Essay about Romanticism in Keats Poetry - 1049 Words

Romanticism in Keats Poetry Keats uses various poetic techniques and themes to emphasise these ideas of romanticism the the strange, the sensual and the dream. These themes and techniques are the back bone of the Odes which allow the reader to feel and use their imagination which was the main reason Keats wrote his poems. Keats uses incredibly sensual language to illustrate how he is feeling and what he is imagining which gives the odes a sensual feeling of being alive. In Keats Ode to Autumn he is using a large amount of sensual language to try and take us to the place in his mind, his choice of words are hugely important for making Autumn a sensual Ode. In the first stanza he is focusing very much on the sense of†¦show more content†¦This detached second stanza of Autumn can also be seen as strange as Keats is trying to pull you into this drugged place, he is trying to take you away from the real world and into this unfamilar world which is the epitome of bliss a place of semi-consciousness where everything is calm and slow like the stanza, soft and slow with the repetition of s which sounds like the wind. In Keats Ode to Psyche we can see that Keats is focusing once again on the romantic ideals with reference to classical period Godess which is an era he often likes to visit. In the first stanza of psyche Keats is focusing on the importance of his own imagination Surely I dreamt to-day, or did I see he awakens wondering if he dreamt what he saw or did he see it but it does not matter, all that matters is that he experienced it. The idea of dream in Keats Odes is not actually about dreaming it is more imagination and how it does matter how you experience a feeling, as long as you feel. This Ode has all of the points from the statement the strange , the sensual and the dream the dream is often linked with the sensual, Keats takes you into a dreaming state with his sensual language and when he describes his experiences in his dream or imagination he is using sensual words whispering this is a personified human emotion to relate this place to the reader so we can also relate to the place he has taken us. Personification is often a technique keatsShow MoreRelatedHow Does John Keatss Poetry Reflect the Romantic Era Essay781 Words   |  4 PagesExplain how the poetry of John Keats reflects the values of Romanticism. The Romantic Era spanned roughly between 1798 and 1832 and its poetry places an emphasis on the imagination, nature and feeling. The Romantic period was associated with imagination as people looked with fresh curiosity into the workings of their own minds, generating ideas that laid a foundation for modern psychology. Romanticism emerged out of the rational thought of the Enlightenment Era into a redemptive and inspiring periodRead MoreThe Elements Of Poetry For Romantics984 Words   |  4 Pagessocietal purpose of poetry for Romantics. One of the biggest reasons was that they wanted society to pick up on romanticism through the art of poetry. The purpose of art is to teach us something anyway, like public life for example. The best way to pick up on romanticism was through the art of poetry at the time. Romantics wanted nothing more than people feel some emotion and self-awareness, and by writing poetry to do just that, that’s how they attempted to get to people. 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He would fight anyone (John).† Keats lived to be only twenty-five years old before dying of tuberculosis and spent several of those years training to become a surgeon befor e abandoning his apothecary studies to become a poet. The subject matter of Keats’ poetry ranges from politics, to Greek-style epics, to love letter odes to nature (John). Keats became more closelyRead MoreRomanticism Movement ( 1750-1870 )1223 Words   |  5 PagesName: Dilli Kattel Professor: Donna Hermon English 231-02 11/18/2014 Romanticism Movement (1750-1870) Romanticism was a period time between 1750 to 1870 in Europe, Latin America and The United States. Imagination, Subjectivity of approach, freedom, Expression and the idealization of nature will be focused in movement of Romantic Literature. 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It can pertain the principles, allusion and aesthetic thought both with Tagore’s romanticism as well as Western romanticism .The crucial feature of the nineteenth century romanticism based on the imagination and fancy, therefore Edward ThompsonRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Ode Of Spring By John Keats Essay1376 Words   |  6 PagesIn the poem Ode to Autumn by John Keats, my initial thoughts of this work is how the author does a beautiful job describing the season. The way that he makes his words come to life. The poem makes you feel as if you are right there in the midst of autumn. As I read throu gh the poem, it was as if I could inhale the autumn air. I think the thing that I loved most about this piece is the mere fact that it is my most favorite season of the year. When the poem talks about the songs of spring, it tellsRead More John Keats Essay911 Words   |  4 Pages English Literature Biographical Speech Keats, John (1795-1821) English poet, one of the most gifted and appealing of the 19th century and a seminal figure of the romantic movement. Keats was born in London, October 31, 1795,and was the eldest of four children. His father was a livery-stable owner, however he was killed in a riding accident when Keats was only nine and his mother died six years later of tuberculosis. Keats was educated at the Clarke School, in Enfield, and at the age of 15 was

