Cost of hiring a graduate gown - GBP51
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Sunday, 25 November 2012
7 Feb 2013 Graduation
Cost of hiring a graduate gown - GBP51
This will incur an additional cost of: £ 20.00
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
How to calculate your return on investment
http://www.fatpitchfinancials.com/392/how-to-calculate-your-return-on-investment/
How to calculate your return on investment
Determining your return on investment is a very important part of any investment review. Whether you’re investing in savings accounts, stocks, real estate, capital upgrades, or new business ventures, estimating a return on investment will aid you in choosing among investment options.
I don’t simply calculate a straight return on investment. I prefer determining anannualized rate of return that takes into consideration the timing of investments and return, as well as compounding. Most of you are probably familiar with this concept through the term Annual Percentage Yield (APY),compound annual growth rate (CAGR), or internal rate of return (IRR). Let me walk you through the steps on how you can calculate your return on investment in terms of APY:
Step 1. Calculate all the costs associated with an investment.
Ask yourself the following questions about the investment:
- What are the initial upfront costs associated with the investment?
- What are the maintenance costs?
- Are there any fees or taxes associated with the investment?
- What kind of research costs will you incur to properly evaluate (i.e., due diligence) the investment?
- How much of your time will this investment consume? Your time is valuable, so a complicated project could have real opportunity costs.
Step 2. Estimate or calculate your returns.
- How much do you expect to gain from the investment?
- When do you expect returns to happen?
Since returns from investments are often uncertain, you might also want to jot down what you think the probability of each return occurring when you thought they would. Be sure to also specify when these returns will occur and for how long. This will be important for the next step.
Step 3. Establish a timeline for costs and returns.
Draw a simple timeline or just list in chronological order all the costs and returns you discovered in steps 1 and 2. Costs should be listed as negative dollars and returns as positive dollars.
For example:
- 1/1/2006 Initial investment cost: - $100,000
- 9/21/2006 Sell investment: $120,000
This is the meat of the process and the most challenging step of calculating the return on an investment. Let me explain it using a simple example that we started above.
Let’s assume you made an investment on January 1, 2006. That investment cost you $100,000 including fees. Today, September 21, 2006, you decide to sell that investment and you receive $120,000 after all expenses.
Now we want to find the APY of this investment so we can compare it to other investments or even your savings account rate. In finance, this is often called calculating your internal rate of return. Technically this process involves determining a discount rate at which the present value of a series of investments is equal to the present value of the returns on those investments. (Ah, this brings back memories of economics in graduate school.) Thankfully, you don’t have to fully understand the process of how this is calculated in order to use it.
For a simple situation like the example above:
APY or IRR = (Final return/Initial investment)^(365/days) – 1In English, this means that APY equals the final dollar amount divided by the initial investment (positive number for this equation) raised to 365 divided by the number of days the investment took to complete. Then you subtract one from the number you just calculated and multiple by 100 to get your percent APY.
Too bad most investments are not this simple. You often have to pay additional capital in throughout the investment project (e.g., quarterly taxes) and your returns often come in periodically (e.g., monthly) and often with a final lump sum payout (e.g., you sell your investment to someone and get paid).
Modern spreadsheet software includes a great function to automagically find the internal rate of return (IRR), which is the same as APY. Microsoft Excel (MSFT), Open Office (SUN), and Google Spreadsheets (GOOG) include the flexible XIRRfunction that can take a list of investments and returns and the corresponding dates of those events and calculate the APY for that investment. This is a powerful and very useful function that I recommend everyone learn how to use and understand. The XIRR function is very flexible. You can you it for very simple investments like the example above or much more complex situations that include payments that occur regularly or even irregularly.
Let me show you a two examples:
Example #1 – Monthly returns
Example #2 – Yearly returns
View the examples using Google Spreadsheets.
View the examples using Excel spreadsheet: Annualized rate of return.xls. This spreadsheet includes the simple example from earlier in the post as well.
Notice how the return in Example #1 is much higher than that of Example #2 even though the payment amounts and total profit are the same. The key difference is the timing of the payments. Because the returns in Example #1 come monthly, the annualized rate of return or APY is much higher. In Example #2, profit dividends only come in annually. That dramatically reduces the APY. I like using annualized rates of return because they account for the time value of money.
