Advantages and Disadvantages of Effective Budget Control

Advantages and Disadvantages of Effective Budget Control This paper will look at what is required of an effective budgetary control mechanism and try to assess the advantages and disadvantages of using a system imposed from above, or externally, over a decentralized system controlled by lower level management as task level. Using an empirical case study from the international banking sector, it will be shown that too much managerial autonomy can lead to disaster not just for the manager concerned but also for the whole organization. In contrast the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in imposing nation-state loan budgets will be critiqued to highlight the potential flaws of centralizing and dominating budget control management. Effective budgetary control Henderson (2003) notes that regardless of the situation or workplace, in order to be effective it is crucial that budgetary control systems: Account for money received and spent Make sure that the organization’s financial policies are adhered to Ensure that m oney is not wasted Assist managers to run, and develop, services or departments These controls have developed from the need to account for large sums of money but are equally applicable to any budgetary situation. However, from a managerial perspective they have often been criticised for being insensitive and restrictive at the lower levels of management. As the number of stakeholders increases so does the need to be fully accountable and therefore more controls are also needed. This is particularly noticeable in the public sector National Health Service. Here lower level management are extremely subservient to imposed and tight budgeting restrictions from a distantly senior level. This is arguably a result of the need to satisfy a multitude of stakeholder interests and a concern that empowering lower management with the autonomy to control their own budgets would fail to include the number of interested parties from politicians to doctors and patients. With organisations as comple x as the NHS whether public or private sector – It is safer and easier to plan and control from above using imposed budget control methods. Politically imposed budgeting is preferably because senior managers, directors, or institutions who set the budgets are arguably best placed to recognise the wider implications of budgeting decisions but, according to Marginson (1999), financially imposed budget controls make sense too. Financial losses, which can occur for such damaging reasons as incompetence, error, negligence or fraud, are most likely to be minimised, or avoided altogether, by well constructed control systems. Imposed budgets benefit from the experience, acquired knowledge and full backing of senior management. They arguably encourage a sense of confidence in lower level management to do their job whilst reducing the massive levels of stress that come with having to create and manage your own budget. Another advantage of imposed budgeting is that it encourages regular monitoring, reporting, progress reports and ultimately improvements in the budgetary system. This enables problems to be uncovered and dealt with quickly and efficiently. Henderson (2003) states that it is advantageous to review arrangements occasionally. Even if procedures within your work area operate well, you should ensure that the budgetary responsibilities of staff at all levels are clear and understood by everyone. It would be unfortunate if problems arise because people do not know the extent or limit of their responsibilities (p33).

Crime and Ethical Standards Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crime and Ethical Standards - Term Paper Example The individual is only suspected to be under influence of drugs. Therefore, this crime can be argued to be misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance (Braswell et al., 2005).   An individual who illicitly obtains or uses items coded controlled substances is charged with a crime. It is a criminal offense to possess a controlled substance. In my state, the quantity, the nature of the drugs and the circumstances that one is assumed to possess a controlled substance influence the nature of conviction that one receives. The penalty for this crime depends also on the classification of the drug. An individual is charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance in the event that the very individual is found to be in possession of coded substances below a specific limit (Leighton & Riemann, 2001).   Societal factors influence individual’s behaviors. Societies where social values and norms are adhered to the letter experience less social problems because individua ls are discipline. In the paradigm case, Jones’ negative behavior that has put him into troubles can be associated with various societal factors. It can be suggested that Jones is brought up in a society where people commonly engage in drug abuse. The first duty of any government is to ensure safety of its citizens. Social contract theory states that government sets rules governing individuals’ behavior that is wholly accepted by rational citizens. The state exists to enforce these rules and laws for positive social living. It is in Jones’ interests that the law enforcing agencies, police in this case, do not take advantage of their powers and abuse him. This implies that they must adhere to the rules that protect the suspect. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the criminal justice system in place is effective to prosecute suspects of crimes while protecting their rights by providing fair trials and rational punishment. Government’s duty to offer security and safety is in Jones’ interest. The government would require law enforcing agencies and the criminal justice system to pursue critical analysis of the condition of the suspect before making any conclusion (Leighton & Riemann, 2001).   Marconi is a police officer hence has a role to ensure that there is law and order in the society. The law requires law enforcing agencies such as police to pursue their duties diligently for the benefit of the citizens. In this event, Marconi has a number of roles to play. He ought to question the suspect before arresting as a matter of procedure. However, this did not happen. The officer has a duty to proof the nature of the crime committed by Jones in order to guarantee far trial and punishment. Police officers are expected to be subjective in their undertakings to avoid prejudicial mistreatment of the suspect as it happened to Jones (Leighton & Riemann, 2001).   The clearest miscalculation by Officer Marconi is his failure to read the suspect (Ms. Jones) her Miranda Rights. Ms. Jones’ custodial interrogation satisfies her Miranda needs, â€Å"†¦the person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be informed that he [she] has the right to remain silent†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Miranda v Arizona (1966), 384 US 436) and further, anything she says can and will be suppressed by applying â€Å"†¦the product of a rational intellect and free will†