Argumentative Essay Pro-Choice Abortion - 1224 Words

Pro-choice Abortion Argumentative Paper When it comes to abortion, everyone has a slightly different view. Whether one believes that no one, or everyone, should be allowed to get an abortion, the same question comes into play: Is abortion ethical? In addition, when does a human life actually start? Without concrete facts, we can only do so much with those questions, which is why this is such a controversial topic. We need to consider all the facts and information available. For example, whether or not a fetus feels pain, how old the fetus is, and what condition the pregnant woman is in. The main argument comes down to pro-life versus pro-choice. After doing extensive research, I have come to agree with the side of pro-choice, meaning that†¦show more content†¦Every individual defines pain differently, so â€Å"without interrogation, we cannot know for sure what the fetus feels† (British Medical Journal). As we know, asking a fetus if it feels pain is impossible, and a ssuming that they do could be wrong. Considering these statements, abortion cannot technically be called murder. Fetuses are not self-aware, rational, or attentive like humans. From a religious standpoint, I understand why people consider abortion murder. A fetus has the potential for life, and that they consider that potential life a real life. However, stretching this idea farther, sperm also have the potential for life, but many of these people are not against sex or masturbation. Fertilization has not yet occurred, but the potential is still there. According to scientific evidence, a fetus has a fifty to seventy percent chance of becoming a feasible human being. These chances are relatively high, but not a guarantee, and not yet a life. One cannot kill something that is not yet alive. Other topics in regards to abortion are health and rape. Rape is a very touchy subject and still very controversial when it comes to abortion. If a woman is raped and gets pregnant, she should be allowed to get an abortion. She did not get a choice in that matter, so she should have the choice on whether or not she want to have a baby. Rapes cause emotional trauma, and no oneShow MoreRelatedAbortion Argumentative Essay, Pro Choice915 Words   |  4 PagesMary Townsend Med. Lit. Mrs. Averbeck February 27, 2016 On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court made a 7 - 2 decision to legalize abortion in most of the fifty states. Although abortion was not legal in the past it was being preformed on women since the fifteenth century all over the globe, but, most women did not survive the surgery. That is the biggest reason it was preformed in secret because it was taking so many lives. Thanks to modern day medicine and technology the successRead MoreShould Abortion Be Legalized? 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Teenagers Represented In The Media Free Essays

Teenagers used to be the forgotten group in society. The ones who are stuck between being â€Å"cute kids† and â€Å"responsible adults.† But all that’s been changing over the last twenty years or so, as the media realizes that teens are slowly getting a voice in society, but are these changes good or bad? The media represents teenagers in a very conventional way, stereotyped by their appearance, sex, and personality. We will write a custom essay sample on Teenagers Represented In The Media or any similar topic only for you Order Now Different varieties of media are meant to do different things. Some of the media’s many roles are to display the truth, make the viewer aware and to entertain. Most of the media presents an inaccurate and negative portrayal of adolescents today according to their appearance, sex, personality and age, among other things. Most teenagers in the media are represented as attractive, confident and white, which may make teenagers feel pressurised to fit in with the medias representation of them and so if they don’t fit these categories making them uncomfortable with their own bodies. I think the media should have a wider variety of races, looks and personalities to show teenagers they don’t have to have fit in with the typical image of them as shown in the media. The media highlights the exciting events in teenagers lives, e.g dancing at parties, getting drunk, spending money and generally having a good time, but they don’t always show the more depressing parts of teenagers lives such as bullying, exams, insecurities etc, which seems more important There are many TV programmes today that focus on wealthy, glamorous lifestyles of teenagers that come form extremely privileged backgrounds, many people enjoy these programmes as it gives them a chance to escape from the reality of their own lives and see it from other peoples. Although some other programmes look at the more realistic lifestyles, where teenagers have to work hard and don’t just have everything handed to them on a plate, many people watch these as they can relate to them and understand where characters are coming from. Although in all these lifestyles the teenage characters do go through many dramatic, emotional experiences and events. A lot of the media shows teenagers partying