That’s it! Now you know how to properly measure your return on investments. Compare the different annualized rates of returns for your various investment options and then you can select those with the highest rates of return (assuming risk is equal among the alternatives). You can also determine your “real” return by subtracting out the average rate of inflation from the annualized rate of return. This way you can determine if you are actually building wealth with your investments.
World Bank report shows Malaysia ranked 12th most business-friendly country
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/24/nation/20121024071744&sec=nation
Wednesday October 24, 2012
World Bank report shows Malaysia ranked 12th most business-friendly country
By RAZAK AHMAD
razak@thestar.com.my
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/24/nation/20121024071901&sec=nation
Wednesday October 24, 2012
Malaysia now aims to be top 10 in World Bank ranking
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is aiming to be among the top 10 most business- friendly economies globally after coming in 12th in the World Bank ranking.
The Wanted - Glad You Came lyrics
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
You cast a spell on me, spell on me
You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me
And I decided you look well on me, well on me
So let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me
Turn the lights out now
Now I'll take you by the hand
Hand you another drink
Drink it if you can
Can you spend a little time,
Time is slipping away,
Away from us so stay,
Stay with me I can make,
Make you glad you came
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
You cast a spell on me, spell on me
You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me
And I decided you look well on me, well on me
So let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me
Turn the lights out now
Now I'll take you by the hand
Hand you another drink
Drink it if you can
Can you spend a little time,
Time is slipping away,
Away from us so stay,
Stay with me I can make,
Make you glad you came
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
So glad you came
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
Thursday, 8 November 2012
5S (methodology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology)
5S (methodology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2011) |
5S is the name of a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words:seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. Transliterated or translated into English, they all start with the letter "S". The list describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]The 5 S's
There are five primary 5S phases: sorting, straightening, systematic cleaning, standardizing, and sustaining.
[edit]Sorting
Eliminate all unnecessary tools, parts, and instructions. Go through all tools, materials, and so forth in the plant and work area. Keep only essential items and eliminate what is not required, prioritizing things per requirements and keeping them in easily-accessible places. Everything else is stored or discarded.
[edit]Straightening or Setting in Order
Arranging tools, parts, and instructions in such a way that the most frequently used items are the easiest and quickest to locate. The purpose of this step is to eliminate time wasted in obtaining the necessary items for an operation.
[edit]Sweeping or Shining
Clean the workspace and all equipment, and keep it clean, tidy and organized. At the end of each shift, clean the work area and be sure everything is restored to its place. This makes it easy to know what goes where and ensures that everything is where it belongs.
[edit]Standardizing
All work stations for a particular job should be identical. All employees doing the same job should be able to work in any station with the same tools that are in the same location in every station. Everyone should know exactly what his or her responsibilities are for adhering to the first 3 S's.
[edit]Sustaining the Practice
Maintain and review standards. Once the previous 4 S's have been established, they become the new way to operate. Maintain focus on this new way and do not allow a gradual decline back to the old ways. While thinking about the new way, also be thinking about yet better ways. When an issue arises such as a suggested improvement, a new way of working, a new tool or a new output requirement, review the first 4 S's and make changes as appropriate. It should be made as a habit and be continually improved.
[edit]Additional S's
Three other phases are sometimes included: safety, security, and satisfaction.
[edit]Safety
A sixth phase, "Safety", is sometimes added.[1] There is debate over whether including this sixth "S" promotes safety by stating this value explicitly, or if a comprehensive safety program is undermined when it is relegated to a single item in an efficiency-focused business methodology.
[edit]Security
A seventh phase, "Security", can also be added.[citation needed] To leverage security as an investment rather than an expense, the seventh "S" identifies and addresses risks to key business categories including fixed assets (PP&E), material, human capital, brand equity, intellectual property, information technology, assets-in-transit and the extended supply chain.
[edit]Satisfaction
An eighth phase, "Satisfaction", can be included.[citation needed] Employee Satisfaction and engagement in continuous improvement activities ensures the improvements will be sustained and improved upon. The Eighth waste – Non Utilized Intellect, Talent, and Resources can be the most damaging waste of all.
