The CRM Value Chain Essay Example for Free

The CRM Value Chain Essay The meaning of those three letters, CRM, is hotly contested. For some, CRM is simply a bridge between marketing and IT: CRM is therefore an IT-enabled sales and service function. For others it’s little more than precisely targeted 1to-1 communications. But both of these views deny CRM its great potential contribution. Because CRM, at its most advanced, answers questions like ‘who should we serve?’ and ‘what should we serve to them?’ and ‘how should we serve them?’ it could, and often should, be positioned as the fundamental strategic process around which the business is organised. CRM decisions impact on marketing, certainly, but also on operations, sales, customer service, HR, RD and finance, as well as IT. CRM is fundamentally cross-functional, customerfocussed business strategy. The CRM value chain The CRM value chain (figure 1) is a proven model which businesses can follow when developing and implementing their CRM strategies. It has been five years in development and has been piloted in a number of business-tobusiness and business-to-consumer settings, with both large companies and SMEs: IT, software, telecoms, financial services, retail, media, manufacturing, and construction. The model is grounded on strong theoretical principles and the practical requirements of business. The ultimate purpose of the CRM value chain process is to ensure that the company builds long-term mutually-beneficial relationships with its strategically-significant customers. Not all customers are strategically significant. Indeed some customers are simply too expensive to acquire and service. They buy little and infrequently; they pay late or default; they make extraordinary demands on customer service and sales resources; they demand expensive, short-run, customised output; and then they defect to competitors. What is a strategically significant customer? We’ve identified four types of strategically significant customer (SSC). Selfevidently, the high life-time value customer is a key SSC. These must be the focus of customer retention efforts. Life-time value potential is the presentday value of all future margins that might be earned in a relationship. Tempting as it may be to believe, not all high volume customers have high LTV. If they demand JIT, customised delivery, or are in other ways costly to serve, their value may be significantly reduced. We know of one company that applied activity-based costing disciplines in order to trace process costs to its customer base. They found that 2 of their 3 biggest customers were in fact unprofitable. As a consequence the company re-engineered its manufacturing and logistics processes, and salespeople negotiated price increases. A second group of strategically significant customers we call ‘benchmarks’. These are customers that other customers copy. A manufacturer of vending machine equipment is prepared to do business with Coca Cola at breakeven. Why? Because they can tell other customers that they are supplying to the world’s biggest vending operation. The third group of SSCs are ‘inspirations’, customers who inspire change in the supplying company. These may be customers who find new applications, come up with new product ideas, find ways of improving quality or reducing cost. They may be the most demanding of customers, or frequent complainers, and, though their own LTV potential is low, they offer other significant sources of value. One insurance company modified its claims process to satisfy one particular car fleet operator; this process eventually became the company’s default standard. The final group of strategically significant customers we call ‘cost magnets’. There are customers who absorb a disproportionately high volume of fixed cost, thus enabling other, smaller customers to become profitable. One oilseed processor, for example, has two major customers, a manufacturer of snack foods which buys oil in bulk and a retail multiple which buys consumer packs. Although they account for 60% of oil-seed processing time, they absorb 85% of fixed costs between them. Five steps to profitable relationships The five steps in the CRM value chain are customer portfolio analysis, customer intimacy, network development, value proposition development and managing the relationship. Although we don’t discuss them here, at each stage of the value chain there are concepts, tools and processes to help create and implement successful strategy. Very briefly, the CPA step analyses the customer base to identify customers to target with different value propositions. The second step involves the business in getting to know the selected customers as segments or individuals and building a customer data-base which is accessible to all those whose decisions or activities impact upon customer attitude and behaviour. Step three involves building a strong network of relationships with employees, suppliers, partners and investors who understand the requirements of the chosen customers. Step four involves developing, with the network’s compliance, propositions which create value jointly for the customer and company. The fifth and final stage is to manage the customer relationship. The focus here is on both structure and process. From observation of failure it is clear that CRM solutions cannot be transplanted into any organisation in the absolute certainty that the business will flourish. For success to happen, CRM needs a supportive culture: it’s unlikely to yield dividends in companies which only pay lip service to customer focus. Neither will it succeed in organisations wedded to product-based structures or reward systems based on sales volume. Similarly, if IT, human resources and procurement processes are not aligned with the CRM agenda, it’s unlikely to flourish. For example, we know one IT company which is trying to implement CRM strategy whilst still recruiting up-and-at-‘em salespeople who are quota driven. Another company is in the throes of a cost-reduction programme and procures least cost inputs to its manufacturing process without due regard to the impact on customer satisfaction and buying behaviour. Customer Portfolio Analysis CPA, the first step in the CRM value chain acknowledges that not all customers have equal value to the company. CPA asks the question: ‘who are our SSCs?’ The answer can be pitched at sector (e.g. food retailing), segment (e.g. food retail multiples) or individual (e.g. Tesco) levels. Companies which have no customer history on which to base their analysis can use segmentation approaches to identify potential SSCs. When CPA has sorted the actual or potential customer base into different groups, they can be taegeted with different value propositions. An important consideration is to analyse and sort by profit potential, not by volume, whether that is by sector, segment or individual. One CPA tool sorts customers into 4 strategic groups: sack, re-engineer, nurture and invest. Sackable customers are those who have no present or future profit potential or life-time value. The ‘invest’ group contains customers who are both valuable currently and have significant future potential. The ‘reengineer’ group contains customers who are not presently profitable but who could become so if the relationship were re-engineered. Options may include reducing the level of customer service, disintermediation, or telesales, rather than face-to-face sales representation. The final segment ‘nurture’ contains those customers who are currently profitable but have little future potential. The task here is to address, possibly in consultation with those customers the reasons for pessimism. It may be that they can jointly find solutions which suggest a more profitable future relationship. Customer intimacy Choosing customers to serve is one thing. Get ting to know them well is altogether different. Most companies collect customer data. Some industries are overwhelmed with information – scanner data, loyalty card data, complaints files, market research, geodemographic data. The challenge is to use the data to better understand the who, what, why, where, when and how of customer behaviour. Mining data intelligently is, of course, a source of huge competitive advantage, and it enables a more refined CPA to be undertaken. Develop the Network Company does not compete against company. Network competes against network. For example, Sainsbury does not compete against Tesco. Their respective networks compete. Tesco’s network, which includes partners such as Royal Bank of Scotland (for its retail banking offer) and Privilege Insurance (for its insurance offer) currently seems to be performing better than Sainsbury’s. A company’s network position i.e. its connectedness to other parties who co-operate in delivering value to the chosen customer, is a source of great competitive advantage. An innovative software house partnering with IBM, for example, enhances its network position. IBM also benefits, as well as their joint customers. Networks consist of partners like these, employees, suppliers and owners/investors. CRM is not a quick fix; it requires owners and investors who will commit to the long-term investment in the people, processes and technology to implement CRM strategies. Employees will probably need reorienting and reskilling, if not redeployment. There is clear evidence that employee performance in moments of truth with customers influences customer satisfaction and purchasing intention. It only takes a short leap of faith to link employee satisfaction to customer satisfaction to business performance. Suppliers also need to understand who the customer is trying to serve. According to the consultants A T Kearney, companies are going to continue vendor reduction programmes over the next several years, as they try to build closer relationships with fewer partner vendors. CRM is becoming twinned with SRM, supplier relationship management. Kearney reckons 20% of current in-suppliers will be de-listed by 2003. For CRM to succeed, the network of suppliers, employees, owners/investors and partners must be aligned and managed to meet the needs of the chosen customers. Value proposition development By the fourth step of the CRM value chain, you will know who you want to serve and will have built, or be in the process of building, the network. Now the network has to work together to create and deliver the chosen value(s) to the selected customers. Great value is found more effective and more efficient solutions of customer problems. Although it is traditional to focus on the product as the main source of value, many companies are finding that people, process and service offer more competitive advantage as products become more commoditised. How things are done with and for customers process is particularly important. There may be small processes, such as how complaints are handled; or big processes, such as how new products are jointly developed with customers. The value star (figure 2) illustrates sources of customer value in a retailing context. Price Managing the relationship For relationships to succeed with strategically significant customers, companies are having to re-invent structures and process. On the way out are hierarchical structures and product managers. Replacing them are flatter organisations with empowered front-lines and customer or market managers. We encourage companies to replace their single marketing strategy with a trio made up of a Customer Acquisition Plan, Customer Retention Plan and Customer Development Plan. Each of these has different metrics from those found in run-of-the-mill marketing strategies. New measures include customer acquisition costs, customer retention rates, share-of-customer and customer development targets alongside more conventional measures such as customer satisfaction and sales volume, and additional measures relating to the performance of network members.. Final thoughts CRM is widely misunderstood by marketing management and seriously misrepresented by software houses. Companies are being sold front-office and back-office solutions, but are missing out on the fundamental, strategic benefits that CRM can provide. CRM at its most sophisticated has the potential to integrate all business processes around the requirements of strategically significant customers, a fact that most IT solutions fail to acknowledge.

