ACCA有关.doc

Accountant in BusinessContentChapter 1 The business organisation1Chapter learning objectives11 The nature of organisations21.1 What is an organisation?21.2 Why do we need organisations?31.3 Classifying organisations by profit orientation51.4 Classifying organisation by ownership/control72 The roles and functions of the main departments in a business organisation82.1 The main functions within an organisation82.2 Co-ordination103 Strategic, tactical and operational planning levels in the organisation113.1 Different levels of planning113.2 The nature of strategic planning113.3 The strategic planning process12Chapter summary13Test your understanding answers14Chapter 2 organisation structure17Chapter learning objectives171 Organisational structure181.1 Different types of structure181.2 Further aspects of organisational structure231.3 Centralisation and decentralisation261.4 The informal organisation and its relationship with the formal organisation271.5 The impact of the informal organisation on the business28Chapter summary29Test your understanding answers30Chapter 3 Organisational culture32Chapter learning objectives321 Defining organisational culture331.1 Definition331.2 Components of culture332 The factors that shape the culture of the organisation333 Writers on culture343.1 Schein343.2 Handy353.3 Hofstede36Chapter summary38Test your understanding answers392Chapter 1The business organisationChapter learning objectivesUpon completion of this chapter you will be able to: define the term organisation explain the need for a formal organisation distinguish between different types of organisation summarise the main areas of responsibility for different functions within an organisation explain how different departments co-ordinate their activities explain the nature and process of strategic planning explain the purpose of each level of organizational management.ORGANISATIONSORGANISATIONSMAIN DEPARTMENTSPLANNING LEVELS1 The nature of organisationsORGANISATIONSWHAT ARE THEY?WHY DO WE NEED THEM?DIFFERENT TYPES1.1 What is an organisation?Organisations are social arrangements for the controlled performance of collective goals. (Buchanan and Huczynski)The key aspects of this definition are as follows: collective goals social arrangements controlled performance.Expandable textAs yet there is no widely accepted definition of an organisation. This is because the term can be used broadly in two ways: It can refer to a group or institution arranged for efficient work. To organise implies that there is an arrangement of parts or elements that produces more than a random collection. Organisation can also refer to a process, i.e. structuring and arranging the activities of the enterprise or institution to achieve the stated objectives. The very work organisation implies that there is order or structure.There are many types of organisations, which are set up to serve a number of different purpose and to meet a variety of needs. They include: service companies factories retail companies political parties charities local councils the army, navy and air force schools.What they all have in common in summarised in the definition given by Buchanan and Huczynski:Organisations are social arrangements for the controlled performance of collective goals.(a) Collective goals organisations are defined primarily by their goals. A school has the main goal of educating pupils and will be organised differently from a company where the main objective is to make profits.(b) Social arrangements someone working on his own does not constitute an organisation. Organisations have structure to enable people to work together towards the common goals. Larger organisations tend to have more formal structures in place but even small organisations will divide up responsibilities between the people concerned.(c) Controlled performance organisations have systems and procedures to ensure that goals are achieved. These could vary from ad-hoc informal reviews to complex weekly targets and performance review.For example, a football team can be described as an organisation because: It has a number of players who have come together to play a game. The team has an objective (to score more goals than its opponent). To do their job properly, the members have to maintain an internal system of control to get the team to work together. In training they work out tactics so that in play they can rely on the ball being passed to those who can score goals. Each member of the team is part of the organisational structure and is skilled in a different task; the goalkeeper has more experience in stopping goals being scored than those in the forward line of the team. In addition, there must be team spirit, so that everyone works together. Players are encouraged to do their best, both on and off the field.Test your understanding 1Which of the following would be considered to be an organisation?