Forest Hills Case Study Essay

According to the case materials, Forest Hill Paper Company is classified as a small manufacturer, and one that is â€Å"closely-held.† This could lead one to believe that it is possibly a family-owned business, or at least managed very actively by a few people. Ownership must be very hands on and aware of the business from a micro and macro level. Therefore, we would classify the company as a small business and ownership is probably structured by one or a few people who are very involved. FHPC could be even be an S-corp, depending on further information. Forest Hill operates in a very cyclical industry, with upswings every three to four years, according to the case. This is due to customers buying a lot of paper during good economic times. Customers overbuy and are left with inventories of paper, and therefore don’t buy for a while until another economic boom occurs. Therefore, the industry is very much affected by the overall macro economy. The industry is also being affected in terms of a loss of market share, because there is a trend toward plastic and the use of more environmentally friendly grades of recycled paperboard. One could argue that the industry and market is mature, and even declining. Another aspect to consider about this industry is that it is one that has barriers to entry. The costs of starting a manufacturing company are high. It is not an industry with small capital outlay. Also, there are regulations in manufacturing which could keep competition from arising. We read in the case that Forest Hills is a small company competing against bigger companies in a commodity market. Therefore, FHPC has taken the strategy of differentiation. They have tried to offer a comprehensive amount of products and services, but are trying to stand out from the crowd by offering exceptional service and rapid responses to customer needs. Unlike the bigger companies, FHPC could develop more of a relationship with each  customer, and take more time to listen to their needs and meet customer needs more efficiently. The strategy of differentiation shows their desire to create a niche based, not so much focused on innovation, but on customer service. Hopefully customers will appreciate the service, and want to continue business with FHPC as opposed to the bigger companies. There are many examples of complexities that drive overhead costs for FHPC. One of the complexities is that the company offers a variety of products, with some different processing for each product. We read that the company tries to manufacture products in an order that decreases costs, such as keeping similar processes together. Even so, the changes in process and equipment needed drive overhead costs up with so much variety in products and steps in the manufacturing process. Each time another product is added, or even changed slightly, costs are incurred and will drive overhead in terms of increased material costs or manufacturing costs. If Forest Hills is serious about meeting their customers individual needs, they also need to understand that each customer differential comes with greater overhead costs. The specifics of each customer desire causes complexity. We would also argue that another complexity of overhead costs is due to the cyclical nature of the business. There are times of large quantity of output, while other times production would be down as the demand decreases. This makes it difficult to predict and measure overhead costs, as the output of production varies. The management must truly try to understand their fixed and variable costs and how to balance times of boom and retraction appropriately and efficiently. Capturing Manufacturing Costs The current cost system allocates manufacturing overhead based on the amount of raw materials consumed in the production process. It applies the aforementioned overhead at a rate of $1.05, per $1.00 of raw materials consumed. Given the actual data gathered in exhibit 2, the rate appears to adequately account for the sum of overheads generated, as evidenced by the table below: Cost of a Grade Change FHPC produces 20 different grades of paperboard. Each grade is unique and the amount varies so some batches maybe very large and some quite small. The company practices lean manufacturing so successive batches of similar grades are grouped together in order to reduce waste. The cost of a grade change includes the following: depreciation, labor, energy, other and lost chemicals. Assume 4 grade changes in total from the information provided. Cost to Slit a Reel of Paperboard A parent roll of paperboard is 12 feet long. Food processors require widths of 18 inches. This means that three slits must be made to produce 3 – 18† rolls. Approximately 6 inches of waste is produced by creating 3 – 18† rolls. Only grade A and grade C are slit. A total of 85 reels are produced  each reel requiring 3 slits. A total of 255 slits are made. The overhead for slitting is $195,000 for slitting. The overhead rate per slit is $764.71. Assuming 3 slits per reel the total cost for slitting a reel is $2,294.12. Summary listed below. New Volume-based Overhead Rate If Forest Hill removes the overheads traceable to grade changes and slitting from total overhead, the application rate needs to be adjusted. An appropriate application rate for the remaining OH can be calculated by dividing the aforementioned OH by the sum of RM costs: Activity Based Costs – Grades A-D If an activity based cost system were to be implemented, the parent reel costs (for the same level of activity indicated in exhibit 1) could be estimated as follows: Activity Based Costs and Volume Cost Percent Change Prepare a table that illustrates the percentage change in costs between the volume-based system and the strategic activity-based system. Conclusions and Recommendations What conclusions can you draw from your analysis? As a consultant to Forest Hill, what actions would you recommend? 12. The analysis above shows the concerns of management were accurate. The costs of A and C were understated because the costs related to the slitting operation were unfairly being allocated to other grades. Grades B and D do not consume any of the slitting department resources, thus should not be responsible for the absorption of said departments’ overhead costs. In addition, the economies of scale being generated by high volume sales were being unfairly distributed to low volume grades. This is evident in the  cost of grade B, which was previously only being allocated $140 of total grade change costs (grade change as a percentage of total OH, multiplied by total overhead allocated to grade B). Given that grade changes are only incurred if a grade is run, it makes more sense to allocate costs based on the actual number of a production runs, as opposed to how much material was consumed in a run, which has no bearing on the number of set-ups required.