Vaunting aloud, but racked with deep despair How does Milton Essay Example for Free

Vaunting aloud, but racked with deep despair How does Milton Essay Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ is not only an exploration of classical events detailed in the Bible, but also a development of them. A dangerous feat, considering the dominant hold that religion had on 17th century England, Milton’s epic poem dares to stray away from the literally believed stories of the Bible and delves into the unexplained and unknown. This is most apparent with his focus on Hell and its sovereign Satan, as these two focal points of Book One are, for the most part, unreferenced in the Bible. However, without any previous scriptural guidelines or knowledge to follow, Milton was granted free reign to develop the character of Satan as he wished, and this lead to him being used in a number of ways. As an epic poem, Paradise Lost requires the presence of a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character of noble stature or greatness who experiences a downfall as a result of their own mistakes or flaws. This interpretation of the dramatic role demonstrates Milton’s inability to place God in this position as it would be seen as heresy, and as a result, he could not feature as the focal character of the poem. Therefore Milton required the use of a fallible character to act as the protagonist, so he cast Satan in this position. In satisfying the role of the tragic hero and protagonist in his poem, Milton resultantly had to equip Satan with the necessary tools to fulfil his function as the poems hero. This is seen in the hyperbolic descriptions of his character and attributes as Satan had ‘unconquerable Will’ and ‘courage never to submit or yield. ’ Like the heroes of epics before him, Satan is displayed as possessing characteristics that elevate his nature above the rest of the poems characters, and it is these traits that put him in a position to oppose God. So Milton uses Book One and Satan to establish his protagonist and primary focus of the poem, and although this choice seems insignificant in the grand scheme of the poem, it acts as the stage for the rest of Satan’s acts. Milton’s use of Satan as the elevated hero gives his poem, and more specifically the divine conflict he portrays, more credibility. This is because Milton’s heroic portrayal of Satan elevates him, in the reader’s eyes, to become a threatening opponent to God. Milton’s intention to use Satan in this way is exacerbated when it is considered that Satan in fact translates to ‘the adversary’ in Hebrew. As Sir Walter Raleigh argued ‘His very situation as the fearless antagonist of Omnipotence makes him either a fool or a hero, and Milton is far indeed from permitting us to think him a fool. ’ Raleigh’s argument is justified when the contextual elements are considered, as during the 17th century, religion was an unavoidable feature of everyone’s lives and God was seen as an unquestionable power, which resulted in many fearing him. Therefore, if Milton were to focus his poem on the confrontation and usurp of God’s rule, then he needed a strong character to lead the opposition. Milton’s desire to use Satan in this way is expressed through the character’s own admissions, as Satan, during his numerous speeches not only compares himself to God, but questions his power altogether. Satan states his plan to ‘deifie this power’ as he and his army are ‘in arms not worse, in foresight much advanc’t. ’ This clearly contradicts two believed truths of the time: that of God’s omnipotence and also his omniscience. This is because Satan believes that the army he has assembled before him, comprised of fallen angels, is sufficient to dethrone God and that now, God no longer has surprise in his favour. This suggestion is more subtle than the first but; I believe it conveys a more important point. In Satan’s mind, the only reason that he was initially defeated was due to the fact that he was unaware of the capabilities of God, but now he has experienced the ‘tyranny of Heav’n. ’ In doing this, Milton indirectly challenges the omniscience that was thought to be held by God, as he portrays Satan as having knowledge that exceeds God. Despite this opposition, Milton is careful to ensure he makes Satan fallible, to avoid any heretic readings of his poem. This is achieved through another pivotal feature of a tragic hero, their hubris. This is excessive pride or ambition that ultimately leads to the downfall of the hero. This pride, which is evident throughout the text, clouds Satan’s previous heroic claims and demonstrates to the reader that Satan is in fact not capable of challenging God effectively. This is exemplified on the very first page of the poem, as Satan ‘trusted to have equal’d the most High. ’ Here Milton uses a subtle paradox to convey the flaws in Satan’s character, as it is a logical impossibility to equal what is most high. In doing this, the reader is given the sense that Satan’s pursuit of retribution is futile, and this invokes pathos. This is because Milton’s use of dramatic irony preludes to Satan’s downfall in the poem. It also appears that Satan is somewhat aware of this flaw as well as he is described as ‘Vaunting aloud, but racked with deep despair. ’ The concept that Satan is attempting to conceal his disappointment and ‘despair’ is an inherently human characteristic, and this once again demands pity from the reader. This use of Satan as an object of pity allows Milton to introduce human characteristics to his epic poem, which is a difficulty when it is considered that his setting is beyond human realms. This is an important element for his poem to contain, as it is a necessary measure to engage the reader. So another use of Satan by Milton is to represent and resultantly associate with human characteristics, in an attempt to emotionally engage his reader. By portraying Satan as the most human character in Book One, Milton is able to use him as a vehicle to represent contextual issues. During the 17th century, the monarchy had a firm grip on politics and power, but Milton’s own beliefs and loyalties lay with Cromwell and the republican movement. This political ideology is represented clearly in Satan’s speeches, as he frequently refers to the oppressive nature of heaven. As demonstrated previously, Satan already believed in the ‘tyranny of Heav’n’ and these tyrannous actions are demonstrated by Milton. ‘That Glory never shall his wrath or might/ Extort from me’ is one reference to this idea, and it alludes to the role of the monarchy at the time. This is by suggesting that those with power use it to extort and corrupt. When considered in the context of the time, this can be interpreted as a criticism of the English monarchy, which had to be conveyed subtly in order to avoid treason. So as demonstrated, the use and functions of Satan are not limited to that of the ‘Arch-Enemy. ’ Through his elaborate descriptions, but subtle hints, Milton is able to set-up the epic battle between God and Satan, and in doing this in Book One he is able to effectively engage the reader in his epic poem.

Exploring Characteristics Of Leaders

Exploring Characteristics Of Leaders There is Malay proverb said that kalau guru kencingberdiri, muridkencingberlari. Its mean that when the teacher shows the student bad attitude or anything, the student does it even more worst. As people know teacher is one of the example of a leader. Leader is the one who are guiding or directing others toward a common goal, show the way by some examples, and create an environment where other team members feel actively involved in the process. People who being a leader or willing to, usually they will been through some step and or process. Besides, there are also few characters that should be in person who willing or want to be a leader. One thing in common must have in leader is desire. The desires they have are to make promises of the life the ability to precise them copiously and without restrictions. There is a time a smooth as Ralph Waldo Emerson once spewed his words, that person is only half of himself or she, the other half is they expressions. Because of his word, a leader is born with copiously on the other side look is self-expression. Its needed because it can bear the essence of leadership. Most of the concept and skill need to make the leader able to express their copiously means that the leader know who are they, what their strengths and weakness are. Besides that, they also must know how to fully deploy your strengths and compensate for their own excess and weakness. In that way they might know what their need, they want, and also the way to communicate to people, in order to gain the cooperation and support from people. The entire leader must know how to set and achieve their own goal. Its because th e result they get from what they aiming might affect the people around them. They need to learn how to understand ones self, people and the world to learn and gain more experience. CHARACTERISTIC A leader not a boss of the team but, rather people who are committed to the mission Venture. There is some characteristics of a strong leader might have in each of them:- Good listener They should be a good listener not on only for the personal problem of each of the group member. But they also must be the good listener for group member during the decision making, especially during meeting. It is because the teammates might have good decision to make changes in for the group. By keeping mind open, the leader can come up with many ways to accomplish the goal. Focused The leader and their group must remind to keep on venture for the goals and mission. If they keep on stay together, hand in hand and keep concentration on what they aim, they wont get out from the track and the teammate will stay motivated and be productive to achieve the target. As a leader in the group, its theyre role to arrange the schedule in the term of time. Organized Team member can be motivated by a leader who is also organized. Its mean that the leader can set the tone for the team to make the group member be more motivated. Available At the time, most of the leader will be busy with their responsible. However, in any circumstances leader must find the time to communicate of interact with their team. One way to do this is to set the frequent group of meeting. From this way leader can prevent from the problem that the group might be exist. Include Others The worst thing for leader do is do all the job or tasks. Leader should not do the entire job because it might prevent the leader venture from growing beside of poor use of time. As an alternative, leader should work with one of the teammates and learn to representative the responsibility at the same time being aware of everyones interests, goals, and strengths. Decisive Beside of listening to other people, sometime leader cant be able to compromise because of term and condition that might be face in the future. However, even this thing might be happen, leader must afraid or hesitate to make final decision even some of the team member wont agree with the decision that will be make. Confident It is the most important character that must be in the leader. The teammate can believe the leader because of the leader believing them. Dedicated, intelligent and proud of what of hat are they doing from inner and outside look must be in them also to make sure the teammates wont doubt to believe the leader. EXAMPLE OF LEADER There are many of people born with blood of leader but of them are not. However, for those who are not born with the leader blood, most of them dont stop and stare. The example of good leader is a leader thats not tyrant. Usually good leader always encourage the team member to follow and to work effectively. The leader who are in effect typically dont demand, instead they encourage. A few leaders had born in Malaysia. Namely Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn, Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and NajibRazak. For this task, I will take the last prophet of Islam, named Muhammad ibnu Abdullah. About Muhammad Muhammad ibnu Abdullah is the name. He had known as Muhammad. He was born on 20th of April in the year of elephant, 12 Rabiulawal according to Islamic calendar. Based on holy Quran, he accepted he accepted his revelation on August 16th, 610 century, same as Ramadan 17th and it is surah Al-Alaq. Once he accepts, he officially appointed as a prophet when he was in the age of 40 years old and 6 month. After he accepted, he runs the propaganda in two ways, in confidentially in 3 years. Thenhe runs it openly. During the open propaganda was running, resistance from the pagans until he felt very disappointed and make him migrated Mecca to Medina. Then, the migration bear result, he succeed build country which been respected and sovereign. He had deemed as the best example as in the moral that have thought from the holy Quran. The Leadership of Muhammad. He has been a leader in almost all category of life such as political leader, religion, economy planner, chief judge, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He was appointed as leader because of his leadership qualities that apparently. One of his leadership qualities is Shidiq in Arabic, its means truth in English. Because every action or decision that make by the leader is to achieve of being high quality leadership. In Arabic can be trusted means Mandate. Since he was young, he was called as Al-Amin (mandate) because he always can be trusted. Even a pagan recognizes about his honesty and mandate. Can people imagine during his time ifhe cant be trust how the world now? Intelligent is also one of the leadership characteristic in him, its meanfathonah in Arabic. A leader must be intelligent in almost everything to have a good management. Last but not listed, anchor or in Arabic call it as tablig. In addition to the three attributes mentioned previously, a leader must know how to perform, communicate and interact to people with all the good that has been taken like the way Muhammad do. Besides, the people of Muhammad must understand and fathom about how important the bounty is and how the influence of him to the people. CONCLUSION. In the simplest and the small scale, we are the leader of ourselves. Lets take the story of other people who are experience more about life as example, inspiration and role model as well to become a better person and good, high quality of leadership.

