Internet Domain Business Essays - Domain Name System, Domain Name

Internet Domain Business The companies who want to acquire Internet address are facing many difficulties nowadays. There is clearly an excess of demand in domain name business. The prices of effective Web-site addresses have become very expensive. Initially, there were so-called cybersquatters, speculators, who brought attention to the Internet domain name business. They registered well-known brand names with the intention of selling them at much higher price. For example, they bought the URL www.McDonalds.com and sold it to the company afterwards. Registering an URL with the ending .com, .net, and .org costs only $70 today. But there are already over 6 million names that have been registered, so companies or people who want their own Internet address usually discover that the domain they want is already taken. If all the simpler and shorter names are registered, the newcomers have to find longer words that are suitable for them or combine some words together. That is the reason why domains have become so valuable, because for marketing purposes, memorable names are more demanded. Companies want their customers to have direct access to their Web page just by typing in the short URL. If they do not have a good Web site address, the search for its name results in numerous misleading results. Even if the company's Web page is found, the brand recognition gets very weak, because of so many similar names the result shows. "Javed recently completed a study of business names on the Internet that illustrates the point. He found 8,793 names containing the word "web" (including Webtron, USWeb, and Webtech) and 7,901 names with the word "link" (like Linknet, WorldLink, Linksys)" (Hadekel 1). The short and noticeable names like Nike or Sony are much better off. The number of existing names make also the life of those businesses difficult that are specialized on selecting names for businesses and their products. They have to make up names that are globally readable in different countries and areas of world, without any translation problems or trademark conflicts, are memorable and last but not the least, have available domain names. So far, the record price that is paid for a domain name is $7.5 million. An entrepreneur, Marc Ostrofsky had bought it three years ago, and now sold it to ECompanies. This event gives some insight to how valuable Internet addresses really are. In public eyes it is still seen as a very extraordinary purchase, but experts argue that in long run, this kind of deals become as common as real estate business exchanges. As real estate broker Steve Newman puts it, "It used to be a big deal when a house sold in Beverly Hills for $1 million, but people aren't shocked anymore that a house sold for $1 million" (Kaplan 1). A new business type has arisen from this problem of domain name shortage, brokers who sell Internet domain names. The largest enterprise in this area is GreatDomains.com. The sellers can post their listings at their Web-site and the company collects a 7% to 15% commission and a $250 escrow fee from the seller. The GreatDomains' revenue is growing fast. The risk for the companies that sell Internet addresses is that when there will be available new domain name suffixes, for example .biz and .store, the supply will exceed demand. This means that people have more variety of names from which to choose and they are not willing to pay so high prices anymore. For the conclusion, the Internet domain name business, that initially seemed questionable to many people, has proved to be profitable business that is in growing stage. It seems to continue at this rate for at least some more years. Although the every day Internet users may not even be aware of the struggle the companies have had to get a best domain name, they take advantage of this feature and make this effort worthy.

Expansion of urban and rural urbanization in Taiwan

Expansion of urban and rural urbanization in Taiwan Definition of Urbanization The term urbanization can be looked at from diverse perspectives. First, urbanization can be explained to be the convergence of populations. Secondly, urbanization can be described as the process in which the movement of people into a given city translates into an urban way of living. Thirdly, it is the diffusion of the urban living to agricultural oriented regions.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Expansion of urban and rural urbanization in Taiwan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Fourthly, urbanization is the progression in which the magnitude of people residing in urban places multiplies (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Due to its quantitative nature, the last definition is the mostly applicable. Urbanization can therefore be generally defined as the process in which the magnitude of people residing in urban places increases with the growth in economy (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Urbanization in l ight of Taiwan In Taiwan, cities with at least 50000 people are considered as urban centers. Administratively, Taiwan is partitioned into central municipalities, provincial cities and prefectures that are two five and sixteen in number respectively (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Each prefecture encompasses at least one central city, a number of towns and several rural districts. Whereas both central municipalities and provincial cities are bigger in size, prefectures are of standard sizes, each with their central cities acting as their respective administrative centers. On the other hand, prefectural rural towns comprise of rural regions and mid-urban townships. Furthermore, Taiwan has been partitioned into four main parts: the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central parts for planning purposes (Yeung and Lo, 1996). The ratio of the urban population to the total population determines the degree of Taiwanian urbanization. Statistically, the level of urbanization in Taiwan has escalated over t ime, that is, from 24.1% in 1950 to over 74.1% in the twenty first century (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Statistics also indicate that the gap between annual population growth rate and the urbanization growth rates has narrowed over time, since 1950 to most recently. This shows that the movement of people from the agricultural regions to urban cities had started to ease. Primarily, industrialization was the main cause of the high urban growth rate (Yeung and Lo, 1996).Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Apart from industrialization, a high birth rate emanating from mass flow of youth to the urban areas is also another determinant of high growth experienced in urban centers. Administratively, cities in Taiwan are in four groups: â€Å"Central municipalities, provincial cities, prefectural cities and towns plus rural areas† (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Statistics sho w that between 1961 and 1989, the yearly average growth rate of the central municipalities was more than the annual growth of Taiwan itself. Prefectural cities had the fastest growth, towns and rural areas had the lowest rate of growth compared to the natural population growth rate. This shows that there has been much out migration. Most of the intermediary prefectural cities are located close to the metropolis, and in this way, they contribute towards metropolitan development (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Statistics also indicate that the rate at which small and medium sized cities are expanding is higher than that of the bigger ones. After 1980, majority of the Island’s (Taiwan’s) major cities have been located mainly in the central, southern and northern regions. This can be attributed to the accompanying spontaneous rate of development in these regions. The Eastern part has lagged behind in development mainly due to its mountainous nature that renders both transportation a nd communication cumbersome. Since 1960, the spatial distribution of cities has been inclined towards the north and south. Although there is a metropolitan area in each region, the Eastern part is devoid of any. Taiwan’s urban system â€Å"An urban system is defined in terms of size, function, and service area (or area of influence), and by differences in the social, economic, and cultural activities of cities within a specific region. Spatially speaking, a hierarchical relationship is formed. Cities higher in the hierarchy are larger and have a higher functional level. They also have a more expanded sphere of influence and complex social, economic, and cultural characteristics. Cities within the hierarchy perform functions according to a division of labour. These close ties create an orderly relationship within the system† (Yeung and Lo, 1996).Taiwan can be classified into five hierarchical levels. The first level is agricultural villages that are found after about ev ery 2-5 kilometers and have an estimated population of 4000 people. General towns are in the second level with a minimum and maximum population of 10000 and 50000 respectively. They are found between like every 10 kilometers. Local centers are found in the third level. They are independent towns, with majority being located in metropolitan regions. Their population can range between 100000-500000 people.