Definition and Examples of Denominal Nouns

Definition and Examples of Denominal Nouns A denominal  noun  is a noun that is formed from another noun, usually by adding a suffixsuch as villager (from village), New Yorker (from New York), booklet (from book), limeade (from lime), lectureship (from lecture), and librarian (from library). Many denominal nouns are context sensitive (see Contextual Constructions, below). Examples and Observations Nouns like Nixonite, bicycler, and saxophonist are formed from concrete nouns like Nixon, bicycle, and saxophone by derivation. There is a plethora of idiomatic cases of this sort in English, but what innovative examples mean can vary enormously from one occasion to the next, depending on certain cooperative measures between the speaker and addressees. Each has an unlimited number of possible meanings, or so it appears. Denominal nouns, then, although they have stricter requirements than, say, possessives or compound nouns, are also contextual expressions. (Herbert H. Clark, Arenas of Language Use. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1992)The fact that a denominal noun is not the result of a direct derivation from the action itself may explain the difficulties in interpreting denominal formations. The meaning of denominal nouns may not be directly related to the action performed by the referent... (Alexander Haselow, Typological Changes in the Lexicon: Analytic Tendencies in English Noun Formati on. Walter de Gruyter, 2011) Contextual Constructions Contextual constructions arent merely ambiguous, having a small fixed set of conventional meanings. They have in principle an infinity of potential non-conventional interpretations, each built around a conventional meaning of the word or words it is derived from...  Contextual constructions rely on an appeal to contextto the participants common ground. They always require non-conventional coordination for their interpretation. (Herbert H. Clark, Using Language. Cambridge University Press, 1996) Deverbals and Denominals: Nouns Formed With the Suffix -ant Let us turn to the deverbal person noun forming affix -ant (defendant), which denotes a personal or material agent. . . . [P]ossible verbal bases involve those ending in -ify, -ize, -ate, and -en. A look at Lehnert (1971) and the OED shows that, almost without exception . . ., these verbs are subject to the domain of agentive noun forming -er/or. The rival suffix -ant has a somewhat peculiar distribution, since its attachment is partly lexically governed (i.e. unproductive) and partly rule-governed and productive. In the semantically distinguishable domains of medical/pharmaceutical/chemo-technical and legal/corporate jargon, -ant can be used productively to form words denoting substances and persons, respectively, as evidenced by the following examples disinfectant, repellant, consultant, accountant, defendant, to mention only a few. (Ingo Plag, Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation. Mouton de Gruyter, 1999) Related Reading AffixAffixationAnthimeriaContextConversion Denominal Adjective  and  Denominal Verb DerivationNeologismNominalizationVerbingWord Formation

Ecnomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ecnomics - Essay Example This universal phenomenon leads to the definition of economics as the science of allocation of scarce resources." To understand more clearly, lets understand that we have three factors of resources that are necessary to for production process as described in (Sloman: 2006, p. 4): Human resources: labor. The labor force is limited both in number and in skills. Natural resources: land and raw materials. The world’s land area is limited, as are its resources. Manufactured resources or capital. Capital consists of all those inputs that have themselves been produced in the first place. The world has a limited stock of capital: a limited supply of factories, machines, transportation and other equipment. The productivity of capital is limited by the state of technology. Hence, scarcity arises due to comparative unlimited human wants in the limited set of available resources to satisfy these wants. In other words, in free market economy scarcity occurs either because of increase in de mand or decrease in supply. Economics, deals with issues arises due to ‘scarcity’; distribution of resources and products among individuals or societies, regions or countries of the world. Investorwords (2011) defines â€Å"Free market system† as a system in which, â€Å"Business governed by the laws of supply and demand, not restrained by government interference, regulation or subsidy†, or â€Å"a foreign exchange market that is not controlled by the government†. Also known as pure capitalist system; where individuals are free to make their demand decisions. The decisions of consumers and firms pertaining to the demand and supply of goods are transmitted to each one of them via the effect of these decisions on prices. This in turn, sets the equilibrium price level in the economy. Hence, prices are set via free interaction of demand and supply of goods and services, in a market where consumers are free to make their own choices according to their ow n income levels, firms are free to supply what they decide according to their own investment. The present world markets are likely to be known as mixed economies where minimal government interference to run the economic system exists with the help of businesses. United States, however, is a good example of free market system where government intervention is minimal and mostly prices are determined through market forces of demand and supply. Command system or planned economy is defined in investorwoods (2011) as: â€Å"an economy where supply and price are regulated by the government rather than market forces. Government planners decide which goods and services are produced and how they are distributed. The former Soviet Union was an example of a command economy†. Command economies are usually recognizable in places where the presence of socialist or communist systems of economy exists. It is in these economic systems that land and capital are collectively owned. State is the sole decision maker. It decides how to allocate resources for the future trends and also for the current ongoing requirements of the economic system. The State also governs the generation and distribution between customers of output from each industry and firm. In these centrally planned economies, the government could achieve high growth rates by allocating resources into investments; and could minimize unemployment levels by critically planning the allocation of labor according to the production levels and labor skill levels,

Compare and contrast the views of Meyer and Bok on the issues of Essay