Do cuts in UK government spending affect UK secondary education exam Essay

Do cuts in UK government spending affect UK secondary education exam results - Essay Example European models were based on the assumption that only a certain portion of the population needed and could profit from a college education. U.S. goals ambitiously sought the higher education of 25-50% of the population. The community college served all that desired an education, mostly the unserved populations of adult, (and) full-time workers with families† (Newman, Renee M, 1998). Primary education was the first to receive early government recognition. However, funds management was not encouraging. However, efforts to effectively fund primary school activities continued. Secondary education came in for recognition for support later on depending on the government of the land (Evaluation of World Bank’s Support for Primary Education, 2007). Statistically, secondary education in the United Kingdom is already facing flak due to the below average treatment secondary education is getting. On the one hand, there is below average salaries for secondary education teachers and on the other, there is drop out rate of 30% in secondary education in the UK (Curtis, Polly, 2009). Fundamentally and technically, the cut in spending does not amount to over  £100 million which is just a fraction of the  £85 billion the UK spends annually on education for the year 2010-11. However, the figure could trigger cascading effect in spending that attracts experience and talents. The UK is still counted as the Mecca for education and it holds the distinction as the best education provider in terms of facilities (UK providing assistance for tertiary education facilities, 2009). Better put, the question should be: is government spending the determinant to exam results for the UK secondary education? The motivation to study comes from students determined to do well academically for future prospects and better personality. Secondary school students are normally well versed in the need for higher studies. Educational costs cannot be the determining factor for

The approach of English law towards duty of care has been Case Study

The approach of English law towards duty of care has been inconsistent, illogical and unfair on the claimant - Case Study Example The author is of the belief that it is when one looks at the cases involving gender orientation discrimination that one sees best how English law is inconsistent, illogical and unfair on the claimant. The cases examined will demonstrate not only legal contortionism at play, but language contortionism as well. After all, as stated by Andrew Altman in the article Legal Realism, Critical Studies and Dworkin, (1986) the law is infused with irresolvably opposed principles and ideals, and this legal indeterminacy, as it is called, compels the judge to make a choice that is not dictated by law. Once-sacrosanct legal precepts are being dismantled, stare decisis as a doctrine is being reexamined, and the infallibility of the courts as repository of truth and justice is being questioned. The law is no longer a fabric of clearly-defined spectrums, but is rather a patchwork quilt of various shades of gray. Taking this view is important in that it stimulates self-interrogation. It does away with the all-too-convenient givens of a legal system - that there is but one set of "correct" rules and that legal decisions are but logical outcomes of tested principles that are empirically-replicable. It aspires to expose the ideological content of the law obscured by layers upon layers of social conditioning by demonstrating how the large areas of legal indeterminacy provide fertile ground for the cooptation of the legal system to reinforce existing power arrangements. This brings us to our discussion on tort cases involving gender discrimination. Conaghan (1996) states: From a social perspective, feminists have argued that women suffer particular harms and injuries as women: their experience of pain and injury is indistinguishable, to a large extent, from the experience of men. This claim has at least two dimensions. On the one hand, pregnancy and childbirth, menstrual and/or ovulation pains are obvious examples of gender specific "harms". Men do not/cannot experience these traumas directly. On the other hand, the concept of gendered harm can also embrace those harms, which, although not exclusive to women in any biological sense, are risks which women are more likely to incur than men - the risk or rape, incest, sexual harassment, spousal abuse, or, more contentiously, the risk of harmful medical intervention. By and large, there is no dearth of legislation prohibiting discriminatory practices against women. However, in practice, jurisprudence has made it difficult for women to raise tort-related claims. Certainly, there are cases that are cut-and-dried; for instance, when it is patently obvious that there is discrimination on the basis of gender. However, in this day and age, it is less likely to find a case wherein the discrimination is so obvious that it unquestionably amounts to an illegal act. One would be hard put to find an employer who would dare violate the stringent regulations against workplace-related discrimination, instance. There is a greater likelihood that the discrimination would be insidious, perhaps having to do with a careless statement loosely made that betrays the