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Expansion of urban and rural urbanization in Taiwan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They are interspersed between 15-40 intervals within a sphere of influence of between 2000000-800000 persons. The third level is occupied by the regional centers, which are mostly located in metropolitan areas, although some like Taitung and Hualien, are independent towns with a population of up to and exceeding two million people. They are located about 80 kilometers apart. Level five compri ses of the political, cultural and economic center of Taiwan Taipei. It has an area of influence covering about 5 million people. The whole Taipei metropolitan region is Taipei’s sphere of influence. The time required to travel between the northern and southern regions has been greatly reduced over the last four decades. This has been enhanced by not only the installation of the railway electrification, but also by completion of the Sun Yatsen Freeway (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Population and employment in Taiwan The population of Taiwan exponentially skyrocketed between 1950 and 1990. This one of the world’s biggest growth in population was determined mainly by high birth rate since there was no international in-migration by then. However, with time, the birth rate has been reducing to an increase in the level of education and introduction of population policy that requires fewer children per family. Population in Taiwan has been classified into three: the youth, working class, and the elderly (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Over time, the working class has been the leading in number, Due to the presence of a metropolis (Taipei), the northern region has attracted majority of the population. Being the first city on the island to be globalized, Taipei has employed many people than any other city. The population in the Central, Eastern, and Southern parts has on the other hand been declining over time (Yeung and Lo, 1996). The secondary industry has been the main leading in providing employment to Taiwan people. The primary industry, though responsible for provision of employment through agriculture, forestry, and fishery, has declined. Tertiary employment has been rising gradually (Yeung and Lo, 1996). Expanding urbanization in the urban areas to minimize water pollution Taiwan like other Low Economically Developed Countries, experiences three main challenges. These are high population growth rate, reduced income levels, ineffective planning, and administrative mechanisms to handle the high population (Boult, 1999). The northern region is loaded with many industries that contribute to both water and air pollution.Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There is raw sewage from the households, increased application of fertilizers and pesticides, and contamination of clean water sources resulting to water pollution (Shambaugh, 1998. p.190). Besides industrial fumes, the use of automobiles such as buses, cars, and motorbikes has contributed to air pollution in Taiwan for decades (Shambaugh, 1998. p.192). There are also cases of soil pollution due to use of heavy metals and pesticides (Shambaugh, 1998. p.191). Taiwan is therefore faced with the hurdles of containing the impacts of economic growth and ensuring there is a sustainable dependency of its citizens on the Island’s economic resources (Elliot, 1999). To minimize pollution, Taiwan ought to initiate some legal requirements and fines. For example, companies found to be disposing wastes illegally should be fined, enlightening citizens on environmental aspects, directing all new vehicles to be fitted with catalytic chambers, among other restrictions (Boult, 1999). Strategies that can be implemented to help minimize rural-urban migration include creating job opportunities in the rural, introducing better educational and social services, and developing good transport network to encourage people to commute and live out of the city (Boult, 1999). Expanding urbanization to solve congestion and overpopulation As stated earlier, urbanization entails two key aspects. These are proportion of people residing in urban areas and growth in economy. In Taiwan, even though there is overpopulation within its urban centers, the growth in economy has not yet reached the level of sustaining the already increased population. Taiwan’s concentration of cities within the northern region has led to an increase in the rural urban migration. Just like other developing countries like China, Mexico, and Brazil among others, Taiwan is still a hub of overpopulation and poverty. This is due to the fact that, many people migrate from the rural districts to the urban areas in s uch for employment and better standards of living. Given that not all of them can be absorbed in employment, there are cases of congestion strain on available resources and anonymity that eventually leads to a reduction in the value system. Vices like crime and other conflicting social values set in. Generally, effects of overpopulation include: unemployment, overcrowding leading to depletion of resources, reduced living standards that curtail economic development, land fragmentation that impedes agriculture, and slum development resulting to air and water pollution, inability of the affected city to offer equitable and quality education and medical care to all and poverty, misuse of free land and deforestation (Boult, 1999). Given that Taiwan’s urban areas are more populated than its rural districts, expanding urbanization in the rural areas demands that the Taiwan government comes up with mechanisms to de-congest the urban centers. This may include investing in the health i ndustry, limiting car use, introducing lead-free fuel and putting up self-contained residences to help elevate people’s quality of life (Boult, 1999). As it has been the case in Los Angeles, railway transport can be spread to the agricultural areas to help development of such regions (Thisdell, 1993). The success of the development of new towns and industries in the southern region will be enhanced by efficient transport network between the rural parts and the metropolitan regions (Chaffey, 1994). There has been a decline in the agricultural (primary) industry and this could be one of the ways to revive it. To encourage employment, the informal sector should be established (Boult, 1999). Like other cities like Los Angeles, Taiwan ought to undertake some measures in the transport sector to minimize traffic congestion. For instance, creating an integrated underground route for passage of trains and other vehicles (Thisdell, 1993) or minimizing dependency on automobiles by devel oping a transport means that is pedestrian/cycle oriented, like has been done by other cities around the world (Newman, 1999). Conclusion Taiwan like other developing nations is experiencing industrialization and urbanization. This has led to a rise in rural – urban migration resulting to overpopulation, congestion, and pollution, which are a threat to sustainable development (Adams, 1999). These effects have in turn hampered economic growth, which is a vital ingredient in true urbanization. To disentangle itself from this problem, Taiwan should expand urbanization by spreading its industries to rural areas and technologically contain the situation in its northern region. This will help decongest the northern region. Investing more in education and health sectors and restructuring the transport system like other cities in the world have tackled it will help Taiwan stand the challenge of urbanization. This is the only way to ensure that there is sustainable development on this island. References Adams, W. N. (1999). Introducing Human Geographies: Sustainability. London: Arnold pub. (Attached material). Boult, B. et al. (1999). People, places and themes. Oxford: Heinemann. (Attached material). Chaffey, J. (1994). Core Geography: The challenge of urbanization. London: Longman publishers. (Attached material). Elliot, J. A. (1999). An introduction to sustainable development. London: Routledge. (Attached material). Newman, P. (1999). Transport: Reducing automobile dependence (p. 67-92). London: Earthscan publications. (Attached material). Shambaugh, D. (1998). Contemporary Taiwan. New York: Oxford University Press. Web. Thisdell, D. (1993). Can L.A kick the car habit? New Scientist. (Attached material). Yeung, Y. and Lo, F. (1996). Emerging world cities in Pacific Asia. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Web.

How to Write an Outstanding Economic Research Paper

How to Write an Outstanding Economic Research Paper How to Write an Outstanding Economic Research Paper If you have been handed an assignment to write an economic research paper this guide will help. First, here are a few tips up front before we get into the format and construction of the paper. Less is more. Always try and use the most simple calculations and explanations possible. An economic research paper is not the place for fancy words or extravagant, complicated calculations. Concise and clear explanations make a better impression. The same applies for adjectives, it is best to avoid them. Try to use no fluff. Never try to impress or hoodwink the recipient of your paper. Remember, the folks reading it are academics who catch on to such antics Show that your conclusion is both noteworthy and novel. You want to convince the reader that the conclusion in your paper did not come from the findings from another source, but that this is the first time the conclusion has been made, and that the conclusion has value. OK, now that we have a few tips out of the way, let’s take a look at how to format of the economic research paper. Carefully Construct Your Title Your title should clearly and concisely say what you are doing. Do not try to be witty or funny. Do not make the title too broad, short or long. Write a Compelling Abstract The abstract is what a potential reader uses to determine if the remainder of the paper is worth reading.   It should be less then 150 words an only include the most interesting elements. Some items will need to be left out. Know the Purpose of the Introduction. The introduction should include the questions asked during research which are answered in the paper: explain why the answer is important, tactfully reveal what other researches are lacking in this specific subject and explain why your conclusion is unique. Follow the Clear Structure of the Body. The data section should be short. It should identify and describe the source, disclose the strengths and weaknesses of that source and explain any modification. The section that demonstrates your model of research explains it and the logic behind it, revealing the suppositions made. List Your Findings This is generally the lengthiest section of the paper. If you use charts or tables, explicitly state what they represent, or what you would like the reader to gain from them. Include any unexpected findings. Give the answers to the questions asked in your research here as well. Create a Precise Conclusion. This brief section should restate the research questions and give a short synopsis of the findings. Do not simply copy the abstract. Deal with Your Bibliography and Tables. This is the final section of the paper that should include citations, resources and explanations of any tables used. We hope you have found this writing guide useful as you dive into your own economics research paper.

