Friday, December 27, 2019

Beyond Budgeting and Better Budgeting Approaches to Managing Business Research Paper

Beyond Budgeting and Better Budgeting Approaches to Managing Business Research Paper The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the two approaches to managing business, which are called Beyond Budgeting and Better Budgeting. Furthermore, the empirical evidence use and various motivational theories will be discussed so as to define the best way of budget setting for accounting manager. Beyond Budgeting and Better Budgeting Approaches to Managing Business The first management model that will be considered is Beyond Budgeting. It was developed as a means to change the situation that was often met by different organizations, when the management process related to budgeting, such as the way of setting goals and strategies, allocating resources, actions coordination, etc. were not neutral in terms of management behavior and thinking. So, there were defined ten reasons why budgeting caused considerable problems and should have been replaced: It is too expensive and detailed, being highly bureaucratic, which results in its absorbing of 20 percent of the manager’s time. It stifles innovation and initiative, as it supports authoritarian management. It increases reputational risk and encourages unethical behavior, as it presupposes aggressive targets and incentives that usually have to be met at any cost. It demotivates people, as budgeting usually entails going with the flow, instead of maximizing performance. As a result people tend to do minimum of work. It is out-of-date within short periods of time, as its key assumptions usually become outdated rather frequently, and their mastering requires additional time spent. It doesn’t deal with strategy, as budgeting is founded on departments and functions. It is out-of-killer with competitive environment, as today mangers are more concerned with continuous innovation and fast response, than with the actual management of budgets and people. It protects costs that do not add value, as they are usually compiled on the basis of previous year outcomes. It prevents rapid response, as it is not the purpose of budgeting, but is required for successful work. It reinforces control and command. So, it is obvious that the budgeting in this way was designed not for working on several tasks with an emphasis on speed and autonomy, but instead for large companies with deep hierarchies (Beinhocker, 2006). As a result, the traditional management model can be summarized in the following way: There are too many costs incurred in setting budgets and targets, implementing tools and managing budgets and people from remote locations. There are too few people involved in decision-making and strategy, which is top-down process. There are many trade-offs made between the demand for short-term results and long-term value creation, which results in micro-management development. This model doesn’t have transparency in decision-making. The structure is too rigid, and talented people tend to leave it. Accountability is aimed at pleasing the management, not the customer (BBRT, 2011). Figure 1. Traditional management model interpretation (BBRT, 2011). The Beyond Budgeting model offers an effective alternative to the existing traditional model. The proposed changes are presented in the form of Table 1. Table 1. Beyond Budgeting model compared to the traditional management model. In order to reach such a style of management, it is necessary to rethink the traditional vertical organization and change it into the one to face the customer. The basis of the Beyond Budgeting model is rethinking team-based accountability (Bogsnes, 2009). Figure 2. Accountability map of adaptive organizations (BBRT, 2011). In Beyond Budgeting model there are three kinds of teams: executive team, which is responsible for setting goals and purpose and maximization of other units’ performance; support services teams that support and serve the value centers; value center teams, which formulate strategy, deliver value and invest capital (Hope, Fraser, 2003). Besides, there are usually project teams formed, but they are project-specific and temporarily established. There are 12 principles of Beyond Budgeting approach that were developed on the basis of evidence collected during 12 years (CIMA, 2004). They combine the best of the best practices of world leading organizations so as to define the best budgeting model. The list of principles is as follows: I Governance and Transparency Values – there is no central plan; instead, there is common cause. Governance – there are no detailed rules and regulations; instead – sound judgment and shared values. Transparency – no restriction an control of information; instead – transparent and open data. II Accountable teams Teams – there are no centralized functions of departments; instead – network of accountable firms. Trust –no micro-management of firms; instead – trust to regulate their performance on their own. Accountability – there are no hierarchical relationships; instead – accountability basis on peer reviews and holistic criteria. III Goals and rewards. Goals – no turning of goals into fixed contracts; instead – facilitation of ambitious goals setting by the teams. Rewards – there are no fixed targets; instead – rewards basis on relative performance. IV Planning and controls. Planning – it is not a top-down event; instead – it is inclusive and continuous process. Coordination – interactions are coordinated not through budgets that are defined on annual basis, but instead – dynamically. Resources – they are made