every night, always out and getting up to mischief e.g. taking drugs, having fights etc. In Skins, a teenage drama, a character called Effy sneaks out her house in the middle of the night, burns a bus, goes out to a deserted warehouse, where she takes various drugs with boys and finally ends up in a party at a random person’s house where she collapse from a drug overdose. Later her brother finds her, she is then rushed to hospital and ends up moving school; this all happens in the space of a few days. In reality most teenagers’ lives are a lot more boring, dull and uneventful, for example they generally spend most of their time studying, using the Internet at home and watching TV etc. Often their characters are exaggerated as well as events and situations. In a lot of teenage dramas the characters are unrealistic for example in the TV series Eastenders there is a teenage boy, Stephen, who is evil and manipulative, he turns his own sister against their family, while everyone thinks he is kind and good, in real life teenagers are not like this, they aren’t as controlling or manipulative. Although teenagers are represented positively in many parts of the media, programmes such as the OC show characters like Marissa and Ryan acting kindly and maturely e.g. when Marissa sees a man being mugged, she comes to help him and calls the police this shows she is caring and responsible, which is a positive image of teenagers in the media. In conclusion Teenagers in the media are shown in lots of different ways, often as being a problem to society e.g. controlling, rude and disrespectful, this is shown in soaps, dramas, movies and news, it gives out a very negative image on teenagers, which isn’t always fair. Teenagers can be represented positively, helping the community and being polite and social although this is not usually the case. Mainly teenagers are shown in a negative way and their characters and dilemmas are not realistic. How to cite Teenagers Represented In The Media, Papers

Analysis of Standard Costing System and Decision Making free essay sample

Content 1. Introduction4 2. Part ? Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis5 2. 1. Definition5 2. 2. Scenarios of Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis5 2. 2. 1 Scenario ? Manufacturing Companies—Auto-making Firms6 2. 2. 2 Scenario ? Service Industries—Banks7 2. 2. 3 Scenario ? Other Industries That Have not Repetitve Processes—AdvertisingFirms8 2. 3. Standard Costing System on Different SIzes9 2. 4. Variance Analysis9 2. 4. 1 Total Production Cost Variance9 2. 4. 2 Marterials Variances10 2. 4. 3 Fixed overhead Variance11 2. 5. Summary12 3. Part ? —Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes13 . 1. Definition13 3. 2. Scenario ? —Shutting Down or Keeping Open Part of the Business13 3. 2. 1 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 16 3. 2. 2 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 16 3. 3. Scenario ? —Pricing Products or Services16 3. 3. 1 Pricing Customized Produccts/Services17 3. 3. 2 Pricing Non-customized Products/Service s17 3. 3. 3 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 18 3. 3. 4 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 19 3. 4. Scenario ? —Product Mix and Limiting Factor Analysis19 3. 4. 1 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 1 3. 4. 2 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 21 3. 5. Scenario ? —Make or Buy Decisions21 3. 5. 1 Relevant and Irrelevant Costs andIncomes in Scenario ? 24 3. 5. 2 Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? 24 4. Conclusion25 Reference26 Appendix28 I. The Learning-Curve Effect28 II. Variance Analysis for A Variable Costing System28 III. Formula for Variance Analysis29 8 1. Introduction With more and more competitive in global market, costs of companies’ products become more and more important. In this assignment, the definitions of standard costing and variance analysis are introduced. This assignment refers that whether or not standard costing system and variance analysis are appropriate to any type and size of organization, and analyzes four scenarios about decision-making. At last, some relevant and irrelevant income and costs and qualitative factors are identified in these four scenarios. 2. Part ? —Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis 2. 1. Definition Standard costing system and variance analysis usually are used in improving the control of costs. Standard costs are predetermined costs and target costs that be incurred under efficient operating conditions (Drury, 2009). Purposes of standard costing are: 3. giving a forecast of costs that can be used for decision-making purposes; 4. offering a challenging target which can motivate individuals to achieve; 5. helping for setting budgets and evaluating managerial performance; 6. acting as a control device by warning managers to situations that may be ‘out of control’; 7. simplifying the task of tracing costs to products for profit measurement and inventory valuation purposes (Drury, 2008). Variance analysis refers to find out differences between standard costs and actual costs and to analyse reasons of these differences (Atrill McLaney, 2007). Managers analyse variances of each element of costs in each responsible centre to find out measures that can control costs more efficient. 2. 