LIFO vs FIFO Depreciation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LIFO vs FIFO Depreciation - Assignment Example LIFO method results to low net earnings by the company. However, if the company switches to FIFO it will result to Sgreater earnings, but under the condition that price remains invariable during trading period. However, using weighted average could result to greater earnings for the company.Increase in price of assets over time makes FIFO method to yield superior returns than LIFO method since overhead expenditure is lower than returns after increase in value of commodities (Mckee, Garner & Mckee, Y., 2000).   Regardless of the method used, companies would get uniform earnings in the absence of inflation. Also, using weighted average method results to a value which is higher than that of LIFO method, but lower than that of FIFO method.Companies use LIFO approach in order to counter the effects of inflation hence pays less tax. FIFO method is significant in a steady economy, but is helpful when economy is facing increase in price of commodities, because companies can report greater earnings than any other method. However, this result a mismatch of the expenditures incurred in production and the earnings from the products.  Most companies prefer LIFO method when estimating the value of their stock because the associated expenditure is most recent and is generally higher than actual expenditure. This enables companies to pay less income tax to the state. On the other hand, FIFO method is vital in an economy facing inflation because increase in prices result to increase in earnings.

Morrison Supermarket LTD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Morrison Supermarket LTD - Essay Example All these and many other distinguishing features have helped the Morrisons to grow over the years (Morrisons, 2010). As the scale of operations continue to grow bigger for the Morrisons, the stakes tend to get higher; with such an expanded business setup, the decision makers at the company believe that they are exposed to certain degree of risks as well. According to them, if there is some incident that interrupts their manufacturing or distribution units, it might overall affect the flow of business (Morrisons, 2010). Further, the operating systems used by most of the company members are at the verge of completing their age, in this way the company will have to devise a new IT policy along with replacement of old systems, with the new ones (Morrisons, 2010). With respect to the exceptional growth attained by the Morrisons in the last five years, the company has decided to expand its business. Some of the future goals that the company has set for itself include establishing of a nation-wide distribution chain all over UK; an increase of 1.5 million square foot of selling space; improved access for the customers (Morrisons, 2010). Keeping these growth objectives intact, the company wants to maintain a highly skilled operating team that could ensure corporate social framework. The company wants to maximize its profits by establishing cost effective production units, and gaining direct access to agricultural produce. Moreover, the use of environmental friendly operations is among the key objectives for the success of the company in future. Expansion of the business by devising sound IT policy has become inevitable, so the company considers E-marketing as opportunity for enhancement of services (Morrisons, 2010). The perception of customers about a particular brand evolves with the experience they gain after using or consuming products/services offered by a

Distributor retailer integrated inventory model (in supply chain) Essay - 1

Distributor retailer integrated inventory model (in supply chain) - Essay Example Business has become very competitive in the present world. Customers are now exposed to more information regarding the product and this allows them to select the best product in the market. Globalization has made business to be competitive outside the region of operation. It is very important that every organization determines suitable method to make the product and service to the people at lowest price. Company will be able to provide products under reduced cost only if the operating cost of the organization is reduced. In the business world every amount that is spent on the product is countable, by reducing the cost of operation the firm will be able to reduce the price of the product and this will increase the competitive advantage of the organization. Supply chain management is now being identified as an important factor for the effective functioning of an organization. Supply chain management provides large opportunity for reducing the cost of operation and to ensure that the firm functions effectively. Supply chain management covers all the process in the production of a product or service starting from the collection of raw materials to the delivery of the product. Effective supply chain management depends on several factors. With the increase in sequences and participants in the supply chain the complexity of the chain increases. Inventory management is an important aspect of the supply chain management. The main focus of inventory management is to determine the activities of inventory like determining the amount of inventory that a company would require to meet the demand of the customer. Proper inventory control enhances the firm to have the optimum amount of inventory to meet the demands of the customer. Low inventories may result in the organization having deficient inventories and will have to face a shortage of inventories. Most of the companies in the past used the

How technology has effects on humans everyday Essay - 1