available not just-in-case, but just-in-time. Controls – the basis is not budget variances, but instead – frequent and fast feedback. There are seven steps that are necessary to be made in order to implement the Beyond Budgeting model into reality (Hope, Fraser, 2001): Establishing of a guiding coalition – it should be a team of 10-12 people who can create the vision for change and guide the process of its implementation. Thinking like a revolutionary – leaders have to apply their creative thinking to the management processes, apart from the business models, products and processes. Establishing several design teams – they will implement the Beyond Budgeting principles so as to design an effective management model and implement it into reality. Building an urgent case for change and convincing the board – the executives should understand why Beyond Budgeting principles are necessary for your particular organization. Looking for quick wins – leaders should identify quick wins to maintain momentum and build credibility. Education and training – all the newly-established teams should be properly trained and educated so as to be aware of all the peculiarities of the new model. Consolidating the gains and maintaining the momentum – it is necessary to constantly create value centers and reduce operating process and support services teams. According to the Better Budgeting approach, there are five techniques that are believed to generate improvements (Neely, Bourne, Adams, 2003): Value-based management – it is dedicated to managing the shareholder value’s creation over time. All the expenditure plans are assessed in terms of the shareholder value they will create and evaluated as project appraisals. It helps to link shareholder value and strategy to budgeting and planning. Activity-based budgeting – it involves controlling and planning along value-adding processes and activities. Organization’s activities, as well as business processes are structured so that they better meet external and customers’ needs. Profit planning – it is dedicated to planning financial cash flows of profit centers so as to assess whether a unit or organization creates economic value, generates sufficient cash, and attracts sufficient financial resources for investment. When preparing its financial plans, it ensures consolidation of an organization’s long- and short -term prospects. Zero-base budgeting – it presupposes that expenditures are rejustified during each of the budgeting cycles, which helps to avoid building on the inaccuracies and inefficiencies or previous history. The value of this approach depends on operating environment’s stability. Rolling forecasts and budgets – it solves issues related to infrequent budgeting and, thus, results in more accurate forecasts. It overcomes problems with budgeting at a fixed point in time and the often dubious practices that encourage such cut-offs. It’s also more responsive to changing circumstances, but at the same time requires permanent resources to administer. In order to improve the accuracy and focus of budget outputs, it is reasonable to use zero-base and activity-based budgeting techniques. But in this case, there is a problem – they involve even more work than the traditional budgets. It is the main reason why it Is not recommended to use them on regular basis. Rolling forecasts and budgets has the most potential as a better regular budgeting approach. Many organizations have already introduced it successfully to overcome the traditional budgeting time-lag problem and improve the accuracy of their forecast. Profit planning and value-based management are more theoretical than broadly adopted. It is hard to evaluate their efficiency, as very few examples of implementation techniques and practical applications exist. On the whole, there is no universal approach to better budgeting that can solve all the problems at once (Bunce, Fraser, Woodcock, 1995). Motivational Theories Now let us consider the motivational theories and the use of empirical evidence in them, so as to define the best of them for accountant management purposes. First of all, it is necessary to understand that motivation is a complex issue, and in terms of management they are based on the needs of individuals (CliffsNotes.com, n.d.). The first theory we are going to analyze is the content theory of motivation, which is focused on the specific factors motivating an individual. These specific factors are found within a person, but at the same time things surrounding him/her can exert influence as well. It is clear that all people have some needs that they want to satisfy. Among them it is possible to single out the primary needs, such as ones for sleep, food, and water. They deal with the physical aspects of human behavior and are still considered unlearned. The needs of this kind have biological nature and are relatively stable. The influences they have on people’s behavior are obvious and, thus, are easy to be identified. Another group of need is called secondary needs (Reid, 2002). As distinct from the first group, these needs are of psychological nature and are learned through experience. Thus, they deal directly with empirical evidence. They usually vary considerably by individual and by culture. These needs consist of internal states, such as the desire for achievement, power, and love. Interpreting and identifying these needs is more difficult, as they are demonstrated in a variety of ways. At the same time, they are responsible for exactly the kind of behavior managers are concerned with and for the rewards a person seeks in an organization. We will consider the theories