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Zero - based budgets

April 13th, 2010   by Mac

In most companies part of the annual cycle is the time in the year when the next year's operating budgets are prepared. Very often this is nothing more than an exercise by which last year's budgets are increased incrementally, usually by the rate of inflation. For most operations this approach will produce a workable budget, but where questions about cost - effectiveness have been asked then an-other approach may be required. One such approach is known as zero budgeting.

This form of analysis requires a return to first principles. It is almost as though the operation has never existed and is being planned for the first time, hence the name"zero" or back to the starting - point. Each element of the operating budget must be analyzed line by line. For example, the cost of fuel will be calculated by examining the food consumption of the different types of vehicle in the fleet according to the manufacturers technical figurers, which will be divided into the annual mileages for this type of vehicle and finally multiplied by the cost of fuel, for example:

Planning for logistics

38 ~ tone gown 4 x 2 tractor should achieve say 8. 5 miles per gallon

There are six similar vehicles in this fleet

Their combined annual mileages is 480,000 miles

The current cost of fuel is say £ 2. 50 per gallon

480,000 miles/8. 5mpg = 56,470 gallons x £2.50- £141,176

This process will have to be repeated for all the different types of vehicle in the fleet to achieve the final budgetary figure. Unless the operation is already in excellent shape then chances are that the figure arrived at be less than the cur-rent cost of fuel used. This is because part of the process entails using the best possible achievable figures such as the manufacturers' fuel consumption figures or the best bunkered price for fuel.

The object of the exercise is firstly to have managers take a fresh look at their operations. Secondly, because the best possible figures are used to formulate the budget, it highlights areas for improvement. Perhaps the drivers are not achieving the best fuel consumption achievable and require training? Maybe more can be done to achieve a better price for the fuel used?

The exercise will cause managers to ask many uncomfortable questions about their area of responsibility. Some will find this so uncomfortable that, they will simply attempt to replicate the current system by using their current fuel consumption figures and fuel purchase prices. This should be avoided as the best results accrue from an honest line - by - line re - evaluation of the operating bud-get. If differently undertaken the resultant budget will be accompanied by a number of action points that will serve to improve overall operational cost - effectiveness.

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New York City

April 12th, 2010   by Mac

New York City is the largest city in the United States. More than seven million people live there. It is a place that attracts people all over the world. Get on a subway in New York and look at the newspapers that people around you are reading. One person is reading a newspaper in Spanish, another in Chinese, yet others in Arabic, Russian, Italian, Yiddish, and French. New York was always a city of immigrants. It still is.

New York is also famous for its big buildings. It has very tall buildings like the Empire State Building. The original idea to put up the skyscrapers was to save the space of the land. New York has always needed space. And the land was increased mainly through building high-rises and landfills.

New York City is also famous for its Wall Street, which has become the centre of the American finance. Wall Street was first built up by the early Dutch settlers with wood. They built the strong wooden wall because they and the English, Indians were not friendly to each others. Now the wooden wall is gone, but the street remains and has become synonymous with American capitalism. It is easy to see why Wall Street means capitalism. The New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange are both in the Wall Street area. So are many stockbrokers, investment banks and other banks, and headquarters of many large corporations.

There is also the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a branch of the national bank of the United States — and the only branch that buys and sells government securities.

New York City is the centre for culture in the United States. It has the finest museums and best art galleries in the country. Along Fifth Avenue near Central Park there are so many museums that the area is called "Museum Mile." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with huge collections of art from around the world, is regarded as the most important museum in the United States. Besides museums, there is an area famous for plays. That is Broadway. And this is the centre of theatre in the United States. Many plays open in other cities with the hope of eventually making it to Broadway. In addition to Broadway there are Off Broadway and Off-Off-Broad way theatres. Plays at these other theatres tend to deal with a wider range of subjects and to be more experimental — some say more interesting — than the plays on Broadway. They may involve audience participation — that is, the audience becomes part of the play. And at some Off-Off Broadway plays, you feel like you're part of the play because the theatre is in someone's living room.