How technology has effects on humans everyday - Essay Example taking part in all spheres of human activities as the prime factor of people, knowledge is increasing due to many challenges encountered such as education, life expectancy, health care, communication, and wars, natural environmental activities among others. As the day goes necessities tend to spawn and most invention is ushered in with the need of the betterment present globalized world that we exist in a time of advanced technology has shifted to more advanced technology in almost every part of our daily live, everything is related in comparison with old gone days, nowadays we have better sophisticated facilities and even better comfort luxuries with the help of newly increased technology (Scardamalia, 1996). There are more impacts with the coming of improved technology in our daily life like the introduction of the mobile technology that is growing immensely as media for interacting and communicating with our relatives living far away. Secondly, when one wants to travel its easier with the help of aviation technology in order to reach distant places within the shortest time possible which used to take a century in older days. Through technology, social networking has made it able to share different ideas and views with people from other three continents (Scardamalia, 1996). Technology has also helped in agricultural fields through exchanging of food and commodities, meet food requirements of varied people all over the world with ease. Through cyberspace, people are able to do many new things, for example, when using the internet to learn distance courses in our colleges and one also takes online courses through the internet which has made the education life easier. Moreover, with the rise of internet technology the world knows one is able to carry business and trade has become very fast and easy and more reliable since it enables people to transact business with someone who is far. Lastly, with the creation of automobile vehicles that assists us to carry out

Arguable claim letter Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Arguable claim letter - Personal Statement Example The 1986 Crown Victoria sedan that we recently purchased has been giving us problems since the first week. They were reported and we, trusting your advice, tried to remedy the problem ourselves and with a local gentleman that acts as an auto mechanic on a casual basis. Imagine our surprise when a major mechanical failure that is clearly linked to the other problems occurred 32 days after purchase of the vehicle. Our surprise turned to disappointment when we were informed that you would not honor your bumper-to-bumper 30-day warrantee because it had expired two days earlier. The specifics of our complaint are as follows. On June 15th, we purchased the 1986 Crown Victoria sedan for $1200 from Warren Jeffries; the sales associate on duty that day. He assured us that the car was in great working condition. We were informed that it had been purchased at an estate sale and had been garage kept by an elderly gentleman since it was purchased new in 1986. The odometer showed 56,433 miles at the time of purchase. Our test drive confirmed many of the claims made by Mr. Jeffries. The mechanics of the car appeared to be sound. We were most concerned about mechanical systems such as the brakes, transmission and air conditioning. We paid cash and left the dealership pleased with our purchase. On June 21st, while driving to the salon, we noticed that the engine temperature gauge was approaching the red zone. As Quick Change Used Autos was along the route to the salon, we stopped to speak with a mechanic. He discovered that the radiator was nearly empty. The lack of cooling fluid was causing the engine to overheat. As the car was under warrantee, the mechanic, Mr. Skinner, offered us a loaner car and promised to fix the problem immediately. We were able to make our appointment at the salon and were able to retrieve our car immediately after the appointment. Mr. Skinner informed us that he fixed the problem by applying a liquid patch to the inside of the

Research question vs. Hypothesis Essay Example for Free

Research question vs. Hypothesis Essay Does your study take an experimental approach to answer questions? Are you making a prediction about the phenomenon being studied? If your answer to these questions is yes, then you will need a hypothesis, but if it is no then you will need a research question. This is because a hypothesis is a statement that is tested by experiment(s) to confirm or deny the phenomenon Turning now to a research question, if you are incorporating a research question rather than a hypothesis, then remember that some of the important features of a good question are that the question or problem should be: about one issue; clear and concise; addresses an important, controversial and/or an unresolved issue; feasible to undertake within a specified timeframe; adequately resourced. Hypothesis (plural = hypotheses) A hypothesis is not a question, but rather it is a statement about the relationship between two or more variables. So, for example, the first question above could become a hypothesis by making this a statement rather than a question, namely: The perceived needs of the patient and users of South Bedfordshires palliative care services are being met. To be complete a hypothesis must include three components: The variables The population The relationship between the variables As you can see, the hypothesis translates the research question into a prediction of expected outcomes. A hypothesis is the tool of quantitative studies, and is only found in such  studies. In fact, a hypothesis is usually only found in experimental quantitative research studies. You will be able to find out more about hypothesese when we look at them in more detail later in the session. Research question. A research question is the question that the research project sets out to answer. In actual fact, a research study may set out to answer several questions. The methodology used for that study, and the tools used to conduct the research, all depend upon the research questions being asked. For example, in the example of a qualitative research study, the following two research questions that underpin the study, and also needed to be answered by the study, are shown in the box below. There are two research questions that will need to be answered by this phase of the research. These are:  · Are the perceived needs of the patients and users of South Bedfordshires palliative care services bei ng met?  · If not, what needs to be done if these needs are to be met in the future? The first question can be answered by a quantitative study, whereas the second one may require a qualitative study to answer it. Research questions can therefore be used in quantitative and qualitative research studies.