2. Scenarios of Standard Costing System and Variance Analysis The data of standard costing comes from historic costs. Standard costing is most suitable to organizations whose activities consist of a series of repetitive operations and input required to produce each unit of output can be specified (Drury, 2009). Manufacturing companies and service companies have the repetitive operations, such as auto-making companies and banks. There are, however, some industries that are not suitable for the standard costing system, since their activities have not the repetitive nature. For example, hospital whose patients differ individually and advertising firms that customize advertisements and focus on creating new things do not use the standard costing system as the cost of this system is too large. The reason of why standard costing system just can be used in companies which have the repetitive operations is that the costs of standard costing system in companies which own the repetitive operations are less than in others that do not have the repetitive operations. . 2. 1. Scenario ? Manufacturing Companies—Auto-making Firms In manufacturing industries, the processes of companies are usually repeatable. This nature of manufacturing companies is due to large economies of scale. Especially the auto-making firms, they use the assembly line to standardize their products. This can help to decrease their costs. For e xample, Honda produced standardized wheels (De Wit Meyer, 2010). Because Honda used the assembly line a lot of years, Honda can accurately calculate costs of a wheel, such as quantity of materials(1. 1 kg), variable overhead (? 2. 0/h) of one wheel. Because standard costs of Honda are relatively unchangeable, Honda can use basic cost standards. Basic cost standards are one of cost standards and represent constant standards that are left unchanged in a relatively long period (Broadbent Laughlin, 2009). Although even Honda would change its productions in every two years, standard costs are not changed so much. Because Honda changed its wheel very detailed, such as wheel’s size or pattern, managers could calculate new standard costs accurately. In conclusion, manufacturing firms can use standard costing system. . 2. 2. Scenario ? Service Industries—Banks The activities of service industries own the repetitive nature. To decrease running costs, service companies make a s eries of processes that standardize activities of their employees. For example, banks prescribe processes of loan applications (at below table). In processes, the labour standard cost (? 1. 50) is the most. Companies trained employees and paid salaries to them. In Lloyds TSB online payment, the process is standardized. First, a customer fills in details of payment, such as the name of acceptor and acceptor’s address. Then, TSB calls the customer to confirm the payment. At last, TSB send a message to the customer to notice details of payment. At this process, the cost is very low—labour cost and sending messages cost. Standard Costs of A Loan Application (? ) Direct materials 0. 6 Direct labour (10 minutes) 1. 5 Variable overhead 1. 0 Total standard variable cost 3. 1 In service industries, managers should pay the most attention to labour costs. Any employee needs time to be familiar to processes and directly attend service’s activities. If a new activity is made, or new employees attend an existing activity, a learning-curve effect will occur (Appendix ? ). At the beginning, the time taken per unit of output is long. With experience increases, employees take less time to do the service. So the learning-curve effect must be taken into account when setting standards (Atrill McLaney, 2007), especially in service industries. For example, if let a new employee to take care of customers’ loan applications, the time will be longer (20 minutes) and the labour standard cost will increase (? 2. 00). . 2. 3. Scenario ? Other Industries That Have not Repetitive Processes—Advertising Firms Now more and more companies pay attention to customers’ individual needs. Customers’ needs are relatively difference. For example, in clothes design, the designer makes unique clothes for each customer. If this kind of companies uses standard costing system, managers have to recalculate standard costs every time. T his will let managers to take a lot of time to calculate standard costs. In advertising firms, they use different projects to produce different advertisement. Because advertisements have to follow customers’ requirements, each project’s costs are different (at below tables). And this kind of firms is not suitable for variance analysis, as the types of materials and labours are different. Costs of Advertisement ? (? ) Direct materials A 150 Direct labour (group 1) 200 Variable overhead 250 Total budget variable cost 600 Budget contribution margin 250 Budget selling price 850 Standard Costs of Advertisement ? (? Direct materials B 350 Direct labour (group 2) 150 Variable overhead 230 Total budget variable cost 730 Budget contribution margin 200 Budget selling price 930 2. 3. Standard Costing System on different sizes On the small size organizations, the standard costing system is not very suitable. Because resources of small size organizations are limited and they cannot produce so many products, the costs of this system on small size organization are large. About medium size organizations, the range of products in medium size organization is larger than in small size organization, but I advise this kind of organization can use budget costs, because the repetitive processes are not many in the range of medium size organizations’ productions. The costs of this system are also high. In large organizations, the types of productions are a lot and there are many repetitive processes. So this system is suitable in large organizations. 