Many people call New York City the "Big Apple", which was given P Jazz musicians in the 1920s. When a musician says he's going to the Big Apple, it means he is the best.

However, New York City is not a gold apple for everyone. In recent years, the city's crime rate has increased and many murders involved innocent bystanders — people who just happened to be "in the way" when shots were fired. It is believed that drugs and the easy availability of sophisticated weapons are the factors contributing to the increase in violent crime. Many New Yorkers say they would move elsewhere if they could. But other New Yorkers thought they would be loyal to the city. As they pointed out that the problems go beyond New York City. "For all its problems," one man say, "New York has so much to offer — concerts, plays, you name it. And besides, New York is my home."

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Some Christian Festivals

April 9th, 2010   by Mac

Christmas Day (December 25)

Christmas Day. which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, is the biggest and the best-loved holiday in the United States. It is a time of warmth and love, hospitality and good will. Generally speaking, the Christmas season and excitement last from right after Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day on January 1st.

As soon as the season comes, the American Christmas "madness" begins. In many areas, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year—the first day of Christmas gift shopping. Big markets, department stores and shops make various advertisements to attract customers. The shopping is on all day long. Street lights and store windows are decorated with the traditional Christmas colors of red and green. Families also decorate their homes inside and outside after they have a spring cleaning.

Most people exchange presents and send Christmas cards to their friends, relatives and business associates. They open their presents either on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Often they leave the brightly wrapped packages under Christmas trees and children have fun for guessing what special surprises are in store for them. As the colorful cards arrive, Americans enjoy hanging them on the Christmas trees

Many families go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Then they come home to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner. Their favorite courses are turkey, ham, plum pudding mince pie. There are a lot of sweets as well. Before going to bed, children hang their stockings by the fireplace, hoping some sweets and toys will be given by Santa Claus. Easter Sunday (A Sunday in March or April)

Easter Sunday, which comes from the ancient Norwegian festival of Spring sun. is the second of the two most important religious holidays for Christmas. It is on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21, and it is for celebrating the rising of Jesus Christ from his tomb, where he had lain for three days following his death. Before he died he had promised to rise again as proof of eternal life-Americans like this holiday. On the Easter morning, millions of people gather on hilltops, parks, churches, and open spaces to salute another Easter dawn. For there is a rising of hope and joy as the earth reawakens to another spring. New life comes out, and days are getting longer. Birds are singing everywhere.

There are several symbols for Easter. Of all the symbols, the egg and the hare , which are considered to represent fertility and new life, are those most frequently associated with Easter. American children are told that the Easter bunny brings the baskets, so they carry small baskets to look for colored eggs that have been hidden in the grass, the bushes, or even in the branches of trees. Egg rolling, the original Easter tradition by the colonists, is held on Easter Monday morning every year on the White House Lawn.

The Easter Parade is very popular in the United States. The most famous one is a-long the Fifth Avenue in New York City.

University students usually have a week-long "Spring Break" to return home to spend the holiday with their parents. The family members often have an Easter dinner, consisting of young lamb, ham. Spring peas, small potatoes, and eggs in various forms.

— 46

Can the car then survive? Certainly no one today can imagine life without it. In Armorica a car appears to be essential. Drivers will crawl through midtown traffic rather than give up their vehicles. Many families even own two cars.

But we cannot continue to let car fumes poison us. City dwellers are already begin­ning to choke in the smog. A drastic change is needed if we are to go on driving. In the hunt for a way to save the car from extinction, all sorts of extreme methods have been proposed. The increased use of electric power is by far the most promising of the ideas put forward to date. Many pollution fighters have acclaimed it. At present, elec­tric cars obtain their power from storage batteries. Every night the battery has to be re­charged in the garage. This method is awkward, particularly for long-distance driving. It has been suggested that at some time in the future booths could be set up on high­ways. Drivers on the road would stop every so often, put a coin in the slot, and plug the battery into an electric socket for a recharge.