Patterns in River Flow Data

Patterns in River Flow Data Introduction The hydrologic response of a watershed is based on interactions between landscape characteristics and climatic characteristics input; as the soil property descriptors, geomorphologic descriptors, geologic descriptors and land use varies among different watersheds, the watersheds could respond very differently to precipitation (Mohamoud, 2004). The main aim of this coursework is to assess the impact of recent climate change on river flow; to uncover its significance in affecting river flow by analysing and comparing river flow records from National River Flow Archive, and to highlight and assess the differences in the hydrologic response to climate change of the three chosen rivers with contrasting characteristics, located in the UK. The three rivers chosen to be analysed includes the East Avon, the River Dove and the River Greta, all with natural catchments (natural to within 10% at Q95), with no known major artificial changes to the catchment that would influence the flow of the rivers, in order to attempt to focus solely on the effect of climate change (CEH, n.d.). The catchments examined all similar in size: 83000m2 for River Dove at Izaak Walton, located in central England; 86100m2 for Greta at Rutherford Bridge, located in north- east England; 85800m2 for East Avon at Upavon, located in south- west England (CEH, n.d.). Figure 1 showing the locations of the three gauging station on three separate maps of the UK (CEH, n.d.) Apart from the differences in location (figure 1.), there are also contrasting catchment characteristics. East Avon at Upavon predominantly consists of 64.5% of upper greensand and lower chalk of 27%; the remaining 8.5% consists of middle chalk, upper chalk, clay, as well as gault, plus river gravel and alluvium at the bottom of the valley (CEH, n.d.). In comparison, the Greta at Rutherford Bridge catchment is known to be steep, and it mainly consists of millstone grit (CEH, n.d.). Finally, in contrast, Dove at Izzak Walton is known to be long and narrow (CEH, n.d.). It mainly consists of mudstone, millstone grit and sandstone, with underlying carboniferous limestone forming the left hand watershed (CEH, n.d.). When looking at the catchment statistics in relation to the geology, East Avon’s catchment consists of 40.3% of high permeability bedrock, with 59.7% moderate permeability bedrock (CEH, n.d.). In contrast, Greta and Dove’s catchment consists of 100% of moderate p ermeability bedrock (CEH, n.d.). Besides the obvious difference in geology, the sites also vary differently in terms of their climatic characteristics, as shown in table 1.1, 1.2 1.3, and finally, land cover also varies among the three river catchments, as shown in table 2 (Met Office, n.d.; CEH, n.d.). Table 1.1 averages table showing climate data for the England SE Central S District, which covers period 1981-2010 (Met Office, n.d.) Table 1.2 averages table showing climate data for the Midlands District, which covers period 1981-2010(Met Office, n.d.) Table 1.3 averages table showing climate data for the England E NE District, which covers period 1981-2010(Met Office, n.d.) Table 2- Catchment statistics of Land Cover for each of the three catchments (CEH, n.d.). Methodology The river flow data obtained from these three gauging stations, between the year of 1973 and 2013 were used for analysis. In order to observe and identify flow pattern for each of the chosen sites, as well as to identify any change in the hydrological regime of the three rivers due to recent climate change at the sites, the three sets of river flow data from National River Flow Archive (NRFA) was first imported on to a spread sheet, where the flow measurement/ reading of each river were sorted in to order, according to the hydrological date of the measured flow. The data was then plotted as follows: Discharge vs. time Monthly flow vs. time A flow duration curve for flow frequency analysis Mean discharge vs. Hydrological year Julian date Next, visual inspection of the graphs was carried out, and the graphs produced for each river were directly compared to assess how seasonal and time – series patterns of flow differ across the three sites, and to determine whether all three sites showed the same pattern of flow through time. Results and Discussion In order illustrate the seasonal river flow pattern in the three catchments; figure 2 shows