that explain needs as motivation that were developed by several theorists, including Frederick Herzberg, Abraham Maslow, Clayton Alderfer, and David McClelland. According to Abraham Maslow, need is a psychological or physiological deficiency that a person feels the compulsion to satisfy. It can create certain tensions that influence a persons work behaviors and attitudes. The scientists formed a theory on the basis of his definition of need, which presupposes that people are motivated by various needs, which exist in a hierarchical order. His premise is that a satisfied need is not a motivator, and so, only an unsatisfied need can influence behavior (Simons, Irwin, Drinnien, 1987). The following two principles lie in the foundation of the Maslow’s theory: Progression principle: he identified five needs that exist in a hierarchy, which means that a need of any level starts influencing a person when a lower-level need is satisfied. Deficit principle: satisfied need doesn’t motivate people’s behavior, because they act to satisfy only deprived needs. The levels of needs defined by Maslow are presented below: I Higher level needs: Self-actualization needs – the person needs challenging and creative work, as well as participation in decision-making and job flexibility and autonomy. Esteem needs – it is necessary to establish conditions of recognition and praise from the management; responsibility for important part of job; availability of promotion prospects. II Lower level needs: Social needs – it is necessary to have interaction with customers, pleasant supervisor and friendly coworkers. Safety needs – person needs job security, compensation and benefits, as well as safe conditions of work. Physiological needs – person should feel physical comfort at job; reasonable working hours and rest and refreshment breaks. Frederick Herzberg developed another framework for understanding the motivational implications of work environments (Lundberg, Gudmundson, Andersson, 2009). He has developed two-factor theory, which identifies the factors that influence performance level of people: Motivators or satisfiers involve such things as achievement, responsibility, growth opportunities, and feelings of recognition. They are the key to job motivation and satisfaction. Hygiene factors are job security, salary, organizational policies, working conditions and technical quality of supervision. They do not motivate employees, but can cause dissatisfaction if they are missing. According to Herzbergs two-factor theory, managers should ensure that hygiene factors are adequate and only then build satisfiers into jobs. Clayton Alderfer developed ERG (Existence, Relatedness, Growth) theory. It is founded upon Maslows hierarchy of needs. First of all, he collapses Maslows five levels of needs into three (Arnolds, Boshoff, 2002): Existence needs – deal with desires for material and physiological well-being. Relatedness needs – deal with the desires for satisfying interpersonal relationships. Growth needs – deal with desires for continued psychological development and growth. According to this theory, unsatisfied needs motivate behavior, and when lower level needs are satisfied, they become less important. At the same time, higher level needs become more important when they are satisfied. If they are not met, a person may move down the hierarchy, which is called the frustration-regression principle. It means that already satisfied lower level need can become activated again and will influence behavior when a higher level need cannot be satisfied. David McClelland developed a theory, according to which everyone prioritizes needs in a different way (1987). He also believes that it is done on the basis of empirical evidence. He defined the following three needs: Need for achievement – the main drive to excel. Need for power – deals with the desire to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise. Need for affiliation – deals with the desire for close, friendly interpersonal relationships and conflict avoidance. Each need is associated with a distinct set of work preferences, which can help managers tailor the environment to meet these needs. High achievers differ from others by their desires to do things better. They are strongly motivated by job situations with feedback, personal responsibility, and an intermediate degree of risk. Those who have a high need of power are likely to follow a path of continued promotion over time. They usually enjoy being in charge and prefer being placed in competitive and status-oriented situations. People with the highest need for affiliation seek social approval, companionship, and satisfying interpersonal relationships. They usually are more interested in work that provides social approval and companionship; they strive for friendship and prefer cooperative situations. Recommendations and Conclusions On the basis of the conducted analysis of widely-spread approaches to accountant management, it is possible to single out the following recommendations and conclusions: It is not reasonable to make use of the traditional model that involves budgeting, as it brings many implications on the way of successful company management and achieving of goals. It is necessary to change the traditional strategy into the one presupposed by the Beyond Budgeting approach, as it was proven that it positively influences the overall efficiency of the company’s management and brings numerous benefits. It was already chosen by many companies, such as Google, Toyota, American Express and success of these companies is another evidence of the model’s edge over the traditional one. In order to successfully base the manager’s work, it’s necessary to take into account the empirical evidence of the workers, and in particular the needs derived by this evidence. In order to do it, it is recommended to make use of the motivational theories based on the individual needs of employers.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Beowulf the Anglo Saxon Hero Essay - 498 Words

