Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits Essay Example for Free

Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits Essay As you may know there are two types of pension plans that are most commonly used: a defined contribution plan and a defined benefit plan. â€Å"A defined contribution plan sets forth a certain amount that the employer is to contribute to the plan each period (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). â€Å"A defined benefit plan specifies the amount of pension benefits to be paid out to plan recipients in the future. Companies that use this plan must make sufficient contributions to the funding agency in order to meet benefit requirements when they come due† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). The defined contribution plan makes no promises on what the ultimate benefits are to be paid. â€Å"The benefits received by the recipients are determined by the return earned on the invested pension funds during the investment period† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). When you account for this plan the risk for future benefit is the employee and the employer’s only cash outflow is the annual contribution to the pension plan fund. â€Å"The pension expense is equal to the amount of promised annual contribution†(Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). The financial statements should disclose the plan, what groups are covered, the basis for determining contributions, and any significant matters affecting comparability from period to period (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). Accounting for the defined benefit plan is more complex. â€Å"The pension benefits to be received in the future are affected by uncertain variables such as turnover, mortality, length of employee service, compensation levels, and earnings on the pension fund assets† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). The risks lie with the employers because they must make large enough contributions to meet what was promised and the amount of pension expense may not be equal to the cash contributed to the plan (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). Employers are also required to disclose the following information if they chose to use the defined benefit plan: â€Å"1. A description of the plan, including employee groups covered, type of benefit formula, funding policy, types of assets held, significant matters affecting comparability or information for all periods presented, 2. The amount of net periodic pension cost for the period showing separately the service cost component, the interest cost component, the actual return on assets for the period, and the net total of other components, 3.  A schedule reconciling the funded status of the plan with amounts reported in the employer’s statement of financial position† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). APB Opinion No. 8 states that there are some basic problems with the accounting for the defined benefit pension plan. The problems identified are: â€Å"1. Measuring the total amount of cost associated with a pension plan, 2. Allocating the total pension costs to the proper accounting periods, 3. Providing the cash to fund the pension plan, and 4.  Disclosing the significant aspects of the pension plan on the financial statements† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). SFAS No. 87 â€Å"Employers’ Accounting for Pensions† maintains that pension information should be prepared on the accrual basis and retained three fundamental aspects of past pension accounting: 1. delaying recognition of certain events, 2. Reporting net cost, and 3. offsetting assets and liabilities† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). The components of pension costs reflect different aspects of the benefits earned by employees and the method of financing those benefits by the employer. The following are required to be included in the net pension cost recognized by the employer sponsoring a defined benefits pension plan: 1. Service cost, 2. Interest cost, 3. Return on plan assets, 4. Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost, 5. Amortization of gains and losses, 6. Amortization of the unrecognized net obligation or unrecognized net asset at the date of the initial application of SFAS No. 7† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). There are other postretirement benefits that are addressed in SFAS No. 106 â€Å"Employers’ Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other than Pensions. † SFAS No. 106 deals with other postretirement benefits other than pensions which includes a variety: tuition assistance, day care, legal services, and housing subsidies, the most significant are retiree health care services, and life insurance. Although on the surface OPRBs are similar to defined benefit pension plans that have characteristics that necessitate different accounting considerations and that have been the source of considerable controversy: future cash outlays for OPRBs depend on the amount of serves that the employees will eventually receive, additional OPRBs cannot be accumulated by employees OPRB with each year of service, OPRBs do not vest† (Schroeder, Clark, Cathey, Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2011). As noted the two most frequent pension plans are the defined contribution plan and the defined benefit plan. However, APB Opinion No. 8 has identified that there are some basic problems with the accounting for the defined benefit pension plan. There are also other postretirement benefits that include retiree healthcare benefits and life insurance.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Prejudice in The Song of Roland Essay -- Song of Roland Essays