Bussiness integration & ERP (master level) Essay

Bussiness integration & ERP (master level) - Essay Example In terms management business integration can also lead to firmed grip on their internal and external control process. Also, the globalization is considered to be one of the factors behind in the adaption of business integration to compete with others in order to succeed in their business and prove their existence in the market. As the company or business gets bigger, the need for integration becomes a demand in order to ensure the smooth flowing of information between different departments and units to operate sufficiently and effectively with regard to quickly and reliability of this kind of information flow. In fact, as the integration process bring so many advantages and benefits it also bring with it some challenges too. The integration process between people, technology and process holds real challenges that need to be overcome in order to have successful integration process. At the process level, the challenge may materialize within the company itself, let me explain how. In ge neral, companies despite their size have various numbers of units and therefore that means they may have various numbers of autonomous and heterogeneous applications or systems for particular purpose. During the integration process which is often a result of strategic plan these systems that could cause integration problems thus inability to co-operate together. Another dimension of the problem is the construction of metadata. In order to integrate business processes there is a need to understand the meaning of metadata and their use in the existing system or applications to figure out how they can be integrated. The challenge here is that collecting these data is difficult especially if the people who defined them or familiar with are not available anymore. Metadata hold information like purpose, specification and context of the data which helps to understand the meaning of data. Another challenge is that in order to integrate process there is a need to understand precisely what th e current system and applications are used for. That would include their functionality and the means by which they can be integrated. The challenge here is that many companies do not have this information. At people level or socio-technical level, there is the challenge between people and technology therefore the organizational change aspects need to be considered in the integration process, some may resist using the new system or find it difficult to accept it or use it therefore implementing organizational change practices could be of help through training and support. Another challenge is that the lack of people intervention in integrated process to deal with and exception handling in case they appear. At implementation level, the integration process would be complex and the cost of available methods for business integration is expensive also the process would take time and efforts to be completed while some could perceive that the cost of implementing might overweigh the benefit s or the return on investment would take time to be achieved. There are cross organizational challenges like the connectivity to suppliers, service providers, and customers and so on and all security issues related to that. There are a number of companies that were able to achieve the benefits of adapting an

Role of the Internet on literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Role of the Internet on literature - Essay Example n and the benefits that businesses derive from internet, this paper will argue on the positive role that internet plays in the lives of human beings in enhancing literacy. The UN convention on the Rights of the Child sets out that every child has a right to develop a full potential free from hunger and want, protection from harmful influences, abuse, and be allowed to have a full and harmonious development of his personality (UNHCR, 1997). These principles can become a reality only when the family and school together put in their best efforts in the guidance and protection of the child. Ignorance prompts children to commit cyber crimes and the best way to combat this is through the right education. According to Branigan (2000), technology and computer provide power equally to an adult or a child. If the children be taught the proper behavior of going online, the online crimes can be curbed. Children are taught not to go to someone else’s home and roam about but when it comes to the internet the perceptions are distorted. They have to be made conscious of the similarity. Children do not realize that hacking is a crime and they use the computer a s a weapon (Cybercitizenship, n.d.). The responsibility lies with the parents and the school authorities to insure that the children are taught not just to use technology but to use it productively and wisely. The same internet is used for education and also to download obscene material. The children should be made to understand that this is theft of intellectual property and need guidance at this stage. The only way that such crime rates can be lowered if not eliminated is to educate the children adequately on the consequences. In an organization managers report abuse of the internet by the employees, which leads to time wasted on non-work related email, online chat, online shopping, downloading of games, music, and software, and thereby making the system vulnerable to virus. The efforts of companies in implementing