Stock Essay -- Economy

An active investor invests his all resources to determine the fair value of a stock. However, most of the times, he is unable to acquire a piece of information that is not available in the public domain and that information may alter the probability distribution of his investment decision (James Lorie, 1980). In this phenomenon, an active investor may infer the non-public information by considering corporate insiders’ action in their own stock. Many previous studies (e.g., Jaffe, 1974; Finnerty, 1976a, b; Seyhun, 1986, 1988a, b; Rozeff and Zaman, 1988; Lin and Howe, 1990) document that corporate insiders pursue special information and on that special information, not only insiders are able to earn abnormal profits through trading stocks of own firms but also outsiders also able to earn abnormally by merely mimicking their actions. In financial economies literature, these findings have been considered as a violation of market efficiency. The main objective of this study is to determine market reactions around the day of insider trading and the day of announcements on Indian stock market. We are curious to perform our analysis on Indian data because a major chunk of studies on insider trading are concentrated on the U.S data. Therefore, the analysis of India insider trading data provides an independent outcome to compare with previous studies’ results. Besides, there are enough differences between the US and India market, which indicate that the results of these studies may not be robust in Asia or emerging markets. First difference, the ownership structure of emerging markets’ firms is more concentrated than developed markets’ firms (La Porta et al, 1999). For example, La Porta et al (1998) find that in the Indian firm, the top th... ... to price ratio and size effects of approximately 9% per annum in market model error term. Moreover, Finnerty (1976) finds that insiders most likely to buy their own stock when a firm is a small size and having low BM ratio compared to other firms whose stocks the average insiders are selling. If insiders’ buy tend to be concentrated in small size and low BM firms, the abnormal returns of insider trading information that are calculated by the market model may be significantly differ from zero in the absence of special information. In this paper, we calculate adjusted abnormal returns of insider trading that take into account the size and BM ratio effects. In this methodology, we argue that when we match the firm of insider trading with similar size and BM ratio portfolio, and then adjusted abnormal returns will be originated because of the special information.

Physiological Effects of MDMA Use :: Health Drugs Essays

Physiological Effects of MDMA Use MDMA has significant cardiovascular effects. This is consistent with its norepinephrine releasing (Johnson et al. 1991; Rothman et al. 2001) and  £\_2 adrenergic agonist (Lavelle et al. 1999) properties. MDMA dose dependently produces robust increases in heart rate and blood pressure (de la Torre et al. 2000a; de la Torre et al. 2000b; Grob et al.). Peak cardiovascular effects occur between 1 and 2 hours after MDMA administration and largely subside within 6 hours of drug administration. A study suggested that the relationship between MDMA dose and cardiovascular effects was supralinear by de la Torre et al. (2000a) who reported unexpectedly high drug exposures (measured as AUCplasma for MDMA) and diastolic blood pressure increases in two volunteers given 150 mg MDMA. While pharmacokinetic data suggest MDMA has nonlinear kinetics, there is no clear evidence of supralinear relationships between dose and blood pressure or heart rate. In fact, there may be less increase in heart rate after higher doses. The tendency toward less heart rate increase with higher dose is consistent with a study using both conscious and anesthetized rats (O'Cain et al. 2000). In this rat study, 3 mg/kg IV MDMA decreased heart rate, while lower doses tended to increase it or leave it unchanged. Studies monitoring blood pressure found significant relationships between MDMA use and blood pressure. In one study, (Vollenweider et al. 1998) involving subjects without a history of MDMA use, one subject experienced hypertensive crisis from a dose typical of recreational use. The correlation of blood pressure is described, "A two way ANOVA for systolic blood pressure revealed a significant main effect of drug [F(1,2) = 41.09; p < 02] and a significant drug x time interaction [F(3,6) = 11.31; p < 007]. Significant changes occurred in the 0 to 75 minutes and 75 to 150 minutes interval (one way ANOVAs). Two way ANOVA for diastolic blood pressure was not significant, but one way ANOVAs showed significant changes in the 75 to 150 minutes and the 150 to 300 minutes interval. Increases were in the range of 10 to 30 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure and 5 to 10 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure." (Vollenweider et al. 1998 pp.245_246) This study shows a similarity in changes in systolic blood pressure, and a lesser similarity in changes in diastolic blood pressure. The occurrence of hypertensive crisis suggests caution in potential use and study.

Hercules Essay -- essays research papers fc

What Is A Myth? A myth is a purely fictional story that has been passed on for generations, usually involving supernatural persons, actions or events. Hercules (also called Herakles), is one of the strongest and most celebrated mythical heroes. These myths were made up thousands of years ago and have acquired more details as they have been passed down. The story of Hercules is one of a man who was so strong and courageous, whose deeds were so mighty, and who so endured all the hardships that were given to him, that when he died, Hercules was brought up to Mount Olympus to live with the gods. Hercules was both the most famous hero of ancient times and the most beloved. More stories were told about him than any other hero. He was worshipped in many temples all over Greece and Rome. Birth of a Hero The legacy of Hercules began when Zeus, the chief god, fell in love with a mortal woman named Alcmene. When Alcmene&#8217;s husband, Amphitryon, was away, Zeus made her pregnant. This made the goddess Hera so angry that she tried to prevent the baby from being born. When Alcmene gave birth to the baby, she named him Herakles (Romans pronounced it "Hercules"). The name Herakles means "glorious gift of Hera". This made Hera even angrier. When Hercules was an infant, Hera sent two serpents to destroy him in his cradle. However, Hercules strangled them, one in each hand, before they could bite him. When Hercules grew up and had become a great warrior, he married a young woman named Megara. They had two children together and lived very happily. However, things didn&#8217;t turn out as they do in the movie. One day, Hera sent a fit of madness to Hercules that put him into so great a rage, that he murdered his wife and both children. When Hercules regained his senses and realized what he had done, he asked the god Apollo to rid him of his sins. Apollo commanded that Hercules do certain tasks as punishment for his wrongs, so that evil might be cleansed from his spirit. Apollo was a god of prophecy and the Greeks believed that Apollo knew what would happen in the future, and that he could advise people how to act. Hercules hurried to the temple where Apollo gave such advice. It was in the town o... ...ra that Hercules had suffered enough, and Hera agreed. Athena was sent to retrieve Hercules from the pyre and to bring him back to Mount Olympus on her chariot. There, Hercules was to spend his life, as a god. Bibliography 1. Compton&#8217;s Interactive Encyclopedia (1996) for Windows 95 2. Webster&#8217;s Concise Encyclopedia for Windows 3.1 or 95 3. www.perseus.tufts.edu Table Of Contents 1. What Is A Myth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Birth Of A Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3. The 12 Labors Of Hercules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 4. The Death Of Hercules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Hercules Essay -- essays research papers fc What Is A Myth? A myth is a purely fictional story that has been passed on for generations, usually involving supernatural persons, actions or events. Hercules (also called Herakles), is one of the strongest and most celebrated mythical heroes. These myths were made up thousands of years ago and have acquired more details as they have been passed down. The story of Hercules is one of a man who was so strong and courageous, whose deeds were so mighty, and who so endured all the hardships that were given to him, that when he died, Hercules was brought up to Mount Olympus to live with the gods. Hercules was both the most famous hero of ancient times and the most beloved. More stories were told about him than any other hero. He was worshipped in many temples all over Greece and Rome. Birth of a Hero The legacy of Hercules began when Zeus, the chief god, fell in love with a mortal woman named Alcmene. When Alcmene&#8217;s husband, Amphitryon, was away, Zeus made her pregnant. This made the goddess Hera so angry that she tried to prevent the baby from being born. When Alcmene gave birth to the baby, she named him Herakles (Romans pronounced it "Hercules"). The name Herakles means "glorious gift of Hera". This made Hera even angrier. When Hercules was an infant, Hera sent two serpents to destroy him in his cradle. However, Hercules strangled them, one in each hand, before they could bite him. When Hercules grew up and had become a great warrior, he married a young woman named Megara. They had two children together and lived very happily. However, things didn&#8217;t turn out as they do in the movie. One day, Hera sent a fit of madness to Hercules that put him into so great a rage, that he murdered his wife and both children. When Hercules regained his senses and realized what he had done, he asked the god Apollo to rid him of his sins. Apollo commanded that Hercules do certain tasks as punishment for his wrongs, so that evil might be cleansed from his spirit. Apollo was a god of prophecy and the Greeks believed that Apollo knew what would happen in the future, and that he could advise people how to act. Hercules hurried to the temple where Apollo gave such advice. It was in the town o... ...ra that Hercules had suffered enough, and Hera agreed. Athena was sent to retrieve Hercules from the pyre and to bring him back to Mount Olympus on her chariot. There, Hercules was to spend his life, as a god. Bibliography 1. Compton&#8217;s Interactive Encyclopedia (1996) for Windows 95 2. Webster&#8217;s Concise Encyclopedia for Windows 3.1 or 95 3. www.perseus.tufts.edu Table Of Contents 1. What Is A Myth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Birth Of A Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3. The 12 Labors Of Hercules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 4. The Death Of Hercules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Accounting Attachment Report

