Sunday, August 21, 2016
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Monday, August 15, 2016
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Friday, August 12, 2016
Monday, August 8, 2016
Hare and Tortoise - A Management Story
Part 1:
Long time ago, there was a tortoise and a hare who had an
argument about who the faster runner was. They finally decided to take on one
another on a race.
As the race started, the hare sprinted ahead briskly for
some time. Realizing that it will take some time for the tortoise to catch up
with him, he decided to seek shelter from the sun under a tree before
continuing the race. As he sat under the tree, he gradually fell asleep. The
tortoise, crawling at a steady pace, eventually overtook him and won the race.
The hare woke up and realized that his complacency cost him the trophy.
Moral: The determined, hardworking and steady paced
people will eventually overtake the fast but complacent. We are all familiar
with this story.
Part 2:
The hare realized that he was over confident, complacent and
took things too easily. He decided to have a re-match with the tortoise. The
tortoise accepted his challenge.
This time, the hare ran with all his might and didn’t stop
until he crossed the finish line.
Moral: Fast and consistent will always beat the slow
and steady.
But the story doesn’t end here.
Part 3
This time, it was the tortoise that did the soul searching
and he realized that if the hare didn’t stop, there is no way he will beat him.
He thought hard and decided on a different course and he challenged the hare to
another re-match. The hare, of course, agreed.
With the lessons learnt from his previous failure in mind, the
hare kept on running once the race started and didn’t stop until the route
leads him to the bank of a river. He was taken by surprise and he did not know
what to do, since he could not swim. There were no bridges in sight and no one
to ask for directions. As he was cracking his head, thinking of ways to cross
the river, the tortoise strolled slowly along, dived into the river, swam
across it and ultimately, finished the race before the hare.
Moral: Know your strengths and take on your competitors
in areas of your core competency.
The story still hasn’t ended.
Part 4
With the hare and the tortoise spending so much time
together racing, they have become rather good friends, they have also developed
mutual respect for one another as they realized that they are both different
and they have different strengths. They decided to race again, but this time,
as a team.
As the race started, the hare carried the tortoise and they
sped to the river bank. There, they switched positions and the tortoise ferried
the hare across the river. On the opposite bank, the hare again carried the
tortoise and they crossed the finishing line together. They completed the race
in a record time that both of them can never achieve if they were to do it
alone. They also felt a greater sense of satisfaction than they’d felt earlier.
Moral: It’s good to be individually brilliant and to
have strong core competencies but unless you’re able to work in a team and
harness each other’s core competencies, you’ll always perform below par because
there will always be situations at which you’ll do poorly and someone else does
well.
Note that neither the hare nor the tortoise gave up after
failures. The hare decided to work harder and put in more effort after his
failure. The tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as
hard as he could, but was not doing as well as he wished.
Imagine how long it will take the hare to learn how to swim!
Or for the tortoise to learn to run fast. In this day and age when the
environment changes at lightning speed, we have to learnt to work with people
who have strengths in areas that we do not have.
It is the same in business, if we can
collaborate with people who are experts in areas that we are not familiar with,
we will realize that our market suddenly becomes bigger. Maybe that is what
globalization is after all.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Friday, August 5, 2016
Accounting Basic Definitions
Accounting Information system(AIS):
A transaction processing system that captures financial data resulting from accounting transactions within a company.
Controlling Activities:
The motivation and monitoring of employees and the evaluation of people and other resources used in the operations of the organization.
Data:
Reports such as financial statements, customer lists & inventory records.
Ethics Program:
Company programs or policies created for the express purpose of establishing and maintaining an ethical business environment.
External users:
Stockholders, Potential investors, creditors, government taxing agencies, regulators, suppliers, customers, and others outside the company.
Finance Function:
Responsible for managing the financial resources of the organization.
Financial Accounting:
The area of accounting primarily concerned with the preparation and use of financial statements by creditors, investors, and other users outside the company.
Human Resource Function:
Concerned with the utilization of human resources to help an organization reach its goals.
Information:
Data that have been organized, processed and summarized.
Internal Users:
Individual employees, teams, departments, regions, top management and others inside the company-often referred to as managers.
Knowledge:
Information that is shared and exploited so that it adds value to an organization.
Managerial Accounting:
The area of accounting primarily concerned with generating financial and non-financial information for use by managers in their decision-making roles within a company.
Marketing Function:
Marketing function involved with the process of developing, pricing, promoting and distributing goods and services sold to customers.
Operating Activities:
The day-to-day operations of a business.
Operating Planning:
The development of short-term objectives and goals(typically, those to be achieved in less than one year)
Operations and production function:
Produces the products or services that an organization sells to its customers.
Planning:
The development of both the short-term(operational) and long-term(strategic) objectives and goals of an organization and the identification of the resources needed to achieve them.
Strategic Planning:
Addresses long-term questions of how an organization positions and distinguishes itself from competitors.
Accounting:
It is the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions by the users of accounts.
Accounting - Accounting keeps track of the financial records of a business. In addition to recording financial transactions, it involves reporting, analyzing and summarizing information.
A transaction processing system that captures financial data resulting from accounting transactions within a company.
