Cost Control in Food and Beverage Companies

Cost Control in Food and Beverage Companies Product oriented companies create a production budget which estimates the number of units that must be manufactured to meet the sales goals. The production budget also estimates the various costs involved with manufacturing those units, including labour and material. Cash Flow/Cash budget: The cash flow budget is a prediction of future cash receipts and expenditures for a particular time period. It usually covers a period in the short term future. The cash flow budget helps the business determine when income will be sufficient to cover expenses and when the company will need to seek outside financing. Marketing budget: The marketing budget is an estimate of the funds needed for promotion, advertising, and public relations in order to market the product or service. Project budget: The project budget is a prediction of the costs associated with a particular company project. These costs include labour, materials, and other related expenses. The project budget is often broken down into specific tasks, with task budgets assigned to each. Revenue budget: The Revenue Budget consists of revenue receipts of government and the expenditure met from these revenues. Tax revenues are made up of taxes and other duties that the government levies. Expenditure budget: A budget type which include of spending data items. (Arthur Sheffrin, 2003) What is fixed cost? Fixed cost is defined as hey do not vary proportionally with volume, but rarely are they completely fixed in real sense. They might fluctuate for other reasons. (Ojugo, 1999,p349 ) Variable cost Variable cost are those cost which increase in volume with the increase in production and decrease in volume with decrease in production as material cost, labour cost, power, repair, fuel etc. variable cost changes in direct proportion to the level of production. (Gupta et al. 2007) What is cash flow statement? Cash flow statement is the financial document that projects what your business plan means in terms money. It is same as a budget. It projected statement used for internal planning and estimates how much money will flow into and out of a business during a designated period of time, usually the coming tax year. (Jinnet Pinson, 2006) Advantages of cash flow statement Cash flow statement act as an essential tools of short term financial analysis and planning. The main advantages are listed below Cash flow statement is very useful in preparing cash budget as cash is the very basis of business operations cash flow proves very useful in evaluating the cash position of the concern The projected cash flow statement helps finance manager in exploring the possibilities of repayment of long term debts which depends upon the availability of cash Cash flow statement can be used for making appraisal of various capital investment projects just to determine their liquidity and profitability. A comparison of the cash flow statement of pervious year and projected cash flow statement reveals deviations of actual from budgeted. For payment of liabilities which are likely to mature immediately, cash is more important than working capital. Cash flow statement is certainly a better tool of analysis than funds flow statement as far as short term analysis is concerned. Cash flow statement enables the management to explain why the company is facing difficulties in paying dividend while it has earned good profits. It helps in taking loans from banks and other financial institutions; the repayment capacity of the company can be understood by going through the cash flow statement. It supplements the analysis provided by funds flow statement as cash is a part of the working capital. What is costing sheet? A cost sheet is a statement of cost incurred, or to be incurred, for producing a given volume of output or for rendering services, as the case may be. Preparation of a cost sheet helps cost control and pricing decisions. (Banerjee, 2006) Cost sheet for Hospitality The standerised reciepe cost sheet is a record of the ingredient cost reqiured to produce an item sold by your operation. This standerised cost sheet can be created using any basic spreadsheet software. (Dopson, 2010) Advantages of cost sheet in hospitality New employees can be better trained. Helpful to maintain food laws. Helpful to explain about any food item to the guest. Helpful for accurate purchasing in order to gain profits out of business. Purchasing, receiving, storing and issuing Purchasing Purchasing can be defined as a function concerned with the search, selection, purchase, receipt, storage and final use of a commodity in accordance with the catering policy of the establishment. Types of purchasing Blanket Orders A Blanket Purchase Order is a type of purchase order designed to consolidate repetitive small purchases from a single supplier. It is essentially a form of open account which is limited in terms of the things which can be ordered, who can place the orders, the period for which it is to be open, and the total amount which can be ordered. This form of purchase order is useful for departments that have repetitive supply needs. Standing Order A Standing Purchase Order is purchasing method used in purchasing leases (e.g. auto, property and equipment), and equipment maintenance. Generally speaking, equipment maintenance orders are set up for one year. Standing orders for leases should be created for the term of the lease. Regular Purchase Order The Purchase Order (Regular) is the basic purchasing system for making single instance purchases. It is a contract providing for the delivery by a specific date of listed goods or services at a predetermined price. Source -www.urmc.rochester.edu Objectives of receiving, storing and issuing Receiving Quantity of an item delivered must equal the quantity ordered Quality of an item delivered must be the same as the quality ordered Price on the invoice for each item delivered should be the same as the price quoted or listed when the order was placed Storing Prevent pilferage Ensure accessibility when products are needed Preserve quality Issuing To ensure the timely release of items from inventory in the needed quantities To prevent the misuse of items between release from inventory and delivery to the required department References Banerjee, B. (2006). Cost Accounting Theory And Practice (12th ed.). New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India. Dopson, L. R. (2010). Food and Beverage Cost Control (5th ed.). Canada: John Wiley and sons, Inc. Jinnet, L. P. (2006). Small Buisness Start-Up (6th ed.). Chicago: Kalpan Publications. Ojugo, C. (1999). Food Beverage Cost Control (2nd ed.). New York: Delmar. S.P.Gupta, Ajay Sharma, Satish Ahuja. (2007). Cost Accounting (1st ed.). New Delhi: V.K. Enterprises. Sullivan, Arthur; Steven M. Sheffrin (2003), Economics: Principles in action. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/purchasing/purchaseorder.cfm