The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly invincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of an Anglo Saxon hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters many monsters and horrible beasts, but he never fears the threat of death. His leadership skills are outstanding and he is even able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf is the ultimate epic hero who risks his life countless times for glory which to him meant eternal life. Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious†¦show more content†¦Beowulf’s uncle is king of the Geats so Beowulf is sent to help rid the Danes of the evil Grendel. Beowulf risks his own life for the Danes, asking help from no one. He realizes the dangers but fears nothing for his own life. After Beowulf had served his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle one last time to fight a horrible dragon whom is frightening all of his people. Beowulf is old and tired but he fights the dragon in order to protect his people. Even in death he wished to secure safety for the Geats so a tall lighthouse is built in order to help the people find there way back from sea. The most heroic of traits within Beowulf is that he is not afraid to die. He always explains his death wishes before going into battle and requests to have any assets delivered to his people. â€Å"†¦and if death takes me†¦send to Hyglac the best of war clothes that protects my breasts, finest of male shirts. It is a legacy of Hrethel, the works of Weland. Fate always goes as it must.† He is aware of the heroic paradox; he will be glorified in life or death for his actions. He knows that when he fights an enemy like Grendel or Grendel’s mother he will achieve immortality as the victor or the loser. â€Å"I resolved when I sat down in the sea-boat with my men, that I should fulfill the will of your people or else fall in slaughter. I shall achieve a dead of manlyShow MoreRelatedBeowulf : An Anglo Saxon Hero1825 Words   |  8 PagesBeowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Hero The Anglo-Saxons’ cultures and traditions are rooted in their beliefs of the perfect hero. Their ideal hero has many key characteristics influenced by their culture including courage, strength, bravery, thick skin, loyalty, humbleness, and the ability to create strong trustworthy friendships. Beowulf is an epic poem that exhibits the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero. The Anglo-Saxon traditions illustrated in Beowulf accurately represent the Anglo-Saxon traditions of the time periodRead MoreBeowulf is an Anglo-Saxon Hero Essay691 Words   |  3 PagesAccording to the definition, a hero is one who embodies the values of their society. In the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, written by an anonymous author, the character Beowulf is used to convey the value that Anglo-Saxons placed on courage, strength, and loyalty. Courage is certainly a trait which every hero must possess, particularly because no one wants a hero who is a coward. Thankfully, Beowulf is no coward. When Beowulf hears of Grendel’s exploits in Denmark, he travels to the â€Å"distant† landRead MoreBeowulf : An Anglo Saxon Epic Hero957 Words   |  4 Pages Beowulf possessed the character of an Anglo-Saxon epic hero for many reasons. Not only was he the central character in the epic Beowulf, but he was a larger-than-life figure. He proved that by the way he fought and put his courage, skill, and virtue against his enemies. Beowulf was brave beyond compare, had superhuman strength, and a desire to find success in what he did. He was a young warrior with a good reputation who battled against an evil demon, Grendel, and later his mother, for the DanesRead MoreEssay Beowulf: The Ideal Anglo-Saxon Hero858 Words   |  4 PagesOriginating in the Anglo-Saxon period, the epic poem Beowulf portrays a legendary hero. Beowulf established the earlier form of heroism, and was then later introduced in to the English culture. Praised and admired by many people, Beowulf possesses several distinct traits that allow him to be defined perfectly as an ideal Anglo-Saxon hero; his eagerness to seek glory and fame, rather than richness and treasures, his lo yalty and graceful attitude not only to his rulers but also to his followers, andRead MoreEssay on Beowulf - The Achetype of an Anglo-Saxon Hero575 Words   |  3 Pagespresent days society a hero can be seen as someone who risk their own safety or well-being to help someone else either individually or to help the community. Todays requirement to be a hero can be anyone as long as they make sacrifices for others, in which they can be seen as selfless and caring. Many traits that are portrayed of heroes currently were once used to determine a hero in Anglo-Saxon times. In the epic poem Beowulf, by an unknown author, the protagonist Beowulf is visioned to be the Read MoreComparing Beowulf, An Anglo Saxon Epic Hero1292 Words   |  6 PagesIn life the courageous hero has forever stood as a standard of whom we should be and who we wish to be. In the story of Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic the hero is one that is easy to understand, Beowulf fights monsters he is loyal to his Lord and