Week 5 discussion Questions - Essay Example

DDQ1 The business administration function that give me the biggest problems academically are statistics and economics. Statistics can be used by managers to create statistical model to make decisions based on quantitative analysis. The reason statistics are so difficult for me is because on math and quantitative analytic work is one of my weaknesses. Statistics can be defined as A numerical value, such as standard deviation or mean, that characterizes the sample or population from which it was derived (Credo Reference, 2010).

Statistics are also very useful for investigators to utilize the quantitative data in order to create qualitative reports that provide an interpretation of the findings. The second weakness are of mine is economics. Economic is a very useful academic discipline that can help managers in various ways. For example managers can use economic analysis to determine the supply and demand of its products. I t can also help managers determine the optimal sales price to achieve the highest profits possible.

The reason I’m weak at economic is because it economics the professor who teach these subjects seem to always incorporate graphs in their discussion. Every time I see a economic graph it becomes very hard for me to interpret to the results. Also in economics there seems to be a lot of models and concepts that are extremely difficult to understand. Since these two disciplines are important for me achieve professional goal and will put a lot of extra efforts in the future courses I may take in any of these two subject matters.

Credo Reference (2009). Statistics. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Retrieved January 6, 2010 from Credo Reference database. DQ2 The two business majors that have greatest utilize and maximum value for a corporation is managerial accounting and business research. Business research can be used in different ways to add value to a corporation. For example business research can be used to perform market research of potential expansion site in foreign territory. Researchers used either primary research or secondary research.

Primary research occurs when the research perform original research, while secondary research is learning for a particular subject matter by reading and analyzing the written work in sources such as journal article, magazines, databases, and websites (Allbusines, 2009). Another research technique that can be very useful for managers is generic benchmarking. Generic benchmarking is a technique in which a company investigates business practices in other industries in order to imitate them. Managerial accounting measures and reports financial and nonfinancial information that helps managers make decision to fulfill the goals of an organization whose focus is internal reporting (Horngreen & Foster & Datar, 2003).

Managerial accounting can help managers determine the cost structure of the company in a precise manner. These professionals look for ways to optimize the organizational process in order to reduce cost. Another cost accounting mechanism the can help organizations is break-even analysis. A break-even analysis determine the production volume needed for the sales of the company to be exactly the same as its expense, thus the company net profits are cero. Break-even analysis is part of technique profit analysis cost and volume as the key variables.

A third accounting tool that can help company improve its profitability is the creation of a master budget. A budget is financial forecast of a determine period of time. Most public corporations prepare budgets of all least one year. Variance analysis is tool that be used in conjunction with the master budget. Another good attribute of cost accounting is the ability to determine the cost of each of the product or service lines of the company. Managerial accounts can be used to make decisions of the viability of a capital project.

such as building a new factory a country such as India. A balance scorecard is another useful tool of cost accounting. It is a framework for implementing strategy by translating an organization’s mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures (Horgreen, et al. 2000, p.883). Time is a key variable that managerial accountants used in their decision making process. For example if the productive of the works goes down due to a high workload the company can provide an additional 15 minute period to provide the employees with some time to relax and sociality with their corkers.

The compensation of the workers is another variable cost accountants consider in their analysis. Allbusiness.com (2010). Secondary versus primary market research. Retrieved January 6, 2010 from http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/market-research/1310-1.html Horngreen, C., Foster, G., Datar, S. (2000). Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.