Fixed Costs
Fixed costs are organizational charges that do not fluctuate within the short run despite the nature of changes in the corresponding volumes of production or sales. Fixed costs form the fundamental of corporate operations, which can hardly be evaded (Oberholzer & Ziemerink, 2014). The value of an organization's fixed costs plays importantly in evaluation processes that ultimately guide price determination. It also means that the process of determining the company’s profits or losses depend on the value of fixed costs. A clear example of fixed costs is the rent charges incurred by a company. When businesses negotiate a rent agreement for their premises, they settle on a fixed price that is paid within a specific time limit.
Variable Cost
Variable costs tend to reveal a constituent fluctuation in its value, as the total cost that businesses incur within a specific period. Variable expenses are directly relatable to output in the manner that they fluctuate with an almost similar proportion. A rise in the company's production volume eventually informs an increase in the value of variable costs (svtuition.org, 2014). On the other hand, a fall in the volume of output means that variable costs are bound to reduce. Also, variable costs fluctuate from in industry type. It is not, therefore, practical to analyze the variable costs between a car manufacturing company and an electrical service company. Outstanding examples include the value of direct labor incurred, and the value of direct material costs incurred.
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Semi-Variable Cost
Some syllabuses refer to semi-variable costs as semi-fixed cost, or sometimes as mixed costs because they reveal certain aspects that define both variable and fixed costs. Semi-variable costs remain fixed from the beginning of production and extend up to a specific point within the production chain. Beyond these production levels, the costs begin to fluctuate depending on the volume of production, growing variable expenses. The initial fixe costs are incurred by the organization regardless of the volumes of production, and the fluctuating section of the production costs consistently varies depending on the quantities produced. Companies tend to benefit from semi-variable that feature lower values of fixed costs.
Discussion Questions 11: Organizational Culture
Definition
In a nutshell, organizational culture could briefly be shortened as “the way things are done within an organization ." Corporate culture can be described as a set of beliefs, values, and assumptions establish by a given organization to guide how employees interact both within and out of the company's premises (Shahzad, Luqman, Khan, & Shabbir, 2012). The existent organizational culture provides a unique medium through which fundamental social and psychological interaction is enhanced. An alternative definition of corporate culture could be summed up as a set of organizational customs, either written or unwritten, which incorporates additional elements such as its specific systems, values, norms, and visions. Other phrases that could be used interchangeably with organizational culture include “workplace culture,” or sometimes “business culture.”
How to Contribute to Organizational Culture
A seamless running process of businesses, both small and large, significantly considerably relies on the nature of corporate culture established, influenced, and enforced by the company leadership. Favorable corporate cultures play significant roles as the driving force, which consistently aids in the efforts towards creating a seamless management system. Organizational corporate culture predefines then presents corporate policies upon which the operations of employees are founded (IDOWU, 2017). Each employee, ranging from the executives to their subordinates, are made to understand their roles towards achieving organizational goals. Leaders are strategically placed to shape and enforce corporate culture for the benefits of the company.
Factors That Inform Favorable and Adverse Corporate Culture
Leadership tops the list of factors that determine the existence of either good or bad organizational culture. Influence from founders, roles of the managers and executive team importantly affect the way operations take place within a business. Also, they are positioned significantly to influence corporate culture (IDOWU, 2017). The interaction and conduct within and beyond the organization’s premises potentially determine the level of ambiance in management. Other factors include the working environment presented, the nature of services and products offered, and the quality of the customer or client base that the company serves. An example of corporate culture would be a company that conducts yearly collective weddings for its employees regardless of their ranks (Shahzad, Luqman, Khan, & Shabbir, 2012).
Healthcare System Discussion
Lessons from OECD countries
The rising costs of healthcare in the United States are connected to inadequate government healthcare policies and shifts in the U.S citizens’ lifestyles. Interventional procedures such as Obamacare (Medicaid) and Medicare have facilitated the affordability of medical care, and as a result, high health care costs have ensued. OECD countries identify healthcare issues as one of its key priorities, which has led to a dramatic improvement in health over a short period (Gurría, 2008). The United States can also borrow from the Universal care coverage practiced in OECD countries, which promotes inequitable care services across the entire population. As a result, OECD countries have used universal healthcare provisions to alienate poverty.
Why can’t public health do more to achieve its goals?
The fundamental goals of the new public health are to organize and present measures both in the public and private functions to help the country prevent new diseases, promote health and wellbeing, and extend the life expectancy across general public population. The overarching issues established within the efforts to achieve public health goals include political issues, logistical limitations, resource restrictions, and legal challenges (Ridic, Gleason, & Ridic3, 2012). Lack of adequate advocacy among healthcare groups, inadequate resources to train and manage sufficient health care labor, and insufficient legal interventions to guide health promotion are some of the factors that considerably challenge public health goals.
H ow do NHI and NHS systems compare with the health care system in the US?
The U.S healthcare system does not compare favorably with International Healthcare Systems, fundamentally because the U. S is the only country among developed countries that lacks Universal Health care insurance coverage (Ridic, Gleason, & Ridic3, 2012). While most developed countries wear down their expenditures on health by taking advantage of the existent Universal coverage, healthcare costs remain uncontrolled. In the financial year 2015-2016, the U.S spent more than 18% of its GDP on healthcare alone. The average proportion of GDP spent on healthcare in all developed countries combined is half that of the United States.
References
Gurría, A. (2008, March 23). Developing a Health Care System Benefiting All . Retrieved from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: https://www.oecd.org/health/developingahealthcaresystembenefitingall.htm
IDOWU, E. (2017). Understanding Organisational Culture and Organisational Performance: Are They Two Sides of the Same Coin? Journal of Management Research, 9 (1), 12-22. doi:10.5296/jmr.v9i1.10261
Oberholzer, M., & Ziemerink, J. (2014). Cost behavior classification and cost behavior structures of manufacturing companies. Meditari Accountancy Research, 12 (1), 179–193.
Ridic, G., Gleason, S., & Ridic3, O. (2012). Comparisons of Health Care Systems in the United States, Germany, and Canada. Matera Socio Medica, 24 (2), 112–120. doi:10.5455/msm.2012.24.112-120
Shahzad, F., Luqman, R. A., Khan, A. R., & Shabbir, L. (2012). Impact of Organizational Culture on Organizational Performance: An Overview. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3 (9), 975-985.
svtuition.org. (2014, February 7). Variable Cost vs. Semi Variable Cost . Retrieved from svtuition.org: http://www.svtuition.org/2014/02/variable-cost-vs-semi-variable-cost.html