2. 4. Variance analysis From the table (Appendix ? , there are 3 parts in the variance analysis—selling and distribution cost variances, total production cost variance, and total sales margin variance. In this assignment, total production cost variance will be mainly discussed. If a firm can establish standard costs, it can use variance analysis to analyse the differences between standard costs and actual costs. If standard costs cannot be used, costs should be managed by comparing budgeted and actu al costs (Verbeeten, 2010). So manufacturing firms, service industries, or other companies that own repetitive processes, can use variance analysis. Companies that have not repetitive processes, like advertising firms, cannot use variance analysis. 2. 4. 1. Total Production Cost Variance In this part, there are four variances—material variances, labour variances, variable overhead variances, and fixed overhead variances. There is an example (at below tables) about variance analysis. The costs of materials, labour or variable overhead are determined by two factors—the price and the quantity. The differences between standards costs and actual costs will be happened, when the actual quantity (or price) is different from the standard quantity (or price). Standard costs on products (? ) Direct materials—10,000kg at 13 per kg 130,000 Direct labour—20,000 hours at ? 8 per hour 160,000 Variable overheads—20,000 hours at ? 3 per direct labour hour 60,000 Total variable standard costs 350,000 Fixed overheads 120,000 Total standard costs 470,000 Actual costs on products (? ) Direct materials—10,300kg at 12 per kg 123,600 Direct labour—28,000 hours at ? 9 per hour 252,000 Variable overheads—28,000 hours at ? per direct labour hour 84,000 Total variable costs 459,600 Fixed overheads 106,000 Total costs 565,600 2. 4. 2. Material Variances (Formula-Appendix ? ) About the material price variance, the standard price (SP) of material is ? 13, and the actual price (AP) is ? 12. There is a ? 1 saving per kg. In addition, because QP was 10,300 kg, the material price variance is favourable (? 10,300=? 1? 10,300 kg). This means BWM got a fewer price in actual price, because it found a good supplier that can off er materials in fewer prices. About the material usage variance, the SQ is 10,000 kg (10,000 units? 1 kg), but the materials that were used (AQ) is 10,300 kg. And the SP is ? 13. So the material usage variance is ? 3,900 and adverse. The reasons about adverseness are company changed its quality control requirements, and changed methods of production. Managers can reduce the usage of materials through improving product design or use promotion and advertising to improve its sales. About the total material variance, the standard material cost (SC) is ? 130,000 (10,000 units 13) and the actual cost (AC) is ? 123,600 (10,300 nits 12). So the total material variance is favourable (? 6,400=? 130,000-? 123,600). Or using the material price variance minutes the material usage variance (? 6,400=? 10,300-? 3,900). This result is due to the fewer price of materials. However, managers need to reduce the usage of input. Actually the labour variance and variable overhead variance have the same formula to calculate quantity vari ance and price variances, that is, and . Because the process of variance analysis in these three parts is same and words are limited, the labour variance and variable overhead variance do not explain. . 4. 3. Fixed Overhead Variance The formula of the fixed overhead variance is (BFO means the budgeted fixed overheads; AFO means the actual fixed overhead) (Atkinson et al, 2001). BMW’s BFO was ? 120,000 and AFO was ? 106,000. So the fixed overhead variance was ? 14,000 and was favourable. The reasons about the differences between BFO and AFO may have a lot, such as the appointment of additional supervisors, or salaries of supervisors were changed. Managers are likely to think this variance is uncontrollable in a short term. 2. 5. Summary Standard costing system and variance analysis may be used to any type and size of organizations, but not suitable for any type and size of organizations. Standard costing system is suitable for some companies which own different products under a series of common operations, such as manufacturing companies and service industries. However, some companies that own different operations do not be advised to use standard costing system, such as advertising firms. The cost of standard costing system is the most important reason. The variance analysis has the same situation. 3. Part ? —Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes 3. . Definition When managers make future decisions, they have to consider relevant costs; otherwise, the decisions will be subjective or even wrong. The relevant costs and revenues mean that in decision-making, costs will be influenced in the future decision (Antrill McLaney, 2007). In addition, the relevant costs include avoidable costs and opportunity costs. For example, if a firm purchase a new computer, ? 738 will be cost; if not, the expenditure of ? 