Business Systems Hoosier Burger Essay Example for Free

Business Systems Hoosier Burger Essay Improving Hoosier Burger Bob and Thelma Mellankamp wanted to open their own business. They came across Myrtle’s Family Restaurant and saw a sign that said it was for sale. Bob and Thelma bought the restaurant and their own restaurant was brought to life Hoosier Burger Restaurant. The idea was one that everyone dreams of owning their own business but do not understand all the behind the scenes projects that make a business successful. Yes, they have been in business for over 30 years but even they understand that their dream needs some improvement to continue in the market they are in. Bob and Thelma have discussed the idea of a computer system but do not know where to start so Bob wants to bring in a consultant to address some of their weak areas and make suggestions to improve Hoosier Burger. They inform the consultant on how business is ran. This restaurant is behind the curve when it comes to technology. They still do paper trail on every aspect of the restaurant from deliveries, inventories, and point of sale (Valacich, George, Hoffer, 2009). Even though paper was what many companies started out with, it is no longer an approved way to do business. Paper allows too many human errors to come into play where as an electronic record keeping system eliminates a majority of these errors but as with any data†¦you get out of it what you put into it. All this means that if you put inaccurate data into the system then the data you get from the system will also be inaccurate. Hoosier Burger has learned this lesson oh too well. Especially, since they did not order enough vanilla ice cream to cover their own special so they had to run to the grocery store to try to get enough for the sales they were doing on the special (Valacich et al., 2009). Bob and Thelma agreed that it would be  valuable to purchase an information system to assist them in the areas of inventory management, marketing, customer service, food preparation, and point of sale (Valacich et al.). Now that it has been decided on what needs to be addressed with thi s new information system. The systems development life cycle (SDLC) begins (Valacich et al., 2009). The four main steps of this process are (1) planning and selection, (2) analysis, (3) design, and (4) implementation and operation. The first phase is to plan the system out and then select the appropriate system for job. This situation a good point of sale system would give this company the system they need for daily operations and growth. A good POS covers all aspects of the restaurant from the dining area to the kitchen and even the storage areas. With any system, you have subsystems that are called components. Components by themselves do not make a system but when put together they make a complete system. In the case of Hoosier Burger one of the components of the system would be an inventory log or database. This subsystem would track usages and deliveries to ensure that stocks are maintain at the properly level for daily operation of the business. The project development team that Hoosier Burger selected w as based on the weaknesses of the organization. The focus of the new system will be on ways to improve inventory management, customer service, and management reporting. Any one of these weaknesses could cripple the organization. The team needs to get as much information as possible to ensure that they are building the correct system for this organization. I would use the interview process to get as much information from the staff as possible and I would use questionnaire to customer input. Also, I would gather as many reports and logs that I could for supporting documentation but with the current processes. This type of information may not be readily available or available at all. After gathering this information, the process of developing a system to correct their weaknesses begins. You would also want to find out if the company has any upgrades planned so that you could incorporate that into the system. In this case, they want to expand to delivery services and a drive through operation. These expansions do not require a lot of upgrades to the building so these will go into effect immediately to increase revenue for the company. The diagram figure 1 shows the flow of information for the new system. Fig 1. As you can see from figure, the information system that need is robust in nature but simple. The system analyst now needs to break down the different entities the company needs to store information about. These entities have particular characteristics that require information to be stored. There are rules used when attempting to place an identifier for each entity. The diagram will show the changes and specify the component’s needed for each relationship. In the text, an entity is a person, object, place, concept, or event in the user environment of which an organization wants to store data(Valacich, George, Hoffer, 2009). Person entities are usually your employees but can be your customer. Place entities are basically the location i.e. states, regions, countries. Object entities include the machines you use, buildings your work out of, products you produce, and vehicles. Event entities can be considered sales, renewals, registrations. Concept entities include courses, accounts, or work centers. Hoosier Burger needs the ability to store information about their individual entities. The main entity is the customer that frequents the restaurant on a regular basis. They also need to store information about what products the customer is purchasing. Hoosier Burger also needs the ability to store information about the company itself and place entities which are the businesses that order meals from the company. We will now discuss attributes. Attributes according to the text are named properties or characteristics of entities that are of interest to the organization(Valacich et al., 2009). The following attributes should be used for the customer: customer name, customer address, customer phone number, customer’s number of orders, and customer specific orders. These attributes can also be assigned to the business entity by switching out customer with business. Attributes can also be assigned to the end product such as ingredients, price, and amount sold. Identifying the entities require assigning unique identifying  characteristics for the entity type. For example when dealing the with customer entity, you would use an identifier that is easy to use i.e. Customer ID, Customer Name, Customer Address, and Customer Phone. The key when dealing with identifying items is making it user friendly. Once all of these have been put into place, the system analyst now needs to build three working solutions to this company’s weaknesses. The three solutions as discussed in the text are low, medium, and high level. The difference in the three levels usually equates to cost but it also includes how much effort the user has to put into the system and the type of technology used. Time is money and if your employees are having to spend more time with the system than the customer then Hoosier Burger will lose money. All of these factors come into play when developing a system for an organization. The key to success of Hoosier Burger and the project development team is communication and cooperation. The more time these two entities communicate with each the easier it will be for the project team to address the needs of the customer and customer addresses the needs of the project team. It is a two way street. In the end, the job of the system analyst is to develop a system that addresses the wants and needs of the customer while maintaining within the budget. You do not want to sell the customer a â€Å"Corvette† when a â€Å"Camaro† would have done what is needed. Reference Valacich, J. S., George, J. F., Hoffer, J. A. (2009). Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