Prejudice in The Song of Roland Unfortunately, the role of ignorance and jealousy combining to breed fear and hatred is a recurring theme in history ultimately exhibiting itself in the form of prejudice. As demonstrated through the altering of historical events in The Song of Roland, the conflict between the Christian and Islamic religions takes precedence over the more narrow scope of any specific battle and is shaped, at least in part by the blind perception of a prejudice born of the ignorance and envy Christian Europe had for representatives of the non-Christian world. To fully see this prejudice and its effect on the participants, it is necessary to recognize the circumstances of the "real" battle along with the altering characters and settings attributed to its later writing, understand the character and beliefs of the participants, and carefully examine the text itself to see how prejudice comes into play. The historical battle described in The Song of Roland, took place on 15 August 778 and involved the ambush and slaughter of Charlemagne's rearguard by Basques (Burgess 9). Victims of treachery, those killed included Roland of Breton (Burgess 10). This battle was a part of the fighting to create the Spanish March which served as a buffer zone between Spain and the Franks of Charlemagne (Koeller). While this particular ambush was relatively insignificant, the incident was transformed into a rallying cry for the Christian armies of Europe when taken and reworked by a later poet. External evidence indicates the epic poem was written no earlier than 1060 and no later than the second half of the twelfth century with the generally accepted time begin 1098-1100 which coincides with the time of the First Crusade (Bur... ...tions for them. Just as the Christians fought the Muslims fueled by this prejudice and greed, the historical pattern has been shown to recur frequently throughout history -- whether the slave issue of the nineteenth century United States or the Nazi treatment of Jews in the twentieth century -- man takes the unknown and distorts it into hatred rather than seeking enlightenment. This is the true tragedy of The Song of Roland and man's unwillingness to learn from history. Works Cited Burgess, Glyn trans. The Song of Roland. NY: Penguin Books, 1990. Koeller, David. Lectures on Western Civilization to 1500. Phillips University. Enid, Fall 1992. Perry, Marvin, et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society. 4th ed. Vol. I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Southern, R.W. The Making of the Middle Ages. London: The Cresset Library, 1967.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Microeconomics †Summary Essay

Linear demand curve: Q = a – bP Elasticity: E d = (ΔQ/ΔP)/(P/Q) = -b(P/Q)E d = -1 in the middle of demand curve (up is more elastic) Total revenue and Elasticity:Elastic: Ed < -1↑P→↓R (↑P by 15%→↓Q by 20%) Inelastic: 0 > Ed > -1↑P→↑R (↑P by 15%→↓Q by 3%) Unit elastic: Ed = -1R remains the same (↑P by 15%→↓Q by 15%) MR: positive expansion effect (P(Q) – sell of additional units) + price reduction effect (reduces revenues because of lower price (ΔP/ΔQ)/Q) 1. Monopoly – maximizes profit by setting MC = MR Monopolist’s Markup = price-cost margin = Lerner index: (P-MC)/P = -1/ Ed (the less elastic demand, the greater the markup over marginal cost) 2. Price Discrimination Perfect price discrimination – the firm sets the price to each individual consumer equal to his willingness to payMR=P(Q)=demand (without the price reduction effect), no consumer surplus,find profit from graph Two-part Tariffs – a fixed fee (= consumer surplus) + a separate per-unit price for each unit they buy (P = MC) 2 groups of customers – with discrimination: inverse demand function for individual demands → MR → MR=MC * without discrimination: sum of not-inverse demand functions = one option for aggregate demand. Other option is the â€Å"rich† people demand function. Compare profits to find Qagg. * max fixed payment F (enabling discrimination) = ∆ Ï€; max d added to MC1 = ∆π/q1 (with discrimination) Quantity-dependent pricing – one price for first X units and a cheaper price for units above quantity X. profit function = Ï€ = Pa*Qa+Pb(Qb-Qa)-2Qb Qb includes Qa, so the additional units sold are Qb-Qa. Example: P=20-Q. Firm offers a quantity discount. Setting a price for Qa (Pa) and a price for additional units Qb-Qa (Pb). Pa=20-Qa Pb=20-Qb. ÃŽ  =(20-Qa)Qa + (20-Qb)(Qb-Qa) -2Qb = 18Qb-Qa^2 – Qb^2 +QaQb derive π’a=-2Qa+Qb π’b=18-2Qb+Qa compare to 0. 2Qa=Qb. Plug into second function: 18-2(2Qa)+Qa=0. So Qa=6 Qb=12 3. Cost and Production Technologies Fixed costs: avoidable – not incurred if the production level = 0; unavoidable/sunk – incurred even if production level = 0, don’t exist in the  long run, for the short run typical Efficient scale of production – min AC: derivative of AC = 0; MC = AC Production technologies – production method is efficient it there is no other way to produce more output using the same amounts of inputs Minimization problem – objective function: min(wL+rK), constraint: subject to Q=f(K,L) → express K as a function of L, Q (from production function)→ plug the expression into objective function (instead of K)→ derive with respect to L = 0 → express L (demand for labor) → plug demand for labor into K function → express K (demand for capital) → TC=wL+rK Marginal product ratio rule – for f(K,L)=KaLb – at the optimum: MPL/w = MPK/r : find MPL, MPK from production function → find relationship bet ween K,L using marginal product ratio rule → plug K/L into production function → find K/L for desired level of production – for f(K,L)=aK+bL: compare MPL/w, MPK/r → use production factor with higher marginal value, if equal – use any combination 4. Perfect Competition Short run – 1. Quantity rule – basic condition: MR = P = MC → 2. Shut-down rule: P(Q) ËÆ' AC(Q) produce MR=MC, P(Q) Ë‚ AC(Q) shut down, P(Q) = AC(Q) – profit = 0 for both options * shut-down quantity and price: min AC (derivative of AC = 0); AC=P=MC (profit = 0) * when computing AC ignore unavoidable/sunk fixed costs (not influenced by our decision) – market equilibrium: multiply individual supply functions (from P=MC example TC = 4q^2 so MC = 8q compare to p so 8q=p so q=p/8) by number of firms = aggregate supply function Qs → Qs=Qd (demand function) → equilibrium price and quantity Long run – profits = 0 → P=AC, equilibrium: MR=P=MC=ACmin * in the long run, unavoidable/sunk cost don’t exist → fixed costs are avoidable → take them into account – market equilibrium: find individual supply function (MC=P), quantity produced by 1 firm (MC=AC =price → plug price into demand function â⠀ â€™ total quantity demanded → number of firms in the market = total quantity demanded/quantity produced by 1 firm 5. Oligopolistic Markets Game Theory – Nash Equilibrium: each firm is making a profit-maximizing choice given the actions of its rivals (cannot increase profit by changing P or Q); best response = a firm’s most profitable choice given the actions of its rivals Bertrand Model – setting prices simultaneously; 1 interaction:  theoretically max joint profit when charging monopoly price (MC=MR) but undercutting prices → P=MC, Ï€= 0; infinitely repeated: explicit x tacit collusion (when r is not too high) Cournot Model – choosing quantity (based on beliefs on the other firm’s production) simultaneously → market price – market equilibrium: residual demand for firm 1 from the inverse demand function → profit 1 as a function of q1, q2 → derivative = 0 → best response function for firm 1 → same steps for firm 2 → find q1, q2, market quantity → price, profits Stackelberg Model – choosing quantities sequentially ; firm 1 not on its best response function → higher profit, firm 2 is – market equilibrium: find best response function of firm 2 → plug into profit function of firm 1 → derivative = 0 → q1, q2 (from BR2 function) → price, profits