It is important to have continuous education about maintaining standards.[citation needed] When there are changes that affect the 5S program such as new equipment, new products or new work rules, it is essential to make changes in the standards and provide training. Companies embracing 5S often use posters and signs as a way of educating employees and maintaining standards.
[edit]The Origins of 5S
5S was developed in Japan. It was first heard of as one of the techniques that enabled what was then termed 'Just in TimeManufacturing'. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's 5-year study into the future of the automobile in the late 1980s[2] identified that the term was inappropriate since the Japanese success was built upon far more than components arriving only at the time of requirement. John Krafcik, a researcher on the project, ascribed Lean to the collective techniques being used in Japanese automobile manufacturing; it reflected the focus on waste in all its forms that was central to the Japanese approach. Minimised inventory was only one aspect of performance levels in companies such as Toyota[3] and in itself only arose from progress in fields such as quality assurance and Andon boards to highlight problems for immediate action.
5S was developed by Hiroyuki Hirano within his overall approach to production systems.[4] Many Western managers coming across the approach for the first time found the experience one of enlightenment. They had perhaps always known the role of housekeeping within optimised manufacturing performance and had always known the elements of best practice. However, Hirano provided a structure for improvement programs. He pointed out a series of identifiable steps, each building on its predecessor. Western managers, for example, had always recognised the need to decide upon locations for materials and tools and upon the flow of work through a work area; central to this (but perhaps implicit) is the principle that items not essential to the process should be removed – stored elsewhere or eliminated completely. By differentiating between Seiri and Seiton, Hirano made the distinction explicit. He taught his audience that any effort to consider layout and flow before the removal of the unnecessary items was likely to lead to a sub-optimal solution.
Equally the Seiso, or cleanliness, phase is a distinct element of the change program that can transform a process area. Hirano's view is that the definition of a cleaning methodology (Seiso) is a discrete activity, not to be confused with the organisation of the workplace, and this helps to structure any improvement program. It has to be recognised, however, that there is inevitably an overlap between Seiton and Seiso. Western managers understood that the opportunities for various cleanliness methodologies vary with the layout and storage mechanisms adopted. However, breaking down the improvement activity in this way clarifies that the requirements for the cleanliness regime must be understood as a factor in the design aspect of Seiton. As noted by John Bicheno,[5] Toyota's adoption of the Hirano approach, is '4S', with Seiton and Seiso combined – presumably for this very reason. The improvement team must avoid the trap of designing the work area and then considering the cleanliness or tidiness mechanism.
Hirano also reminded the world of the Hawthorne effect. We can all introduce change and while people in the business consider the change program to be under management focus the benefits of the change will continue, but when this focus has moved (as is inevitably the case) performance once more slips. Western managers, in particular, may have benefited from the distinction between the procedural or mechanical elements, Seiketsu, of keeping these matters in focus and the culture change, Shitsuke, which is a distinct approach to bringing about a new way of working. A number of publications on the subject in the West have questioned whether this culture can really be tackled as part of an exercise of relatively limited scope.[6] The broader kaizen, or continuous improvement, approach is built, among other things, upon the company's valuation of all members of the workforce. If employees don't feel valued within the overall company culture, perhaps the change required falls outside the limits of a housekeeping improvement program.
[edit]The Objectives of 5S
 | This section does not cite anyreferences or sources. (July 2012) |
Hirano identified a range of benefits from improved housekeeping, all of which can be regarded as falling within the Lean portfolio – that is, they are all based around the elimination of waste in one form or another.
The most obvious benefit from items being organized in such a way (i.e. that they are always readily available) is that of improved productivity. Production workers being diverted from production to look for tools, gauges, production paperwork, fasteners, and so on is the most frustrating form of lost time in any plant. A key aspect of Hirano's organisation approach is that the often-needed items are stored in the most accessible location and correct adoption of the standardisation approach means that they are returned to the correct location after use. Another element of Hirano's improved housekeeping is improved plant maintenance – workers 'owning' a piece of plant, responsible for keeping it clean and tidy, can take ownership for highlighting potential problems before they have an impact on performance. (Of course, this brings with it the interface with preventive maintenance and the need for clarity in the 'assignment map', that is – who does what. The division of tasks between production workers and specialist maintenance engineers varies with the nature of the business, but ownership rests within the business unit rather than within the 'service provider'.)