In-city traffic would benefit most from electric cars. Stop-and-go driving causes for more poisonous gases to be released. An air monitor in one large city recently meas­ured the poisonous gases coming from cars on their way home in the evening rush hour. The amounts of hydrocarbons! and carbon monoxide! released were four times as great as those expelled from vehicles moving at a steady pace on the highway.

In some American cities officials are not waiting for improved electric car models. They have ordered minibuses run on the standard-storage batteries. In this way they can reduce the number of diesel buses on the streets. Diesel exhaust not only smells worse than fumes from internal combustion engines, but also has large amounts of ni­trogen oxides -

Some people think that an elevated system like the monorail would help to reduce pollution. The monorail, which is also powered by electricity, is often seen at fairs and entertainment parks. Traveling over the fairgrounds on its single rail, the monorail offers an excellent view of the attractions below. One day it may offer rush-hour travelers as good a view of the city below.

But a more electric world would not prevent air pollution. If power plants are to generate enough electricity to run transportation, as well as to produce heat, light, and energy for factories and homes, the plants will have to be greatly expanded. Moreo­ver, utilities providing power have been repeatedly named as major offenders in air pol­lution. Nonetheless, it would be easier to control pollution from a few large sources than from every car, bus, industry, and house.

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Here are 8 things to do that will dramatically increase your chances of being employed.

April 8th, 2010   by Mac

Don't be a "smiley face".
Excessive smiling in a job interview is seen for what it is--nervousness and a lack of confidence. A smiley-face person exudes phoniness, which will quickly be picked up by the interviewer. Instead be thoughtful and pleasant. Smile when there's something to smile about. Do a practice run in front of a mirror or friend.

Don't be a bad comedian.
Humor tends to be very subjective, and while it may be tempting to lead your interview with a joke you've got to be careful about your material. You probably will know nothing about the sensibilities of your interviewer, let alone what makes them laugh. On the other hand, nothing disarms the tension of a job interview like a little laughter, so you can probably score at least a courtesy chuckle mentioning that it's "perfect weather for a job interview!"

Don't sweat.
You can lose a job by wearing an undershirt or simply a little too much clothing. Sweaty palms or beads on your forehead will not impress. Sweat will be seen as a sign of weakness and nervousness. Do a practice run with your job interview outfit in front of friends. The job interview is one place you definitely don't want to be hot.

Don't be a small-talker.
Your job is to be knowledgeable about the company for which you're interviewing. Random facts about last night's episode or your favorite blog will not get you the job. Never feel you he to fill an interview with small talk. Find ways to talk about serious subjects related to the industry or company. Pockets of silence are better than padding an interview with random babble.

Don't be petty.
Asking the location of the lunchroom or meeting room will clue the interviewer into your lack of preparation and initiative. Prepare. Don't ask questions about routine elements or functions of a company: where stuff is, the size of your cube, and company policy on coffee breaks.

Don't be a liar.
Studies show that employees lie frequently in the workplace. Lying won't get you a job. In a job interview even a slight exaggeration is lying. Don't. Never stretch your resume or embellish accomplishments. One lie can ruin your entire interview, and the skilled interviewer will spot the lie and show you the door.

Don't be high-maintenance.
If you start talking about the ideal office temperature, the perfect chair for your tricky back, and how the water cooler needs to be filled with imported mineral water, chances are you'll be shown a polite smile and the door, regardless of your qualifications. Nobody hiring today is going to be looking for someone who's going to be finicky about their workspace.

Don't be a switchblade.
Normally the switchblade is thought of a backstabber, often taking credit for someone else's work. In an interview setting, the switchblade can't help but "trash talk" his former employer. If you make it seem like your former workplace was hell on Earth, the person interviewing you might be tempted to call them to find out who was the real devil.

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The happy door

April 8th, 2010   by Ann

Happiness is like a pebble dropped into a pool to set in motion an ever-widening circle of ripples. As Stevenson has said, being happy is a duty.

There is no exact definition of the word happiness. Happy people are happy for all sorts of reasons. The key is not wealth or physical well-being, since we find beggars, invalids and so-called failures, who are extremely happy.

Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend. But staying happy is an accomplishment, a triumph of soul and character. It is not selfish to strive for it. It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and others.