Compare and contrast the views of Meyer and Bok on the issues of medical professional lying to patients. State and explain the similarities and differences in their views - Essay Example the disclosure of bad news to patients is a very difficult process; hence, it is beneficial for medical practitioners to adopt a neutral mentality between always telling the truth and never telling the truth when disclosing information to the patient. Bok however, is firm on the viewpoint that it is necessary for doctors to sometimes lie to the patient when certain conditions are met. He however does not agree with Meyer’s statement that truthfulness is impossible. She perceives it as failure to differentiate between the truth from truthfulness. Though she disagrees with this statement, in my opinion some similarities with Meyer’s viewpoint exist. Meyer believes that the truth cannot always be clearly defined hence; it cannot always be presented to the patient (Meyer, n.d). In this case Meyer provides the example of conditions that are terminal at time of disclosure, however, may have a cure in the near future. It coincides with Bok’s example of telling the patient he has at least four months to live, instead of telling him that he will die in four months. The fact that he will live for four months is verified, however, the fact that he will die isn’t. Meyer believes that patients may ask for the truth meanwhile they do not actually want the truth and simply want to gain confidence from the good news. However, Bok believes it is an empirical fact that patients want to hear the truth about their condition and doctors have no right or justification to withhold information on the assumption that patients actually prefer it (Bok, n.d). Bok agrees with Meyers’s view that the truth may sometimes harm the patient. Meyer refers to this as ‘therapeutic privileged’. However, Bok believes that this claim by Meyer is exaggerated and benefits from telling the truth exist and are not given sufficient attention. Bok believes that telling the patient the truth allows him or her to decide what steps to take forward in his or her treatment process. She allows

The Iliad Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Iliad - Assignment Example On a different level, patriarchy represents different configurations of male interaction, within a society that is male-centered and based on power relationships. It may relate to father-son but it may also be an ‘older-younger man’ connection. Homer clearly sees the rule of the father as a desirable situation, but this dominance is not always benign, as evidenced even among the Gods in the relationship between Zeus and Hephaestus (I. 571 pp). Within the Iliad, all men are subject to the laws patriarchy, with the kings enjoying father-son relationships with Gods. Thus ‘Zeus is hard: who before this time promised me and consented†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ that Agamemnon might sack Ilion. Now he is punished ‘in dishonor having lost so many people’ (IX. 19pp). Like a father, Zeus offers or withholds approval. Here we have the example of the stern, exacting father but when Priam morns Hector, whose body is dragged around the grave of Patroklos every day by Achilles, Zeus mediates between Hera and Apollo to bring help to Priam (XXIV, 64pp). So, kings may be sons of the Gods but there are also times when they may need to bow to humans in supplication, as Priam does, when he clutches the knees of Achilles in great distress, like a son might do (XXIV, 476 pp). And this is not the only time, when Achilles acts like a father.

Strategies for Motivating Employees

Strategies for Motivating Employees How to identify unmotivated employees and help them become motivated: Some strategies for managers. An employee who is well motivated is able to produce better results quicker and is also much more creative. There are many problems that exist in the workplace. Motivation is a subject that everyone will come across and it is common to be placed in a situation where you will need to work with a colleague or subordinate who suffers from a lack of motivation. It is important for an employer to know how to deal and overcome any issues arising from motivational problems so they can make the most of their most important asset (their employees); this paper will look to analyse and overcome these problems. The first thing an employer needs to do is have a clear understanding of what motivation is. Wikipedia defines motivation as â€Å"having the desire and willingness to do something† (Wikipedia, 2007). One book states â€Å"Motivation is a state of readiness or eagerness to change, which may fluctuate from one time or situation to another, This state is one that can be influenced† (Motivation, Rob Long 2005). Taking that into account a prominent American Psychologist, Abraham H Maslow (1908-1970) the inventor of Maslows Motivation Theory, stated that mans behaviour is controlled by â€Å"Internal† and â€Å"External† forces. This report will focus heavily on the Internal and External forces as they are extremely pertinent to understanding differences in motivation problems. Which leads to my personal definition of motivation as having the willingness, eagerness or desire to change or to do something that you need or are required to do by factors and influen ces that are not only External (environment) , but Internal (feelings, emotions) as well. Understanding that motivation also comes down to the individual and how they react and relate to certain situations is very important as well. Some possible signs that an employee is suffering from motivational problems are that their productivity is low, they have a lot of sick days and they look unhappy. At this point a manager may be thinking about why you should bother about motivating employees that are already paid to do the job that is required of them. A manager needs to forget any negative thoughts towards an employee and do what is best for the employee as they are the most important asset any company has. One article states that â€Å"a common mistake when dealing with motivation problems is to quickly jump ahead to solutions without knowing what is causing the problem† (Motivation Management, Green, 2000). If a manager has limited knowledge of the employees problem you are probably less likely to be successful in helping that employee than if you investigate the situation with the employee. If a manager can see that an employee looks unhappy the best thing for a manager to do is talk to him or her. Any relationship counsellor will tell you how important communication is being it in a professional or personal relationship. Motivation Management states that there are three types of motivation problems; lack of confidence, lack of trust and lack of satisfaction (Motivation Management, Green, 2000). After researching I have found it valid and essential to add a fourth motivational problem being lack of hope. I will compare these problems with Maslows Internal and External forces theory. If an employee has a lack of hope (neither influence) they have no will to succeed in or do the job. This could stem from any other motivational problem but is to a point where the employee will never (mangers opinions may vary) be able to be turned around. Whilst this happens only in extreme cases it is something that can be identified, investigated (sit down with the employee and ask why it has come to this) and prevented from happening again. If a manager is experiencing multiple cases of lack of hope, maybe other sources could be looked at such