738 will be avoided. ?738 is called avoidable costs. Opportunity is a tool to measure the cash benefit from the next most desirable alternative action (Proctor, 2009). Irrelevant cost is the cost that is not about decision-making (Davila et al, 2009). It includes 3 kinds of costs—sunk costs, committed costs, and non-cash costs. Sunk costs are past costs; committed costs are about legal costs that will be paid in the future (Proctor, 2009); non-cash costs are these costs that not cause any cash movement, such as depreciation. Qualitative factors are these factors that can’t be evaluated in monetary terms (Drury, 2009) and have to be taken into account in the decision-making. For example, employee morale and customer goodwill belong to qualitative factors. 3. 2. Scenario ? Shutting Down or Keeping Open Part of the Business Many organizations do periodical analysis to compare different profits between departments. If the profit of a department is negative, the firm needs consider a lot of factors to determine close it or not. There is an example about discontinuation decisions (at the below table). PGShampoo (? 000)Body wash (? 000)Soap (? 000)Total (? 000) Cost of goods sold80088010002680 Salesperson’s salaries160200240600 Sales office rent7090110270 Depreciation of sales office equipment20402090 Apportionment of warehouse rent25252575 Depreciation of warehouse equipment18162458 Departmental and headquarters costs380400320110 Total costs assigned to each location1473165117394863 Reported profit/(loss)427349(139)637 sales1900200016005500 PGKeep soap open (? 000)Discontinue soap (? 000)Difference in costs and revenues (? 000) Cost of goods sold268016801000 Salesperson’s salaries600360240 Sales office rent270150120 Depreciation of sales office equipment9090 Apportionment of warehouse rent7575 Depreciation of warehouse equipment5858 Departmental and headquarters costs11001100 Total costs assigned to each location487335131360 Reported profit/(loss)627387240 sales550039001600 PG Company analyses its profit by departments. There are 3 departments—soap, shampoo, and body wash. From the table, PG Company should not close the soap department. Because there is a contribution of ? 240,000 about reported profit, if PG close the soap department, it will lose ? 240,000 in its overall profits. 3. 2. 1. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? About the relevant cost and revenue, cost of goods sold, salespersons’ salaries, and sales office rent belong to relevant costs, and reported profit and sales are its relevant incomes. Irrelevant costs are these costs that do not affect the decision. Depreciation of sales office equipment, apportionment of ware house rent, depreciation of warehouse equipment, and departmental and headquarters costs are irrelevant costs, as their numbers do not change. 3. 2. 2. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? In this scenario, employee morale, customer loyalty, and relationship with suppliers are qualitative factors. If PG make a closure decision, the redundancies arising will lead to the decline of employee morale. This may affect future output. Although reported profit of soap department was negative, its soap occupied 3. 4% market share (PG annual report, 2010). So if PG does not produce soap, it will lose a lot of customers. This will influence its long-term relationship with customers. At last, the close decision will break up the relationship with suppliers. This is not good for its future supply. Considering these qualitative factors, managers should not close soap department. 3. 3. Scenario ? —Pricing Products or Services In this scenario, there are two approach—cost-plus pricing and targeting costing, to determine the price of products. The cost-plus pricing means product costs are evaluated firstly and then a profit margin is jointed to decide the selling price (Horngren et al, 2005). The target costing is reverse of the cost-plus pricing. The start point is to determine the target selling price and then target costs are be gotten by deducting a desired profit margin. The purpose of this approach is to confirm the future actual costs will less than the target cost (Drury, 2008). In this assignment, the cost-plus pricing is mainly discussed. 3. 3. 1. Pricing Customized Products/Services Because market prices of customized products/services are often nonexistent, the cost-plus pricing is suitable for this situation. Companies can ensure costs first and then design future sales revenues to cover these costs. There is an example about pricing customized products (at below table). British CompanyMark-up percentage Cost-plus selling price (? ) Direct variable costs200160%520 Direct fixed costs100 Total direct costs30080%540 Indirect (overhead) costs80 Total cost38045%551 The British Company produces computers. In row 1, there is a mark-up (160%) is jointed to cover direct fixed costs. The situation is same in row 3. The 80% mark-up is added to cover indirect costs. At last, a 45% mark-up is added in total cost to provide a profit contribution. So the British Company makes ? 531 for customized computers. 3. 3. . Pricing Non-customized Products/Services For large volumes, managers have to make a pricing decision. In this pricing decision, the market research is very important. Through this research, managers can determine a range of selling prices and sales volumes by comparing with similar product types. There is an example about pricing non-customized products (at the below table). Chinese Company Potential selling price? 