Costing systems
There are several costing systems used to evaluate the cost of sales and inventory in any organization. To deal with the issue of cost accounting, merchandise, and determination of income, companies adopt inventory-costing methods. These are either “first-in, first-out (FIFO),” “last-in, last-out (LIFO),” or “weighted average” methods (Crosson, Needles & Powers, 2010). These methods entail specific cost flow assumptions used in assigning costs to inventory.
FIFO implies the assignment of previous expenses to the cost of goods sold and revenues, as new purchases are set to list. LIFO is the reverse of FIFO, where accounting assigns the most recent costs to goods sold, while their oldest prices are given to inventory. Meanwhile, the weighted average costing method uses an averaging system for unit costs to measure the costs of units sold and ends of list (Kinney & Raiborn, 2008).
These methods differ and are similar in many respects, for example, in terms of cash flow assumptions. For FIFO, inventory begins with net purchases, followed by goods available for sale and, lastly, the cost of goods sold (Kinney & Raiborn, 2008).
This is also applicable to weighted average price and LIFO because the physical flow of inventory abides or does not abide by assumptions of cost flow. The three methods differ in that LIFO creates the lowest income, FIFO produces the highest income, while weighted average cost makes an amount an average of the two ways. The reason LIFO is useful for inventory while it creates low profits is that it lowers the income tax bill (Kinney & Raiborn, 2008). Organizations use LIFO to present financial statements because “it matches recently incurred costs with new generated revenues” (Crosson, Needles & Powers, 2010). On the other hand, FIFO is preferred for it reports new costs to a company’s balance sheet.
Salary raise negotiation
The last negotiation, which I planned and strategized for, was a salary raise negotiation. The planning was vital since I took into consideration the “no-salary raise” attitude the company had adopted following the recession. The first step was the identification of issues and objectives, which assisted in creating a positive attitude. These objectives assisted in the accurate identification and evaluation of possible offers the company would place on the table. Moreover, it offered the ability to understand any alternative proposal, weakness, or strength that would exist in the negotiation. Ideally, the planning process was designed to create a skilled negotiator, defined by Rackham (1999) as a negotiator who “explored a range of options, found common ground with the other party and spent time factoring in long-term implications” (347).
The strategy adopted entailed the use of set objectives and goals identified in the planning process. Secondly, this accompanied the identification of probable approaches that the company would use. This enabled the plan to make an assessment of the bargaining weaknesses and strengths of both parties (Billikopf, 2007). Thirdly, the strategy then established negotiation main concerns and trade-offs. This entails the gathering of vital information useful in the process like factual data on job performance, recommendations, rewards, and recognitions warranting pay rise. Information gathering assisted in revealing information on the circumstances under which the company gave pay rises.
This then allowed for the determination of an overall negotiation method, which is utilized in the negotiation process. The planning phase was useful for it provided the negotiation stage with possible problem-solving strategies and solutions, applicable in the event of a problem (Billikopf, 2007). Moreover, it offered insight into the most appropriate time to initiate negotiations and determine the level of relationship with the organization.
Influence in the workplace
Influence is an essential factor in assisting employees to gain success in the workplace.
The entry-level employee can use influence to succeed in a significant corporation since power offers the “ability to offer them support for their ideas, get ahead in their careers, and gain opportunities to contribute in the workplace” (Luecke & McIntosh, 2011).
A new employee can use their influence and persuasion to affect the behavior of their co-workers since it is available at all levels of a company. To influence others, a new entry-level employee must possess several attributes, which include reliability, trustworthiness, and assertiveness. Luecke & McIntosh (2011) recommend that employees use influence over their immediate supervisors since “those who hold influence over their bosses have much more control over their overall satisfaction and advancement” (2). To gain influence in a major corporation, a new entry employee can also target their impact on influential individuals and groups within the organization to increase their benefits.
Based on the French and Raven (1959) model, there are five styles of power that influence the workplace. Legitimate authority is based on a subordinate’s belief that their superior has the legitimacy to give orders; reward power is the ability to place informal and formal rewards; coercive power is the ability to punish by engaging in harassment; an expert is where the subordinate beliefs their leader is a right expert, and referent power is where subordinates seek to emulate leaders.
A new entry employee can evaluate power types in the workplace to determine their ability to gain power and influence in the workplace. Since a new employee does not possess any power, they can gain knowledge or resources deemed valuable to the organization in order to increase their influence in the company and to their boss. This puts them at a focal point where they become the “go-to” person (Luecke & McIntosh, 2011).
References
Billikopf, G. (2007). Interpersonal Negotiation Skills. California, USA: University of California.
Crosson, S.V., Needles, B.E., and Powers, M. (2010). Financial and Managerial Accounting. USA: CengageBrain.
French, J. & Raven, B. (1959). The Bases of Social Power. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Kinney, M.R., and Raiborn, C.A. (2008). Cost Accounting: Foundations and Evolutions. USA: CengageBrain.
Luecke, A.R. & McIntosh, P. (2011). Increase Your Influence at Work. New York, NY: American Management Association.
Rackham, N. (1999). The Behavior of Successful Negotiators. In Lewicki et al. (Editors). Negotiation: Readings, Exercises, and Cases (3rd Edition) (p., 347). Burr Ridge, Illinois: Irwin.