(i) A sole trader(ii) A tennis club(iii) A hospitalA) (i), (ii) and (iii)B) (i) and (ii) onlyC) (ii) and (iii) onlyD) (i) and (iii) only1.2 Why do we need organisations?Organisations can achieve results that cannot be produced by individuals on their own. This is because organisations enable people to: share skills and knowledge specialise and pool resources.As the organisation grows it will reach a size where goals, structures and control procedures need to be formalised to ensure that objectives are achieved.These issues are discussed in further detail below.Illustration 1 The nature of organisationsWhen families set up and run restaurants, they usually do not have to consider formalising the organisation of their business until they have five restaurants. After this stage responsibilities have to be clarified and greater delegation is often required.Expandable textThere are many reasons why organisations exist: They satisfy social needs, e.g. the companionship of people with similar tastes leads to the formation of clubs, societies and unions. People join organisations because they consider that they will be more secure, more successful, have more needs and wants satisfied and be better off境况好. Organisations exist primarily because they are more efficient at fulfilling needs than individuals who attempt to cater for all their requirements in isolation and without assistance from others. The main reason for this is the ability that organisations have of being able to employ the techniques of specialization and the division of labour. In particular: They save time a group can accomplish a task more quickly than lone individuals. They pool knowledge members of organisations can share knowledge and skills. They are power centres an individual rarely has the power to influence events on a large scale whereas most organisations can influence demand, win orders and create wealth.Specialisation is perhaps the oldest organisational device. It occurs when organisations or individual workers concentrate on a limited type of activity. This allows them to build up a greater level of skill and knowledge than they would if they attempted to be good at everything.The advantage of arranging work in this way lies in the fact that, by concentrating on one type or aspect of work, it is possible to become much more efficient. By concentrating its expertise into a limited range of activities, the organisation plans and arranges its output to achieve the most efficient use of its resources. A key aspect of specialisation involves the division of labour.The specialisation of labour developed as industrialization advanced, and large organisations became more popular. It was first used in car production at Ford and is associated with the work of Taylor, which we will be discussing later. The car production process was broken down into many separate tasks and each worker was required to specialise in only one small aspect of the total process. This benefits the manufacturer in three ways: Simple tasks encourage the use of highly specific equipment, e.g. power wrenches that speed up the manufacturing operation. Semi-skilled labour can be employed rather than highly skilled operatives. Workers are only responsible for one process and so are able to develop a high level of expertise and increase their output per period.Modern industrialised economies make great use of specialisation and the division of labour, but for organisations to gain the full benefits of these techniques they also employ another organisational device known as hierarchy. We will be examining this further when we discuss the distribution of authority, responsibility and accountability within the organisation.Test your understanding 2Suppose you are organising a student ball. What advantages could be gained by forming a committee to manage the process and ultimate event?1.3 Classifying organisations by profit orientationOrganisations can be classified in many different ways, including the following:Profit seeking organisationsSome organisations, such as companies and partnerships, see their main objective as maximising the wealth of their owners. Such organisations are often referred to as profit-seeking.The objective of wealth maximisation is usually expanded into three primary objectives: to continue in existence (survival) to maintain growth and development to make a profitExpandable textPeter Drucker has suggested that profit-seeking organisations typically have objectives relating to the following: market standing innovation productivity physical and financial resources profitability manager performance and development worker performance and attitude public responsibilityNot-for-profit organisationsOther organisations do not see profitability as their main objective. Such not-for-profit organisations (NFPs or NPOs) are unlikely to have financial objectives as primary.Instead they are seeking to satisfy particular needs of their members or the sectors of society that they have been set up to benefit.Illustration 2 The nature of organisationsNFPs include the following: government departments and agencies(e.g. HM Revenue and Customs) schools hospitals charities (e.g. Oxfam, Red Cross, Red Crescent, Caritas) and clubs.The objectives of NFPs can vary tremendously: hospital could be said to exist to treat patients. Councils often state their mission as caring for their communities. A charity may have as its main objective to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Government organisations usually exist to implement government policy.One specific category of NFPs is a mutual organisation. Mutual organisations are voluntary not-for-profit associations formed for the purpose of raising funds by subscriptions of members, out of which common services can be provided to those members.Mutual organisations include Some building societies Trade unions and Some working-mens clubs.Expandable textMany NPOs view financial matters as constraints under which they have to operate, rather than objectives.For example, Hospitals seek to offer the best possible care to as many patients as possible, subject to budgetary restrictions imposed upon them. Councils organise services such as refuse collection, while trying to achieve value for money with residents council tax（英国的）家庭税. Charities may try to