1. 0 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 The objectives of the Industrial attachment The purpose of industrial attachment is to bridge the gap between the theory and the practise of coursework learnt in the University of Botswana. It is meant to give students a clearer perspective of concepts learnt in the academic environment and in turn prepare them for the work environment upon completion of the degree programme. Internship is also aimed at give students a chance to apply the material learnt into a practical environment and get to know the work industry.In applying academic material, it is understood more and in familiarising with the work environment, a career option can be chosen. Part of the attachment was for students to create networks. networks are useful in securing jobs and getting information about the industry. 1. 2 Methodology The industrial attachment was conducted over the period between May 10th and July 27th 2012. This period amounted to a total of 10 weeks over the school holidays. It was after the third year of study in the degree. Each student, with the help of the internship coordinator had to find a company of their choice in the relevant field of study to work in.A place was to be secured through an application letter accompanied by a copy of a transcript, a letter of acknowledgement of student status from the University. A letter of acceptance would then be sent to the university by the company that agreed to attach a student and the area in which the student will work. Students were expected to work in various sectors of the company, but within their course of study while under attachment. The students were also to keep weekly log sheets which were to be signed by the supervisor with the work they had conducted. ? 2. 0 BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANISATION . 1 History of Great Advisory Services Dotaka Investments (Pty) Ltd was incorporated in Namibia in the year 2005. It has two businesses operating, an insurance brokerage called Coverage Insurance and an acco unting business called Great Advisory Services. The company has two directors namely Alex Mundey and Gracia Hunde. Mr Mundey is a non-executive director while Miss Hunde is an executive director. The insurance brokerage was the first business to be registered by the company in 2005 and has since grown to be one of the most renowned insurance broking firms in Namibia.The business headquarters are situated in the Windhoek International Finance Park while another branch operates in the Caesar International Office Park. This is because all insurance companies are found in the Caesar Office Park, making it convenient to get quotes upon request or to make an inquiry quicker. Having become a success and seeing the need for better accounting practise for the smaller businesses, the company diversified into the accounting field and registered a business named Great Advisory Services.The role of Great Advisory Services is to assist entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses by upholding proper and consistent accounting ethos. Great Advisory Services was registered in September 2011 and has been in operation since then. Not only does the business deal with accounting but it also in company secretarial and consultancy. It registers companies, sits as a director on the board and act as agents on submitting applications for permits. The staff includes Gracia Hunde, Elaine Chatonga and Palesa Mosa.Gracia Hunde is the executive director having gained all her knowledge from experience and is currently pursuing a degree in the University of South Africa. She mainly deals in company secretarial and business consultancy. Elaine Chatonga is the head accountant, having graduated with an Honourary degree in accounting and is pursuing chartered accountancy. She draws up the financial statements and calculates the tax returns due for all the clients and for the business as well. As head accountant, it is also her duty to supervise the work of the cler and make necessary changes.Palesa Mosa is the accounting clerk, having acquired an AAT qualification. As a clerk she does the day to day recording of accounts for the business and for the clients. She is also in charge of the petty cash book, answering calls, submitting tax returns and miscellaneous work. MISSION The mission of Geat Advisory Services is to provide accounting services to small, medium and large enterprises. In providing accounting services, the aim is to also influence the practise of proper accounting ethos and to improve the running and quality of business in the country.This is will be accomplished by building a relationship with the clients and explaining accounting procedures to them. By building relationships with clients and keeping a small number of clients, the company is able to focus on each client and not do a rush job. By targeting smaller businesses, the company is also able to probe into the finer details. Clientele These consist mainly of small businesses with very few employees as th ese are the main target of the business. Most of the clients are in the motoring industry and have just been contracted; hence there is not much history that has been built.The range of clients runs from auto mechanics to caterers, and interior designers. Clients are drawn in through word of mouth and through networking, as the company barely advertises itself. The biggest client of the firm is its own spear header- Coverage Insurance Brokers. Most of the clients are for accounting services as opposed to the other branches of the business. The business started with a small clientele base of 4, and has since increased to over 10 contracted clients in the accounting branch. 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 2 Supervisor assistanceI was also debriefed on other office duties that I would be taught which would have nothing to do with schoolwork but were skills needed in the office for example, filing, photocopying, faxing, filling bank cheques and deposit slips and go ing to the bank. I was also told that I would not have any specific responsibilities but work would come up as and when needed which I would be given a briefing on how to do what at that moment. 3. 3 Qualities and skills possessed and developed The job called for speed, teamwork capabilities, versatility, fluency, flexibility and grasping concepts quickly.This I had no problem with, having gone through internship before and being a member of clubs that required teamwork. Being tossed around between jobs, and not knowing what to be doing when you get to work in the office ensured that I was always on my toes. As the job went by, I learnt to be quick but thorough, to ask questions; to be accountable- work was tossed form one person to the other. If I was capturing information, I had to be thorough so that the next person, in this case the accountant, would be able to use the information. If I gave her the wrong information, it would mess all the accounts up.I also had to learn to be r esponsible ? 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 1 Job orientation A brief meeting was held on the first day of work in which an assessment of my course work and accounting knowledge was made. The information available on the transcript and curriculum vitae was used for the assessment. This same meeting was also used for the purpose of giving me a tour through the company, debriefing on company history and the services offered by the company. I also got the opportunity to familiarise with the business environment and the rest of the staff around.The next step was to test the skills I had I stated that I had. I was shown how to capture information form a receipt, change it, delete it and create a file for a company in the accounting software. After a series of examples, I was asked to do the same. I went through a series of tests in using the accounting system, which in this case was called Quick books. Having shown adequate knowledge, I was informed that I would as sist in that part of the job. The main job was capturing, but some more office jobs were to be done, which I was kindly briefed on.I was to be the extra hand in the office; hence I would be tossed around everywhere, having been given a short tutorial prior to execution of a task. There were no specific responsibilities that were given to me; most of the work to be done would be broken down before being done. Having been briefed on the jobs to be done, I was shown the office space that I would use. A few minutes later I was assigned to my primary role for the week- filing, organising documents prior to capturing, checking if transactions had been captured properly and at the correct amounts and banking.In between the small jobs, I was to familiarise myself with the software and practise before I could be given any work concerning that. 3. 2 Supervisor assistance My supervisor adequately explained all duties and responsibilities before I undertook them. The first question before doing anything was an enquiry as to whether I had done any such thing. If I answered in the negative, I was shown how to do it. I would then attempt the same job under her watch until I had perfected my work In cases were computer use was required, a different document altogether would be opened for the sake of demonstration.A supervisor was always ready to help if I did not understand anything. As this is a small company, help was easy to find as my slowing down would also affect the other operations. My supervisors were quick to explain and guide through new processes especially those that involved going to NURS, going to clients and going to Company registration. I would receive office calls whenever I spent more time than usual. During the first days in the office, I would also get momentary calls just to check on progress or if everything under control 3. 3 Qualities needed and qualities gainedVersatility and flexibility were needed to succeed in this position as I would be tossed i nto any work. This meant I would have to be a receptionist, or an accountant, or the driver so adaptation and was needed. There was much work to do in the office so I had to be quick to catch onto the job as I would often receive crash courses to do a new task. In a job where there were had no fixed duties, and work to do decided on each morning, it was critical to grasp the concept quickly. The job also called for an ability to work without supervision as there was a lot of work to be done between the three services offered by the company.There was a need to be organised and to ask questions to do with more clarification to get an understanding as soon as a task was given in order to curb backlog. The amount of work to be done was much so that made round the clock assistance rather impossible. Time keeping was also very critical. We all depended on each other as one person’s slow delivery affected everyone. There was a need to pay attention to detail when doing accounts so a s to come up with the correct financial statements and prevent reworking which would waste time.Ten client companies would expected their returns to be calculated every second month so each company had specific time slots for doing their books which had to be maximised in order to prevent a rush job being done or eating into another company’s time. Fluency in English and articulation was a needed quality because there were clients to talk to, going to the Registrar of Companies and calls to be answered when the clerk/receptionist was not around. Qualities gained during the process included the ability to think on my feet, tenacity, responsibility and team working.Concerning the ability to think on my feet, jobs done outside the office required decisions to be made quickly if things did not go according to plan this needed one to exercise discretion and take control without having to call the office first. Thinking on one’s feet required the ability to reason carefully and objectively. Over time, I developed tenacity. It became apparent that not only did the job call for work to be done, but to be completed on or before time. Working after hours became normality and not burdensome and neither was it something to complain over.The key was to understand the importance of completing a task before the next day, regardless of working hours. Honesty and responsibility came with the job. Whenever personal resources were used in incurring company expenses, they had to be accounted for. This called for keeping of receipts and disclosing the corrected amounts actually spent in order to qualify for a refund. These expenses also had to be incurred wholly towards the company and not be mixed with personal expenses. Every business can only achieve its goals through teamwork.Work was passed from one person to the other as processes were interlinked. The clerk and I did most of the primary work- capturing and organising files and it had to be understood by the ne xt user of the information. Having done my part for the day, I would not sit around as others worked but pitch in to also help in order for the task to be completed. ? 4. 0 SPECIFIC JOB INFORMATION 4. 