sh ows very strong and powerful leadership skills. Beowulf is the perfect Anglo-Saxon epic hero who displays courage, bravery, and strength during his battles against evil. Beowulf can be viewed as the standard courageous hero. In this story courage is viewedRead MoreBeowulf, An Adventurous And Bold Account Of The Trials And Tribulations Of An Anglo Saxon Hero1210 Words   |  5 PagesThe epic-poem, Beowulf is an adventurous and bold account of the trials and tribulations of an Anglo-Saxon hero. The main character in the poem, Beowulf, encounters three monsters throughout the poem that are enraged for three different reasons, which cause them to wreak havoc on society. First, he faces Grendel who is an angered social outcast of the Heorot community. Next, he defeats Grendel’s mother who is out to avenge her son’s death. And lastly, he faces his death when he fights the DragonRead MoreComparing Beowulf, The Wanderer, And The 13th Warrior1731 Words   |  7 Pagesalways r eappears is What is an epic hero? Or better yet an epic hero in Anglo Saxon culture. I believe there is more to being a hero than just being strong or intelligent. An epic hero in my eyes is oneself who comes to portray the beliefs of the society in which the tale/story is depicted. A few great examples of the Anglo Saxon epic hero are the literary characters in Beowulf, The Wanderer, and The 13th Warrior. These are all outstanding examples of Anglo-Saxon epic heroes because they all cameRead MoreModern Hero vs. Anglo Saxon Hero Essay814 Words   |  4 Pagesday hero has similarities and differences than the Anglo-Saxon hero. The two heroes each have different values they believe in. Also, they are motivated to fight for different reasons. An Anglo-Saxon hero also fights differently than a modern day hero. An example of this comparison is Bono from the band U2 and Beowulf. Both modern day heroes, like Bono and Anglo-Saxon heroes, like Beowulf, try to improve their societies, but d o it in different ways and for different reasons. Anglo-Saxon heroesRead MoreAnglo Saxon Culture as Reflected in Beowulf Essay943 Words   |  4 PagesAnglo Saxon Culture as reflected in Beowulf Every culture has its own set of beliefs values and customs. Cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout a lifetime. A culture is the sum of a group’s way of life and this is no different with the ancient Anglo Saxon culture. Cultures usually have distinct figures that reflect their culture as a whole. The importance of religion, values, and heroes are reflected a great deal in the epic poem of Beowulf

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Race free essay sample

â€Å"Someone wrote the word n*gger all over the bathroom.† I said â€Å"So?† was her response She was someone I thought I could turn to. We talked on the bus every day. It was continuous, boring, just trying to be nice conversations. â€Å"I just do not understand why people are so ignorant, there is so much racism and nothing is being done about it† I said. â€Å"What the hell do you mean racism? I really don’t think that it exists. I’ve never seen it myself. But, you know, it is statically proven that black people are dumber than white people. Not trying to be racist or anything but I definitely do believe that.† She continued to make these remarks such like this ignoring what I had said. I knew she was not the most accepting person, but I never expected this. This was a person I was close friends with a little while ago, so if she was that ignorant imagine the potential ignorance of people I don’t know. We will write a custom essay sample on Race or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was the year that Obama was elected president. There was a lot of talk about this event within in the school. Not everyone supported him as the new president; in fact many opposed the appointment. These individuals did not oppose the appointment because of his politics, but because he was black. There were things said in the hall ways. Then it was taken to the next level, I was using the bathroom when I saw the word n*gger written on the wall. A student in my school hated black people so much that she wrote the word on this stall. She knew it would be accepted. She was purposely hurting other people. This word kept appearing written on the walls after that. It got to the point where the word had to be removed from the bathroom. But it kept returning. No one made a big deal about it. It seemed to be let go. Coming from a family where acceptance was abundant, I would have never imagined living in an area where there was so many closed minded individuals. The largest issue I saw firsthand among them was racism. These individuals and I do live in a small area which is predominantly white, but my family had the opposite opinions of many of them. My background has made me a very accepting and tolerant person. The word that was written on the walls offended me; I would have never even imagined using that word in my life. I have a very hard time understanding why someone would hate another person based of something as small as the amount of pigment of skin. I have found from personal experience that there is nothing different between someone with dark skin and me. We all have the same wants and needs no matter who we are. Intelligence does not discriminate. Our differences shouldn’t be an issue. We should just simply accept.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Inflation is here to stay, as prices will always go up

