satisfaction-based culture- both internally and externally; people seem to love giving into the company more than they love the company’s returns. A big airline is most likely to be the competitor. It is very likely that the corporation can introduce a system of short-haul, cheap flights via a standardized fleet with ease. The billions in revenue generated from other divisions can provide the capital required; they can even have the option to operate at a loss for a while. The question, then, turns to one of sustaining this division by attracting customers from companies like Southwest. Besides setting low prices and attempt to maximize efficiency, the question becomes: can the division’s efficiency outstrip that of Southwest’s? As stated, Southwest’s culture inspires employees to work, thus productivity and efficiency increases. This is the key behind the company’s success: fostering culture and turning the results into profit. Can a big company replicate or build the culture? Replication is difficult because usually big wigs are reluctant to change their own culture of following rules to the letter like traditional big companies to an upbeat style of Southwest. Instead of satisfying customers, maximizing shareholder value takes priority and this choice could be detrimental to the divisions’ cause (shareholders may also not be happy at the prospect...
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...CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE How innovative companies are creating ways to build company culture while seeing tangible benefits. INTRODUCTION Creating the right culture for your company could be the best investment you ever make – and often, it doesn’t cost a dime. The world’s most innovative companies find hidden value by operating outside of established business culture. Time and time again, competitors are left asking, “How did they do that?” CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE The answer is simple: Culture. The right culture fosters innovation, finds talent in unexpected places, and empowers employees at all levels. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but the following examples from leaders of innovative company culture will help you adopt a mindset that inspires greatness. /02 CORPORATE CULTURE SECRETS OF FIVE COMPANIES EMPLOYEES LOVE FOSTERING INNOVATION WHILE DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff will just take care of itself. Tony Hsieh, Founder and CEO, Zappos.com /03 FOSTERING INNOVATION WHILE DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES Ideas From Everywhere (IFE) is a program for CareerBuilder employees, launched nearly 8 years ago as part of a company decision to adopt a strategy centered on innovation. In essence, employees are encouraged to submit their ideas for new businesses within the company. Their fellow employees are then asked to vote for the best idea...
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...Although the imminent success in the last few years,some issues have brought the company down. The pending issues that are troubling the company are the employees conditions abroad, the buying of reebok and it's sales drop last year 2012. In the website oxfam, which analyses the conditions of workers abroad, it is stated:" we asked Adidas to implement worker's rights in Indonesia". (Oxfam 1). The complaints relate to the the ongoing problems of not matching wages with the rising prices of food and supporting work abroad. This can become a greater issues because most manufacturing is done abrasive and foreign countries could rebel against western companies hence slowing down productions or damaging products. Source: https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/workers-rights/adidas/talking-with-adidas/ Another issue is the acquisition of Reebok, although buying another company cuts competition it also bring greater responsibilities. According to article on sportsdailybusiness.com Adidas has not gained any profit from Reebok rather loss. As it states in the article that since the acquisition in 2006, Adidas has struggled to raise to power the brad, commercial irregularities have been caught and it has suffered through the NHL lockout. Buying companies may eliminate competition but can bring great loss to the company if the other company itself is doing midly poor. Source: http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2012/11/09/Finance/adidas-Reebok.aspx Lastly but not least...
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...Examination Paper ESI Companies is a small company in Bartlett, Tennessee. ESI Companies is proud of their credit of providing tactical security specialist, and solutions to relieve threats to the environment. They install and build security systems in courthouse, detention facility, transportation hub, office building, and production plant. The company has partnered with private industry, law enforcement, military agencies, and correctional and detention facilities to keep their operating environments safe and secure from the threats of criminal activity and terrorism. Organizational Structure ESI Companies small business organizational structure is or can be a partnership. They are comfort of knowing their professional posses the needed skills and expertise to assist with the customers design and build techniques with courthouse, detention facility, office building, production plant, and others. They also partner with customers for facilities renovations, and maintenance of their security system regardless of any unique and challenging security needs. ESI Companies requires the customer partner in the design and implementation of their standards of operation intended to reduce the risks of security catastrophes. ESI Companies believe in working together to design, implement, build, install, and support state – of – the – art electronic surveillance and security equipment for the business run smoothly and successfully. Management and Leadership ESI Companies employs culturally...
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...Times| More |Log In|Join| Stocks ------------------------------------------------- Top of Form NewsStock Quote Bottom of Form ------------------------------------------------- Top of Form | | Bottom of Form | | Home News Markets IPO Personal Finance Mutual Funds Tech Jobs Opinion Features Blogs Slideshows ET PortfolioET SpeedET NOW Stocks Market Live Regulation Global Markets Forex IPOs/FPOs/Rights issues Bonds Money Markets Commodities Real Estate Analysis Market NewsStocks in NewsViews/RecommendationsStock QuotesMarket Calendar You are here: ET Home » Markets » Stocks » Stock Quotes » KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation Ltd. » Directors report * Summary * Prices * Financials * Reports * Company Info * News * Competitors * ET Buzz Tracker New Directors ReportChairman's SpeechFinished Products KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation Ltd. BSE: 533192NSE: KCPSUGINDEQ58888: kcpsi IND: SugarISIN code: INE790B01024SECT: Sugar BSELIVE03:40 PM | 26 Apr 2013 18.00 Change: -0.25(-1.37%)Volume: 4,357 Open: 18.35Prv. Close: 18.25 Today: 17.95 52-Wk: 14.50 18.35 26.00 Bid: 0.00(0) Offer: 0.00(0) NSELIVE03:31 PM | 26 Apr 2013 18.05 Change:-0.25(-1.37%)Volume: 17,561 Open: 18.25Prv. Close: 18.30 Today 17.80 52-Wk 14.70 18.50 26.05 Bid: 0.00(0) Offer: 0.00(0) You can view full text of the Director's Report for KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation Ltd. Director Report Mar2011 Mar...