1 Daily Responsibilities There were no specific daily responsibilities given as work arose as and when needed but there were things that became routine, for example filing, faxing and photocopying.The other jobs included capturing invoices and receipts into the accounting system, checking if receipts and invoices had been entered into the system, helping to separate receipts into different expenses and banking. Accounting Capturing accounting information from invoices was a daily task. Expenses had to be separated into cost of sales, company expenses and capital expenditures. That done, a list of all transactions entered would be printed and cross-checked with the corresponding receipts as an internal check on capturing all expenditure and at their correct amounts.Every month end, tax return forms were filled out and withholding tax charges calculated. For those companies which took the liberty to calculate their own taxes, their figures would be matched with those in the tax tables to ensure consistency. The difficult part of this was working with companies that pay employees through commission as they had a different way of calculating applicable charges. Bank reconciliation at the end of each month was a required duty.The task was to go through a monthly bank statement, reconcile the figures with those in the cheque book, adjust for unpresented cheques, account for stop orders and total the bank interest charges for the month. After that the money drawn out for personal use would be calculated for drawings. Filing The first thing upon receipt of files from a client was to sort them out in chronological order. This made it easier to account for the dates on transactions as the date would not be changed with each receipt, it also made it easier to find a missing receipt or to look fo r a query on the receipt if they were in order.The filing work included the tax returns that would come from NURS, documents from the clients in the form of bills, contracts and agreements made between the client and the firm. For withholding taxes, each company had a separate filing place for rental withholding taxes and employee withholding taxes. Printing, copying and faxing Accounting involves a lot of printing, faxing and photocopying. The responsibility assigned was to do exactly that. It was of utmost importance to make sure that the company had one file while the client also had another copy. BankingThis involved drawing up cheques for clients, having been given the due amounts, fill in cheque deposit slips whenever a client made a payment via cheque, signing and accounting for the cheque in the company books before going to the bank to deposit it. This also involved cashing some cheques and depositing them in the respective employee accounts at the en d of the month for salaries. 4. 2 Other responsibilities Messenger Jobs that were done outside the office included fetching files with client’s receipts and invoices for the month and returning them, submitting and collecting returns forms to NURS, getting clients to stamp taxes due forms.Being a messenger also involved following up on company or business name reservations with the Registrar of Companies. The other tasks at the Registrar of Companies were submission of forms for the change of directors and the transfer of ownership of a firm. All paperwork generated from this would be copied and sent to the concerned client Office jobs Part of the office odd jobs was answering the phone when the person responsible was not available. This would involve taking messages and answering for where the required person was, putting through phone calls and answering whatever questions a client had about the business.When clients arrived before their appointed time had to be attended an d entertained until their attendant returned. This was achieved by preparing refreshments and chatting up the client, sitting them comfortably and continuous reassurance that the required person would be with them. Ensuring office security involved locking up doors and cabinets, closing windows, switching off the air conditioners by the last person to leave the office. 4. 3 Knowledge from course work Three years of in the University of Botswana has come with grasping many skills and concepts.Some proved necessary, other premature and some skills use stood out more than others. Knowledge from Accounting Information Systems learnt in BIS309 was the most used and hence the most helpful. It offered a foundation to be able to use any accounting software. BIS309 also helped because it dealt with the daily running of business and how to enter daily transactions into the books of accounts, the separation of bills and invoices and how to create a debit or credit note. BIS309 also included ho w to account for a refund, how to add an account into the list of accounts.Most accounting now is done by software so the ability to use software and the knowledge of the way around the software was an added advantage Knowledge of basic accounting and bank reconciliations was taught in Financial Accounting I (ACC100) and it offered know how on entering costs into books of accounts and drawing up bank reconciliations and treating unpresented cheques. Some clients, being new, lacked adequate accounting information. This amounted to missing receipts and invoices, misnumbered invoices, missing bank cheques or narrations to the cheques.In order to deal with this one had to work backwards from the bank statement to find missing figures and asking for rough estimates for jobs done. Incomplete Records aught in Financial Accounting II (Acc200) was a useful resource. For the purpose of separation of business costs into cost of sales and expenses Introduction to Cost Accounting (ACC201) was ve ry useful. Some business incurred expenses that had to be charged to their cost of sales, not costs of running the business, for example the cost of delivery, the cost of assembly, etc.One company was a delivery company and conducted trade by going to South Africa and taking goods for delivery into Namibia, the cost of the job did not only include fuel to travel to South Africa but it included the driver’s accommodation and food and the cost of toll gates. Dealing with these expenses was leant in Managaemnt accounting applications ACC303. Final accounts are drawn at the end of each month and they have to be drawn up according to the formats in the accounting standards.Knowledge of accounting standards and presentation formats was acquired in Auditing I (ACC301) and Financial Accounting II (ACC 300. ) Upon the calculation of taxes for individual employees, calculating the gross taxes, doing a bank reconciliation, comparison of figures, checking if all receipts had been entered Microsoft excel was used. BIS 205 dealt with the primary use of computers and plugging in formulae. General Education Courses dealt with the use of computers and communication.Businesses require a lot of communication and etiquette. Gec 121,introduction to Computers was useful for the purpose of using email, Introduction to Communication (GEC111 and 112) helped in articulation and Introduction to Rhetoric and Public Speaking (GEC 364) helped in building confidence and addressing people. For the sake of company registration, the difference between a company and a business grasped in Introduction to Company Law (LAW351) was a critical tool in knowing the difference, lest the two be wrongly interchanged.This difference was also critical whenever capturing expenses, keeping in mind that sole traders were not separated from the business and withdrawals made were charged as drawings. 4. 4 Beneficial things to have learnt It would have been very helpful to have gone through an introductor y lesson in tax so as to understand the format, the applicable tax figures had and to fill in a tax from with understanding. Most of the workings in tax were done out of memory, having been briefed on before but with no adequate understanding as to why they were done that way for example amounts exempt from tax and the calculations of allowable deductions.Cash flow Statements are part of the final accounts drawn up at the end of the month. This was also something learnt on the job but without full comprehension of what exactly to be done and what to be done. 4. 5 new skills acquired The reservation of a company name and creation of a shelf company is one of the stand out skills I acquired on the job. A lot of companies open new branches, since Botswana is a developing country and there is positive economic growth, many businesses and companies are being opened as a result and know how in reserving a name and registering a business has become a crucial tool that one may use as an age nt.In learning how to reserve company names and creating shelf companies, it was inevitable that I had to learn how to change directors of a company. Some companies do not immediately operate upon been granted approval or even fail to start, these companies can then be taken over by other persons. Forms for changes in directors of a company are retrieved from the Registrar of Companies’ website. The website hosts many forms that can just be downloaded and printed without necessarily collecting them from their offices. I learnt how to collect a tax return form. These forms are collects directly from NURS.A tax return form has to types, one being for VAT and the other being income tax. The person collecting the tax returns forms has to have knowledge of their Tax Identity Number. Other small skills acquired include:- †¢Calculation of PAYE. Pay as You Earn tax is calculated using the tax tables. Each income has a specific tax matched to it and those that go beyond the norma l amount have a specific extra amount to apply. †¢How to register a company for tax. The form is collected from NURS and it contains various areas to be filled out including the type of business, the name of the business.The bank needs to also certify that an account by that person exists. †¢How to fax and photocopy. This was part of daily office work. No knowledge of such skills had been possessed before. †¢How to use Quickbooks. This was the accounting software used by the company. Knowledge of Pastel Accounting and the use of Microsoft in Accounting were the only prior knowledge. Most companies use Quickbooks so this is a relevant skill upon job search at the completion of the degree. †¢How to use office stationery properly. There is some stationery designed for office use that we fail to use properly.Documents need to be filed neatly and in an orderly manner. That said, learnt how to align a paper before punching, refill staples and to use the various types o f files. ? 5. 0 Conclusions and recommendation 5. 1 Career goals versus industrial attachment The Industrial attachment surely did bring some perspective. The daily work in accounting is significantly different from the theory learnt in school. Day to day accounts is routine and very simple. Within a short period of time, one begins to know the routine of recording and creating financial statements at the end of the year.That said, I realise now that accounting needs to be supplemented with other courses, for example ACCA, CFA, CIMA, etc. These professional courses give one the ability to review policies placed by the business in their accounting. They also help one to become more marketable in the industry and prevent the boredom inherent in most office jobs with routine tasks. Looking at the clientele of the business, there is a dire need for accountants and for people to learn to be ‘accounts smart’. Most companies do not even have a clerk and most small businesses d o not have an accounts department as the owner does everything and the results nd up being very poor. I have also come to realise that the lack of consultancy and knowledge of cost versus revenue makes some businesses fail or not realise their full potential as much is taken from the business without replacement via drawings. That said, may career goals really have changed and I would not want to end up sitting in the office, day by day, drawing accounts for people, but instead to give advice on running a business and creating strategies that work. I would like to move into explaining accounts to business owners and creating strategies for the purpose of cost reduction and ensuring longevity in a business.Clients constantly complain about the return on their taxes, some do not even know what it means or how it is calculated and are always disgruntled when they see an accountant coming through. Clients therefore need tutorials in the accounting field so that they just do not accept a nything or begin to distrust their accountants. 