Being unhappy is like an infectious disease. It causes people to shrink away from the sufferer. He soon finds himself alone, miserable and embittered. There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, at first glance, ridiculous; if you don’t feel happy, pretend to be!

It works. Before long you will find that instead of repelling people, you attract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be the center of wider and wider circles of good will.

Then the make-believe becomes a reality. You possess the secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of service to others.

Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as a habit, opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged with grateful friends.

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Money and Happiness

April 6th, 2010   by Mac

It is an oft repeated axiom that money cannot buy happiness. While this is certainly true, poverty will not buy Happiness either. Some people become very wealthy, yet struggle to enjoy their lives. On the other hand, others manage to go through life with very few money problems simply because they are able to make the most of what they have.

Ideally you should try to combine both prosperity and Happiness. To do this I recommend the following steps:

1. Learn to Value Simplicity The aim of life should not be to accumulate as many possessions and as much wealth as possible. We should learn to be content with what we have and appreciate the benefits of simplicity. For example, if we clear out our unnecessary clutter we will achieve a greater feeling of space and freedom.

If you feel happiness is directly related to material possessions, you are making a mistake. Happiness can be gained just through being content with a small amount of possessions. Our inner wealth is not just about what we have, but what we are content to live without.

2. Do Not Be Attached to Your Money Does it pain you to spend your own money - even if it is for something useful? Even someone like Bill Gates can feel uncomfortable spending his billions; it is said he used to always travel economy class because he didn’t see the need to spend more money on first class. The problem with this, however, is that if we are always reluctant to spend money we miss the whole point of earning it.

A good attitude is to see money as a circular flow - that is, spending money enables more to come into our lives. It is not like a big dam where we just try to hold onto it all. We need to let the money out by spending on useful and necessary things. It is no good having a stockpile of water unless we use it to generate power; similarly it is no use accumulating large savings if we we feel miserable spending it.

3. Minimize Money Worries We will be happiest if we can make money a small part of our lives, and think about money issues as little as possible. To be able to do this we need to avoid creating situations of debt as getting out of debt can be difficult and stressful. Learn to live within your means by avoiding impulsive overspending. If you do need to go into debt, plan ahead and find a loan which is clear and manageable to repay.

Try to avoid complicated and risky investment plans; these give you the potential to gain more, but you will also have the potential to lose a lot more. Good financial planning should be simple and well balanced; this means your nerves will not be affected by worrying about the outcome of your investment. It is better to invest and save in something secure so you can forget about it and not worry endlessly.

4. Avoid Jealousy No matter how much money you have, do you still envy people who have more? A recent survey asked people whether they would prefer to have a salary above the national average. Alternatively, they could choose to have a higher salary, but this higher salary would be lower than the average. A surprising amount of people chose to have a lower salary as long as it meant they were relatively better off than the rest of the population.

To me this makes no sense. If other people become wealthier than you, that is no reason to be unhappy. If other people are prosperous that is good; don’t feel miserable just because you cannot keep up with the Joneses.

5. Don’t Live to Work. Do you find yourself working overtime in the evenings and at the weekend? If you spend all your time working, you will have no opportunity to spend your earnings. Don’t feel guilty for turning extra work down; it is important to give leisure time as high a priority as work. It is good if we can gain satisfaction from work, but if we only spend time working then our life lacks a proper balance.

6. Understand Why Are Some People Always Poor I’m sure most people will have good friends who always seems to have money concerns. No matter what happens they always seem to be short of money and they frequently share tales of financial woe. The lack of money makes them unhappy, but they don’t know how to change the situation. Giving them money doesn’t solve the problem because they continue to make bad financial decisions.

Part of the problem lies in their mindset. It is easy to become accustomed to being poor and then half expecting the poverty to continue. With this mindset, it becomes difficult to attract money into our lives and easy to develop feelings of self pity and regret. However, while we might be unfortunate it won’t do anything to resolve the situation. The secret is to try and change our habits and approach to money. Also, be wary about trying to convert others to better financial habits - it is almost guaranteed to fail.