as Human Resources and Recruitment. â€Å"All the motivation in the world wont make people stay, if youve hired the wrong people† says Terry Harris President of Chicago Consulting (Motivating Customer Service Employees, Harps 1993). If an employee has lack of confidence (internal influence) he or she does not have enough trust or belief in his or her abilities. This is very self explanatory in this situation you are better off giving the employee some responsibility which in turn helps them overcome their confidence issues. Be sure to be there to assist as they will probably require your guidance from time to time. If an employee has lack of trust (both internal and external influences) they dont have enough faith in something; generally an employee will have a lack of trust in an employer or manager. Empowering Supervisors by Ern Prentice Gordon Rabey state that an employees performance largely depends on the competence and effectiveness of their immediate supervisor. Most books on motivation or empowerment tend to agree on the fact that if you ha ve a weak/incompetent leader, that your overall motivation will be low. Managers can also have a lack of trust towards their employees. The most common time this would occur would be in a strict and well disciplined working environment. An American Mill company called Nucor introduced a management style which saw an increase of profit and dividends to shareholders exceed almost 400%. They ensured managers abandoned the command and control model (charismatic approach) of leadership and go towards a worker responsibility environment. They also ensured that they shared corporate wealth with their employees. (The Art of motivation, 2006). Using the Nucor example we can determine that employees will trust a manager if the manager takes the first step and shows trust towards the employee first. This creates trust for the employee and helps eliminate any mistrust that might have existed. An example for a manager to create trust could be to (where possible) let the employee set their own wo rking hours or days, and give them flexibility with rules in the workplace, and have them aware of repercussions if they fail to meet any reasonable deadlines they themselves set out. If an employee has lack of satisfaction then they are generally not happy with the external influences revolving around their job role. Psychologist Frederick I Herzberg (1923-2000) introduced the Motivator Hygiene Theory, which states that demotivators (Isolation, poor working conditions continual pressure) need to be reduced and motivators (good pay, controlling own work (empowerment) and varied work) need to be increased. Some ways to increase satisfaction is to have an emphasis on teamwork and helping each other. It is important to ensure that employees feel they are a part of the greater good of the company and that without their input and work deadlines would be missed. Whilst pay and benefits are a good way to increase job satisfaction many surveys and research would indicate it is less importa nt to employees. One study of what motivates 31 000 men ad 13 000 women employed in the Minneapolis Gas Company between 1945-1965 shows that pay was not among the top factors but Security, advancement, type of work and being a part of a company they are proud to work for were. (http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/index.html) Managers should now have a good understanding of how motivation works in the workplace and where to start should an employee have a motivational problem. It is very important however to remember to talk to an employee, as communication is the most important aspect in any working relationship and as a manager you are responsible for taking the first step every time. References in Alphabetical Order: Maslow, A.H (1943) Conflict, frustration and the theory of threat. J.abnorm. (soc.) Psychol, 1943, 38, 81-86. ATHERTON J S (2005) Learning and Teaching:   Motivation    [On-line] UK: Available: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/motivation.htm   Accessed: 25 March 2007 HERZBERG F (1966) Work and the Nature of Man Cleveland: World Publishing Company   Leslie Hansen Harps (1993) Motivating Customer Service Employees: The cutomer service Empowering Supervisors by Ern Prentice Gordon Rabey The art of motivation, Business week, New york (May 1st 2006) Iss 3982 pg 56. http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/index.html 2007 â€Å"MOTIVATION 2020† – or – how to constitute and properly motivate a successful and efficient work team in 2020? What factors will influence an employees satisfaction and motivation in 2020? Teodora Paligorova Wikipedia

Modern Russia and The Soviet Union: Stalin :: Russian Russia History

Modern Russia and The Soviet Union: Stalin Modern Russia and The Soviet Union: Stalin's character was the main reason for his rise to power Stalin was born as Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili on December 21, 1879 in Gori, Georgia. He grew up in a mountain town of about 5,000 people. He was the third and only surviving child of Vissarion Dzhugashvili and Catherine Geladze. His father used to drink and beat him and his mother; this made Stalin very cold hearted. A friend commented on his behaviour, "Those undeserved and fearful beatings made the boy as hard and heartless as his father". His father died in a brawl when Stalin was only 11. Stalin was enrolled in the village at school at the age of eight. He was an intelligent student and was top of his class. He read many books, which glorified Georgian's past. Georgia was an independent country until the Russian Tsars conquered it. One book that had a deep affect on Stalin was a book similar to that of Robin Hood. His name was Koba and he hated the Russians and avenged their crimes against the Georgians. His acts were very ruthless and bloody. Stalin began to call himself Koba and this caught on with his friends. He was later to take on this pseudonym when he was in hiding from the tsar's police. By 1894, Stalin had finished all of his schooling and had received a scholarship to the theological seminary in Tiflis, the capital of Georgia. The theological seminary building was dark and depressing. The students could have no privacy and were spied on by the Russian Orthodox monks. The monks also checked their rooms to see what they were reading and carefully scheduled each day, with prayer and study. Students had only one short break in the afternoon where they would go into the city under strict supervision. At first Stalin seemed to fit in with the strict schedule. He did well in his schoolwork and received the highest marks for conduct. He found time to write poetry of which were romantic and nationalistic, these poems were published in a Georgian magazine devoted to the preservation of Georgian culture. Gradually Stalin became frustrated under the harsh regime. Years later, Stalin told an interviewer "In protest against the outrageous....methods prevalent in the seminary, I was ready to become, and actually did become, a revolutionary." In 1898 Stalin took his first step towards a revolutionary lifestyle when he joined a Marxist group in Tiflis.