100? 90? 80? 70? 60 Estimated sales volume at the potential selling price (000s)110130170190200 Estimated total sales revenue (? 000)11,00011,70013,60013,30012,000 Estimated total cost (? 00)10,50011,10012,60012,80013,000 Estimated profit (loss) contribution (? 000)5006001,000500(1,000) Depending on a market research, managers of Chinese Company estimate a range of selling prices. In the profit (loss) contribution, profits are maximized at ? 80. So managers will choose ? 80 as the price of the new product, because it can obtain the maximized profit. 3. 3. 3. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? Direct variable costs, and profit contribution are relevant costs and incomes, and direct fixed costs and indirect costs are irrelevant costs in this scenario. Managers have to consider direct variable costs and profit contribution seriously, and they do not need to think about direct fixed costs and indirect costs, as they do not influence the decision-making. 3. 3. 4. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? About qualitative factors, there are 2 factors, that is, the degree of market competition and management expertise. The degree of market competition is used to determine the mark-up. If market competition is intensive, mark-ups are likely to decline. And if market competition is not too intensive, mark-ups may increase. Management expertise relates to whether or not managers could analyse the market information accurately. They are able to determine the range of prices very exactly. Managers must own management’s general knowledge of the market. 3. 4. Scenario ? —Product Mix and Limiting Factor Analysis Limited productions may be due to the market demand or the shortage of resources. These resources include raw materials, labour, machinery, space, and so on. And these scarce resources are often known as key or limiting factors (Horngren et al, 2005). There is an example for product-mix decision (at below tables). Products Component XComponent YComponent Z Selling price per unit? 35? 30? 16 Variable cost per unit? 19? 17? 8 Contribution per unit of output? 16? 13? 8 Machine hours required per unit of output8 hours4 hours2 hours Estimated sales demand2000 unites2000 unites2000 unites Required machine hours for the quarter16,000 hours8,000 hours4,000 hours Component XComponent YComponent Z Contribution per unit? 16? 13? 8 Machine hours required8 hours4 hours2 hours Contribution per machine hours? 2? 3. 25? 4 Ranking 321 European Company produces 3 kinds of components and these components use the same machine. Because of the availability of machine capacity-European Company can provide 16,000 scare machine hours, output of these components is limited in the short term. At the first glance, component X should be produced firstly, since it owns the highest contribution per unit of output. However, this is incorrect. To produce component X, all of the 16,000 machine hours will be occupied. Because components Y and Z just use 4 hours and 2 hours respectively, European Company can firstly produce 2000 each units of each component and then still produce component X about 500 units. Because component Z spends the least hours, the company should produce component Z first, and then produce component Y. At the result, the company makes the decision—producing 2000 units of component Z, 2000 units of component Y, and 500 units of X. 3. 4. 1. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? About the relevant costs, the material costs and distribution costs belong to relevant costs, as depending on different decisions, these costs will be changed. In this scenario, the irrelevant costs include some fixed costs, such as warehouse rent, administrative expenditure and so on. . 4. 2. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? Customer goodwill and long-term strategy are qualitative factors in this scenario. If European Company is unable to supply components Y and Z and just produce component X, customer goodwill may be lost, and this will lead to a fall in future sales. About its long-term strategy, managers must pay attention to company’s strategy. Through pr oducing different components to expend its market, European Company can obtain a long-term development and become the market leader finally. 3. 5. Scenario ? —Make or Buy Decisions Some companies do the make or buy decisions, because its production capacity is limited, or because products from outside are cheaper than from themselves. For example, the personal function could be subcontracted. Getting products or services from a subcontractor is called outsourcing (Horngren et al, 2005). There is an example for outsourcing (at below tables). Situation 1Total cost of continuing to make 10,000 components (? )Total cost of buying 10,000 components (? )Difference in extra costs/(saving) of buying (? ) Direct materials AB140,000(140,000) Direct labour100,000(100,000) Variable manufacturing overhead costs9,000(9,000) Fixed manufacturing overhead costs90,00070m000(20,000) Non-manufacturing overheads50,00050,000 Outside purchase cost incurred/(saved)350,000350,000 Total costs incurred/(saved)389,000470,00081,000 Situation 2Make component A and do not make component Z (? )Buy component A and make component Z (? )Difference in extra costs/(benefits) of buying component A (? ) Direct materials XY130,000130,000 Direct materials AB140,000(140,000) Direct labour100,000100,000 Variable manufacturing overhead costs9,0009,000 Fixed manufacturing overhead costs90,00090,000 Non-manufacturing overheads50,00050,000 Outside purchase cost incurred350,000350,000 Revenue from sales of component Z(380,000)(380,000) Total net costs389,000349,000(40,000) There are two situations—no alternative use of the released capacity (situation 1) and the released capacity can be used to make component Z (situation 2). The Asian Company can outsource component A to American Company. At the first glance, because the purchase price of outsourcing is just ? 