What drove Eliza to change? What does it mean to be high class? Essay

In George Bernard Shaw’s didactic, Victorian play Pygmalion, Linguistics Professor Henry Higgins’s perceptive ears are offended by the sound of Eliza’s lowly, Cockney accent, so he wishes to change it into a flawless, pleasant voice that would blend in among high society. Higgins is a sarcastic and rude character who treats Eliza badly throughout most of the play, sometimes not even acknowledging her presence. This brings up the question of why she tolerates his rudeness. What drove Eliza to change? Change is desired when we face conflicts that must be resolved. Another question this play presents is: What does it mean to be high class? Is it as Henry Higgins says it is, that it is just the proper way of speaking? Can the â€Å"right† sociolinguistics or money or heritage give someone high status? We can wish to change when wanting to improve ourselves, to satisfy others who we hold in esteem, to meet demands placed upon us, but most importantly, a successful change must come from self-motivated reasons. A change forced upon a person is like no change at all. After the pressure, the expectations, the possible threat of that comes with authority, have all been removed, a change can only last if the subject being changed had wanted to be changed in the first place. Initially, she wanted to improve her speaking voice so that she could find a better job, and with a better job, better prospects in every part of her life. She realizes that she can do this with Higgins’s help—she recognizes his expertise in this subject, but he is unwilling to help her until she pays him a high sum that she cannot afford. Higgins’s peer Colonel Pickering’s attention is brought to Eliza’s plight and he feels for her, so he strikes up a wager with Higgins and ... ...see any kind of challenge in Freddy, so he was not of so much interest to her. George Bernard Shaw’s message, though, is that affection for another person should not be disguised as distaste, for eventually, the person we love will move on to somebody else who treats him or her as he or she deserves to be treated. In a way, Eliza’s plan to marry Freddy is a type of poetic justice against Higgins, who, even though exhibits the proper grammar and speech of gentility, is not truly a gentleman. His behavior and attitude are just inexcusable for a heroine like Eliza. From this irony and dark humor in Pygmalion, we learn that we should be genuine and reveal our true feelings for a love interest eventually, even if it is slowly to keep ourselves from being hurt—we do not want to meet Higgins’s lonely fate. He could have had Eliza, but his caustic behavior kept them apart.