Compare and Contrast Buddhism and Christianity Essay

People have believed many different things among the history. Some ancient people believed the sun, fire, evil, god or gods, sculptures †¦ etc. And some of them not needed to believe in such things. The main reason they believe such that things is their weaknesses under the nature. They cannot understand the natural events and they think there must be a honorable power that controls the nature and the universe. These led people to believe in religions. There were many religions people believed in the history. Two of these are christianity and buddhism. They have different and similar features in them. We can compare and contrast them in different categories. Buddhism and Christianity are two of the world’s greatest and most influential religions. The Christian religion, like all other religions has its strengths and weaknesses in our modern society. Perhaps the strengths out weight the weaknesses as this is one of the largest religions in the world. Hundreds of people follow the Catholic/Christian religion yet still a greater number follow yet other religions. Perhaps this is because they see the weaknesses or perhaps it is simply because their parents have taught them that it is a sin to follow this religion. We define as â€Å"Christian† any person or group who thoughtfully, sincerely, prayerfully regard themselves as Christian. This is the definition that pollsters use. However, it includes the full range of faith groups who consider themselves to be Christians, including Assemblies of God members, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, United Church members, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, etc. Many Christians have a much less inclusive definition of the term â€Å"Christian.† Buddhism is an offspring of Hinduism, and it is similar in many ways to Hinduism. It began in India in about the 6th century B.C. and from there it spread throughout Asia. Today it is found mainly in Japan, China, and the Far East. Very few people in India itself are Buddhists today. The system was begun by Gautama Buddha. He was born about 563 B.C. and raised in a very wealthy family where he was protected from problems and suffering. Later he was exposed to suffering and became concerned with the cause of it. At age 29 he left his wife and son to seek a solution.He tried and rejected both Hinduism and extreme self-deprival (asceticism). After 6 years of seeking, he arrived at the system that became Buddhism. He established an order of monks and one of nuns devoted to his plan of  overcoming suffering, then he spent the rest of his life as a wandering religious teacher. Buddhists do not share most of the core beliefs of historical Christianity. Buddhism does not completely reject the Hinduism Gods, it does not see them necessary. At the same time, Christianity has its one and only God, who comes in three faces, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. The Christian founder, Jesus Christ was the Son of The Father, God, while the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama was a normal human being, who achieved enlightenment through meditation and later on was referred to as The Buddha. This brings us to the second major difference, the existence of the supernatural. Buddhism, Christianity and all of the other major world religions share a basic rule of behavior which governs how they are to treat others. Both of these religions are mostly accepted by people who are under pressure of the strong people. Buddhism worships either no god or else false gods. It teaches that man must save himself over a period of many lives by human effort.The gospel provides the only true way to worship the only true God. It provides a way for man to be forgiven by the death of the Son of God who paid the penalty for our sins. To receive the benefit, we must trust Jesus and obey Him in this life. Then we have the hope of eternal life.