5. 2 derivations from the attachment Two stand out lessons were derived from internship, the first being that university education alone does not fully equip one for the work environment; one needs a bit of experience.The second lesson being, there is a lot of ignorance concerning accounting in Namibia, to the point of business owners doing their own book-keeping. This comes from a lack of appreciation of the role of accounting in business. Concerning the equipping by the University, there is not enough room for doing accounting practically. There are too many courses from other faculties that students are encouraged to take up in their first year, which leaves little room for proper accounting courses in the degree.The result is that most accounting is taught in a rush manner without adequate understanding and the result is that students cram without grasping concepts fully. This became apparent on the calculation of a businessâ€℠¢ daily expenses. In the examples given us in school, the figures are already summed up and apparent, most of the work involves drawing final accounts, but in businesses, final accounts are drawn up only once a month. The recording of a business’ daily expenses is critical and needs to be given attention in the foundation courses of the degree.Concerning ignorance of accounting , most businesses have no accountant and do not keep the relevant information used in drawing up accounts. The use of interns is also a wide spread normality among those who wish to have some form of book-keeping in their business. However, interns are fresh from university and often make mistakes. This results in backlogs during work as some of the books have to be redone. 5. 3 most significant learning experience The most significant learning process was that on the importance of teamwork. Business processes are intertwined that each person relied the other person.Slacking was therefore intolerable a s it affected everyone else’s progress. That said, I learnt to rely on other people, and to become a person to be relied upon. I also learnt to value the contribution of other people and the vitality of making a significant contribution in a team. 5. 4 self-evaluation The key strengths I possessed for this job were adaptation and quick-learning. I understood whatever work was assigned to me in a very short space of time. There was a lot of tossing around involved in the job as I had no specific responsibilities, this meant I had to be versatile and ready for anything.The ability to think quickly and summon best judgement in a rash situation was very useful when running errands and things would not go according to plan or clients were late. This required changing things or rearranging with a client on my own without calling the office first. The ability to work without supervision and being self-motivated was an added advantage. Because of the lack of space, I shared the offic e with the other company branch of Dotaka Investments called Coverage Insurance. This meant I had no round the clock supervision in my work. I however managed to complete all my work before time or on time.Being reliable is another quality I possess that the executive director would allow me to run errands for her with her car while she would be in the office. She relied on me to represent her well wherever she sent me on her behalf. Dress was no problem for me as I made sure I was clad formally and presentable each day. Articulation and fluency in English was an added quality as well that enabled me to win over clients and explain to them adequately what we required of them. im formal. time keeping My time keeping in the morning was not the most efficient.Most of the time i was not punctual to work and i would arrive a little bit after time. I however compensated for this shortfall by personally working during lunch or working late. 5. 5 recomendations for improvement in the organi sation Great Advisory Services needs bigger office space. During this period of attachment, there were five employees sharing two rooms. This meant that the main office had three employees which is too large a number for a small space. The room became crowded to the point that clients would notice and either mention in a joking manner or just showed unpleasantness.The company vision has to be printed and stuck on the wall and be used in company stamps. I only knew the vision when I had. A company vision helps in boosting employee morale by showing them that whatever they are doing is contributing to the achievement of the vision. Grievances in the company need to be addressed. There were matters that were swept under the carpet even though they were important. There were times were there would be some tension in the office or gossip over another person over things that were not properly stipulated yet could be solved with a sit down meeting.There needs to be an investment towards th e training of employees. An accounts consultant was employed by the firm for enquiries’ sake. However, his availability was after hours which could go on till midnight this was not an efficient way of working. The problem can be overcome by putting one of the accountants through an ACCA program. Also the clerks’ work was not up to standard as most of it had to be redone. Employee training should also be in answering calls, using appropriate register as there was a tendency for employees to use an incorrect tone or a colloquial term in a formal set-up. Accounting Attachment Report 1. 0 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 The objectives of the Industrial attachment The purpose of industrial attachment is to bridge the gap between the theory and the practise of coursework learnt in the University of Botswana. It is meant to give students a clearer perspective of concepts learnt in the academic environment and in turn prepare them for the work environment upon completion of the degree programme. Internship is also aimed at give students a chance to apply the material learnt into a practical environment and get to know the work industry.In applying academic material, it is understood more and in familiarising with the work environment, a career option can be chosen. Part of the attachment was for students to create networks. networks are useful in securing jobs and getting information about the industry. 1. 2 Methodology The industrial attachment was conducted over the period between May 10th and July 27th 2012. This period amounted to a total of 10 weeks over the school holidays. It was after the third year of study in the degree. Each student, with the help of the internship coordinator had to find a company of their choice in the relevant field of study to work in.A place was to be secured through an application letter accompanied by a copy of a transcript, a letter of acknowledgement of student status from the University. A letter of acceptance would then be sent to the university by the company that agreed to attach a student and the area in which the student will work. Students were expected to work in various sectors of the company, but within their course of study while under attachment. The students were also to keep weekly log sheets which were to be signed by the supervisor with the work they had conducted. ? 2. 0 BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANISATION . 1 History of Great Advisory Services Dotaka Investments (Pty) Ltd was incorporated in Namibia in the year 2005. It has two businesses operating, an insurance brokerage called Coverage Insurance and an acco unting business called Great Advisory Services. The company has two directors namely Alex Mundey and Gracia Hunde. Mr Mundey is a non-executive director while Miss Hunde is an executive director. The insurance brokerage was the first business to be registered by the company in 2005 and has since grown to be one of the most renowned insurance broking firms in Namibia.The business headquarters are situated in the Windhoek International Finance Park while another branch operates in the Caesar International Office Park. This is because all insurance companies are found in the Caesar Office Park, making it convenient to get quotes upon request or to make an inquiry quicker. Having become a success and seeing the need for better accounting practise for the smaller businesses, the company diversified into the accounting field and registered a business named Great Advisory Services.The role of Great Advisory Services is to assist entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses by upholding proper and consistent accounting ethos. Great Advisory Services was registered in September 2011 and has been in operation since then. Not only does the business deal with accounting but it also in company secretarial and consultancy. It registers companies, sits as a director on the board and act as agents on submitting applications for permits. The staff includes Gracia Hunde, Elaine Chatonga and Palesa Mosa.Gracia Hunde is the executive director having gained all her knowledge from experience and is currently pursuing a degree in the University of South Africa. She mainly deals in company secretarial and business consultancy. Elaine Chatonga is the head accountant, having graduated with an Honourary degree in accounting and is pursuing chartered accountancy. She draws up the financial statements and calculates the tax returns due for all the clients and for the business as well. As head accountant, it is also her duty to supervise the work of the cler and make necessary changes.Palesa Mosa is the accounting clerk, having acquired an AAT qualification. As a clerk she does the day to day recording of accounts for the business and for the clients. She is also in charge of the petty cash book, answering calls, submitting tax returns and miscellaneous work. MISSION The mission of Geat Advisory Services is to provide accounting services to small, medium and large enterprises. In providing accounting services, the aim is to also influence the practise of proper accounting ethos and to improve the running and quality of business in the country.This is will be accomplished by building a relationship with the clients and explaining accounting procedures to them. By building relationships with clients and keeping a small number of clients, the company is able to focus on each client and not do a rush job. By targeting smaller businesses, the company is also able to probe into the finer details. Clientele These consist mainly of small businesses with very few employees as th ese are the main target of the business. Most of the clients are in the motoring industry and have just been contracted; hence there is not much history that has been built.The range of clients runs from auto mechanics to caterers, and interior designers. Clients are drawn in through word of mouth and through networking, as the company barely advertises itself. The biggest client of the firm is its own spear header- Coverage Insurance Brokers. Most of the clients are for accounting services as opposed to the other branches of the business. The business started with a small clientele base of 4, and has since increased to over 10 contracted clients in the accounting branch. 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 2 Supervisor assistanceI was also debriefed on other office duties that I would be taught which would have nothing to do with schoolwork but were skills needed in the office for example, filing, photocopying, faxing, filling bank cheques and deposit slips and go ing to the bank. I was also told that I would not have any specific responsibilities but work would come up as and when needed which I would be given a briefing on how to do what at that moment. 3. 3 Qualities and skills possessed and developed The job called for speed, teamwork capabilities, versatility, fluency, flexibility and grasping concepts quickly.This I had no problem with, having gone through internship before and being a member of clubs that required teamwork. Being tossed around between jobs, and not knowing what to be doing when you get to work in the office ensured that I was always on my toes. As the job went by, I learnt to be quick but thorough, to ask questions; to be accountable- work was tossed form one person to the other. If I was capturing information, I had to be thorough so that the next person, in this case the accountant, would be able to use the information. If I gave her the wrong information, it would mess all the accounts up.I also had to learn to be r esponsible ? 