The next aim is Quality. The degree of impact of dirt in a manufacturing environment, obviously, varies with the nature of the product and its process but there are few, if any, areas where dirt is welcome. Even if it is only in the form of soiled documentation accompanying the goods to the customer this can send a very negative message about the company and its culture. In other cases dirt can have a serious impact on product performance – either directly or indirectly, perhaps through compromising the integrity of test processes. Of course, 5S does more than address dirt; an inappropriate layout can result, for example, in product damaged through excessive movement or through the use of tooling other than that defined as the standard. Standardisation is a theme of Hirano's approach, overlapping to a considerable extent with, for example, that of Ohno. A Standard Operating Procedure for tool certification is much easier to achieve if the tool to be certified is always in a clearly-marked location.
Another goal is improved Health & Safety. Clear pathways between workbenches and storage racks can minimise accidents, as can properly-swept floors. As with Quality, a well-organised, clean and tidy facility lends itself more readily to standard practice. Hirano also described how an environment in which the workforce has pride in their workplace can contribute to a considerable extent in a number of ways including customer service. Improving the layout of the facility merges with the concept of visual management; if workers can see the status of plant and of work in the facility, thus removing the need for complex tracking and communication systems, then benefits will accrue. 5S can also be a valuable sales tool when potential customers visit; a well-organised, clean and tidy facility sends a message of a professional and well-organised supplier.
One point made by all practitioners is that the adoption of 5S must be driven by goals. An article in the journal of the UK's Institute of Operations Management written by Mark Eaton and Keith Carpenter of the Engineering Employers' Federation noted that "the successful implementation of 5S requires that everyone understand why it is being used and what the expected results are. As with all Lean techniques the aim is improvement in business performance; the adoption is not an end in itself..
[edit]The Evolution of 5S
| This section does not cite anyreferences or sources. (May 2011) |
Many Western companies now promote Hirano's approach with a sixth 'S' added for Quality. Not unnaturally, there is some debate over this, with devotees on both sides of the argument. The sixth S serves a fundamental purpose – it reminds everyone of the need for Quality. A key lesson taught by Japanese automobile manufacturers, and one central to the Toyota Production System, is that traditional levels of performance must be not only exceeded, but replaced by a completely different perception of the scale of what is acceptable. Rather than managing defects in percentage terms, Western managers heard of management in 'parts per millions', with single-figure levels of defects being the goal. Given that a 1% failure rate equates to 10,000 ppm the scale of improvement to be sought as part of the adoption of Lean was, to say the least, spectacular.
This improvement in quality levels could, of course, only be achieved with a complete re-definition of processes and culture within Western manufacturing. This includes issues such as 'Design for Manufacturing' and the fundamental change from Quality Control to Quality Assurance (that is, the Quality department role moving from inspecting and highlighting problems to guaranteeing methods and procedures to eliminate errors). Housekeeping, of course, is central to this and adding a sixth 'S' highlights this.
The contrasting view, and the one taken by Hirano in establishing this approach, is that each and every 'S' is a phase. As noted earlier, a major lesson for Westerners was Hirano's 5S methodology breaking the program down into a series of steps. The sixth 'S' does not add to this; Quality is not a phase, it is an objective – along with productivity and the others described above. Moreover, it is an objective of each and every phase. Adding the sixth 'S' might be perceived as recommending a program carrying out the sorting out, organising, cleanliness, procedural and cultural steps and subsequently building in Quality, which of course is not possible. If all the objectives have not been built in throughout each element of the definition of the new way of working then they can not be applied as an additional phase.
[edit]See also
[edit]References
- ^ "Lean and Environment Training Modules". United States Government, Green Supply Network. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ Womack, James; Jones, Daniel; Roos, Daniel (1991). Machine That Changed The World. Productivity Press. ISBN 978-1-84737-055-6.
- ^ Ohno, Taiichi Toyota Production System (TPS), ISBN 978-0915299140
- ^ Hirano, Hiroyuki (1995). 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace. Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press. ISBN 978-1-56327-047-5.
- ^ The New Lean Toolbox, John Bicheno, ISBN 978-0-9541244-1-0
- ^ 5S - The Housekeeping Approach Within Lean, Ian Henderson
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