Cost Accounting

Publication, any stake or omission that may have crept in is not intentional. It may be taken note of that neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any damage or loss of any kind arising to anyone in any manner on account of such errors and omissions. Leaser Type Seated by : Banyan College Printing Department Preface am glad to present this book, especially designed to serve the needs of the students. The book has been written keeping in mind the general weakness in understanding the fundamental concept of the topic.The book is self-explanatory and adopts the â€Å"Teach Yourself† style. It is based on question-answer pattern. The language of book tried to cover all the basic topics of Software Engineering like Analysis, Project Management, Quality Testing and Designing. Any further improvement in the contents of the book by making corrections, omission and inclusion is keen to be achieved based on suggestions from the reader for which the author shall be o bliged. I acknowledge special thanks to Mr.. Eraser Banyan, Chairman & Dry. Sandy Banyan, Director (Cad. Banyan Group of Colleges, who is the backbone and main concept provider and also have been constant source of motivation throughout this endeavor, who played an active role in coordinating the various stages of this endeavourer and spearheaded the publishing work. I look forward to receiving valuable suggestions from professors of various educational institutions, other faculty members and the students for improvement of the quality of the book. The reader may feel free to send in their comments and suggestions to the under mentioned address.Author Theoretical QuestionQ. L What do you mean by Cost? Anus.Cost meaner account of expenditure incurred upon manufacturing of an article or providing any service.Q. 2 Q. 3 What do you understand by costing. What is meant by cost accounting. Anus. Costing is the technique and process of determining cost. Anus. Cost accounting is the provisi on of such analysis and classification of expenditure as will enable to ascertain the total cost of any particular unit of production.Q. 4 Mention name of four product for which order for cost audit is issued. Cement Industry Sugar Industry (2) (4) Electric Industry Factor Industry (3)Q. 5 Anus. (1) What is meant by supplementary cost? What is opportunity cost? Name four method of costing. Unit costing Operating costing Contract costing Process costing (2) (3) (4) Anus. Supplementary cost is the cost of product other than direct cost.Q. 6 Q. 7 Anus. The value of opportunity for gone is known as opportunity cost. Anus. (1) Explain Cost Unit? Explain term cost centre? Anus. Cost unit is a measurement of any goods or service e. G. Per ton km. Per unit. Anus. Cost centre is a location or item of any equipment which are connected with an undertaking for which cost are ascertained. Q. II Difference between costing & cost accounting. Anus. 1) Costing is a dynamic technique in which changes may take place control the cost of manufactured goods. Fore more detail:- http://www. Group. Com 2) Costing include determination of cost. Cost accounting include recording expenditure and income. (3) Costing meaner technique for determination of cost whereas cost accounting meaner adoption of accounting system of cost. Q. Al Give two items which are not include in cost. Anus. Non cost items are profit on sale of fixed asset, goodwill w/o. Discount on issue of share etc.Q. 12 What is the difference between cost of goods sold and cost of production.Anus. Cost of production meaner prime cost + works overhead + office overheard while cost of goods sold meaner cost of production + opening stock of E. G. – closing stock of finished goods.Q. 13 Write two objective of material control. Anus. (1) (2) control cost of inventory. Provide material at right time.Q. 14 What is normal wastage of material? Anus. Normal wastage of material meaner any wastage due to normal reason like evapora tion.Q. 1 5 What is abnormal wastage? Anus. Any wastage arise due to abnormal. Reason like loss by fire, loss by earthquake.Q. 16 What is BBC technique? Anus.It is a technique to control under these material classified three parts ABA & C A include high value material B include. Medium value material and C include low value material.Q. 17 What is SIT purchase. Anus. Under this quinine no stock maintain and material purchase when having its demand.Q. 18 What is economic order quantity ? Anus. Economic order quantity is that quantity of material where ordering & carrying cost minimum.Q. 19 What is meant by wages abstracts? Anus. It is a statement and it include detail of wages prepare by cost department with the help of time card, wages sheet.Q. 20 What is idle time? Anus. Idle time meaner no production hour but wages paid for that time. Fore more detail:- http://www. Group. ComQ. 21 Name the method of giving remuneration to workers. Anus. (1) (2) (3) (4) Time rate method. Piece rate method. Piece rate with guaranteed pay rate Differential piece rate method. No of cooperation x Bag No of workers 100Q. 22 How labor separation rate is computed. Anus. Labor turnover rate =Q. 23 What do you understand by time study? Anus. Time study is useful is determination of time require by an average worker in a Job.Q. 4 Write the formula of Halley-weir premium plan. AT X RATE + [30% of TTS x rate]Q. 25 What is meant by overhead?Under this clause contract price will change in proportion to change in price of material labor & other expenses.Q. 33 What is meant by retention money? Anus. In case of incomplete contract a part of the certified work is paid by the contracted to contractor. Rest of the amount is known as retention money.Q. 34 Mention the names of industries where process costing method may be used. Anus. (1) (2) (3) (4) Chemical industries Mining industries. Water & Gas Industries Electric supplyQ. 37 Define Joint product Anus. Joint product is same type of product eq ual importance & value Cost Accounting Harvard Business School 9-192-068 Rev. May 1, 1993 DO A Brief Introduction to Cost Accounting T NO Organizations and managers are almost always interested in and concerned about costs. Control of past, present, and future costs is part of every manager’s job. In companies that try to earn profits, control of costs directly affects the amount of profit earned. Knowledge of the cost of products or services is indispensable for decisions about pricing or product and service mix. In nonprofit organizations, control of costs influences the level of services that can be provided and the future survival of the organization.Cost accounting systems can be important sources of information for managers. For this reason, effective managers understand the strengths and limitations of cost accounting systems and actively participate in the evaluation and evolution of cost measurement and management systems. Unlike accounting systems that support the preparation of periodic financial reports , cost accounting systems and reports are not subject to rules or standards such as generally accepted accounting principles. Managers are