3. 0 MANAGEMENT, TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE INFORMATION 3. 1 Job orientation A brief meeting was held on the first day of work in which an assessment of my course work and accounting knowledge was made. The information available on the transcript and curriculum vitae was used for the assessment. This same meeting was also used for the purpose of giving me a tour through the company, debriefing on company history and the services offered by the company. I also got the opportunity to familiarise with the business environment and the rest of the staff around.The next step was to test the skills I had I stated that I had. I was shown how to capture information form a receipt, change it, delete it and create a file for a company in the accounting software. After a series of examples, I was asked to do the same. I went through a series of tests in using the accounting system, which in this case was called Quick books. Having shown adequate knowledge, I was informed that I would as sist in that part of the job. The main job was capturing, but some more office jobs were to be done, which I was kindly briefed on.I was to be the extra hand in the office; hence I would be tossed around everywhere, having been given a short tutorial prior to execution of a task. There were no specific responsibilities that were given to me; most of the work to be done would be broken down before being done. Having been briefed on the jobs to be done, I was shown the office space that I would use. A few minutes later I was assigned to my primary role for the week- filing, organising documents prior to capturing, checking if transactions had been captured properly and at the correct amounts and banking.In between the small jobs, I was to familiarise myself with the software and practise before I could be given any work concerning that. 3. 2 Supervisor assistance My supervisor adequately explained all duties and responsibilities before I undertook them. The first question before doing anything was an enquiry as to whether I had done any such thing. If I answered in the negative, I was shown how to do it. I would then attempt the same job under her watch until I had perfected my work In cases were computer use was required, a different document altogether would be opened for the sake of demonstration.A supervisor was always ready to help if I did not understand anything. As this is a small company, help was easy to find as my slowing down would also affect the other operations. My supervisors were quick to explain and guide through new processes especially those that involved going to NURS, going to clients and going to Company registration. I would receive office calls whenever I spent more time than usual. During the first days in the office, I would also get momentary calls just to check on progress or if everything under control 3. 3 Qualities needed and qualities gainedVersatility and flexibility were needed to succeed in this position as I would be tossed i nto any work. This meant I would have to be a receptionist, or an accountant, or the driver so adaptation and was needed. There was much work to do in the office so I had to be quick to catch onto the job as I would often receive crash courses to do a new task. In a job where there were had no fixed duties, and work to do decided on each morning, it was critical to grasp the concept quickly. The job also called for an ability to work without supervision as there was a lot of work to be done between the three services offered by the company.There was a need to be organised and to ask questions to do with more clarification to get an understanding as soon as a task was given in order to curb backlog. The amount of work to be done was much so that made round the clock assistance rather impossible. Time keeping was also very critical. We all depended on each other as one person’s slow delivery affected everyone. There was a need to pay attention to detail when doing accounts so a s to come up with the correct financial statements and prevent reworking which would waste time.Ten client companies would expected their returns to be calculated every second month so each company had specific time slots for doing their books which had to be maximised in order to prevent a rush job being done or eating into another company’s time. Fluency in English and articulation was a needed quality because there were clients to talk to, going to the Registrar of Companies and calls to be answered when the clerk/receptionist was not around. Qualities gained during the process included the ability to think on my feet, tenacity, responsibility and team working.Concerning the ability to think on my feet, jobs done outside the office required decisions to be made quickly if things did not go according to plan this needed one to exercise discretion and take control without having to call the office first. Thinking on one’s feet required the ability to reason carefully and objectively. Over time, I developed tenacity. It became apparent that not only did the job call for work to be done, but to be completed on or before time. Working after hours became normality and not burdensome and neither was it something to complain over.The key was to understand the importance of completing a task before the next day, regardless of working hours. Honesty and responsibility came with the job. Whenever personal resources were used in incurring company expenses, they had to be accounted for. This called for keeping of receipts and disclosing the corrected amounts actually spent in order to qualify for a refund. These expenses also had to be incurred wholly towards the company and not be mixed with personal expenses. Every business can only achieve its goals through teamwork.Work was passed from one person to the other as processes were interlinked. The clerk and I did most of the primary work- capturing and organising files and it had to be understood by the ne xt user of the information. Having done my part for the day, I would not sit around as others worked but pitch in to also help in order for the task to be completed. ? 4. 0 SPECIFIC JOB INFORMATION 4. 1 Daily Responsibilities There were no specific daily responsibilities given as work arose as and when needed but there were things that became routine, for example filing, faxing and photocopying.The other jobs included capturing invoices and receipts into the accounting system, checking if receipts and invoices had been entered into the system, helping to separate receipts into different expenses and banking. Accounting Capturing accounting information from invoices was a daily task. Expenses had to be separated into cost of sales, company expenses and capital expenditures. That done, a list of all transactions entered would be printed and cross-checked with the corresponding receipts as an internal check on capturing all expenditure and at their correct amounts.Every month end, tax return forms were filled out and withholding tax charges calculated. For those companies which took the liberty to calculate their own taxes, their figures would be matched with those in the tax tables to ensure consistency. The difficult part of this was working with companies that pay employees through commission as they had a different way of calculating applicable charges. Bank reconciliation at the end of each month was a required duty.The task was to go through a monthly bank statement, reconcile the figures with those in the cheque book, adjust for unpresented cheques, account for stop orders and total the bank interest charges for the month. After that the money drawn out for personal use would be calculated for drawings. Filing The first thing upon receipt of files from a client was to sort them out in chronological order. This made it easier to account for the dates on transactions as the date would not be changed with each receipt, it also made it easier to find a missing receipt or to look fo r a query on the receipt if they were in order.The filing work included the tax returns that would come from NURS, documents from the clients in the form of bills, contracts and agreements made between the client and the firm. For withholding taxes, each company had a separate filing place for rental withholding taxes and employee withholding taxes. Printing, copying and faxing Accounting involves a lot of printing, faxing and photocopying. The responsibility assigned was to do exactly that. It was of utmost importance to make sure that the company had one file while the client also had another copy. BankingThis involved drawing up cheques for clients, having been given the due amounts, fill in cheque deposit slips whenever a client made a payment via cheque, signing and accounting for the cheque in the company books before going to the bank to deposit it. This also involved cashing some cheques and depositing them in the respective employee accounts at the en d of the month for salaries. 4. 2 Other responsibilities Messenger Jobs that were done outside the office included fetching files with client’s receipts and invoices for the month and returning them, submitting and collecting returns forms to NURS, getting clients to stamp taxes due forms.Being a messenger also involved following up on company or business name reservations with the Registrar of Companies. The other tasks at the Registrar of Companies were submission of forms for the change of directors and the transfer of ownership of a firm. All paperwork generated from this would be copied and sent to the concerned client Office jobs Part of the office odd jobs was answering the phone when the person responsible was not available. This would involve taking messages and answering for where the required person was, putting through phone calls and answering whatever questions a client had about the business.When clients arrived before their appointed time had to be attended an d entertained until their attendant returned. This was achieved by preparing refreshments and chatting up the client, sitting them comfortably and continuous reassurance that the required person would be with them. Ensuring office security involved locking up doors and cabinets, closing windows, switching off the air conditioners by the last person to leave the office. 4. 