Program Improvement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Program Improvement - Research Paper Example Therefore, by improving the program, we would be expecting to have a program that is more useful, of higher quality and easier to implement. As a result, we would be increasing the capability of the program to achieve its key objective and goal of ensuring that all education professionals become effective in research undertaking and management. The ‘training the trainers’ program, as earlier proposed, could either use coordinated multidisciplinary units or adapt integrated, interdisciplinary units. However, the effects of these types of units would be different when applied in the program. In our case, the ones that would best serve the needs of the program are the integrated, interdisciplinary units. According to Swango and Steward (2002), an integrated, interdisciplinary unit incorporates the entire core subjects learners need to learn. In this kind of units, an educator administers to learners concepts tailored towards different disciplines. These kinds of units would revolve around different subjects and, thus, they would be involving different concepts that can be applied by all the learners regardless of their field of expertise. There are various reasons that make integrated, interdisciplinary units to serve the needs of this program better than the other types of units. ... This would make all the learners involved in the program gain equally regardless of their area of specialization. Moreover, we can teach several interdisciplinary concepts within a unit. This saves both time and resources while still achieving the required goals and objectives. Therefore using this kind of units in the program would make the process of implementation much easier. However, integrated, interdisciplinary units also have some disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that in this kind of units, the concepts taught are unified. This makes it difficult for the learners to distinguish concepts that belong to a specific discipline. Another disadvantage is that in this type of units, learners are taught some concepts that do not fit their area of specialization. Such concepts might not be useful in their professional undertaking hence learning those concepts make no difference in their career. As the program team, we thought that it is better to give people additional inform ation instead of giving them inadequate information. This is why we decided to use this type of units despite knowing these two disadvantages of this type of units. A very good example is a unit designed to teach how to design an educational research. Such kind of unit could include several concepts some of them designing a survey, designing an experiment and designing a psychometric research integrated in one unit. It could also include the moments of how to design a research in different disciplines of education like science education, language education or social sciences education. The unit would integrate different concepts, as well as explain their various applications in different disciplines. As a result, the unit would have a greater capability of

Describe an instance when you found yourself in a leadership Essay

Describe an instance when you found yourself in a leadership position.Discuss your contributions to the situation and what you learned about yourself - Essay Example Since the profits poured in big numbers, we received heavy bonuses from the company authorities which were shared amongst all the Sales Managers and myself. This was a time when I learned a great deal about my own self. I determined that to be on the top most position is not an easy job at all. One needs to be patient and confident all the time so that his leadership position remains in tact. One needed to communicate, listen to and comprehend other people so as to become an important leader. A leader is one who can solve problems, no matter these being of a very minute level as well. However, my hard work and commitment to the leadership role paid dividends in the long run. In the end, I will summarize that the leadership position comes with its own merits and demerits. It is responsibility of people, the company and for one’s own self, which I learned with the passage of

Transition Elements as Deep Level Dopant

Transition Elements as Deep Level Dopant HIGH RESISTIVITY SILICON: DEEP-LEVEL DOPING COMPENSATION USING ELEMENTAL GOLD INTRODUCTION 1.1  Research Background Monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is a microwave circuit in which both active and passive components are fabricated on the same semiconductor substrate [1]. The development of MMICs has been augmented by the high demand for high-speed devices operating at microwave frequency ranging between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. Their advantages of being small, light, and cheap in large quantities have allowed the proliferation of high frequency devices such as cellular phones. However, a problem will arise when standard silicon (Si) substrate is used to operate in super high frequency environment (SHF). The high absorption of microwave power will be caused by the background free carriers present in the substrate [2]. Therefore, low loss and high resistivity substrates are needed to eliminate the problem. It can be achieved by reducing the number of background free carriers in the substrate which result in degradation of circuit performance. The III-V semiconductor materials such as GaAs, GaN and InP has been widely used in the production of high resistivity substrates due to their wide bandgap nature. However, the wafer diameter produced using III-V materials is typically from 4 to 6 [3]. This increases the cost of production since the standard wafer diameter for modern CMOS technology is 12 [4]. Furthermore, the lattice-mismatch problems will complicate the fabrication process, causing the cost to increase. Therefore, Si has been considered to be an alternative material for the III-V semiconductor compound due to less fabrication complexity and cost. However, the background impurities such as boron will enter the silicon during monocrystalline Si growth causing the increase in substrate losses at microwave range [5]. There have been efforts to use the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technologies and silicon-on-anything (SOA) to overcome the problem. The SOI wafers can be produced by several methods: silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), separation by implanted oxygen (SIMOX), bond and etch-back SOI (BESOI), Smart Cutà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ [6], and epitaxial layer transfer (ELTRAN ®) [7]. For SOS approach, a thin film of Si is epitaxially grown on sapphire substrate as shown in figure 1.1. Meanwhile, the other four approaches use a similar cross section of SOI wafer as shown in figure 1.2(b) which consists of three layers: SOI layer (top layer), buried oxide (BOX) layer (middle layer) and silicon substrate (bottom layer). The purpose of the BOX layer is to electrically insulate a fine layer of SOI layer (where the circuits are placed) from the rest of the Si wafer. The SIMOX approach uses implanted silicon dioxide, SiO2 layer as the BOX layer to separate the top thin Si layer from Si substrate. Figure 1.1: Cross-section of silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) wafer [8] Figure 1.2: A schematic representation of bond and etch-back (BESOI) process [9] Apart from the mentioned approaches, BESOI, Smart Cutà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, and ELTRAN ® methods involve the wafer bonding technique. For BESOI method, the thermally oxidised Si wafer (also known as handle wafer) is bonded to another Si wafer which acts as bond wafer as shown in figure 1.2(a). After the wafer bonding process, the top wafer will be etched to obtain the required thickness for SOI layer as shown in figure 1.2(b). On the other hand, implantation of gas ions, most commonly hydrogen is made after the oxidisation process for Smart Cutà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ method as shown in figure 1.3. The implantation process is meant for layer splitting process to achieve required thickness of SOI layer after the wafer bonding process. The processes involved in ELTRAN ® method is shown in figure 1.4. The ELTRAN ® method uses similar procedures in Smart Cutà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ with the difference in use of double layer porous Si layer instead of implantation of hydrogen ions. The advan tage of using Smart Cutà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ and ELTRAN ® methods is that the initial wafer or seed wafer can be reused for the same process. Figure 