Complex adaptive systems Essay

Introduction Organizations should always adapt to a changing environment. The business environment is characterized by a number of changes which are a result of many factors, both external and internal. Nature is continuously changing and adapting. According to the complex adaptive systems theory, organizations must keep on revising their goals to come up with something new. This can be done through testing new ways of doing things, as dictated by the changes in the society. The theory asserts that natural variations create confusion and chaos, and ensure long-term survival. In addition to this, some of these variations are useless to nature. The study of the relationship between chaos, adaptability and survival is very important for all organizations (Holland, 1992). For our case Company, Costco, the managers must understand how the natural world influences business strategy. The managers ought to take into consideration that only a few of the natural variations succeed. This has a serious implication on leadership and innovation at Costco. To be strategically placed in the retail industry, Costco ought to understand that there is a need to test survival strategies to identify the most adaptive innovation. Innovation is all about coming with something new, but it is greatly influenced by adaptive systems. A study of complex adaptive systems will help Costco understand how natural systems interact, survive and adapt over time. This way, Costco can up with a strategy that can remain relevant even when natural systems change. The company should understand that boundaries cannot be imposed from outside. For Costco these boundaries are management hierarchies, division offices, departments, and so forth. For the complex adaptive systems to function fully there ought to be continuous feedback. The feedback can be positive or negative (Lansing, 2003). Costco must understand that positive feedback will elevate their outputs while negative one will lower their profitability. For those reason, Costco should carry out forecasts to understand the future. References Lansing, J. S. (2003). Complex adaptive systems. Annual review of anthropology, 183-204. Â   Holland, J. H. (1992). Complex adaptive systems. Daedalus, 17-30.