Conflict Between Research and Ethics Paper Essay

Conflict Between Research and Ethics Paper - Essay Example Thirty years have passed since the completion of Tuskegee Syphilis Study, however, the society is still horrified with the unethical treatment of minorities group under this study. Recently, President Bush has addressed the public with the speech in which he has apologized for the actions of medical professionals for shifting the health dangers to specific minority groups. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was conducted for forty years (1932-1972) with 400 poor and illiterate African Americans became part of it. This study has arisen many debates in society with the majority labeling it as unethical. First, the study was conducted without the proper care to its subjects and has resulted in the changes in how the patients are protected if they participated in medical researches. Second, not a single person has given an informed consent and was not informed about the diagnosis. These people who have agreed to participate were told that they have bad blood and are able to receive the free treatment (Gray, 1998). It is hardly possible for the similar situation to occur today because the research participants are not only protected by ethics, but by the law as well. Not a single study will start if the participants have not given the informed consent and are aware about all possible outcomes and side effects of acquired disease and treatment procedure. Of course, it is not always possible to predict all possible effects of the tested treatments and their impact on the human body (the medical research is conducted in the struggle to find out the more effective treatment), however, it is possible to predict some of the effects and the participants should be informed about them. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was the continuation of the Oslo Study (1928) with the only difference that Oslo study was retrospective - the health professionals have studied the patients who have already contracted syphilis and remained untreated for some time, while under Tuskegee study was prospective - the health professionals could observe and study the patients (nothing could be done therapeutically). Eventually the study has become the longest experiment on human beings in the medical history in the result of which 74 individuals have remained alive, 28 males have died directly because of syphilis, 100 died because of complications, 40 wives have been infected and 19 children were born with syphilis (Jones, 1993). It is obvious that the initial goal to benefit the society was not accomplished and the primary objective of all health professionals - do not harm - has been rudely violated. Dozens of healthy people have been infected intentionally and the harm made to their health and future lives cannot be underestimated. In the further investigation of the conducted research, many interesting details have become known to public. For example, in order to ensure that the patients will show up for the expected diagnosis, all of them have received the misleading letter promising the special free treatment. In addition, all of the participants had to undergo autopsy after death even though nothing was said about this requirement in the beginning. As the result, many of the patients did not receive the treatment they needed - health professionals just observed the fatal progression of the diseases - in other words, doctors observed whether their patients

Divorce ( by lack of communication skills) Essay

Divorce ( by lack of communication skills) - Essay Example So many times, people think of listening as simply hearing the words. This is not the case though as the process involves hearing the words, thinking about them and analyzing what the message is being conveyed beyond the words. Reacting quickly and furiously to words is just a sign of hearing but not listening, often resulting to a fight which eventually puts a hedge between couples if not breaking the bridge between them. On the other hand, speaking is construed as saying words to communicate what is in one’s mind. Howbeit, this is usually abused with one party wanting to be considered most of the time. This causes problems which could result to getting tired of a spouse’s much talk, leading to bickering that could worsen to fights and eventually separation. Concurrently, silence would be the resort of the partner who does not like to fight verbally which is a form of communication problem with the person involved being unable to express what is in his heart. Behind communication as a cause for divorce, there are still so many issues that need to be considered which this paper can not contain due to some restrictions. In any case, it is the purpose of this paper to show that communication problem is one of the reasons for divorce which was discussed earlier. In this regard, it might be good for couples to have counseling on this to reduce the risks of divorce which can cause lack of con fidence, and more communication