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights A Vengeful Agenda

Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte. The story is centered on hatred, jealousy, and revenge that spans two generations. Social class plays a significant role in the story, as it the factor that ultimately divides two loves from being together. The futures of Cathy, Hareton, and Linton are shaped by the vengeful decisions made by Heathcliff. Each character chooses to use Heathcliff’s manipulation in a different way. Cathy is the daughter of Edgar Linton and Catherine Earnshaw. Shorty upon her birth, her mother Catherine passed away. Like her mother was, Cathy is very beautiful with curly blonde hair and a very strong personality. She was raised at Thrushcross Grange. Catherine is very sheltered as a child. Nelly regarded her as:†¦show more content†¦Linton becomes evil and boisterous that that Edgars belongings are now his own. Linton helps Catherine escape to attend her father’s funeral which displeases his father. Cathy and Linton confess their love to one another to spite Heathcliff. After her marriage to Linton, Cathy becomes an unpleasant person. Hareton Earnshaw is the son of Hindley and Frances. Hareton has thick brown curly hair. Upon his birth, his mother declared him to be â€Å"such a beauty†. Upon the death of his father, Hareton is sent to live with Heathcliff. â€Å"He appeared to have bent his malevolence on making him a brute: he was never taught to read or write; never rebuked for any bad habit which did not annoy his keeper; never led a single step towards virtue, or guarded by a single precept against vice.† Hareton is raised as a farmhand. He is uneducated, and at points throughout the story, Cathy mocks him for his inability to read. Cathy ultimately befriends Hareton and agrees to educate him after returning to her loving and kind ways. The two fall in love with each other and build their relationship on trust. The two family estates are joined together harmoniously. Cathy, Linton and Hareton are very different. Cathy is from a privileged family. She was raised with the utmost care and concern regarding her upbringing and exposure to life outside the Grange. Cathy is in many ways like her mother, Catherine. She isShow MoreRelatedThe Victorian Elements in Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontÃ'‘ Essay3662 Words   |  15 PagesThe Victorian elements in Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontÃ'‘ The Victorian Era, in which BrontÃ'‘ composed Wuthering Heights, receives its name from the reign of Queen Victoria of England. The era was a great age of the English novel, which was the ideal form to descibe contemporary life and to entertain the middle class. Emily, born in 1818, lived in a household in the countryside in Yorkshire, locates her fiction in the worlds she knows personally. In addition, she makes the novel even more personal