1.3: Smart Cutà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ process for production of SOI wafers [9] Figure 1.4: ELTRAN ® process flow based on seed wafer reusage [7] Meanwhile, the SOA technology is achieved by gluing a fully-processed SOI substrate to another substrate such as glass and alumina [10]. However, the on-chip dissipation which could cause thermal breakdown had been proven to be a severe issue [11]. Therefore, there is a need to look for the alternative to SOI and SOA wafers, which is the high resistivity bulk Si substrate. In 2009, International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) had stressed the importance of high resistivity Si in radio frequency (RF) and analog/mixed signal (AMS) CMOS application [12]. There are generally two techniques for Si crystal growth: Czochralski (CZ) technique and float-zone (FZ) technique [13]. A simplified version of CZ puller, which is an apparatus used to produce monocrystalline Si ingots for CZ technique is shown in figure 1.5. The high purity polysilicon, known as electronic grade silicon (EGS) is melted in a rotating silica or quartz crucible. A seed crystal is placed in the melt and then slowly withdrawn from the melt. The molten silicon adhering to the crystal freezes or solidifies into a continuous crystal from the seed. The diameter of the crystal can be maintained by controlling the temperature of the crucible and the rotating speed of the crucible and the rod. However, the CZ process will introduce contamination to the monocrystalline Si due to the presence of oxygen, carbon monoxide and impurities such as boron and phosphorus. Figure 1.5: Czochralski crytal puller. CW represent clockwise rotation and CCW represents counter clockwise rotation [13] The FZ process, on the other hand, produces Si crystals with lower contamination as no crucible is used in the process. FZ crystals are mainly used for high power and high voltages devices due to its high resistivity. There is a commercially available high resistivity FZ-Si technology called HiResà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ [14]. The bulk resistivity of Si produced through HiResà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ is up to 70 kÃŽÂ ©-cm, which is suitable for future GHz and THz application. However, it is not suitable for modern CMOS processing since its maximum wafer diameter is limited to 8, which will increase the cost. Therefore, there is a need to produce high resistivity bulk CZ-Si substrate due to its low fabrication cost. Therefore, CZ process is still the most widely used method in the manufacturing of single crystal silicon. In 2003, Mallik et al. [2] introduced a new idea in developing a semi-insulating silicon through a method called deep-level doping concentration using 3d transition elements. It showed that there is possibility to produce high resistivity bulk CZ-Si substrate using deep level doping compensation. Following this work, Mallik et al. [5] managed to produce CZ-Si bulk substrate using Mn with resistivity of up to 10 kÃŽÂ ©-cm. Jordan et al. has also used Au to produce CZ-Si wafer with bulk resistivity of up to 180 kÃŽÂ ©-cm [15]. The use of Au-compensated high resistivity bulk Si substrate has been proven by Nur Z. I. Hashim et al. to be able to suppress the parasitic surface conduction (PSC) effect [16]. 1.2  Problem Statement The idea introduced by Mallik et al. [2] on developing high resistivity bulk Si substrate through deep-level doping compensation is solely based on p-type CZ-Si. Even though high resistivity bulk Si substrate has been proven to be achievable using p-type CZ-Si, it has been shown in the work by Jordan et al. [15] that higher magnitude of Au-compensated high resistivity bulk Si substrate can be achieved by using n-type CZ-Si. The potential and problem of using transition elements other than Au as the deep level dopants to produce high resistivity bulk n-type CZ-Si substrate have not been discussed by the work mentioned above. 1.3  Objectives of Research There are three main objectives that must be met in this research project: To investigate the potential of using transition elements as deep level dopant for n-type Si substrate as compared to p-type Si substrate. To analyse the result obtained through numerical calculation using MATLAB by comparing it with the experimental data. To make comparative study on the resistivity and effectiveness of the high resistivity bulk substrate produced using n-type CZ-Si with other materials such as III-V semiconductor materials. 1.4  Scope of Research The scope of this project is to analyse the resistivity plot generated by numerical calculation using MATLAB. The potential and effectiveness of each of the transition elements as deep level dopants for n-type CZ-Si will be discussed in this work. The fabrication and experiment of high resistivity bulk n-type CZ-Si substrate will not be conducted in this work. The experimental data used for comparison with the result of numerical calculation is obtained from Dr. Nur Zatil Ismah Hashim which was done at Southampton Nanofabrication Centre in 2015. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1  Introduction There are several methods to produce high resistivity bulk Si substrate, namely proton implantation method, helium-3 ion irradiation and deep-level doping compensation method. Both proton implantation method and helium-3 ion irradiation use the charge trappings to reduce the current conduction by background free carriers. Meanwhile, the deep-level doping compensation method use the deep dopants to compensate the shallow dopants in the Si substrate. 2.2  Proton Implantation Method One of the methods to increase the resistivity of CZ-Si substrate is through proton implantation method. The bombardment of protons into Si bulk structure will create defects which can trap mobile carriers. Therefore, the carrier lifetime is low due to the presence of defects, which prevents the mobile carriers from conducting current freely in the substrate. Table 2.1 summarizes the studies conducted to produce high resistivity bulk CZ-Si substrate using proton implantation method. Table 2.1: Studies on high resistivity bulk CZ-Si substrate using proton implantation method. Contributor Year Proton Implantation Energy (MeV) Resistivity of the Produced Substrate (ÃŽÂ ©-cm) Li 1989 0.18 103 Liao et al. 1998 30 106 Wu et al. 2000 10 106 Rashid et al. 2002 17.4 105 In 1989, Li [17] managed to produce a high resistivity layer beneath Si surface layer using proton implantation and two-step annealing process. The implantation of proton and annealing process formed the buried defect layer with a resistivity of up to 103 ÃŽÂ ©-cm. Meanwhile, Liao et al. created semi-insulating regions within silicon substrate with a resistivity of 1 MÃŽÂ ©-cm [18]. It was achieved by bombarding proton beams at 30 MeV from a compact ion cyclotron to the surface of Si substrate. Following this work, the Si substrate with similar resistivity had been produced by Wu et al. using a lower proton implantation energy, which is 10 MeV [19]. In 2002, Rashid et al. reported a Si substrate with a resistivity of 0.1 MÃŽÂ ©-cm produced through their six-step implantation method using an implantation energy of 17.4 MeV [20]. The high-Q inductors and high transmission gain integrated antenna have been realised on the high resistivity Si substrate by Liao et al. and Rashid et al. respectively [18], [20]. However, the high process cost is needed for proton implantation method as an enormous dose of 1015 cm-2 to maintain the resistivity of the originally 15 ÃŽÂ ©-cm Si substrate to be higher than 1014 ÃŽÂ ©-cm [21]. 2.3  Helium-3 Ion Irradiation Technique In 1987, helium-3 ion irradiation technique has been used for carrier lifetime control of silicon power devices [22]. The charge trappings created by the helium irradiation and Coulomb scattering of the charged trap will prevent the conduction of current by free mobile carriers in the substrate [23]. Therefore, a high resistivity Si bulk substrate can be realised by the reduction in carrier lifetime. In 2014, N. Li et al. reported a high resistivity region created within CZ-Si substrate with a resistivity of over 1.5 kÃŽÂ ©-cm using a dose of 1.51013 cm-2 of helium-3 ions [24]. The produced high resistivity Si substrate has been used by N. Li et al. in both work for substrate noise isolation improvement in a CMOS process and quality factor improvement in on-chip spiral inductors [24], [25]. R. Wu et al. has also used helium-3 ion irradiation technique in their work on radiation efficiency improvement in 60-GHz on-chip dipole antenna [23]. The helium-3 ion irradiation technique has the advantage of saving the product cost up to 97% as compared to proton implantation method by reducing the dose amount from 1.01015 cm-2 to 1.51013 cm-2 [24], [25]. However, the helium-3 ion irradiation technique is comparably less studied and the problem associated with this technique has not been discussed in the work mentioned above. 