3 Knowledge from course work Three years of in the University of Botswana has come with grasping many skills and concepts.Some proved necessary, other premature and some skills use stood out more than others. Knowledge from Accounting Information Systems learnt in BIS309 was the most used and hence the most helpful. It offered a foundation to be able to use any accounting software. BIS309 also helped because it dealt with the daily running of business and how to enter daily transactions into the books of accounts, the separation of bills and invoices and how to create a debit or credit note. BIS309 also included ho w to account for a refund, how to add an account into the list of accounts.Most accounting now is done by software so the ability to use software and the knowledge of the way around the software was an added advantage Knowledge of basic accounting and bank reconciliations was taught in Financial Accounting I (ACC100) and it offered know how on entering costs into books of accounts and drawing up bank reconciliations and treating unpresented cheques. Some clients, being new, lacked adequate accounting information. This amounted to missing receipts and invoices, misnumbered invoices, missing bank cheques or narrations to the cheques.In order to deal with this one had to work backwards from the bank statement to find missing figures and asking for rough estimates for jobs done. Incomplete Records aught in Financial Accounting II (Acc200) was a useful resource. For the purpose of separation of business costs into cost of sales and expenses Introduction to Cost Accounting (ACC201) was ve ry useful. Some business incurred expenses that had to be charged to their cost of sales, not costs of running the business, for example the cost of delivery, the cost of assembly, etc.One company was a delivery company and conducted trade by going to South Africa and taking goods for delivery into Namibia, the cost of the job did not only include fuel to travel to South Africa but it included the driver’s accommodation and food and the cost of toll gates. Dealing with these expenses was leant in Managaemnt accounting applications ACC303. Final accounts are drawn at the end of each month and they have to be drawn up according to the formats in the accounting standards.Knowledge of accounting standards and presentation formats was acquired in Auditing I (ACC301) and Financial Accounting II (ACC 300. ) Upon the calculation of taxes for individual employees, calculating the gross taxes, doing a bank reconciliation, comparison of figures, checking if all receipts had been entered Microsoft excel was used. BIS 205 dealt with the primary use of computers and plugging in formulae. General Education Courses dealt with the use of computers and communication.Businesses require a lot of communication and etiquette. Gec 121,introduction to Computers was useful for the purpose of using email, Introduction to Communication (GEC111 and 112) helped in articulation and Introduction to Rhetoric and Public Speaking (GEC 364) helped in building confidence and addressing people. For the sake of company registration, the difference between a company and a business grasped in Introduction to Company Law (LAW351) was a critical tool in knowing the difference, lest the two be wrongly interchanged.This difference was also critical whenever capturing expenses, keeping in mind that sole traders were not separated from the business and withdrawals made were charged as drawings. 4. 4 Beneficial things to have learnt It would have been very helpful to have gone through an introductor y lesson in tax so as to understand the format, the applicable tax figures had and to fill in a tax from with understanding. Most of the workings in tax were done out of memory, having been briefed on before but with no adequate understanding as to why they were done that way for example amounts exempt from tax and the calculations of allowable deductions.Cash flow Statements are part of the final accounts drawn up at the end of the month. This was also something learnt on the job but without full comprehension of what exactly to be done and what to be done. 4. 5 new skills acquired The reservation of a company name and creation of a shelf company is one of the stand out skills I acquired on the job. A lot of companies open new branches, since Botswana is a developing country and there is positive economic growth, many businesses and companies are being opened as a result and know how in reserving a name and registering a business has become a crucial tool that one may use as an age nt.In learning how to reserve company names and creating shelf companies, it was inevitable that I had to learn how to change directors of a company. Some companies do not immediately operate upon been granted approval or even fail to start, these companies can then be taken over by other persons. Forms for changes in directors of a company are retrieved from the Registrar of Companies’ website. The website hosts many forms that can just be downloaded and printed without necessarily collecting them from their offices. I learnt how to collect a tax return form. These forms are collects directly from NURS.A tax return form has to types, one being for VAT and the other being income tax. The person collecting the tax returns forms has to have knowledge of their Tax Identity Number. Other small skills acquired include:- †¢Calculation of PAYE. Pay as You Earn tax is calculated using the tax tables. Each income has a specific tax matched to it and those that go beyond the norma l amount have a specific extra amount to apply. †¢How to register a company for tax. The form is collected from NURS and it contains various areas to be filled out including the type of business, the name of the business.The bank needs to also certify that an account by that person exists. †¢How to fax and photocopy. This was part of daily office work. No knowledge of such skills had been possessed before. †¢How to use Quickbooks. This was the accounting software used by the company. Knowledge of Pastel Accounting and the use of Microsoft in Accounting were the only prior knowledge. Most companies use Quickbooks so this is a relevant skill upon job search at the completion of the degree. †¢How to use office stationery properly. There is some stationery designed for office use that we fail to use properly.Documents need to be filed neatly and in an orderly manner. That said, learnt how to align a paper before punching, refill staples and to use the various types o f files. ? 5. 0 Conclusions and recommendation 5. 1 Career goals versus industrial attachment The Industrial attachment surely did bring some perspective. The daily work in accounting is significantly different from the theory learnt in school. Day to day accounts is routine and very simple. Within a short period of time, one begins to know the routine of recording and creating financial statements at the end of the year.That said, I realise now that accounting needs to be supplemented with other courses, for example ACCA, CFA, CIMA, etc. These professional courses give one the ability to review policies placed by the business in their accounting. They also help one to become more marketable in the industry and prevent the boredom inherent in most office jobs with routine tasks. Looking at the clientele of the business, there is a dire need for accountants and for people to learn to be ‘accounts smart’. Most companies do not even have a clerk and most small businesses d o not have an accounts department as the owner does everything and the results nd up being very poor. I have also come to realise that the lack of consultancy and knowledge of cost versus revenue makes some businesses fail or not realise their full potential as much is taken from the business without replacement via drawings. That said, may career goals really have changed and I would not want to end up sitting in the office, day by day, drawing accounts for people, but instead to give advice on running a business and creating strategies that work. I would like to move into explaining accounts to business owners and creating strategies for the purpose of cost reduction and ensuring longevity in a business.Clients constantly complain about the return on their taxes, some do not even know what it means or how it is calculated and are always disgruntled when they see an accountant coming through. Clients therefore need tutorials in the accounting field so that they just do not accept a nything or begin to distrust their accountants. 5. 2 derivations from the attachment Two stand out lessons were derived from internship, the first being that university education alone does not fully equip one for the work environment; one needs a bit of experience.The second lesson being, there is a lot of ignorance concerning accounting in Namibia, to the point of business owners doing their own book-keeping. This comes from a lack of appreciation of the role of accounting in business. Concerning the equipping by the University, there is not enough room for doing accounting practically. There are too many courses from other faculties that students are encouraged to take up in their first year, which leaves little room for proper accounting courses in the degree.The result is that most accounting is taught in a rush manner without adequate understanding and the result is that students cram without grasping concepts fully. This became apparent on the calculation of a businessâ€℠¢ daily expenses. In the examples given us in school, the figures are already summed up and apparent, most of the work involves drawing final accounts, but in businesses, final accounts are drawn up only once a month. The recording of a business’ daily expenses is critical and needs to be given attention in the foundation courses of the degree.Concerning ignorance of accounting , most businesses have no accountant and do not keep the relevant information used in drawing up accounts. The use of interns is also a wide spread normality among those who wish to have some form of book-keeping in their business. However, interns are fresh from university and often make mistakes. This results in backlogs during work as some of the books have to be redone. 5. 3 most significant learning experience The most significant learning process was that on the importance of teamwork. Business processes are intertwined that each person relied the other person.Slacking was therefore intolerable a s it affected everyone else’s progress. That said, I learnt to rely on other people, and to become a person to be relied upon. I also learnt to value the contribution of other people and the vitality of making a significant contribution in a team. 5. 4 self-evaluation The key strengths I possessed for this job were adaptation and quick-learning. I understood whatever work was assigned to me in a very short space of time. There was a lot of tossing around involved in the job as I had no specific responsibilities, this meant I had to be versatile and ready for anything.The ability to think quickly and summon best judgement in a rash situation was very useful when running errands and things would not go according to plan or clients were late. This required changing things or rearranging with a client on my own without calling the office first. The ability to work without supervision and being self-motivated was an added advantage. Because of the lack of space, I shared the offic e with the other company branch of Dotaka Investments called Coverage Insurance. This meant I had no round the clock supervision in my work. I however managed to complete all my work before time or on time.Being reliable is another quality I possess that the executive director would allow me to run errands for her with her car while she would be in the office. She relied on me to represent her well wherever she sent me on her behalf. Dress was no problem for me as I made sure I was clad formally and presentable each day. Articulation and fluency in English was an added quality as well that enabled me to win over clients and explain to them adequately what we required of them. im formal. time keeping My time keeping in the morning was not the most efficient.Most of the time i was not punctual to work and i would arrive a little bit after time. I however compensated for this shortfall by personally working during lunch or working late. 5. 5 recomendations for improvement in the organi sation Great Advisory Services needs bigger office space. During this period of attachment, there were five employees sharing two rooms. This meant that the main office had three employees which is too large a number for a small space. The room became crowded to the point that clients would notice and either mention in a joking manner or just showed unpleasantness.The company vision has to be printed and stuck on the wall and be used in company stamps. I only knew the vision when I had. A company vision helps in boosting employee morale by showing them that whatever they are doing is contributing to the achievement of the vision. Grievances in the company need to be addressed. There were matters that were swept under the carpet even though they were important. There were times were there would be some tension in the office or gossip over another person over things that were not properly stipulated yet could be solved with a sit down meeting.There needs to be an investment towards th e training of employees. An accounts consultant was employed by the firm for enquiries’ sake. However, his availability was after hours which could go on till midnight this was not an efficient way of working. The problem can be overcome by putting one of the accountants through an ACCA program. Also the clerks’ work was not up to standard as most of it had to be redone. Employee training should also be in answering calls, using appropriate register as there was a tendency for employees to use an incorrect tone or a colloquial term in a formal set-up.