Controlling Activities:
The motivation and monitoring of employees and the evaluation of people and other resources used in the operations of the organization.
Data:
Reports such as financial statements, customer lists & inventory records.
Ethics Program:
Company programs or policies created for the express purpose of establishing and maintaining an ethical business environment.
External users:
Stockholders, Potential investors, creditors, government taxing agencies, regulators, suppliers, customers, and others outside the company.
Finance Function:
Responsible for managing the financial resources of the organization.
Financial Accounting:
The area of accounting primarily concerned with the preparation and use of financial statements by creditors, investors, and other users outside the company.
Human Resource Function:
Concerned with the utilization of human resources to help an organization reach its goals.
Information:
Data that have been organized, processed and summarized.
Internal Users:
Individual employees, teams, departments, regions, top management and others inside the company-often referred to as managers.
Knowledge:
Information that is shared and exploited so that it adds value to an organization.
Managerial Accounting:
The area of accounting primarily concerned with generating financial and non-financial information for use by managers in their decision-making roles within a company.
Marketing Function:
Marketing function involved with the process of developing, pricing, promoting and distributing goods and services sold to customers.
Operating Activities:
The day-to-day operations of a business.
Operating Planning:
The development of short-term objectives and goals(typically, those to be achieved in less than one year)
Operations and production function:
Produces the products or services that an organization sells to its customers.
Planning:
The development of both the short-term(operational) and long-term(strategic) objectives and goals of an organization and the identification of the resources needed to achieve them.
Strategic Planning:
Addresses long-term questions of how an organization positions and distinguishes itself from competitors.
Accounting:
It is the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions by the users of accounts.
Accounting - Accounting keeps track of the financial records of a business. In addition to recording financial transactions, it involves reporting, analyzing and summarizing information.
Accounts Payable - Accounts Payable are liabilities of a business and represent money owed to others.
Accounts Receivable - Assets of a business and represent money owed to a business by others.
Accrual Accounting - Records financial transactions when they occur rather than when cash changes hands. For example, when goods are received without payment, an Accounts Payable is recorded.
Accruals - Accruals acknowledge revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred even though a cash transaction may not be involved.
Amortization - Reduces debts through equal payments that include interest.
Asset - Items of value that are owned.
Audit Trail - Allow financial transactions to be traced to their source.
Auditors - Examine financial accounts and records to evaluate their accuracy and the financial condition of the entity.
Balance Sheet - Provides a snapshot of a business' assets, liabilities, and equity on a given date.
Bookkeeping - Recording of financial transactions in an accounting system.
Budgeting - Budgeting involves maintaining a financial plan to control cash flow.
Capital Stock - Total amount of common and preferred stock issued by a company.
Capital Surplus - The amount in excess of par value for shares of common stock.
Capitalized Expense - Accumulated expenses that are expensed over time.
Cash Flow - The difference in money flowing in and out. A negative flow indicates more money going out than coming in. A positive flow shows more money coming in than going out.
Cash-Basis Accounting - Records when cash is received through revenues and disbursed for expenses.
Chart of Accounts - An organization's list of accounts used to record financial transactions.
Closing the Books/Year End Closing - Closing the Books occurs at the end of the annual period and allows for a start with a clean book at the beginning of the next year.
Cost Accounting - Used internally to determine the cost of operations and to establish a budget to increase profitability.
Credit - Entered in the right column of accounts. Liability, equity and revenue increase on the credit side.
Debit - Entered in the left column of accounts. Assets and expenses increase on the debit side.
Departmental Accounting - Shows individual departments' income, expenses and net profit.
Depreciation - The decrease in an asset's value over time.
Dividends - Profits returned to the shareholders of a corporation.
Double-Entry Bookkeeping - Requires entries of debits and credits for each financial transaction.
Equity - Represents the value of company ownership.
Financial Accounting - The accounting branch that prepares financial reporting primarily for external users.
Financial Statement - Financial Statements detail the financial activities of a business.
Fixed Asset - Used for a long period of time, e.g. - equipment or buildings.
General Ledger - Where debit and credit transactions are recorded.
Goodwill - Intangible asset a business enjoys like its reputation or brand popularity.
Income Statement - A Financial Statement documents the difference in revenue and expenses resulting in income.
Inventory Valuation - A valuation method modified for use in real estate and business appraisals.
Inventory - Inventory consists of raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods.
Invoice - An Invoice shows the amount of money owed for goods or services received.
In The Black - Makes reference to a profit on the books; opposite of “in the red.” Black Friday sales are known for the profit retailers are adding to their books.
In The Red - Makes reference to a loss on the books; opposite of “in the black.” In the days of handwritten accounting, ledger entries written in black meant there was a profit, but those in red meant there was a loss.
Job Costing - Job Costing tracks costs of a particular job against its revenues.
Journal - The first place financial transactions are entered. They are entered chronologically.
Liability - Liabilities are the obligations of an entity, usually financial in nature.
Liquid Asset - Consist of cash and other assets that can be easily converted to cash.
Loan - A monetary advance from a lender to a borrower.
Master Account - A Master Account has subsidiary accounts. Accounts Receivable could be a master account for various individual receivable accounts.