alleviate suffering subject to funds raised.1.4 Classifying organisation by ownership/controlPublic sector organisationsThe public sector is that part of the economy that is concerned with providing basic government services and is thus controlled by government organisations.Illustration 3 The nature of organisationsThe composition of the public sector varies by country, but in most countries the public sector includes such services as: police military public roads public transit primary education and healthcare for the poor.Private sector organisationsThe private sector, comprising non-government organisations, is that part of a nations economy that is not controlled by the government.Illustration 4 The nature of organisationsThis sector thus includes: businesses charities and clubs.Within these will be profit-seeking and not-for-profit organisations.Co-operativesA co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntary to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.(The International Co-operative Alliance Statement on the Co-operative Identity, Manchester 1995).Co-operatives are thus businesses with the following characteristics: They are owned and democratically controlled by their members the people who buy their goods or use their services. They are not owned by investors. Co-operatives are organised solely to meet the needs of the member-owners, not to accumulate capital for investors.Illustration 5 The nature of organisationsFor example, a retail co-operative could comprise a group of people who join together to increase their buying power to qualify for discounts from retailers when purchasing food.Expandable textCo-operatives are similar to mutual organisations in the sense that the organisations are also owned by the members/clients that they exist for. However, they tend to deal in经营 primarily tangible goods and services such as agricultural commodities or utilities rather than intangible products such as financial services.Test your understanding 3A hospital is considering bringing its cleaning services back in house having previously out sourced. Comment on how this might impact the hospitals stated objective of providing the best patient care.Test your understanding 4Some building societies have demutualised and become banks with shareholders. Comment on how this may have affected lenders and borrows.Test your understanding 5Which of the following are usually seen as the primary objectives of companies?（i） To maximize the wealth of shareholders（ii） To protect the environment（iii） To make a profitA) (i), (ii) and (iii)B) (i) and (ii) onlyC) (ii) and (iii) onlyD) (i) and (iii) onlyTest your understanding 6Many schools run fund-raising events such as fetes, where the intention is to make a profit. This makes them profit-seeking. True or False?2 The roles and functions of the main departments in a business organisation2.1 The main functions within an organisationThe main departments in a business organisation are as follows:DepartmentRoleKey concernsResearch and development Improving existing products Developing new products Anticipating customer needs Generating new ideas Testing Costpurchasing Acquiring the goods and services necessary for the business Price and payment terms Quality Stock levels/delivery schedulesProduction Converting raw materials into finished goods Quality (of materials and finished goods) Costs Wastage/efficiency Stock levels/production schedulesDirect service provision Providing service to clients (e.g. accountancy firm) Quality Time sheets/schedulingmarketing Identifying customer needs Market research Product design Pricing Promotion Distribution Customer needs Quality Promotional strategy Distribution channel strategy Pricing strategyadministration Administrative support Processing transactions Efficiency Information processingFinance Bookkeeping Financial reporting Financial controls Budgeting The raising of capital Accuracy and completeness of record keeping Monthly management reporting Annual financial reportingHuman resources Job analysis and job design Recruitment and selection Performance appraisal Rewards (e.g. setting pay) Training and develop Grievances and discipline Staff competence Staff commitment/motivation Cost Staff welfare (e.g. stress) Compliance (e.g. equal opportunities legislation)Test your understanding 7Which of the following is not part of the responsibility of a research and development department?A Improving existing products.B Developing new products.C Researching new technologies for application to future products.D Researching market demand for products.2.2 Co-ordinationIt is vital that effective co-ordination is achieved between different departments and functions.The main way this is achieved is through the budget-setting process, e.g. to ensure that production make enough products (subject to stock policies) to meet predicted sales figures from marketing. Both the production and marketing budgets will be based on the same set of assumptions.Other mechanisms for co-ordination include the following: regular planning meetings between the managers effective and regular communication between departments to confirm deadlines, target activity levels etc. clear, well-documented reporting lines supervision.Expandable textCo-ordination is achieved in one of or more of the following ways; the relative complexity of the work affects the method chosen: Standardised work process the work is specified, and everybody works in the same say. Standardised outputs through such things as product or service specifications. Whilst the results are standardised, the means ar