35, this component should be outsourced. However, there are some irrelevant costs. They will be not changed whether or not Asian Company makes the outsourcing decision. In situation 1, because the total costs of outsourcing will be more about ? 60,000 than continuing make components, managers should not outsource component A. Although the company will cost ? 130,000 for direct materials XY in situation 2, it can obtain revenue from sales of component Z about ? 340,000. So at the result, if Asian Company can release capacity for making component Z, it can get a net benefit of ? 40,000. 3. 5. 1. Relevant and Irrelevant Costs and Incomes in Scenario ? In situation 1, the relevant costs are direct materials AB, direct labour, variable manufacturing overhead costs, and costs of outsourcing and the irrelevant costs are non-manufacturing overheads. However, in situation 2, direct labour, variable manufacturing overhead costs become irrelevant costs. In addition, fixed manufacturing overhead costs and non-manufacturing overheads are also irrelevant costs in situation 2. Direct materials XY and AB and costs of outsourcing are relevant costs, and revenue from sales of component Z belongs to relevant income. 3. 5. 2. Qualitative Factors in Scenario ? About qualitative factors, because a delay in meeting orders will lead to decline sales, the availability of future supplies has to be considered. Managers can find many suppliers to provide products. This can decrease the risk of the delay. Managers have to check products from outsourcing very carefully, because if the quality of products is not as good as before, customer goodwill will decrease and this will result a decline in future sales. If the company stops to produce component A and there are redundancies, employee morale will be declined. At last, managers cannot outsource companies’ core business, because core business is a company’s core competitiveness. 4. Conclusion Through analyzing situations that standard costing system is used by different organization, the first part obtains that standard costing system is suitable for some companies that own repetitive process and are large organization. Then variance analysis is analyzed. At the second part, four decision making scenarios are introduced, and relevant and irrelevant income and costs and qualitative factors of four scenarios are identified respectively. Reference ?Drury, C. , 2009. Management Accounting for Business†¢4th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ?Drury, C. , 2008. Management and Cost Accounting†¢7th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ?Atrill, P. , and McLaney, E. , 2007. Management Accounting for Decision Makers†¢5th. London: Prentice Hall. ?De Wit, B. , and Meyer, R. , 2010. Strategy: Process, Content, Context†¢4th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ?Broadbent, J. , and Laughlin, R. , 2009. â€Å"Performance Management Systems: A Conceptual Model†, Management Accounting Research, Vol. 0, pp. 283-295. ?Verbeeten, F. , 2010. â€Å"The Impact of Business Unit Strategy, Structure and Technical Innovativeness on Change in Management Accounting and Control Systems at the Business Unit Level: An Empirical Analysis†, International Journal of Management, Vol. 27, pp. 123-143. ?Atkinson, A. , Barker, R. , Kaplan, R. and Young, S. M. , 2001. Management Accounting. London: Prenti ce Hall. ?Proctor, R. , 2009. Managerial Accounting for Business Decisions†¢3th. London: Prentice Hall. ?Davila, A. , Foster, G. and Oyon, D. , 2009. Accounting and Control, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Venturing into New Research Opportunities†, European Accounting Review, Vol. 18, pp. 281-311. ?PG, 2010. PG Annual Report. ?Horngren, C. , Datar, S. , and Foster, G. , 2005. Cost Accounting, A Managerial Emphasis†¢12th. London: Prentice Hall. ?Horngern, T. , Foster, G. , Datar, M. and Bhimani, A. , 2005. Management and Cost Accounting †¢3th. London: Prentice Hall. Appendix I. The Learning-Curve Effect (Resource from: Atrill, P. , and McLaney, E. , 2007. Management Accounting for Decision Makers†¢5th. London: Prentice Hall. ) II. Variance Analysis for a Variable Costing System (Resource from: Drury, C. , 2009. Management Accounting for Business†¢4th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. ) III. Formula for Variances Analysis Material Price Variance SP means the standard price; AP means the actual price; QP means the quantity of materials purchased. Material Usage Variance SQ means the standard quantity; AQ means the actual quantity. Total Material Variance SC means the standard material cost; AC means the actual cost. (Resource from: Drury, C. , 2008. Management and Cost Accounting†¢7th. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. )