permitted to exercise as much creativity and ingenuity as they wish in the quest for information on costs.As a result, there is much variety in cost accounting systems used in different companies and sometimes even in different parts of the same organization. PY CO This brief introduction to cost accounting will review the principal uses of cost data, provide some vocabulary for cost accounting, and present several of the questions managers have to answer in designing or using a cost accounting system. Its purpose is to provide the beginner with some vocabulary and ideas to use in learning about and exploring how cost management systems are designed and used by managers.While many of the references are to products and manufacturing environments, the vocabulary and concepts are equally applicable to services. Some Uses of Information About Costs I nformation about costs is used for two purposes in most organizations. Cost accounting systems provide information for evaluating the performance of an organizational unit or its manager. They also provide a means for estimating the costs of units of product or service that the organization may manufacture or provide to others. Professor William J. Bruns, Jr. prepared this note as the basis for class discussion. Copyright  © 1991 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies, call (617) 495-6117 or write the Publishing Division, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA 02163. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 1 192-068 A Brief Introduction to Cost Accounting Performance MeasurementDO Reports on the costs incurred by part of an organiza tion—department or a division, for example—are one means by which efficiency and effectiveness can be evaluated. By comparing actual costs to those that were expected—to standard costs or budgeted costs—the degree to which costs have been controlled can be judged. Deviations from expectations—variances—can be identified, evaluated, and discussed by managers. If needed, corrective actions can be taken or expectations can be modified to incorporate previously unexpected efficiencies.Performance measurement reporting is usually periodic and systematic. Costs are assigned to parts of an organization that are identified as cost centers. When managers are held accountable for the costs incurred in a cost center, they are sometimes called responsibility centers. Performance reports provide information on the achievement of established objectives, efficiency of operations, and opportunities for cost control or cost reduction. Performance reports are used for both information and performance measurement and evaluation. T NO Product Costs and the Cost of ServicesInventory cost In manufacturing companies, product costs must be measured to determine the cost of items transferred from work-in-process to finished goods inventory. To satisfy the demands created by the cost concept used in financial reporting, a cost accounting system must measure all of the costs of the manufacturing process and assign some part of those costs to each unit of product. The costs of obtaining, maintaining, and managing the manufacturing facility need to be added to the costs of material and productive labor that each unit requires.The former costs are called indirect costs, and the latter are called direct costs. Generally accepted accounting principles require that inventory cost includes a â€Å"fair share† of total manufacturing costs, including indirect costs. In practice, there is considerable variation in how indirect costs are assigned to products. Information on costs is indispensable for analyzing the profitability of a product or product line. Product cost information allows managers to evaluate contribution margin—the difference between price and variable costs—and gross margin—the difference between price and total product costs.Information about sales, marketing, and distribution costs allows managers to evaluate the profitability of a product or product line. Without good information about costs, managers have no way to associate net income with actions or products about which they make decisions and over which they exercise control. Profitability analysis PY CO In companies that offer more than one product or service, information about costs is a key to managing the mix of products or services offered to customers or clients.With cost and profitability information, a manager can direct sales and marketing effort to the most profitable products. Unprofitable products can be eliminated, re priced, or bundled with more profitable products. The importance of product line decisions to future profitability requires confidence that product costs have been accurately determined. Product mix Although prices are determined by market forces of supply and demand, product differentiation and marketing offer many managers some degree of latitude in setting prices.Product costs and trends in product costs often provide signals to managers that prices should be changed. In particular, a change in the cost of a critical material or component may signal the need to reconsider the prices asked for products. Pricing 2 A Brief Introduction to Cost Accounting 192-068 DO Cost of service Many products require the seller to provide additional services to customers. In such cases, information about the cost of services is as important to managers as product costs.The same is true for managers of companies or organizations that provide only services. Unless the cost of service is measured, th ere is no way to know if providing the service is profitable or not and whether changes in pricing or marketing strategy are needed. Cost Behavior T NO Basic knowledge about cost behavior is a prerequisite for understanding, using, or designing cost accounting or cost management systems. The level of cost can be a function of either or both the volume of activity or time when the cost is incurred.Because prices of material, labor, and other resources change as time passes, and because time allows changes in manufacturing methods or service delivery, comparing costs at two points in time can be informative about efficiency. However, understanding the effect of changes in volume on costs is essential to measuring, analyzing, and using information about costs for both performance measurement and product costing. Relation of Costs to Volume If a company changes the amount of product or service it provides to customers or clients, its total costs will usually change as well.If more produ ct is manufactured and sold, then we should expect the higher volume to cause costs to increase. However, in many instances, the increase in costs will not be proportional to the increase in product volume. To understand why, the concepts of variable costs and fixed costs must be understood. PY CO Variable costs A cost which changes in strict proportionality with volume is called a variable cost. That is, if volume increases by 50%, a variable cost will increase in total by 50% as well. Materials used to create a product are a common example of a variable cost item.The total cost of materials