Canadian economy is recorded as one of the strongest and fast growing economy in the world. In the last two decades, the economy has recorded a fall in unemployment and economic growth, but inflation persists.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Inflation is here to stay, as prices will always go up specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the economy, engaging in vigorous policy and structural reforms the economy has turn out to be resilient, flexible and well integrated with worldwide markets. In the recent years the economy has be able to overcome both internal and external milestones such as a housing boom, major drought and the economic and financial crisis that had hardly hit the Canadian economy. The country is endowed with resources and with a diverse primary sector based economy. The main exports are wool, meat, coal, iron ore, gold, alumina, transport and machinery, equipment and wheat. These exports have cont inued to spur the economic growth since 1788. The gross domestic product has continuously grown with it approximating to $ 1 trillion in the year 2007. Unemployment rate on the other hand has decline from a high of approximately 11 per cent in the year 1995 to less than 5 per cent in the year 2008. The service sector leads with an employment rate of seventy five per cent followed by the industrial sector with 21.1 per cent and finally agriculture with 3.6 per cent (Rune, 213). The Canadian economy has also had a continued budget surplus that the government has use to service its debts. The budget surplus, between the years 2002 and 2007, averaged one and six percent on gross domestic products respectively. As per the Economic Survey of Canada of 2007, the GDP growth rate has averaged 3 per cent per annum since 2000 and the real GDI (Gross Domestic Income) registering a growth rate of 4 per cent. The proportion of people living below the poverty line has decline up to a point where i n the year 2009 none of the Canadian citizen is within the bracket of those below the poverty line.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As part of the countries reform agenda, it has removed trade barriers, liberalized its financial sector, introduced local labor laws, and spreads out its labor market among others. With no trade barriers in the transport, financial and telecommunication sectors, the economy has experienced competition in different sectors. Canada has a desirable, well-built economy with its GDP per capita equivalent to that of four leading west European economies. Stressing on policy and structural reforms, near to the ground persistent rise in price, a housing boom in the market and growing strong relations with China forms the basis of the economic expansion that Canada has recorded over the past fifteen years. Until the recent 2008 worldwide financial crises, the above-mentioned factors have been greatly contributing to economic growth. Consumer and industry confidence and soaring export prices for primary agricultural products and raw materials accelerated the economy to a high growth rate level in the recent years. Shortage of rain, strong currency, and a strong import demand, raised the trade deficit, as the infrastructure holdups and a rigid labor market slowed down the growth in the number of export and stirred up inflation up to the year 2008. During the 2008 worldwide financial crisis, the economy recorded a remarkable growth through both fiscal and monetary stimulus, buoyant export demands and investors from China together with well performing financial sector contributed to the country’s avoidance of the recession. The Reserve Bank of Canada as one of the G20 was the initial country to constrict monetary policy right after the financial crisis through the Central bank of Canada that increased its assistance rate in Octob er 2009. In the year 2010, the governments plan is to increase the economic outlay, maintain the symbiotic business relations with China, enacting legislations concerning emission trade and reduction of climatic issues such as droughts and upsetting bushfires.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Inflation is here to stay, as prices will always go up specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Policy instruments are defined as the available options that can be utilized by the government to run economic activities. Instruments are classified as either monetary policy or fiscal policy. Monetary policy refers to the actions pursued by the central bank of a country to regulate the amount of money supply in the economy. The actions can be either on interest rates or on exchange rates. The main objective is to check on the rate and level of expansion of AD (aggregate demand) in the nation. Specifically it is used to control the rate of inflation and unemployment rate. Monetary policy can be either expansionary or contractionary policy. Therefore, a target is also referred to as an objective. It is the aim of any economic policy and it can be measured in reference to an economic variable like unemployment rate, growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or rate of inflation. To achieve these targets we use policy instruments. A change in economic policy (instruments) used will led to a change on the other variable (the target). This indicates of the relationship existing among economic variables. The main objective of Canadian government is to keep inflation as low as possible. Therefore, the country policy makers will have to adopt an inflation targeting monetary policy. Under this monetary policy, the target is to sustain inflation at a favorable range. The inflation target is achieved through the central bank monthly modification on the interest rate target. The economy will adopt a contractionary monetary polic y where the amount of money supplied in the economy is reduced making the interest rates to soar leading to low inflation rates.