hydrographs for the three rivers. The location of these catchments is shown in figure 1, and characteristics are presented in the introduction. Upon inspecting the hydrographs, the following observations were made (points of reference are labelled as A on the hydrographs): East Avon’s mean discharge peaks at 1.17 m3s-1, on day 130 Greta’s mean discharge peaks at 6.81 m3s-1, on day 69 Dove’s mean discharge peaks at 3.35 m3s-1, on day 82 Figure 2-Hydrographs for three rivers, showing the mean discharge vs Hydrological year Julian date, plus a graph for comparison between the rivers’ mean discharge over days According to a study on UK river flow regimes, Hannaford et al. (2012) had suggested that UK river flow regimes can be considered temperate precipitation/evapotranspiration dominated, rather than snowmelt dominated. This means that the seasonal cycle will be mainly driven by evapotranspiration, leading to higher flows in winter and lower flows in summer, with the spring and autumn as transition seasons (Hannaford et al., 2012). When referring back to the peak discharge observations above, all three rivers conformed to the same general pattern, as day 82, 69 130- the days where the mean discharge has reached the peak for the three river all lies within the winter period, indicating that the flow will be high during winter days. Furthermore, the hydrographs also shows that, for all three rivers, the mean discharge appeared to be relatively low, and have all remained low between day 280 -320 for all three rivers (section B on the hydrographs), during the summer period. Figure 3- Monthly Discharge vs. Hydrological Year Date graph for all three rivers, with a secondary axis corresponding to the mean monthly discharge curve In terms of the consistency of the flow, figure 3 shows East Avon’s maximum minimum curve, and its mean curve look very similar- the curves are almost overlapping one another which shows a low fluctuation in flow. This suggests that the flow of the river is very consistent. In contrast, the other two rivers have less consistency. This can be observed when comparing the max, min and mean curve in Dove’s graph- the general shape of the curves are very similar to one another, yet there are a few points in the graph where there are some very noticeable differences, where the mean curve tend to have a greater fluctuation and peaks at higher discharge points compared to the other two curves, thus showing that it is generally consistent, but the consistency is lower compared to East Avon. Finally, Greta’s corresponding graph displays great fluctuation; although both max and mean curves are both similar and conforms to a similar pattern, it is clear that the min curve l ooks a lot flatter, with a pattern that is not very similar to the other two curves within the graph. This indicates that Greta’s consistency between years is relatively poor. Although all three river exhibit similar seasonal flow patterns, there are still notable difference in their response time. The occurrence of lag time and the difference between the response times of the three sites can be explained by the difference in the catchment’s physical characteristics and its underlying geology. When referring back to the peak discharge data, East Avon displays a lagged response, peaking at day 130, as opposed to peaking at days closer to 82 and 69 (days of which Dove and Greta reached its peak). This significant variation can caused by East Avon’s catchment geology, as it consists of 40.3% of high permeability bedrock, with 27% of chalk in the catchment, as opposed to 0% of high permeability bedrock in the other two catchments; the high permeability bedrock and the highly permeable chalk means that groundwater storage plays a significant role in effecting the runoff regime of the East Avon catchment, which lead to East Avon’s discharge peaking at around February, towards the end of the winter period, as opposed to peaking towards the start of the winter period, like the other two rivers have. Next, in order to illustrate the reason behind Greta’s earlier peak, in comparison to Dove’s later peak at day 82 (figure 2), the physical feature of both catchments must be examined in detail. Both catchments have an identical percentage of moderate permeability bed rock, and both are similar due to the fact that the catchments both consist of Millstone Grit. However, the topography are significant different between