Net Income - Net Income equals revenue minus expenses, taxes, depreciation and interest.
Non-Cash Expense - Does not require cash outlay, e.g. - depreciation.
Non-operating Income - Income not generated from the business. An example might be the sale of unused equipment.
Note - A Note is a document promising to repay a debt.
Operating Income - Determined by subtracting operating expenses from operating revenue. Interest and income tax expenses are not included.
Other Income - Non-recurring income, e.g. - interest.
Payroll - An account listing employees and any wages and salaries due them.
Posting - Refers to the recording of ledger entries.
Profit - Profit is revenue minus expenses. Reductions for taxes, interest, and depreciation are included.
Profit/Loss Statement - A financial report issued by a company on a regular basis that discloses earnings, expenses and net profit for a given time period.
Reconciliation - The act of proving an account balances; debits and credits equal. An example of reconciling an account is to verify that the bank statement matches the checkbook balance, making allowances for outstanding checks and deposits.
Retained Earnings - Money left after all the bills have been paid and all the shareholder dividends have been distributed; often reinvested in the business.
Revenue - The actual amount of money a company brings in during a particular time period; gross income.
Shareholder Equity - A company’s total assets less its total liabilities; owner’s equity; net worth. Shareholder equity comes from the start-up capital of the business plus retained earnings amassed over time.
Single-Entry Bookkeeping - An accounting process that uses on one entry, instead of debit and credit entries. Small businesses using cash accounting system benefit from the ease of this system, which is much like keeping a checkbook.
Statement of Account - A written document that shows all charges and payments; accounts receivable statement; accounts payable statement. Generally, a monthly accounts receivable statement is sent to a charge customer; and reconciled by an accounts payable clerk for payment.
Subsidiary Accounts - Accounts that are under a control account; they must equal the main account balance. Examples of subsidiary accounts may be “Office Supplies,” or “Cleaning Supplies,” under the control account called “Supplies.”
Supplies - Consumable materials used in business and replenished as needed. Supplies are not inventory for sale; rather they are used to carry out business activities.
Treasury Stock - Shares a company retains or buys back once offered to the public for purchase.
Write-down/Write-off - An accounting transaction that reduces the value of an asset.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Structure Of Data Base Management System
DATA BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STRUCTURE:
DBMS (Database Management System) acts as an interface
between the user and the database. The user requests the DBMS to perform
various operations (insert, delete, update and retrieval) on the database. The
components of DBMS perform these requested operations on the database and
provide necessary data to the users.
DBMS Structure is classified in to 3 parts:
1) Users
2) Data Management System
a) Query Processor
b) Storage Manager
3) Disk Storage
1) Users
It has 4 users
Naive Users
Naive Users are
unsophisticated users who interact with the system by using permanent
application programs (e.g. automated teller machine).
Application
Programmers
Application Programmers are computer professionals interacting with the system
through DML calls embedded in a program written in a host language (e.g. C,
PL/1, Pascal): These programs are called Application Programs. The DML
Precompiled converts DML calls (prefaced by a special character like $, #,
etc.) to normal procedure calls in a host language.
Sophisticated
Users
Sophisticated Users interact with the system without writing programs: They form
requests by writing queries in a database query language. These are submitted
to a query processor that breaks a DML statement down into
instructions for the database manager module.
Database
Administrator (DBA)
The DBA is a
person or a group of persons who is responsible for the management of the
database. The DBA is responsible for authorizing access to the database by
grant and revoke permissions to the users, for coordinating and monitoring its
use, managing backups and repairing damage due to hardware and/or software
failures and for acquiring hardware and software resources as needed. In case
of small organization the role of DBA is performed by a single person and in
case of large organizations there is a group of DBA's who share
responsibilities.
2) Date Management System
Its a combination of Query Processor & Storage Manager
Query Processor
Embedded DML Precompiler
Embedded DML Precompiler converts DML statements
embedded in an application program to normal procedure calls in the host
language. The precompiler must interact with the DML compiler to generate the
appropriate code.
DDL Interpreter
DDL Interpreter which interprets DDL statements and
records the definitions in the data dictionary.
DML Compiler
DML Compiler which translates DML statements in a
query language into an evaluation plan consisting of low level instructions that
the query evaluation engine understands.
Query Evolution Engine
Query Evolution Engine executes low-level instructions
generated by the DML compiler
Storage Manager
Transaction manager
This ensures that the database remains
in a constraint (correct) state despite system failures, and that concurrent
transaction executions proceed without conflicting.
File manager
This manages the allocation of space on disk
storage and the data structures used to represent information stored on disk.
Buffer manager
Buffer manager is responsible for fetching
data from disk storage into main memory, and deciding what data to cache in
memory.
3) Disk Storage
It has 4 types of storage
Data files
This stores the database itself
Data dictionary
This stores metadata about the structure of
the database
Indices
This provide fast access to data items that hold
particular values
Statistical
data
This stores statistical information about the data in the database. This information is used by query processor to select efficient ways to execute a query
This stores statistical information about the data in the database. This information is used by query processor to select efficient ways to execute a query
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