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When inflation rate is higher than the expected the central bank is likely to increase interest rates (Arestis 89). This is a contractionary policy since it will ensure a just economy and a low interest rate. On the other hand, in the event of low inflation rate far below the bank will respond by lowering the interest. This will increase the amount of money in circulation; hence, the inflation will be steadily increasing. Monetary policy uses a number of tools in controlling the amount of money supplied and the interest rate to manipulate variables like joblessness, price increases, exchange rates and financial growth. Where only the central bank is vested with the sole power of issuing currency, the bank will have the power over the amounts of money that should be in circulation. With the ability to change the amount of money supplied, it will also affect the interest rate. It is essential for policymakers to come up with realistic announcements, and protest against interest rate t argets since they are irrelevant and not essential in relation to monetary policies. When consumers and businesses consider that policymakers are devoted to keeping inflation low, they will expect prospect prices to be lower (Sexton, Fortura and. Kovacs, 134). In addition, when an employee anticipates prices to increase in the near future, the employee will find an employment with fat wages to counter for the increase in price. Hence, the anticipation of poor wages is indicated in wage-setting conduct between employers and employees. With low wages, there will be no demand-pull inflation and cost-push inflation since employees earn less and employers pay less respectively. To reach the intended low inflation, policymakers should have realistic announcements. This means that private agents should consider that the announcements would indicate real future policy. When an announcement concerning inflation objectives is made and is not understood by private firms and customers, wage set ting shall foresee high inflation level implying that wages will be elevated and inflation goes up. A lofty wage will augment a consumer’s demand-pull inflation and a business’s cost-push inflation. If policymakers suppose that private individuals and businesses expect low inflation, an expansionary monetary policy will be adopted where the extra gain per unit outweighs the extra cost of inflation per unit. However, credible announcements are done in many ways. First is to set up an autonomous central bank with minimal inflation targets and no output objective. In this case, private individuals and firms are sure of inflation being low since it is bench marked by the autonomous institution. This can be attained through incentives such as increase salary for the bank governor as a sign of the banks commitment to its policy targets. These means that in any policy implementation process reputation of the business plays a very important role but it must not be interplayed with dedication Despite the fact that a central bank may possess a positive reputation based on its perfect performance in carrying out monetary policy, the bank may not have necessarily embraced any particular kind of commitment for instance aiming at a particular inflation range. Reputation also plays an important part in establishing how well would the target markets agree to the announcement of a certain dedication by the central bank to a policy aim but reputation and dedication should not be incorporated. In addition, in rational circumstances reputation of the policymaker concerning past policy options does not count, it is only the ideologies, public statements, professional background among others of the central bank head that matters. In fact, many economists have argued that to do away with any pathology in relation with the inconsistencies of time during implementation of monetary policy, the chief of the central bank ought to have a bigger aversion for inflation as comp ared to the rest of the economy. Hence, the reputation of the Reserve bank of Canada will be tied on institutional arrangements other than past performances when private agents are anticipating on inflation (McConnell and Stanley 103) In a nutshell, the macroeconomic policy specifically the monetary policy embraced by the central bank of Canada in its policy and structural reforms has turned out to be fruitful. The country has been able to combat inflation resulting to a steady economic growth. In the peak of global financial crisis the Canadian government has been able to avoid recession through its central bank firm adherence to its commitment to the monetary policy. Works Cited Arestis, Philip. An assessment of the global impact of the financial crisis. Basingstoke:  Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print. McConnell, Campbell, and Stanley, Brue. Economics: principles, problems, and  policies 15th ed. Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print. Rune, Stenbacka. Microeconomic policies in the new economy. Helsinki: United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research, 2001. Print. Sexton, Robert, Fortura, Peter and. Kovacs, Colin. Exploring microeconomics. 2nd Canadian ed. Toronto: Nelson Education, 2010. Print. This essay on Inflation is here to stay, as prices will always go up was written and submitted by user Edward Sullivan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.