General Mills Inc. Understanding Financial Statements

Introduction The case study General Mills Inc. – Understanding Financial Statements focuses on the most basic idea of finance analysis. This case is a brief look into the language that is used in the finance world and a start to interaction with auditors. In this case, KPMG LLP, the public accounting firm that was auditing their statements, had sent two opinion letters. The first letter was ensuring that both parties were aware that General Mills had internal control over financial reporting.The second opinion letter stated that to auditor’s knowledge, General Mills had correctly reported its financial statements. The statements given in this case study are known as the four general financial statements. Displayed in the case are the Consolidated Statements of Earnings from years 2004 to 2006, the Consolidated Balance sheet from 2004 to 2006, the Consolidated Statement of shareholders’ equity from 2004 to 2006, and the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows from 20 04 to 2006.These general pieces of finance material provide enough information to analyze General Mills over the past two years. Thanks to the financial statements provided, we had the ability to compare the company’s performance in 2005 and 2006, and to see whether the company was still in good standing or not. The following is a basic analysis and interpretation of General Mills financial statements. Concepts a. General Mills is a food company. Its main activities consist on producing and selling ready-to-eat food, as well as doing retail business.These activities take place in the U. S. , Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region. b. Consolidated balance sheet, consolidated income statement, consolidated shareholders’ equity, and consolidated cash flow statement are the financial statements that are addressed to external audiences. General Mills submit consolidated financial statements because the accounts represent the company and its subsidiaries. c. The SEC requires that the financial statements for external reporting purposes be prepared quarterly. These quarterly reports are called 10Q reports.Then, SEC requires that these financial statements be done annually. These annual reports are called 10K reports. d. Financial statements are usually prepared by accounting staff; however, the CEO and CFO are the responsible for the accuracy of these statements. Generally, internal and external audiences are interested in the information presented in financial statements. On the one hand, the internal audiences are managers, owners and employees. First, in order to make decisions, managers and owners review the financial reports.Second, financial reports provide a clear view of the financial position and market value of the organization. Third, employees may use financial reports to insure their jobs positions within the company and negotiate possible salary hike and promotion. On the other hand, there are many external agents who ar e interested in the financial reports. First, investors use financial statements to evaluate the general performance and financial strength of the company. This evaluation helps make rational investment decisions.Second, financial institutions like banks and other lending institutions use the reports to assess the weight of debts and decide how risky the company is. Third, partners of the company consider the financial situation of the company in order to revise the contracts and partnership terms. Forth, suppliers are also interested in the financial performance of the company because that helps them decide whether to extend their credit or not. Fifth, government is in concern with the financial reports of this company, because these reports are the only means of verifying if the tax paid is accurate and adequate. . General Mills external auditor is KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm that issued the two â€Å"opinion† letters that General Millsâ€℠¢ Board of Directors and Stockholders received. The first â€Å"opinion† letter regards internal control over financial reporting, while the second â€Å"opinion† letter concerns financial statements and related financial statement schedule. The first â€Å"opinion† letter confirms that the General Mills upheld valid internal control over financial reporting as of May 28, 2006.The second â€Å"opinion† letter assures that the consolidated financial statements were fairly presented as of May 28, 2006. We see that the time difference between issuing the financial statements and receiving the opinion letters is fair, because audits need few months to gather information and analyze it. Analysis f. g. i. For May 28, 2006: Assets= $18,207 Liabilities + Equity = $11,299 + ($5,772 + $1,136) = $18,207 ii. For 2006, General Mills’ had a proportion of 17. 44% for short-term assets, and a proportion of 82. 6% for long-term assets. So, land, building and equipm ent, goodwill and intangible assets make up the majority of total assets. In other words, General Mill’s major assets are long-term assets, which is explained by the nature of business that General Mill Inc. does. iii. In general, intangible assets are assets that are not physical in nature. Corporate intellectual property (items such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, business methodologies), goodwill and brand recognition are all common intangible assets in today's marketplace.Goodwill is a long-term asset categorized as an intangible asset. The amount of goodwill is the cost to purchase the business minus the fair market value of the tangible assets, the intangible assets that can be identified, and the liabilities obtained in the purchase. In the case of General Mills, the intangible assets could be patents, strong brand name, copyrights, franchises and goodwill. iv. In 2006, General Mills was financed at a proportion of 62. 06% by non-owners and at a proportion of 37. 9 4% by owners. h. i.General Mills recognizes sales revenues upon acceptance of the shipment by its customers. The promotions and estimated returns are not included in the reporting of sales. The coupons costs are registered when distributed and their amounts are based on estimated redemptions. As for trade promotions, they are expensed based on estimated participation and performance levels for offered programs. Concerning returns, the company has a new return policy. However, the company may allow few returns if the product is in good condition to be sold again.The company expenses returns as reduction of net sales. The company’s policy of registering revenues, promotions and estimated returns are conform with GAAP. ii. The common-size income statement of 2006 reveals that General Mills’ major expenses are cost of sales with a proportion of 59. 85%, followed by selling, general and administrative expenses with a proportion of 23. 01%. iii. Between 2005 and 2006: The co st of sales and the selling went up by a small proportion, while selling, general and administrative expenses along with interest expenses went down by 0. 7% and 0. 54% respectively. However, selling, general and administrative expenses went up by 1. 51%. iv. To our opinion, General Mills included these unusual expenses in a separate section in order to avoid misleading the readers about the reason why selling, general and administrative expenses increased. v. During 2006, the company realized profits of 1,090 million dollars, while during 2005 realized profits of 1,240 million dollars. Since the two results are positive, we assume that the company was profitable during 2005 and 2006. vi.The change in net earnings between 2005 and 2006: (1,090 – 1,240) / 1,240 = -12. 1% The change in net earning between 2004 and 2005: (1,240 – 1,055) /1,055 = 17. 54% So, between 2004 and 2005 the net earnings raised by 17. 54%, while between 2005 and 2006 the net earnings decreased by 12. 1%. Excluding the costs of Divestitures and Debt, the net earnings of 2005 and net earnings difference between 2005 and 2006 will be as follow: Net earnings (2005) = 1,240 – (499-137) * 0. 617 = $1,016. 6 Net earnings difference (2005-2006) = (1,090 – 1,016. ) / 1,016. 6 = 7. 22% i. i. In 2006, net earnings are $1,090 while net cash provided by operating activities is $1,771, which means that there is a difference of $681 between these two accounts. This difference can be explained by the fact that some gains or costs don’t generate any increase or decrease in cash flow. For example, depreciation and amortization are costs that don’t change the level of cash flow. ii. During 2006, General Mills used for expenditures $360 million. iii. General Mills paid $485 million for dividends. j.The account on General Mills’ balance sheet that require estimates are the following: * Fixed Assets: Because the life time of a fixed asset is estimated, then depr eciation is estimated as well. Then, the net value of fixed assets –that is historical value – accumulated depreciation – is estimated as well. * Inventories: General Mills uses FIFO method for valuing the inventories in the U. S. and LIFO method for valuing inventories outside the U. S. * Doubtful accounts: these are accounts receivable that the company assumes won’t’ be collected in the future.We assume that all the balance sheet accounts, except long term debts, have estimated values. Conclusion After having studies General Mills’ business environment, and went through the analysis of its financial statements, we assume that this company’s performance for the year 2006 was better than 2005. In order to be more objective, we have excluded the gains and losses from divestitures and debt repurchases costs in our analysis, because these costs are considered as unusual. Thus, the common-size income statement shows that the company did b etter from 2004 to 2005 in terms of net sales and income statements.However, the after-tax earnings from Joint Ventures were much lower in 2006 than in 2005 and 2004. We assume that this decrease is mainly related to the change of the structure of joint ventures, as the company sold many of its subsidiaries. In addition, the income statement reveals an increase of dividends per share from the year 2004 to 2006, which means that the shareholders got higher profits. The information presented in the consolidated and common-size balance sheets was about the assets, liabilities and equity of the company.First, we noticed that the majority of the company’s assets are long-term assets, which we found normal seen the nature of business of General Mills. Second, 63% of the company’s business is run by liabilities, we assume that General Mills is a low risk company and that its cash flows are stable and positive. . ———————— ——————– [ 1 ]. Definition retrieved from: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/i/intangibleasset. asp#axzz2N0pq9ntS [ 2 ]. Definition retrieved from:

Simple Demander (to Ask) Verb Conjugations in French

Simply reading or hearing the French verb  demander  may tell you that it means to ask. Its very similar to the English demand, and that makes learning this word considerably easier than most. Conjugating it into the present, future, or past tense is almost as simple. This short lesson will show you how thats done. Conjugating the French Verb  Demander Demander  is a  regular -ER verb. It follows the standard verb conjugation rules of similar words like  dà ©jeuner  (to have lunch),  durer  (to last), and countless other verbs. Memorizing every one of these conjugations becomes a little easier than the last. To conjugate  demander, begin by identifying the verb stem:  demand-. To this, we add a series of infinitive endings to match both the subject pronoun as well as the tense of the sentence. For instance, I ask is je demande and we will ask is nous demanderons. Practice these conjugations in common  expressions with demander  to help you remember each. Subject Present Future Imperfect je demande demanderai demandais tu demandes demanderas demandais il demande demandera demandait nous demandons demanderons demandions vous demandez demanderez demandiez ils demandent demanderont demandaient The Present Participle of  Demander Adding -ant  to the verb stem of  demander  creates the  present participle  demandant. It can be used as an adjective, gerund, or noun as well as a verb. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà ©Ã‚   The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a common way to form the past tense asked in French. To form it, begin by conjugating the  auxiliary verb  avoir  to match the subject pronoun, then attach the  past participle  demandà ©. As an example, I asked becomes jai demandà © and we asked is nous avons demandà ©. Notice how  ai  and  avons  are conjugates of  avoir  and that the past participle remains the same. More Simple  Demander  Conjugations When the action of asking is not guaranteed, you might use either the subjunctive or the conditional form of  demander. Specifically, the conditional verb mood applies when the action will only happen  if  something else occurs. In literature and formal writing, you will likely find the passà © simple or the imperfect subjunctive. While not vital to your French memory bank, its a good idea to be able to recognize these. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je demande demanderais demandai demandasse tu demandes demanderais demandas demandasses il demande demanderait demanda demandt nous demandions demanderions demandmes demandassions vous demandiez demanderiez demandtes demandassiez ils demandent demanderaient demandrent demandassent Using the imperative form of  demander  is extremely easy. Because these are used in short demands and requests, theres no need to include the subject pronoun. Rather than saying, tu demande, simplified it to demande. Imperative (tu) demande (nous) demandons (vous) demandez