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...information form several key employees within the organization in order to determine whether the merger will be profitable and allow the company continued growth. This analysis will include supporting calculations regarding the two companies becoming one. | Ladies and gentlemen I have been given the task of providing my recommendations as to our company (Merck), acquiring Medco. An evaluation of both companies will be completed so that I can provide accurate feedback as to the pros and the cons of the proposed merger. There will also be an analysis performed to determine the cost effectiveness and the potential synergy of the combined companies. Included in this recommendation you will find a (DCF) discounted cash flow, this will determine whether or not the post-merger company will have the ability to overcome any opposition that be in question. I will also be discussing the proposed strategy that we intend to take, should we agree to the merger. We will explore what works well for each organization and the best way to combine those efforts to maximize on continued growth for the organization. We here at Merck, being the world’s largest drug manufacturer and leader of research and development efforts, have determined that there has been tremendous growth in the area of managed care. Medco is the leading prescriptions benefits Management Company and marketer of mail order pharmaceuticals. It is noted that, experts predict that “90% of Americans will have drug costs included...
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...outs of internal controls. It will also tell why they are important not only to companies, but why they are important to investors, creditors, and even the public too. Internal controls are a serious of methods and measures that companies put in place to insure that errors or irregularities in the accounting process do not happen very often. In every company there is a chance of having one or more employees who are dishonest and may take from the company. Internal controls helps to keep this from happening on a regular basis. Internal controls have two primary goals. The first primary goal is to safeguard a company’s assets. This goal is to protect a company’s assets from being misused without permission, theft, and even robbery. The second goal of internal controls is to improve the consistency and correctness of a company’s accounting records. Internal controls accomplish this goal by decreasing the threat of errors or irregularities in the financial accounting process (Internal Controls, 2012). These two goals help make companies trust their employees and investors feel confident in their decision to invest in a company. Internal controls have not always been enforced. This is the reason for the collapse of Enron, Tyco, etc. The Sarbonese-Oxley Act (SOX) has helped make internal controls a requirement for all publically traded U. S. Corporations. SOX forces companies to pay attention even extra attention to their internal controls. The Sarbonese-Oxley...
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...orientations. No more is our country made up of only Caucasians and African Americans. Diversity is all around us and tolerance is what needs to be learnt by individuals, groups, and companies. The problem is that we all know that workforce diversity is something we can’t avoid, but many of us still try to. When someone doesn’t speak our dialect or eats different food in the lunchroom it can create uncertainty among people who are uncomfortable with “new.” It is people’s natural reactions and human instincts that make accepting new people who are different scary and unnerving. McDonalds, Dell and Boeing are three companies that have managed multicultural organizations well and continue to show other companies what a benefit it can be. Workforce diversity is a term that arose in the 1970’s and hasn’t stopped rearing its head to society. McDonalds was one of the first companies in the seventies that had a department devoted to affirmative action. Pat Harris is currently McDonald’s chief diversity officer overseeing an evolving diversity initiative. She existed with the company during the early stages of workforce diversity. Harris claims that she doesn’t use the word program to describe the company’s objective regarding diversity because it has a beginning and an end. Diversity is an ever-changing issue for the company and being flexible and open to new possibilities is important. Pat claimed that education would drive business and ensure that everyone understood variety in people. Educational...
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...Procter and Gamble (P&G). In the beginning, P&G had just supply soap and candles to the Union armies, but now it has become to a global manufacturing, distribution, and marketing company focusing on providing branded products with superior quality and value. It provided over 300 brands reaching consumers in about 140 countries. P&G is focusing on provided fashion, high quality products for consumers. In order to satisfy consumers, P&G segment its consumers into different group, such as age, gender, ethnicity, material status, and low income consumers. With the segmentation, P&G could analyze what consumers’ demand. Human’s living standard is improved rapidly. People is getting to pay more attention on cleaning products to keep their bodies clean and looking good. Most of the people thought that beauty/feminine care products were just for females, but actually the number of men spending time in front of the mirror, grooming themselves had increased. With the growing trend for men to use beauty products, P&G started manufacturing more products for them and try to satisfy their needs. For example, they designed the products so that they would attract male consumers, by using dark colors for the packaging so that it looked more masculine. P&G is always try to satisfy needs of consumers. With a company which had more than 100 years history, P&G was strong in brand quality reputation, price competition, scales of economic, variety of products, and brand recognition but it still...
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...“The dividend decision is unimportant to the wellbeing of a company.” Discuss Stock is a product of socialization production, and the earliest stock can be tracked back to 17th century. In terms of stock, dividend decision is an important concept, which can not be ignored. Dividend decision is defined as ‘Determines the division of earnings between payments to shareholders and retained earnings.’ ( http://finance.mapsofworld.com/corporate-finance/investment-decision/dividend.html ) Dividend decision is also called dividend policy, which has always been disputed. However, no matter how it is debated, dividend policy is very important to the healthy and orderly operation of a company. In the fist place,this essay will discuss the effect of different dividend policies on companies running, secondly indicate dividend decision should be changed to be fit for different growth periods and various investment opportunities, thirdly investigate how the refunding ability and cost of a company are affected by dividend policies, after that this paper will talks about the relationship between dividend decision and the structures of control rights to an enterprise, finally this article will evaluate the M&M theory and further prove that the importance of dividend policies for a corporation. There are diverse types of dividend policy, and each policy has different influence on corporations. Generally,Constant Payout Ratio (CPR), Constant Dollar Dividend Policy(CD), and Regular with...
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