the two catchments. Since Greta’s catchment is significantly steeper when compared to the Dove’s catchment, as illustrated in figure 6 and table 3, Greta will have a more responsive regime compared to Dove due to a quick run- off rate of precipitation. This could also provide an explanation to why the mean discharge curve in the Greta hydrograph is subjected to a greater level of daily variation in comparison to the other two sites and their respective hydrographs. Figure 4- Flow duration curves for all three sites, with an additional graph (bottom graph) combing the Q* data (Discharge Ratio where Q*= Q/Q50) of three sites for comparison- note that scale of Q* is in Logarithmic Scale (Base:10) Figure 5- Flow duration curves for all three sites, with an additional graph (bottom graph) combing the Q* data (Discharge Ratio where Q*= Q/Q50) of three sites for comparison- the scale of Q* has been adjusted to go from 0-6 for comparison Additionally, figure 4 shows that Greta’s curve has the steepest slope, followed by Dove, and then by East Avon with the flattest slope. The observations mirrored those findings above precisely; Greta’s steepest slope indicates a highly variable river, and the flow mainly consists of direct runoff (Searcy, 1959). In contrast, curves with a flatter slope (e.g. East Avon with the flattest curve) which means they have a more constant flow, and can signify the existence of surface and/or groundwater storage – in East Avon’s case, highly permeable chalk acts as storage for water, which equalized the flow of the river (Searcy, 1959). Furthermore, in figure 5, the graph also provides information on the three rivers’ frequencies of very high flows and very low flows. When employing the parameters of Q*=5 for high flow, and Q*=0.2 for low, the curves shows that Greta exhibits a significantly lower proportion of time flow lower than the Q* of 5, whereas the c urves for Dove and East Avon are very similar, with a much higher proportion of time flow less than Q* of 5, meaning that high flows occurs a lot less frequently in Dove Avon in comparison to Greta. In terms of low flow, three rivers are all dissimilar in their frequency of low flow. Greta’s proportion of flow less than 0.5 is ≈0.02, whilst Dove’s proportion is ≈0.16, with East Avon’s proportion is ≈0.34. East Avon’s higher proportion of time flow less than 0.5 means that the occurrence of low flow is more frequent in East Avon, and in comparison, Dove has got a relatively lower frequency of low flow, and Greta with the lowest frequency of low flow over the years within the sample period. Table 3- Elevation data for Greta and Dove’s catchment (CEH, 2014) Figure 6-Elevation Map of England. This map shows the significant difference in elevation between the North of England and the South of England. (Windpower Program, n.d) As seen in figure 7, the flows of all three rivers do seem to conform to a similar pattern over time, with no significant changes in the temporal pattern and frequencies of flood/ droughts. However, upon further inspection, the graph shows that the magnitude of the floods for all three rivers had increased over time; the high flow peaks have seemed to be higher in more recent years. This phenomenon can possibly be explained by global climate change; as global temperature increase, this leads to an increase in water vaporing the atmosphere. As suggested by Milly et al. (2002 cited Das et al, 2013), Kunkel et al. (2013 cited Das et al., 2013) and Trenberth (1999 cited Das et al, 2013), storms are likely to yield more extreme peak precipitation rates, which can lead to more intense floods around the globe (Groisman et al., 2005 cited Das et al, 2013). However, although the trend identified above is consistent with climate change, it is also consistent with variability driven North Atlan tic Oscillation (Hannaford, 2013). With the significant knowledge gap in the understanding of long term multi-decadal variability in flow driven by NAO, along with the lack of long term flow data available for this report, it will be premature to attribute specific steam flow trends to anthropogenic climate change (Hannaford, 2013). Figure 7- Hydrograph showing change in river discharge between 1973- 2012 Summary Conclusion In conclusion, river flow regimes of the three assessed rivers are heavily dependent on catchment geological characteristics and climate. Climate plays a major role in effecting the