Strategic Management Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management Accounting - Research Paper Example Variance analysis helps to determine variation from standards and in turn enhances productivity (Thukkaram, 2007). Any standard setting is a double edged sword, which has its plus points but is not free from certain drawbacks. The paper is an analysis of traditional and modern methods of costing and also, lays down an explanation for each one of these methods, besides recognising the importance of each one in specific industries. The prime objective of the paper is to understand the different methods of costing and analyse and establish the method of costing which is indispensable as per the kind of organizational setting and organizational needs in context. The study was aimed at analysis of various cost measures and their individual suitability to different organizational needs. The scope to fully gauge the benefits of using each one of them was unavailable. Real life case analysis was also not possible for establishment of research findings. Marginal costing can be referred to as a variation of flexible standard costing that helps to distinguish between the fixed costs and variable costs, which depend on per unit of output produced. Marginal costing is helpful in monitoring costs based on resources that drive it. These resources help in segregating costs into fixed and variable elements. Any cost fluctuations observed as a result of operational changes can be accurately predicted and checked with the use of marginal costing. Marginal costing is one method of costing for inventory where all the different variables of manufacturing costs are included as inventory costs. Such costs are incurred and become a part of the cost of goods sold when the product gets sold, while other elements of cost, which is the fixed cost, is taken to be costs for the period within which it is incurred (Kaplan Financial Knowledge Bank, n.d.). Marginal costing tries to capture the behavioural aspects of cost calculation, rather than functional traits of cost. The

The Cosby Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Cosby Show - Essay Example This study looks into The Cosby Show that would be best categorized under the conflict area of sociological theory. The sitcom challenged negative ideas of African Americans that have been embedded in American society for far too long. On the surface, The Cosby Show may have seemed like a simple television show, but the series had a far-reaching impact on American pop-culture and society. The show made people rethink how African Americans were perceived in the United States. Because of The Cosby Show, it was possible for other African American shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters to be successful on television. Even though African American shows like Good Times preceded The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby’s series was the first to present black people as having esteemed professions and living an upper-middle class life. In the show, Cosby’s character was Heathcliff Huxtable, a prominent obstetrician, and his wife, Clair Huxtable, was an attorney. Even tho ugh the show premiered in the middle of the eighties, there was still widespread prejudice and racial fears of black people. In the minds of many Americans, professions such as a doctors and lawyers were traditionally reserved for whites. In previous years, not only were blacks not qualified for these jobs but also they were deemed inept and unable to be successful in these professions according to the widespread notion of racial superiority. The Cosby Show had proved this assertion wrong. Not only did the show have a positive, successful black male, but the inclusion of a professional, black woman on television was groundbreaking within its own right. In America’s history, black women could only attain jobs as wash-maids or domestic servants. To see a woman of color doing neither of those jobs and being a successful lawyer was also a monumental shift in the way black women have been categorized and stereotyped. For far too long, black women have had to face hurdles and obsta cles of their own. Within the confines of America’s racial and patriarchal history, black women have had to carry the extra burdens of being black and female. Black women have had to contend with their own stereotypes, including the mammy role, the sensual mulatto woman, and the docile domestic servant. The image of Clair Huxtable contradicted assumed roles of not only black women but also women as a whole. The image of a black, professional woman who was not dependent on her husband challenged established racial bias and female and gender roles within American society. The show pushed back and made people question gender norms and racial categorization. The series defied not only established assumptions of gender but also of class. Because of America’s racial caste system, African Americans were thought to remain forever at the bottom of the social ladder. One of the main selling points for coming to America has been the typical rags to riches story, the idea of comin g to the land of opportunity and moving beyond one’s social station. However, the reality was that where a person was born and what skin color he or she had determined a person’s social status in life and still does to this day. With the odds stacked against non-white people, however, there have been ethnic groups that have managed to move within the American class structure, including African Americans. The Cosby Show was an example of African Americans being able to become successful and not remaining at the bottom of the class scale as prescribed by many white Americans. The series also created conflict by defying who could rise above class and who could become wealthy. The Cosby Show revealed the fact that the