2.4  Deep-Level Doping Compensation Method The idea of creating high resistivity bulk CZ-Si substrate using deep-level doping compensation has been proposed by Mallik et al. in 2003 [2]. The basic principle of this method is compensating shallow impurities with deep impurities, i.e. shallow donors are being compensated by deep acceptors (as shown in figure 2.1) whereas shallow acceptors are being compensated by deep donors (as shown in figure 2.2). Figure 2.1: Compensation between shallow donors and deep acceptors [26] Figure 2.2: Compensation between shallow acceptors and deep donors [26] As illustrated in figure 2.1, deep acceptors introduced an energy level at EA, which is close to the intrinsic Fermi level. The deep acceptors which are negatively charged attract the minority carrier holes to be trapped at EA level. The electrons from shallow donors are initially excited to the conduction band, then fall to EA level to recombine with the holes. On the other hand, the positively charged deep donors introduced an energy level at ED as shown in figure 2.2. The minority carrier electrons are attracted and trapped at ED level while the holes from shallow acceptors will fall into valence band. The trapped electrons at ED level then fall into valence band to recombine with the holes. Therefore, there is no generation of free carriers which reduces the resistivity of the substrate in both cases. Figure 2.3 shows the resistivity of Si at 300K with a background boron concentration of 1014 cm-3, compensated using deep donor impurities with generic energy level positions below conduction band edge, ED. It can be observed that the resistivity of Si increases until a maximum value is reached while the concentration of deep donors, ND increases. The resistivity is low initially due to undercompensation caused by insufficient number of deep donors. The maximum value of the resistivity of Si is reached when deep donors exactly compensate the boron acceptors. Further increase in ND causes overcompensation which results in a fall in the resistivity of Si, making the substrate tends to become n-type. Figure 2.3: Calculated resistivity of Si at 300K as a function of generic donor concentration for background boron concentration of 1014 cm-3 [2] Table 2.2: Positions of energy levels of transition elements in Si [27] Element Donor level below EC (eV) Acceptor level above EV (eV) Co 0.89 0.82 Pd 0.84 0.9 Au 0.78 0.56 Ag 0.75 0.545 V 0.45 0.92 Mn 0.42 1.0 Pt 0.314 0.889 It can be noted that the resistivity peaks are sharper for ED which is lower than 0.3 eV while the resistivity remains high over a range of relatively low concentration values for larger values of ED. For small values of ED, almost all donors are ionised and take part in the compensation since the donor energy level is nearer to the conduction band than Fermi level. A slight increase in ND causes the resistivity to decrease sharply, changing the material to n-type. Meanwhile, for large values of ED, the donor level is near intrinsic Fermi level and less fraction of deep donors is ionised. Therefore, the compensation change gradually with the increase in ND and the resistivity remain high over a wide range of ND. The transition elements are used as deep level dopants as they introduce a pair of deep donor and deep acceptor levels into the Si band gap as shown in table 2.2. The deep dopant energy levels introduced by the transition elements pin the Fermi level near the middle of the Si band gap as shown in figure 2.4 [15]. Thus, high resistivity CZ-Si substrate can be achieved by capturing the free carriers by deep impurities, which reduces the concentration of background free carrier. Figure 2.4: Fermi level pin by deep levels introduced by transition elements [15] Figure 2.5: Calculated resistivity of Si at 300K as a function of Au, Ag, Co and Pd for three different background boron concentration in cm-3 [2] Figure 2.6: Calculated resistivity of Si at 300K as a function of (a) Pt (b) V and (c) Mn concentrations for three different background boron concentrations in cm-3 [2] Figure 2.7: Calculated resistivity of Si as a function of Au concentration for n-type and p-type Si with a shallow doping concentration of 1014 cm-3 [28] The transition element dopants are generally grouped into two categories: Au, Ag, Co and Pd are in first category whereas Pt, V and Mn are in second category. As illustrated in figure 2.5, the resistivity of p-type CZ-Si substrate increases with increasing concentration of the deep dopants in first category. The behaviour of impurities in first category is due to presence of both deep donor and acceptor levels very near intrinsic Fermi level of Si bandgap. For Au and Ag, the resistivity of Si reaches a plateau at the concentration of deep dopants over 1016 cm-3 for three different background boron concentration. The reason for the slight difference in the behaviour of Au and Ag is that the both donor and acceptor level is nearer to the middle in the Si bandgap as compared to Co and Pd. For the second category of deep dopants, the resistivity of p-type CZ-Si reaches a peak and then reduce sharply with the increase in the concentration of the deep dopants as shown in figure 2.6. The reason of the difference in the behaviour is that the impurities in second category have either donor or acceptor level near the intrinsic Fermi level. Therefore, the dopants in second category can only compensate for a single type of doped silicon substrate. The effect of using 3d transition elements as deep level dopants in n-type CZ-Si substrate has not been shown in the work by Mallik et al. Meanwhile, it is shown in the work by Jordan et al. that higher bulk resistivity of Au-compensated Si substrate can be achieved by using n-type CZ-Si as shown in figure 2.7 [28]. The n-type Au-compensated Si substrate with resistivity up to 70 kÃŽÂ ©-cm has been used by Nur Z. I. Hashim et al. for realisation of coplanar waveguides (CPW) on the substrate [29]. Therefore, the potential and problem of using 3d transition elements for deep level compensation in n-type CZ-Si substrate will be discussed in this work. 2.5  Summary The realisation of high resistivity bulk Si substrate using proton implantation method and helium-3 ion irradiation technique was studied. The fabrication of high-Q inductors and antenna has been done on the Si substrate produced using both methods. However, there are problems associated with both methods such as high product cost for proton implantation method and being comparably less studied for helium-3 ion irradiation. Therefore, the idea of creating a semi-insulating silicon substrate using deep-level doping compensation with 3d transition elements was proposed by Mallik et al. in 2003. The deep-level doping compensation method has since been well studied and used for the fabrication of coplanar waveguides and inductors by Nur Z. I. Hashim et al. References [1]I. D. Robertson and S. Lucyszyn, RFIC and MMIC Design and Technology. IET, 2001. [2]K. Mallik, R. J. Falster, and P. R. Wilshaw, Semi-insulating silicon using deep level impurity doping: problems and potential, Semicond. Sci. Technol., vol. 18, no. 6, p. 517, 2003. [3]Products Capabilities | EpiWorks, EpiWorks. [Online]. Available: http://www.epiworks.com/products-capabilities/. [Accessed: 28-Feb-2017]. [4]Global Manufacturing at Intel, Intel. [Online]. Available: http://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/architecture-and-technology/global-manufacturing.html?wapkw=wafer+size_ga=1.16867193.1775779534.1436014173. [Accessed: 28-Feb-2017]. [5]K. Mallik, C. H. De Groot, P. Ashburn, and P. R. Wilshaw, Enhancement of resistivity of Czochralski silicon by deep level manganese doping, Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 89, no. 11, p. 3, 2006. [6]Smart Cut technology, Smart Choice Soitec, Soitec. [Online]. Available: https://www.soitec.com/en/products/smart-cut. [Accessed: 28-Feb-2017]. [7]T. Yonehara and K. Sakaguchi, ELTRAN  ®Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯; Novel SOI Wafer Technology, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 10-16, 2001. [8]S. Iwamatsu and M. Ogawa, Silicon-on-sapphire m.o.s.f.e.t.s fabricated by back-surface laser-anneal technology, Electron. Lett., vol. 15, no. 25, pp. 827-828, 1979. [9]G. K. Celler and S. Cristoloveanu, Frontiers of silicon-on-insulator, J. Appl. Phys., vol. 93, no. 9, pp. 4955-4978, 2003. [10]R. Dekker, P. G. M. Baltus, and H. G. R. Maas, Substrate transfer for RF