7. Ignorance is Not Bliss Another attitude to money is to try and avoid thinking about it. We ignore the true extent of our debts, spending and leaving unpaid bills. We frequently miss out on moving to better financial deals and make late payments which harm our credit rating. By ignoring money like this, we merely create more serious problems for the future.

Also, when we put off dealing with financial problems we carry the problem in the back of our mind. We can get no peace of mind because we permanently have a long list of things to deal with. It is better in these circumstances to promptly deal with things like paying bills and sorting out your accounts - then we can forget about them.

8. Develop A New Perspective The following are some money related questions you should ask yourself:

Am I happy with my financial situation? Would more money make my life better? Do I always have financial problems hanging over my head? Is money the most important thing in my life? Is the pursuit of money making me miserable? Would I sacrifice principles to make more money? Even just answering these questions honestly may encourage a new perspective towards money.

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Budgeting for a New Era of Responsibility

April 6th, 2010   by Mac

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  This morning, I sent a budget to Congress for the coming year.  It's a budget that reflects the serious challenges facing the country.  We're at war.  Our economy has lost 7 million jobs over the last two years.  And our government is deeply in debt after what can only be described as a decade of profligacy .

The fact is, 10 years ago, we had a budget surplus of more than $200 billion, with projected surpluses stretching out toward the horizon.  Yet over the course of the past 10 years, the previous administration and previous Congresses created an expensive new drug program, passed massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and funded two wars without paying for any of it -– all of which was compounded by recession and by rising health care costs.  As a result, when I first walked through the door, the deficit stood at $1.3 trillion, with projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade.

If we had taken office during ordinary times, we would have started bringing down these deficits immediately.  But one year ago, our country was in crisis:  We were losing nearly 700,000 jobs each month, the economy was in a free fall（ , and the financial system was near collapse.  Many feared another Great Depression.  So we initiated a rescue, and that rescue was not without significant cost; it added to the deficit as well.

One year later, because of the steps we've taken, we're in a very different place.  But we can't simply move beyond this crisis; we have to address the irresponsibility that led to it.  And that includes the failure to rein in spending, as well a reliance on borrowing –- from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street –- to fuel our growth.  That's what we have to change.  We have to do what families across America are doing:  Save where we can so that we can afford what we need.

Now, I think it's very important to understand:  We won't be able to bring down this deficit overnight, given that the recovery is still taking hold and families across the country still need help.  We will continue, for example, to do what it takes to create jobs.  That's reflected in my budget; it's essential.  The budget includes new tax cuts for people who invest in small businesses, tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers, investments that will create jobs repairing roads and bridges, and tax breaks for retrofitting homes to save energy.

We also continue to lay a new foundation for lasting growth, which is essential as well.  Just as it would be a terrible mistake to borrow against our children's future to pay our way today, it would be equally wrong to neglect their future by failing to invest in areas that will determine our economic success in this new century.

That's why we build on the largest investment in clean energy in history, as well as increase investment in scientific research, so that we are fostering the industries and jobs of the future right here in America.

That's why I've proposed a more than 6 percent increase in funding for the Education Department.  And this funding is tied to reforms that raise student achievement, inspire students to excel in math and science, and turn around failing schools which consign too many young people to a lesser future -- because in the 21st century there is no better anti-poverty program than a world-class education.

And that's why we eliminate a wasteful subsidy to banks that lend to college students, and use that money to revitalize（ community colleges and make college more affordable.  This will help us reach the goal I've set for America:  By 2020 we will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

These are the investments we must make to create jobs and opportunity now and in the future.  And in a departure from the way business had been done in Washington, we actually show how we pay for these investments while putting our country on a more fiscally sustainable path.

I've proposed a freeze in government spending for three years.  This won't apply to the benefits folks get through Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare.  And it won't apply to our national security –- including benefits for veterans.  But it will apply to all other discretionary government programs.  And we're not simply photocopying last year's budget; freezing spending does not mean we won't cut what doesn't work to pay for what does.

We have gone through every department's spending line by line, item by item, looking for inefficiency,

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