to manufacture 20 units is double the cost to manufacture 10 units. Nonvariable costs A cost that does not vary at all with volume is called a nonvariable, or fixed, cost. Over time the level of a fixed cost may change, but the change is independent of the volume of activity. Building rent is usually a nonvariable cost. The rent paid is independent of the number of units of product or service p roduced in the building or the number of customers served. Nonvariable costs can often be changed by management decisions, but they do not change simply because the volume of activity changes.Semivariable costs Many costs include a combination of variable costs and nonvariable costs. The total amount of these costs varies in the same direction as volume, but less than proportionately with changes in volume. Sometimes semivariable costs can be separated into a fixed portion and a variable portion by isolating elements of the cost. The total cost of driving an automobile is semivariable with respect to the number of miles driven, but the cost of gasoline, oil, tires, and maintenance may be variable, whereas insurance and registration fees are probably fixed.Often costs are assumed to be variable when they actually are incurred in chunks. Such costs, also known as step-function costs, are fixed for a range of volume of production but change in a chunk when volume drops below or exceeds the limits of the relevant range of volume. The costs of stockroom employees are often chunky. As volume of inventory or products increases, one stockroom employee may be able to handle material and finished goods until the volume level Chunky costs 3 192-068 A Brief Introduction to Cost Accounting ncreases to the point where another employee must be added. The new staffing level will then be sufficient even as volume rises further until another â€Å"step† is reached. Chunky costs and costs that are not easily related to volume measures usually require special analysis and management. DO Accounting for Costs Classifying Costs The word cost is used many different ways in accounting and by managers. For clarity, other words are often attached to the word cost to enhance its meaning. In cost accounting, costs are usually classified into two categories: direct costs and indirect costs.Direct costs can be specifically traced to or are caused by a product, project, organizational unit, or activity. Materials specifically used in the manufacture of a product are an example of a direct cost. Labor specifically employed to provide a service would be another example. Many direct costs are variable costs, but nonvariable costs can also be direct costs if they can be traced directly to a project, organizational unit, or activity. Direct costs T NO When a cost cannot be traced directly to a single product, project, organizational unit, or activity, it is classified as an indirect cost.The rental cost of a factory building making more than one product is an indirect cost with respect to each product. There is no feasible way to associate specifically an indirect cost with an individual unit or batch of products. Indirect costs Indirect costs are included in overhead cost, or burden. To account for the full cost of manufacturing products, some portion of the overhead cost must be associated with each unit of product. The methods by which overhead costs are associate d with products or services comprise the essence of most cost accounting systems. PY COAccounting for Direct Costs A simplified cost flow chart for a manufacturing company is shown in Exhibit 1. Resources are acquired for cash or on credit and are classified as materials, payroll, or overhead. Payroll, which is classified as indirect cost, becomes part of overhead. In the production process, material, labor, and overhead cost becomes the cost of work-in-process inventory. When completed, work in process becomes finished goods and, later, cost of goods sold. It is easy to understand the accounting for direct costs such as material and productive labor.As material is converted to product by the effort of production labor, the costs of material used and labor can be associated with products. As products are completed and transferred to finished goods and cost of goods sold, these direct costs are transferred with them. All the cost accountant has to do is keep track of how much materia l and labor cost is used in producing each unit of product. (Actually, this is a little more complicated than it may sound here, but this brief description captures the essence of the accounting process for these direct costs. ) 4 A Brief Introduction to Cost Accounting 192-068Accounting for Indirect Costs DO Accounting for indirect costs is more complicated than accounting for direct costs. Costs must be collected and associated with activities before they can be assigned to products. The relationship between expenditures or costs and products or services is often far from obvious. Assignment to activities is often based on arbitrary decisions about the possible relationships between the reason for an expenditure and an activity. For example, rent for a building that houses both manufacturing and sales activities might be assigned to each activity in the same ratio as the floor space occupied by each.Then, the manufacturing rent cost may be assigned to products manufactured using a measure of volume or some other measure of effort or activity. Almost all cost accounting systems use a two-stage procedure for assigning indirect costs to products or other cost objects. First, costs are assigned to cost centers, or cost pools. Second, costs are assigned from each pool to products using cost drivers. The concept of a cost driver is based on the idea that products drive the consumption of resources. T NO The first question that the cost accounting system designer has to answer concerns how many cost centers to use.Using more cost centers than necessary adds complexity and cost to the cost accounting process itself. But using too few cost pools can create a risk that assigned costs will have little relationship to the activities and products that caused the cost to be incurred and resources to be consumed. In a manufacturing plant, the number of cost pools needed may be as small as one if machines, labor, and products are homogenous, or the number needed may be much larger if there is greater diversity in activities or products. In some manufacturing plants, each department, or even each machine, may be treated as a separate cost center. PY COThe second set of questions the cost accounting system designer has to answer concerns how to assign costs to each cost center or cost pool. Expenditures for indirect costs may be assigned based on direct labor cost, floor space, headcounts, or direct costs. More complex systems will attempt to implement as much direct charging to each cost pool as possible by using actual measures of the resources used by each cost center. The third set of questions the cost accounting system designer has to answer concerns how to assign the costs collected for each cost center to the products that are