technologies, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 747-757, 2003. [11]N. Nenadovic, V. DAlessandro, L. K. Nanver, F. Tamigi, N. Rinaldi, and J. W. Slotboom, A back-wafer contacted silicon-on-glass integrated bipolar process. Part II. A novel analysis of thermal breakdown, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 51-62, 2004. [12]RF and AMS tech for wireless communications, International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, 2009. [Online]. Available: http://www.itrs2.net/itrs-reports.html. [Accessed: 28-Feb-2017]. [13]S. M. Sze, Semiconductor Devices: Physics and Technology, 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002. [14]High resistivity silicon for GHz and THz technology, Topsil. [Online]. Available: http://www.topsil.com/en/silicon-products/silicon-wafer-products/hiresTM.aspx. [Accessed: 28-Feb-2017]. [15]D. M. Jordan, R. H. Haslam, K. Mallik, and P. R. Wilshaw, The Development of Semi-Insulating Silicon Substrates for Microwave Devices, Electrochem. Soc., vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 41-56, 2008. [16]N. Z. I. Hashim, A. Abuelgasim, and C. H. De Groot, Suppression of parasitic surface conduction in Au-compensated high resistivity silicon for 40-GHz RF-MMIC application, 2014 Asia-Pacific Microw. Conf., pp. 55-57, 2014. [17]J. Li, Novel semiconductor substrate formed by hydrogen ion implantation into silicon, Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 55, no. 21, pp. 2223-2224, 1989. [18]C. Liao et al., Method of creating local semi-insulating regions on silicon wafers for device isolation and realization of high-Q inductors, IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 19, no. 12, pp. 461-462, 1998. [19]Y. H. Wu et al., Fabrication of very high resistivity Si with low loss and cross talk, IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 21, no. 9, pp. 442-444, 2000. [20]A. B. M. H. Rashid, S. Watanabe, and T. Kikkawa, High transmission gain integrated antenna on extremely high resistivity Si for ULSI wireless interconnect, IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 23, no. 12, pp. 731-733, 2002. [21]L. S. Lee et al., Isolation on Si wafers by MeV proton bombardment for RF integrated circuits, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 928-935, 2001. [22]W. Wondrak and A. Boos, Helium Implantation for Lifetime Control in Silicon Power Devices, ESSDERC 87 17th Eur. Solid State Device Res. Conf., pp. 649-652, 1987. [23]R. Wu et al., A 60-GHz efficiency-enhanced on-chip dipole antenna using helium-3 ion implantation process, 2014 44th Eur. Microw. Conf., pp. 108-111, 2014. [24]N. Li et al., High-Q inductors on locally semi-insulated Si substrate by helium-3 bombardment for RF CMOS integrated circuits, 2014 Symp. VLSI Technol. Dig. Tech. Pap., pp. 1-2, 2014. [25]N. Li et al., Substrate noise isolation improvement by helium-3 ion irradiation technique in a triple-well CMOS process, 2015 45th Eur. Solid State Device Res. Conf., pp. 254-257, 2015. [26]J. D. Puksec and V. Gradisnik, Influence of shallow impurity on steady-state probability function of multilevel deep impurity, 2000 10th Mediterr. Electrotech. Conf. Inf. Technol. Electrotechnol. Mediterr. Countries. Proc., vol. I, pp. 185-188, 2000. [27]W. Schroeter and M. Seibt, Deep Levels of Transition Metal Impurities in c-Si, in Properties of Crystalline Silicon, R. Hull, Ed. London: INSPEC IEE, 1999, p. 561. [28]D. M. Jordan, K. Mallik, R. J. Falster, and P. R. Wilshaw, Semi-Insulating Silicon for Microwave Devices, Solid State Phenom., vol. 156-158, pp. 101-106, 2009. [29]N. Z. I. Hashim, A. Abuelgasim, and C. H. De Groot, Coplanar waveguides on gold-doped high resistivity silicon for 67-GHz microwave application, RFM 2013 2013 IEEE Int. RF Microw. Conf. Proc., pp. 274-277, 2013.

APC 309 Strategic Management Accounting

Module Title: Strategic Management Accounting Module Code: APC309 Individual assignment SUNDERLAND BUSINESS SCHOOL Date: 16/04/2011 Introduction: As Gowthope (2005, p. 148) said that: â€Å"A budget is a plan, expressed in financial and/or more general quantitative terms, which extends forward for a period into the future. Budgets are widely used in organisations of all types and sizes. † –Budgeting actually refers to the process that, after the strategic plan of the business has been made, companies made a short term plan (usually one year) to meet the strategic purpose. Traditional budgeting has offered a lot of contributions in so many years? ractice; no one has a better summary of all advantage of traditional budget as (Umapathy, 1987, p. xxii): â€Å"I believe that budgeting provides managers with a wonderful opportunity to rejuvenate their organisations. There is no other managerial process I am aware of that translates qualitative mission statements and corporat e strategies into action plans, links the short term with the long term, brings together managers from different hierarchical levels and from different functional areas, and at the same time provides continuity by the sheer regularity of the process. . So, many organisations use a „traditional budget? –the short term plan that meet the strategic purpose of the organisation- because of the easiness of preparation and its simplicity to coordinate budget across various departments. But it seems it is more and more unsuitable for the modern business. In this paper, I will give a brief induction for traditional budgeting; and then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the traditional budgeting; last I will explain and evaluate the alternative approach that will be more accurate and work for today? dynamic markets. In the second part I will tackle the working capital concept by giving some ways to improve parts of Working capital in XYZ limited which is a medium sized manuf acturing business. Today, reducing costs, improving quality, and saving time through all parts of an organisation are the mantra of executives in every industry. In their pursuit of those goals, however, they tend to overlook working capital productivity because it is an indirect measure. They see it as a narrow financial calculation and miss its link to the overall systemic performance of an organisation. As a result, executives forfeit a powerful lens to track improvements across the company. Section 1: Budget and Budgeting: â€Å"Budget reflects a choice – not an easy choice, but the right choice. And when you think about it, the only choice. The choice to take the responsible, prudent path to fiscal stability, economic growth and opportunity. † –George E. Pataki. An American politician. The use of budgets dates back to 1920 where it was used as a financial tool for business enterprises (Hofstede, 1968, p. 20). The budget is an indispensable management tool or as Horngren, T. et al, (2000, p. 178) said: â€Å"the most widely used accounting tool for planning and controlling organisations†. A budget is an estimated plan over a given period of time expressed in monetary terms for the allocation of funds and distribution of scarce resources through internal communication to get the planned activities done. When used properly a well designed budget can be a helpful tool in decision-making, it can ensure the controlling process and performance measurements, facilitate communication, and can act as a motivational tool. (Highered. mcgrawhill, accessed 2011) â€Å"Budgeting may be defined quite simply as the process of compiling budgets and subsequently adhering to them as closely as possible† (Maitland, 2000, p. 1). Though budgeting process is complex, time consuming and requires a lot of decision-making (refer to Appendix, figure. for an outline of the budgetary process), it is an essential part of the strategic planning process that helps communicating the goals of the organization and facilitates, coordinates and controls various departments of the organization in order to steer the company to its desired goals, it involves the annual cycle to plan actions, better coordination and allocation of resources, and at the end measuring and controlling performance with regard to the pla ns agreed. Traditional Budgeting Approach (TBA): There are various methods to prepare a budget. Here we are concerned with the traditional approach to budgeting known also as the incremental budgeting which involves basing next year? s budget on the current year? s results plus an extra amount for estimated growth or inflation (APC309 Workbook, 2008). It is claimed that in many organisations the traditional budgeting remains widespread, and that 99% of European and US companies are using budgets and have no intention of abandoning them, it was also stated that over 60% of those companies claim that they are not highly satisfied with their current budgeting systems and are continuously