Cost Based Approaches to Human Resource Accounting

Human Resource Accounting is an attempt to identify and report investments made in the human resources of an organisation that are not presently accounted for under conventional accounting practice. Basically, it is an information system that tells the management what changes overtime are occurring to the human resources of the business, and of the cost and value of the human factor to the organisation. The system may serve both the internal and external users, providing management (internal users) with relevant data on which to base recruiting, training and other development decisions and supplying investors, lenders and other external users of financial statement with information concerning the investment in and utilization of human resources in the organization. Accounting is a man-made art and its principles and procedures have been evolved over a long period to aid business in reporting for the management and public. Of the four factors of production, viz., Continue reading

Process Consultation

The process consultation view has been advocated by Schein since late  60’s (first edition 1969). It belongs to activities of organization  development (OD). OD is one of part of the organization processes which  aim improving organizational and individual effectiveness. Process consultation (PC) is one of the OD techniques, enlisted with  sensitivity training (self €improvement), survey feedback (introspection),team building (socializing), and role negotiation (changing roles and  perception. The main  argument of Schein for process consulting is to help people in organizations  to help themselves. Process Consultation is the creation of a relationship with the client that permits the client to perceive, understand, and act on the process events that occur in the client’s internal and external environment in order to improve the situation as defined by the client.  Edgar Schein, (1969) Process Consultation: Its role in organization development Process consultation is the reasoned and intentional interventions by the consultant, into the Continue reading

Attributes of Sound Performance Measurement System

Multinational Enterprises  need to measure performance of all its organizational participants/elements and subsidiaries. Efficacy of organizational control depends on efficient measurement of performance. A right selection of a range of performance measures which are appropriate to a particular company/context is needed. This selection ought to be made in the light of the company’s strategic intentions which will have been formed to suit the competitive environment in which it operates and the kind of business that it is. There are at least three major attributes expected of any good performance measurement system.  These are: Reliability, Validity and Objectivity. Each characteristic is examined in detail. 1. Reliability Reliability of a measurement mechanism refers to the dependability or consistency of the measures provided by it. It refers to “the accuracy of the data in the sense of their stability, repeatability, or precision” There are two ways of looking at dependability. One is comparability Continue reading

Factors Leading to Integration of Marketing Communication

Keeping in view the dynamic environment of today’s business, marketer is required to develop the product that have the capacity to satisfy target market needs and wants, price that product attractively, and ensure its availability to the target customers. But the task does not stop over here; the organization must also communicate with their target about the company offerings. Communication is the process in which messages are exchanged to achieve a desired behavior direction or goal. The task of communication with target market is called promotion in marketing. A company can use variety of promotion techniques including advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and public relations to achieve the company’s communication objectives. From the last two decades, promotions strategies used by organizations around the world have undergone through tremendous changes. This is due to the fact that the technology has revolutionized our daily life, marketing promotion have no exception. Continue reading

The Difference Between Traditional File Systems and DBMS

Traditional File Systems File-based systems were an early attempt to computerize the manual filing system. File-based system is a collection of application programs that perform services for the end-users, such as updating, insertion, deletion adding new files to database etc. Each program defines and manages its data. When a computer user wants to store data electronically they must do so by placing data in files. Files are stored in specific locations on the hard disk (directories). The user can create new files to place data in, delete a file that contains data, rename the file, etc which is known as file management; a function provided by the Operating System (OS). Database Management System The improvement of the File-Based System (FBS) was the Database Management System (DBMS) which came up in the 60’s. (DBMS) consists of software that operates databases, providing storage, access, security, backup and other facilities. This system can Continue reading

What is Expense Center?

In expense centers, inputs or expenses are measured in monetary terms whereas the outputs are not measured in monetary terms.   There are two types of expense centers – engineered expense centers and discretionary expense centers. Engineered expense centers:  In these centers, inputs or expenses are measured in monetary terms and outputs are measured in physical terms. These centers are usually found in the manufacturing units that use a standard cost system. There are certain responsibility centers within administrative and support departments that actually are engineered expense centers. In these centers, the cost of the product is determined by multiplying the output of each unit with its standard cost. Its efficiency is measured by comparing the actual cost with the standard cost. Discretionary expense centers:  In discretionary expense centers, the output cannot be measured in monetary terms. Discretionary expense centers include administrative and support units like   legal,   accounting, Continue reading