The Sorrow of War Essay - 1244 Words

The Sorrow of War Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War is a novel that is a personal view of the Vietnam War from the perspective of a Vietnamese soldier. Like the American novel â€Å"The things they carried†, this novel brings about the effects of war on people, and especially how it defeats the human capacity for things such as love and hope. Bao Ninh offers this realistic picture of the Vietnam War’s impact on the individual Vietnamese soldier through use of a series of reminiscences or flashbacks, jumping backwards and forwards in time between the events most salient in memory, events which take on a different theme each time they are examined. His main protagonist Kien, who is basically Bao himself, looks back not just at his ten years at†¦show more content†¦Along with not seeing the bigger picture soldiers lost their ordinary lives due to the war and the contrast was so different between pre and post war that it was hard to cope with life for the men fighting in the war. â€Å"For Kien, the most attractive, persistent echo of the past is the whisper of ordinary life, even though the sounds of ordinary life have been washed away by the long storms of war. It is the whispers of friends and ordinary people that are the most horrifying.†(63) The strongest emotions occur as the story unfolds and life takes over from childhood fantasies, destroying individuals and their families as a whole society is remade for instance Kien’s sweetheart before the war. Kien abandons his lover and instead spends the next years plodding through the jungle where everything dies. no jungle grew again in this clearing. No grass, no plants (26). He had no true friends and he learned not to fear death but rather wish it. When war ends he has a struggle to rebuild that was once loss, he can no longer see the good of things while he slowly goes insane with out love and hope and of course no sweetheart to aid him. A very sad and classical effect of a war that was wo rthless to its soldiers and people. The war had changed people in so many ways, as their former character of being sincere, at peace, and loving was slowly changed to chaotic, indecisive and unhopeful lives. People began to forget who they really were all due to the war, â€Å"ItShow MoreRelated The Sorrow of War Essay1313 Words   |  6 PagesIt can be hard to fully comprehend the effects the Vietnam War had on not just the veterans, but the nation as a whole. The violent battles and acts of war became all too common during the long years of the conflict. The war warped the soldiers and civilians characters and desensitized their mentalities to the cruelty seen on the battlefield. Bao Ninh and Tim O’Brien, both veterans of the war, narrate their experiences of the war and use the loss of love as a metaphor for the detrimental effectsRead MoreThe Sorrow of War: Book Review998 Words   |  4 PagesThe experience of war brings out the moralities of war and the tragedies of loss and death. Bao Ninh portrays these realizations and tragedies throughout his novel The Sorrow of War. The stories told follow the central character Kien whose story shows the moralities of war and tragedies of loss and death. Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War is a novel depicts the horrors that are a result of war. Kien is the main character whose life is used to depict these horrors; a soldier who’s lost all his comradesRead MoreEssay about The Sorrow of War961 Words   |  4 Pagesis the thought that goes into the title of the book, or translation in this case: The Sorrow of War. It is short and effective, if a little plain, as it exposes the main theme of the book right away while inviting the reader to see how and why. It says what it says: war is bad. War will do nothing but take away everything one knows and loves. War shows the worthless sacrifices of the noble and the virtuous. War forcibly warps human beings into inhuman beasts capable of heinous deeds much like anyRead More Bao Ninhs Sorrow of War Essay1010 Words   |  5 PagesBao Ninhs Sorrow of War When we think of the Vietnam War, we think of all the hell and torture that American soldiers went through with little regard to the Vietnamese and the hardships they endured. Reading the Sorrow of War gave me a clear understanding of the Vietnamese people and the suffering that the war caused them. The Sorrow of War is unique and powerful in the sense that it is written by a Vietnam army veteran and gives the perspective of the war from a Vietnamese soldier. It is oneRead MoreThe Sorrow Of War And The Deer Hunter1961 Words   |  8 PagesThe Sorrow of War and The Deer Hunter are a novel and a movie about the Vietnam War. The novel is written by a North Vietnamese soldier named Bao Ninh while the movie takes on the American perspective of the war. Below, there will be an analysis of the differences and similarities between the novel and the movie. For organizational purposes, the novel and then the movie will be summarized. Then, based on the summary, the similarities and difference s between the novel and the movie will be pinpointedRead MoreThe Sorrow Of War And Full Metal Jacket Essay1287 Words   |  6 PagesThe Sorrow of War and Full Metal Jacket both have one main element in common – the Vietnam War. Other than the similar time period, these two representations of the Vietnam War differ drastically. The Sorrow of War, a novel written by Bao Ninh, follows a North Vietnamese solider named Kien during his years fighting for the communist regime and documenting his hardships before, during, and after the war. Full Metal Jacket is a movie that depicts the American side of the war in Vietnam, focusing onRead MoreCharacterization In Bao Ninhs The Sorrow Of War1381 Words   |  6 Pagesmeaning of the work. Hoà  ng á º ¤u PhÆ °Ã† ¡ng is a Northern Vietnamese veteran of the Vietnam War. Under the pen name Bao Ninh, he is the author of The Sorrow Of War. In his fictional memoir, there is no chronological order and the memoir transitions from event to ev ent based on what triggers the next memories. Ninh recounts the hardships of the war and life after as a catharsis for the trauma he is inflicted during the war. As the memoir is a reflection of Ninh’s traumatized mind, Ninh utilizes an intendedRead MoreThe Character of Kien in The Sorrow of War Essay692 Words   |  3 Pagesand believed in the importance of a proper burial of the dead.nbsp; The survival and honor of the family rested on these beliefs.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Through the course of the war, Kien lost these values: his father was not properly respected, the dead were not appropriately buried, and were even forgotten.nbsp; After the war, the Kien spends his time struggling to return to these values and purge his soul of these sins. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; At the beginning of the novel, we learn that KienRead MoreSorrow Of War : The Thought That Goes Into The Title Of The Book 1121 Words   |  5 PagesSorrow of War: the thought that goes into the title of the book, or the translation in this case is what is important for anyone who is curious. It is short and efficient, if a bit simple, because it exposes the main theme of the book immediately while inviting the reader to see how and why. Survivors lucky that I cursed because they have to adapt to a society zombified by infected wounds bled past. What is curious alternative translation: The understanding of love. Labeling it a book of war in itsRead MoreVietnam War Themes in Books Wandering Souls and The Sorrow of War2283 Words   |  10 Pages Themes of a Soldier’s War The Vietnam War was hard for the country to handle, let alone a single soldier. Many soldiers dealt with different personal and physiological effects of this war. This war in Vietnam was different than any of the other wars. This war was unconventional, when we first entered it was more about the fight against the spread of communism then slowly changed over the years. Going into Vietnam was different in all senses from battle conditions, weather, and heavy jungle environment