trying to improve the budgeting process to meet the demands set for management in creating sustainable value (report: Better Budgeting, 2004, p. 2-3). From this perspective it is obvious that traditional budgeting approach and budgets in general hold many benefits as well as problems. Implementing TBA on a static market: When implemented within businesses, such technique will be more suitable for firms where each year? s performance and activities are similar to the previous one and conditions are predictable, an active market that can take up large sales which do not change much in relation with changes in prices and where demand is slack. If we take an example of a company „A? operating in a static market, let? s say that our company is selling „sugar?. So for such company using the TBA (Traditional Budgeting Approach) will be perfect and will work well because first, sugar is a necessary good so the market demand is steady i. e. the buying behavior of sugar does not change much, it is a food basic that people consume on a daily basis, the market demand in this case is predicted and quite unchanged, so „A? an constantly base its expenditures and estimated revenues on those of previous year and that makes it suitable for our company here to be using an annual budget based on historical data, thus, will make it easier to compare actual results with budgets and monitor organizational functions. Second, senior managers won? t be forced to spend an amount of time reviewing budgets. Again, focusing on the benefits of TBA we can say that this approach enhance controlling and is asy to prepare and understand , administratively unambiguous and simple to operate, so this method is cheap. It is probably the simplest method that ensures a quick and low preparation costs, however, I would insist on the point that for any business it? s good to provide and introduce change gradually, therefore, the only major weakness that would limit our company „A? is the fact that senior managers will never be able to have a general and overall picture of the performance, and also some people will be offended when it comes to supervision, humans tend o work at their lowest possible standards especially when there is lack of motivation and rewards, as a matter of fact the budgetary control touch on the culture of blame and mistrust, plus there is a fact that scarce resources will not be allocated effectively and efficiently so that would create an obstacle and prevent employees from performing at their best, and their creative spirit would then be stamp down. Implementing TBA on a dynamic market: â₠¬Å"Fixed budgets don? t work today. A budget is a too static instrument and locks managers into the past – into something they thought last year that it was right. To be effective in a global economy with rapidly shifting market conditions and quick and nimble competitors, organisations have to be able to adapt constantly their priorities and have to put their resources where they can create most value for customers and shareholders. † Juergen H. Daum. (A management and executive adviser) As Juergen explained, budgeting tools that were created to serve businesses back in the manufacturing era where production costs and revenues were foreseeable will not be effective in today? s „information age? where the market is globalised. This traditional annual budgeting system is not suitable or relevant in rapidly changing markets, many companies believe that budgets do not deal with intangible assets like brands and knowledge and fail to focus value (Davies T. and Boczko T. 2005 p. 408). In today? s global market where conditions and demands are unpredictable and hard to be determined in advance, an event like 9/11, the Arab? s revolution, and the earthquake that hit Japan will definitely change the way organisations do their businesses especially those big companies that are opened to the global market, in this matter, adopting a raditional budgeting approach will cause more damages. Considering a company „B? operating in a typical dynamic changing market let? s assume here that „B? is a hotel business where each year? s activities and number of tourists accommodated are completely different than the previous year and hard to be predicted, this kind of businesses system is changeable, adjusted constan tly and boost employees to give their best with waking up their creativity spirits, our company „B? needs a full use of its potentials and should keep innovating in order to survive in its market and that would not be achieved if employees and managers are not motivated. For „B? to become the success that all companies are striving to reach today, it has to avoid relying on historical performances or fix their employees performance on fixed budget to deliver the planned outcome, and if adopting any method of budgeting it should do so by designing it on a „bottom-up? basis. So, in a dynamic market a use of TBA would cause more problems to such companies. TBA is inaccurate for our company „B? where each year is very different to the previous one in terms of activities, cost, and market demand. Here, I would suggest the use of the ZBB (Zero Based Budgeting) approach since the number of tourists change according to seasons and unexpected events worldwide, it will be beneficial to re evaluate all of the company? s activities from a zero base annually and respond to any condition changes within the environment each year. Thus, inefficient and inaccurate activities will be removed and any wasteful cost will be cut which means a better allocation of resources, also, this technique promotes the bottom-up of budgeting which will automatically lead to bring up the motivation of employees. Nevertheless, the weakness of this method is that each pound spent must be justified, and if we have a big company which held too many activities, using a ZBB will generates more work that is hard to managed, and because decisions are made at the budget time, it will be difficult to react and deal with changes that might occur during the year, so here as a suggestion the company while performing the zero based budget may use a rolling budget every year. Furthermore, it will be challenging especially for private organisations that have indefinable activities and discretionary cost to be put into decision packages. There were some argues about the traditional budgeting approach being as a barrier to change. For that Hope and Fraser (1997) suggested a new alternative process to budgeting which is termed as â€Å"Beyond budgeting approach†. They claimed that this approach will free people from the top-down performance contract and allows a use of knowledge and best allocation of resources to satisfy customers and beat competitors. This alternative way of budgeting is about the development of leadership principles and help decision making to be made. The thing about it is that this model does not lead to change in some parts but require a systems transformation. (Refer to appendix, figure: 2 for a budgeting and beyond budgeting model). However, even with this model that will break managers free from the annual performance of budgeting, it has a disadvantage that it underpinned their organisation? s performance transformation. To alleviate all those limitations, companies must seek for alternatives approaches that combines and put in practice the benefits of each approach without forgetting to give priority to employees and managers? otivation, the human aspect behavior plays a crucial part in every business because success of any company nowadays rely on its number one asset which is the human labor (knowledge, know-how, expertise, experience†¦.. etc. ). Section 2: Working Capital: Nowadays, the market requires companies to diversify its products and services within a short time delivery, so, companies are striving to keep o n track with global markets? need and competition from other rivals in order to meet the customers? expectations and satisfy their needs. For that, companies will have to focus its resources and potentials to create the business? value, satisfy the shareholders and balance between its liquidity and profitability, this will be through improving all forms of cash flow and increasing their working capital productivity. In an article from (tutor2u, accessed 2011) working capital is: â€Å"The period of time which elapses between the point at which cash begins to be expended on the production of a product and the collection of cash from a customer† (Refer to appendix, figure. 