Southwest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Southwest - Essay Example Evolutionary change is beneficial for both workers and managers. This type of change is slow and will give people time to see how the organization will react. 2) The types of changes that deal with restructuring that this company has undertaken include, changing task and authority relationships, It has also been involved in redesigning the organizational structure and the culture to improve organizational effectiveness. Economic, political and global forces – this tends to affect where the firms produce the goods and services like political instability. For example, political instability has been shown to depress the GDP and foreign investment (Jones 138). As the firm moves it operation elsewhere, it will lead to fewer work opportunities and a continued cycle of instability. Demographic and social factors – organization must adapt to handle substantial knowledge loss and cope with work force issues. For example, 77 million baby boomers are projected to retire in the next 20 years. This means that organizations has to rearrange it work forc.e Ethical issues –the trend in social responsibility can lead changes in how organizations obtain supplies. For example, in 2008 Gap leaned that one if is suppliers was suing forced child labor on one product batch. This led to the entire batch being pulled out of the store and destroyed. At the organizational level, power and conflict can resist change especially when there is too much resistance. Some of the resistance can be beneficial. For example, those workers who form Unions can help the organization to retain knowledge that is helpful in the long run. However, too much resistance can inhibit the change needed. Functional orientation, this makes people to become overspecialized (Jones 140). For example, the HR team can be highly cohesive with the marketing team but may not be cohesive with the sales team. This makes it difficult coordinate changes

Country essay 6 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Country 6 - Essay Example exico, other sources of pollution that affect Mexico due to the activities of US includes pollution generated through automotive vehicles and pollution generated by residences. According to Chow, the pollution that is created and transferred by US onto Mexico is more than the amount of cross border pollution created by Mexico (Chow 1840). United States has shown rigidity towards export of waste to other nations, but the cost of dumping the waste produced within US is very high, due to this US based companies export their waste to developing nations. For example Intercon Solutions was held responsible for transporting electronic waste to other nations which results in pollution of heavy metal (BAN, 2011). United States have implemented strict rules and regulations regarding the issue of pollution, for example: the Pollution Prevention Act which states that the producers of pollutions are liable to seize the creation of pollution at their factories and organizations (US EPA, 2012). US believe that if pollution is controlled at the source, the organizations can enjoy several benefits such as low cost of dumping of waste. Basel Action Network (BAN) : Toxic E-Waste Exports by Chicago Electronics Recycler Uncovered." Basel Action Network (BAN). N.p., 5 July 2011. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.

Human Recources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Human Recources - Essay Example An understanding of implications of SHRM has been obtained by applying concepts such as resource-based view of the firm and HR-business partner model. The discourse also highlights critical aspects related to application of SHRM based on these two models and how organizations adapt to the changing demands from external and internal customers in order to sustain their competitiveness. Strategic human resource management has emerged as the most favourable proposition for businesses as it provides a comprehensive framework for HR practices to be aligned to organisational strategies. These practices have enhanced company’s growth and profitability upon integration with business purposes. This faculty has become very popular in the areas of the traditional HRM, organisational behaviour and industrial relations. This concept practically addresses many limitations of the conventional HRM practices, and works on the philosophy of integration of HR strategy with business strategy. David Guest’s (1987, 1989a, 1989b, 1991) Harvard model emphasizes the significance of achieving strategic integration and asserts the role of organisation’s ability to integrate HRM issues into its strategic plans in such a manner that various aspects of HRM are congruent with the policies and practices implemented at all levels (Armstrong, 2000). To achieve this, many management specialists support the resource based view (RBV) of the firm as it provides competitive advantage in strategic sense. However, practical implications of RBV on managerial functions such as selection, development, combination and deployment of resources experience certain challenges which questions RBV’s status as the backdrop of SHRM. This discourse examines the extent of integration achieved by organisations between strategic decisions and practices with respect to SHRM. Further, an assessment of the effectiveness of RBV