manufactured by or pass through that center.Often the costs are assigned in proportion to the use of a resource that is easily measured. Each unit product may be assigned the same proportion of indirect cost as it consumes labor time, labor cost, machine time, or material cost, for example. Given the number and complexity of choices facing the cost accounting system designer and the fact that there are no constraining â€Å"generally accepted principles of cost accounting,† it should be obvious that there is great diversity in the cost accounting systems used by different organizations.A new manager or employee has no choice but to learn about the systems the company uses before using the cost information the system has produced. Every manager has to be continually alert to be sure the cost information available is the right information for the decision or task at hand. 5 Material Inventory Payroll Other Asset and Liability Accounts Overhead PY CO Cash Acquiring Resources Cost Flow Chart for a Manufacturing Company Work-in-Process Inventory Production Finished Goods Inventory T NO Exhibit 1 192-068 Cost of Goods Sold Sale of Products DO -6- Cost Accounting Publication, any stake or omission that may have crept in is not intentional. It may be taken note of that neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any damage or loss of any kind arising to anyone in any manner on account of such errors and omissions. Leaser Type Seated by : Banyan College Printing Department Preface am glad to present this book, especially designed to serve the needs of the students. The book has been written keeping in mind the general weakness in understanding the fundamental concept of the topic.The book is self-explanatory and adopts the â€Å"Teach Yourself† style. It is based on question-answer pattern. The language of book tried to cover all the basic topics of Software Engineering like Analysis, Project Management, Quality Testing and Designing. Any further improvement in the contents of the book by making corrections, omission and inclusion is keen to be achieved based on suggestions from the reader for which the author shall be o bliged. I acknowledge special thanks to Mr.. Eraser Banyan, Chairman & Dry. Sandy Banyan, Director (Cad. Banyan Group of Colleges, who is the backbone and main concept provider and also have been constant source of motivation throughout this endeavor, who played an active role in coordinating the various stages of this endeavourer and spearheaded the publishing work. I look forward to receiving valuable suggestions from professors of various educational institutions, other faculty members and the students for improvement of the quality of the book. The reader may feel free to send in their comments and suggestions to the under mentioned address.Author Theoretical QuestionQ. L What do you mean by Cost? Anus.Cost meaner account of expenditure incurred upon manufacturing of an article or providing any service.Q. 2 Q. 3 What do you understand by costing. What is meant by cost accounting. Anus. Costing is the technique and process of determining cost. Anus. Cost accounting is the provisi on of such analysis and classification of expenditure as will enable to ascertain the total cost of any particular unit of production.Q. 4 Mention name of four product for which order for cost audit is issued. Cement Industry Sugar Industry (2) (4) Electric Industry Factor Industry (3)Q. 5 Anus. (1) What is meant by supplementary cost? What is opportunity cost? Name four method of costing. Unit costing Operating costing Contract costing Process costing (2) (3) (4) Anus. Supplementary cost is the cost of product other than direct cost.Q. 6 Q. 7 Anus. The value of opportunity for gone is known as opportunity cost. Anus. (1) Explain Cost Unit? Explain term cost centre? Anus. Cost unit is a measurement of any goods or service e. G. Per ton km. Per unit. Anus. Cost centre is a location or item of any equipment which are connected with an undertaking for which cost are ascertained. Q. II Difference between costing & cost accounting. Anus. 1) Costing is a dynamic technique in which changes may take place control the cost of manufactured goods. Fore more detail:- http://www. Group. Com 2) Costing include determination of cost. Cost accounting include recording expenditure and income. (3) Costing meaner technique for determination of cost whereas cost accounting meaner adoption of accounting system of cost. Q. Al Give two items which are not include in cost. Anus. Non cost items are profit on sale of fixed asset, goodwill w/o. Discount on issue of share etc.Q. 12 What is the difference between cost of goods sold and cost of production.Anus. Cost of production meaner prime cost + works overhead + office overheard while cost of goods sold meaner cost of production + opening stock of E. G. – closing stock of finished goods.Q. 13 Write two objective of material control. Anus. (1) (2) control cost of inventory. Provide material at right time.Q. 14 What is normal wastage of material? Anus. Normal wastage of material meaner any wastage due to normal reason like evapora tion.Q. 1 5 What is abnormal wastage? Anus. Any wastage arise due to abnormal. Reason like loss by fire, loss by earthquake.Q. 16 What is BBC technique? Anus.It is a technique to control under these material classified three parts ABA & C A include high value material B include. Medium value material and C include low value material.Q. 17 What is SIT purchase. Anus. Under this quinine no stock maintain and material purchase when having its demand.Q. 18 What is economic order quantity ? Anus. Economic order quantity is that quantity of material where ordering & carrying cost minimum.Q. 19 What is meant by wages abstracts? Anus. It is a statement and it include detail of wages prepare by cost department with the help of time card, wages sheet.Q. 20 What is idle time? Anus. Idle time meaner no production hour but wages paid for that time. Fore more detail:- http://www. Group. ComQ. 21 Name the method of giving remuneration to workers. Anus. (1) (2) (3) (4) Time rate method. Piece rate method. Piece rate with guaranteed pay rate Differential piece rate method. No of cooperation x Bag No of workers 100Q. 22 How labor separation rate is computed. Anus. Labor turnover rate =Q. 23 What do you understand by time study? Anus. Time study is useful is determination of time require by an average worker in a Job.Q. 4 Write the formula of Halley-weir premium plan. AT X RATE + [30% of TTS x rate]Q. 25 What is meant by overhead?Under this clause contract price will change in proportion to change in price of material labor & other expenses.Q. 33 What is meant by retention money? Anus. In case of incomplete contract a part of the certified work is paid by the contracted to contractor. Rest of the amount is known as retention money.Q. 34 Mention the names of industries where process costing method may be used. Anus. (1) (2) (3) (4) Chemical industries Mining industries. Water & Gas Industries Electric supplyQ. 37 Define Joint product Anus. Joint product is same type of product eq ual importance & value