3 for working capital cycle) Working capital is the concern of all firms; it is defined as the current assets minus the current liabilities (working capital = current assets – current liabilities). While in the APC309 Workbook, (2008) it was said that: â€Å"Working capital required because the company has to pay for goods and services before recovering the money from customers, and represented by the difference between current assets and current liabilities. † Company XYZ: a manufacturing business: Considering XYZ Limited, a medium sized manufacturing business. For such manufacturing businesses, XYZ needs to spend cash to purchase raw materials (inventories) and manufacture them. While waiting for the finished goods to be sold it needs to stock them. After selling the goods it can incur some costs. And before receiving the revenue (cash) it waits for the cash receipts from the customers (accounts receivable) and can delay the payments to vendors (accounts payable). So, working capital is an important source of cash throughout the business cycle. (Refer to Appendix, figure. 4 for a diagram of the Working capital cycle in manufacturing firms). Improving XYZ’s working capital: Focusing on working capital will help XYZ? s manager to create lasting value, examine the organisation? productivity and efficiency, and XYZ will become stronger. Starting with the following formula: (working capital = current assets – current liabilities) to analyze the operating cycle of XYZ in order to improve its working capital. Liquidity assessment: cut-down the operating cycle. Shorten XYZ? s operating cycle and cash holding costs by maintaining a cash balance, this would be done through a trim of the stock on hand – the XYZ company however should pay attention not to be in short of stock which will affect it badly and will be unable to meet its customers? emand-, also, make a consignment of stock obtained, lowering the time needed to manufacture the goods and selling them, and a cut down of cost which will definitely increase their cash. Stock when necessary: reduce inventories. Inventory surplus is one of the ways to neglect any cash sources, so in order to boost cash flow; XYZ would better reduce production time and its inventories and lowering them to avoid over production. By a reduction in inventories meaning made a consignment of stock, managing the supply chain and varying the goods manufactures. Also, to increase profitability, XYZ can benefit from cutting costs through this reduction in both inventories and warehouse space needed. Accounts receivable funding: get paid now. Until the customer pays XYZ, the sale is not considered as achieved. The working capital cycle must be completed or the company will regret making the sale if the customer went away without paying. So, XYZ should take into consideration terms of payments, invoices and well manage the cash. Some ways to improve the cash will be speeding up cash collection, ameliorate the reduction of payment terms and collection processes, besides, a strong credit control and a rigorous collection procedures will help to positively improve profitability. While collecting past due cash, XYZ should secure favorable payment terms, obtain payments, approve new customers and maintain a good relationship with clients that pay on time while keep an eye and be careful from both doubtful and risky clients. Accounts payable: negotiating the best agreements possible. While dealing with suppliers, XYZ should rethink payment terms and avoid early payments. Paying its suppliers before the due date is strongly unacceptable and better be avoided, and accomplished within or after the due date. Raising terms and procedures of payments, and optimizing discount is highly recommended. Seeking an increase in cash flow operation and the company? s profitability will be achieved by asking for longer credit terms from suppliers, and if possible take inventories on consignment. Other ways to improve working capital can be to consider leasing when thinking of purchasing equipments this will improve the amount of cash in short term only but can lead to additional costs in long term. Also, consider outsourcing and benefit from price differences. And always negotiate and try to get discounts, besides there is the possibility of converting debtors? cash into factoring or utilizing a bank loan or overdraft. For a XYZ Limited to have working capital the current assets must exceed the current liabilities, it is managing the use of both current assets and current liabilities to improve the company? s short-term liquidity. There is a direct connection between working capital cycle and business performance. Hence, the most important thing that? s needed to improve and have an efficient working capital cycle is not actually focusing on components of balance sheet that are: inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable but is the business cycle TIME that is measured from the time we identify the customer? s need, till we receive the payment of the finished product. Then, by reducing any necessary cash or inventory we will succeed to reduce our working capital cycle. Almost any business performance improvement effort influences the working capital (W. C) cycle productivity of the business here talking about XYZ and will also affect other businesses that deals either directly or indirectly with it. For example if XYZ did not succeed in collecting cash from its clients it cannot be able to pay its suppliers and debtors and that will be bad since the relationship between them and XYZ will be sensitive so, that would build a miss trust and XYZ will find difficulties to be supplied or get credits this later will cause trouble because it will not have any raw materials and the business will then stop operating. Taking XYZ limited as a manufacturing business, any of the ways to improve its W. C that was mentioned above will help cut down costs and boost overall working capital productivity by shrinking inventories and driving down accounts receivable. Also, the results behind paying suppliers before the due date would lead to reduction in working capital productivity. XYZ and should closely track its competitors? improvements to ensure that it is performing better. Furthermore, it can be useful to benchmark itself with regard to other industries for perceptions and opportunities to improve working capital productivity and cash flow. Benchmarking the performance of XYZ? system as a whole more accurately with regard to benchmark with other companies in the same sector would be of benefits. References: -APC309 Module Workbook, 2008. „Strategic Management Accounting Version 1. 0?. University of Sunderland. -Davies T. and Boczko T. , 2005. „Business Accounting And Finance. Second Edition.? Mc Graw Hill Education, p. 408. -Drury C. , (2001) „Management Account ing for Business Decisions. Second Edition.? Thomson Learning. -Gowthope C. , (2005) „Management Accounting for non specialists, 2nd Edition?. Thomson Learning, p. 148. -Hofstede G. H. , (1968) „The Game of Budget Control?. Koninklijke Van Gorcum & Comp. N. V. , Assen, p. 20. -Hope J. and Fraser R. , (1997) „Beyond budgeting: breaking through the barrier to „The third wave. Management Accounting, London. -Horngren Charles T. , Foster G. , Datar M. (2000) „Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, 10th edition?. Upper Saddle River (NJ). Prentice Hall, p. 178. -Lucey T. (1996) „Management Accounting, 4th Edition?. London: Letts, p. 108. -Maitland I. (2000) „Budgeting for Non-Financial Managers: how to Master and Maintain Effective Budgets?. London. Pearson Education, p. 1. -Satish B. M. (2002) „Working Capital Management and Control: Principles & Practice?. New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers. Web sites: ? Behavioral Aspect of Budgeting: http://highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/dl/free/0074711717/57451/Budgeting_Ch09. pdf [Accessed the 25th February 2011] ? Better Budgeting: A report on the Better Budgeting forum from CIMA and ICAEW. (2004), Chartered Institute Of Management Accountants. P. 2-3 http://www. cimaglobal. com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/betterbudgeting_techrpt_2004. pdf [Accessed the 28th February 2011] ? The Beyond Budgeting Round Table (BBRT) www. bbrt. org [Accessed the 5th March 2011] ? Beyond budgeting http://www. juergendaum. com/bb. tm [Accessed 5th March 2011] ? Working capital cycle http://tutor2u. net/business/finance/workingcapital_cycle. htm [Accessed 20th March 2011] http://blog. maia-intelligence. com/2009/06/15/working-capital-management-and-bi-part-ii/ [Accessed 20th March 2011] Appendix: Source: Lucey, 1996, p. 108. Figure. 1: Outline of the budgetary process. Figure. 2: From traditional budgeting model to the emerging management model „beyond budgeting? Source: http://blog. maia-intelligence. com Figure. 3: Working capital cycle. Source: tutor2u. net [accessed 20th March 2011] Figure. 4: working capital cycle for a manufacturing firm