Construction method statement and risk assessment Essay

Construction method statement and risk assessment - Essay Example (eg Designing river diversions with a series of pools to allow salmon to swim uphill despite damming of rivers in Alaska) CONCEPT: The next step is to submit the preliminary design to local authorities with a detailed report on contextual impact including Environmental impact for feedback by Government authorities and the local population who may have valid feedback regarding its impact on their lives. At this stage, all viable options to achieve the ends without this drastic intervention shall be weighed and discussed. FINAL PROPOSAL: The final proposal shall be prepared on the basis of feedback received on the conceptual proposal, and submitted for permissions. The same proposal shall be priced and tendered out to ascertain budget. Communication to effected local populace on all aspects of construction that may impact their daily activities. This would include possible demolition schedules, changes to river traffic, increased heavy road traffic to and from project site, etc. The actual project execution begins after plant and machinery required has been finalised, human resource is on site and is trained, and complete documentation and drawings are available to begin work. B. Excavation of diversionary channel to depth including foundations and sidewalls. Both ends shall be cast in-situ with metal gates in shut position. These gates will be opened permanently after channel is complete. D. As it is cheaper, faster, environmentally friendly, and a better qualitative output, the sections of the channel shall be cast off-site, and lowered over the dowels jutting out of the PCC on site. The exposed re-bars will be tied to dowel re-bars and concrete shall be poured to give a smooth inner finish to the channel. All elements to control water speed within the channel shall be cast as parts of the off-site modules and placed as required by design. 1. Cranes and

Science fiction and films Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Science fiction and films - Essay Example The cyber punk nature of the film ‘Blade Runner’ is explicable as it involves the speculation of role of computerised human clones of the future, which is stimulating. As the film is associated with rave/techno subculture and substitutes enthusiastic blathering about technology, the cyber punk nature of the film was expressed in the way of narration and visuals. As the film involves the exciting about right things and a proper and respectful way of hacking the talent, the film excels in being a science fiction genre that explicitly talks about computerised clones of humans. As the computerised clones in the film are expressed in a highly criminalised manner, the necessity of expression of the criminal nature needs some symbolic lighting and expression that involves the value of life and humanity. As the lead character in the film Deckard prowls in the steel and micro chip jungle of 21st Century, the cyber punk nature of the film is explicitly seen in every inch of the na rration and story. However, the expression of humanity, detachment and precious nature of life involved inherently in the film give it a combined colour of film noir sub genre in addition to cyber punk sub genre for a science fiction genre film.... In addition to that the theme of the film concentrates on the replicant nature of Deckard and the reaction of Gaff about Deckard's dreams. As Gaff will be in control of a replicant the plot is to field an android to destroy unwanted androids. From here, the film introduces film noir sub genre in addition to the cyber punk sub genre in a science fiction genre film. The film noir genre and content of the film lies in the criminal background of replicants and a state killer tracking down them. As the plot is to murder the artificial people for their illegal acts (wanting to live more than the stipulated time against the wishes of the administration), the film noir nature of the film is expressed well by frequent voice over in the film. 2 In addition to that the general brutality (the brutality of four replicants, whom Deckard has to execute) violence and harsh dialogue are present in the characters. The harsh dialogue can be seen in the expression of the leader of the replicants who confront with their creator. As the inherent activities of replicants are related to crime and horror, the lead character also express some attributes of film noir with a trench coat and a gun. In addition to that there are anti hero characters in Deckard as he drinks too much, loner and does not trusts authorities. Though Deckard is a detective, the harsh dialogues like "They do not advertise for killers. I am not in the business. I am the business. If You are not a cop, you are little people", makes the narration of the film to have a noir type of content. One more aspect that establishes the noir nature in the film is that the violence is brutal and graphic. As the duty of Deckard is fatal (he is to kill the