flow, as the relatively temperate climate in England meant that the dominant factor in effecting flow regimes are precipitation/ evapotranspiration, which leads to the occurrence in flow variation between seasons as rate of evapotranspiration varies. In relation to climate, among the three rivers, there were observed changes in peak flow and flood magnitude over time, which global climate change might be responsible for, as it can lead to precipitation extremes, which in turns lead to more run-off and higher river flow. Besides that, variation in geology also contributes to the difference in hydrology of each river, as groundwater storage can affect the rate of run- off, which in turns affects the flow and the response of the three rivers. Finally, anthropogenic influences can affect flow regime of rivers (Schneider et al, 2013). However, there is no significant evidence to show how these had modified the flow of the rivers. Reference Centre for Ecology Hydrology (n.d) 43014- East Avon at Upavon. National River Flow Archive. [Map , Catchment Description Flow Record] Retrieved from http://www.ceh.ac.uk/data/nrfa/data/peakflow.html?43014 (Last accessed on 07/11/2014) Centre for Ecology Hydrology (n.d) 28046 Dove at Izaak Walton.. National River Flow Archive. [Map , Catchment Description Flow Record] Retrieved from http://www.ceh.ac.uk/data/nrfa/data/peakflow.html?28046 (Last accessed on 07/11/2014) Centre for Ecology Hydrology (n.d) 25006 Greta at Rutherford Bridge. National River Flow Archive. [Map , Catchment Description Flow Record] Retrieved from http://www.ceh.ac.uk/data/nrfa/data/peakflow.html?25006 (Last accessed on 07/11/2014) Groisman, P.Y.; Knight, R.W.; Easterling, D.R.; Karl, T.R.; Hegerl, G. ; Razuvaev, V.A.N. (2005) Trends in intense precipitation in the climate record. Journal of Climate, vol 18, no. 9, 1326-1350. Cited in Das, T; Maurer, E. P.; Pierce, D. W.; Dettinger, M.D.; Cayan, D.R. (2013) Increases in flood magnitudes in California under warming climates.Journal of Hydrology501, 101-110. Hannaford, J (2013) Observed long- term changes in Uk river flow patterns: a review. A climate change Report car for water. Hannaford, J.; Buys, G. (2012) Trends in seasonal river flow regimes in the UK. Journal of Hydrology, 475. 158-174. Kunkel, K.E.; Karl, T.R.; Easterling, D.R.; Redmond, K.; Young, J.; Yin, X, Hennon, P. (2013) Probable maximum precipitation (PMP) and climate change Geophys. Res. Lett., 40 Cited in Das, T; Maurer, E. P.; Pierce, D. W.; Dettinger, M.D.; Cayan, D.R. (2013) Increases in flood magnitudes in California under warming climates.Journal of Hydrology501, 101-110. Table 1. Met Office (no date) UK climate – District England SE Central S [Table/ Data] Retrieved from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcneyctf3 (Last accessed on 08/11/2014) Table 1. Met Office (no date) UK climate District Midlands [Table/ Data] Retrieved from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcqbgpgqh (Last accessed on 08/11/2014) Table 1. Met Office (no date) UK climate District England E NE [Table/ Data] Retrieved from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcwzegx04 (Last accessed on 08/11/2014) Milly, P.C.D.; Wetherald, R. T.; Dunne, K.A.; Delworth T.L. (2001) Increasing risk of great floods in a changing climate Nature, 415 (2002), pp. 514–517. Cited in Das, T; Maurer, E. P.; Pierce, D. W.; Dettinger, M.D.; Cayan, D.R. (2013) Increases in flood magnitudes in California under warming climates.Journal of Hydrology501, 101-110. Mohamoud, Y. (2004) Comparison of hydrologic responses at different watershed scales: EPA Report EPA/600/R-04/103 Searcy, J .K . (1959), Flow-duration curves : U .S . Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1542-A Schneider,C.; Laizà ©,C.L.R.; Acreman,M.C.; Flà ¶rke,M. (2013) How will climate change modify river flow regimes in Europe?, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 325-339 Trenberth, K.E. (1999) Conceptual framework for changes of extremes of the hydrological cycle with climate change Climate Change, 42 (1999), pp. 327–339. Cited in Das, T; Maurer, E. P.; Pierce, D. W.; Dettinger, M.D.; Cayan, D.R. (2013) Increases in flood magnitudes in California under warming climates.Journal of Hydrology501, 101-110. Figure 6. Windpower Program (no date) Estimating mean wind speed. [Map] Retrieved from http://www.wind-power-program.com/windestimates.htm (Last accessed on 08/11/2014)