The Yellow Wallpaper And Mrs. Dalloway - 1220 Words

In Mrs. Dalloway, Septimus, a supporting character struggles with a mental illness that is most likely Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Similarly, in The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator also struggles with a mental illness which could be related to postpartum depression. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, author of The Yellow Wallpaper struggled with depression and Virginia Woolf, author of Mrs. Dalloway, suffered childhood trauma and was bipolar (McMan). Both story’s views on mental illness are most likely heavily influenced by each author’s personal experience with mental illness. The Yellow Wallpaper and Mrs. Dalloway both reflect society’s negative view toward mental illness during the late 19th and early 20th century as both stories have themes of scarring symptoms, unreliable doctors, shameful therapy and feelings of isolation. Society’s View Mrs. Dalloway is set in 1923, a time where mental illness was extremely looked down upon and seen as a sign of weakness—much more so than today. In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf chose to write Septimus into the story and have him struggle with mental illness. Sadly, Septimus reaches a point where he would rather choose â€Å"death of the body instead of death of the soul† and he commits suicide by jumping out of a window (SparkNotes Editors). Many who read Virgina Woolf’s writing know that she herself struggled with depression and also showed signs of bipolar disorder which was often integrated in her writing. (ONU). Unfortunately, Woolf’sShow MoreRelatedThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1704 Words   |  7 PagesEscaping The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) whom is most acclaimed for her short story The Yellow Wallpaper (1891) was a women’s author that was relatively revolutionary. Gilman makes an appalling picture of captivity and confinement in the short story, outlining a semi-personal photo of a young lady experiencing the rest cure treatment by her spouse, whom in addition to being her husband was also her therapist. Gilman misused the rest cure in The Yellow Wallpaper to alarm other