Conflict resolution

Successful negotiations pave the way for smooth relationships in the future. To find peaceful solutions to difficult situations. Full-blown battles use up resources time, energy, good reputation, motivation. By negotiating, you avoid wasting these resources, and you may actually make new allies and find new resources! When should you resolve conflict? Conflict resolution is appropriate for almost any disagreement. Our daily lives offer plenty of opportunities for negotiation – between parents and children, co-workers, friends, etc. And as a result, you probably already have a variety of effective strategies for resolving minor conflicts. But for more serious conflicts, and conflicts between groups rather than individuals, you may need some additional skills. How, for example, should you structure a meeting teens your group and your opponent? When should you settle, and when should you fight for more? How should you react if your opponent attacks you personally? Read on for mor e information on specific conflict resolution techniques. How should you resolve conflict?There are seven steps to successfully negotiating the resolution of a conflict: 1. Understand the conflict 2. Communicate with the opposition 3. Brainstorm possible resolutions 4. Choose the best resolution Use a third party mediator 5. 6. Explore alternatives 7. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics Understand the conflict Conflicts arise for a variety of different reasons. It is important for you to define clearly your own position and interests in the conflict, and to understand those of your opponent. Here are some questions to ask yourself so that you can better define the conflict.Inertest What are my interests? What do I really care about in this conflict? What do I want? What do I need? What are my concerns, hopes, fears? Possible Outcomes What kinds of agreements might we reach? Legitimacy What third party, outside of the conflict, might convince one or both of us that a proposed agreement is a fair one? What objective standard might convince s that an agreement is fair? For example: a law, an expert opinion, the market value of the transaction. Is there a precedent that would convince us that an agreement is fair? Their Interests What are the interests of my opposition?If were in their shoes, what would I really care about in this conflict? What do they want? What do they need? What are their concerns, hopes, fears? Interests play an important role in better understanding conflict. Often, groups waste time â€Å"bargaining over positions. † Instead of explaining what the interests of their position are, they argue about their â€Å"bottom line. † This is not useful way to negotiate, because it forces groups to stick to one narrow position. Once they are entrenched in a particular position, it will be embarrassing for them to abandon it.They may spend more effort on â€Å"saving face† than on actually finding a suitable resoluti on. It is usually more helpful to explore the group's interests, and then see what positions suit such interests. Example: Your parent group wants the high school to change its history textbook. You feel that the textbook doesn't represent the history of Africa adequately. You come to the School Committee and say, â€Å"The only textbook that works for us s The People of Jamaica, and that's final! † You have presented a position rather than your interests.By drawing a bottom line, you're stuck in one position. If you don ‘t convince the School Committee to choose this textbook, you'll lose. A more effective way to approach the School Committee would be to state your interests. You might say, â€Å"We're concerned about the under- representation of racial minorities in the current Jamaican history textbook, and would like to find an alternative. † By communicating your interests, rather than one position, you are leaving some room to negotiate while still Ewing fi rm and clear about your goals. Often, the same interest can have many positions.For example, the School Committee might vote to us plenty the history textbook with a packet of articles about minorities as well as other thing about minorities in Jamaica. These are different positions that address the same interest. Communicate with the opposition Now that you have thought through your own interests and those of the other party, you can begin to communicate directly with your opposition. Here are some tips for productive talks: Listen. Their opinions are important to you, because their Opinions are the source of your conflict. If something is important to them, you need to recognize this.Recognizing does not mean agreeing of course! Let everyone participate who wants to. People who participate will have a stake in a resolution. They will want to find a good compromise. Talk about your strong emotions. Let the other side let off steam. Don't, however, react to emotional outbursts! Try an apology instead of yelling back. Apologizing is not costly, and is often a rewarding technique. Be an active listener. Rephrase what you're hearing as a question: â€Å"Let me see if I'm following you. You're saying that†¦ Have got that right? † You can still be rim when you're listening. Speak about yourself, not the other party.In the textbook example, you might say, â€Å"l feel angry to know that my children are reading this old-fashioned textbook,† rather than, â€Å"How could you choose such a racist book? † Be concrete, but flexible. Speak about your interests, not about your position. Avoid early judgments. Keep asking questions and gathering information. Don't tell the opposition, â€Å"It's up to you to solve your problems. † Work to find a solution for everyone. Find a way to make their decision easy. Try to find a way for them to take your position without looking cake, but don't call it a way for them to â€Å"save face. Egos are imp ortant in negotiations! Brainstorm Possible Resolutions Now that you know what the interests of both parties are, and how to better communicate with the opposition, you can start thinking about solutions. Look at all of the interests you have listed, for you and for your opponents, and look for common interests. Often both parties share many interests for example, both groups may want stability and public respect. Before you hold a brainstorming meeting, think carefully about how you'll set up the meeting. Write a clear purpose statement for the meeting. Try to choose a small group of 5-8 people total.Hold the meeting in a different environment from your usual setting. Make sure the setting is an informal one where people feel comfortable and safe. Find an unbiased facilitator, someone who can structure the meeting without sharing his or her own feelings about the conflict. To begin brainstorming, decide whether you want to brainstorm with your opposition, or with only your group. I n either case, you will want to establish some ground rules. Work on coming up with as many ideas as possible. Don't judge or criticize the ideas yet that might prevent people room thinking creatively.Try to maximize (not minimize) your options. Look for win-win solutions, or compromises, in which both parties get something they want. Find a way to make their decision easy During the meeting, seat people side by side, facing the â€Å"problem†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a blank chalkboard or large pad of paper for writing down ideas. The facilitator will remind people of the purpose of the meeting review the ground rules, and ask participants to agree to those rules. During the brainstorming session, the facilitator will write down all ideas on the chalkboard or pad. Choose the best resolutionAfter the meeting, you will need to decide which resolution is best. Review your brainstorm ideas. Star the best ideas – these are whatnot will work With during the conflict resolution process. Set a time to discuss them and determine which idea is the best. The goal here is to use both groups' skills and resources to get the best result for everyone. Which resolution gives both groups the most? That resolution is probably the best one. Use a third party mediator As you are brainstorming and choosing a good resolution, you may want to use a third party mediator.This is a person who is not from your group or our opponent's group, but whom you both trust to be fair. Your mediator can help both sides agree upon a standard by which you'll judge your resolution. Standards are a way to measure your agreement. They include expert opinions, law, precedent (the way things have been done in the past), and accepted principles. For example, let's say you're building a new playground for your town's elementary school. You disagree with the superintendent about what kinds of materials you'll use to build the playground. The superintendent wants to use chemical-treated wood, but you feel it' s unsafe.A mediator might read the current guidelines of the lumber industry and tell you which kinds of wood are considered safe for children. Maybe you and the superintendent will agree to follow the lumber industry's advice-?in other words, to use that as the standard. Your mediator could also, for example, run your brainstorming session. Here are some other possible jobs for a mediator: Setting ground rules for you and your opponent to agree upon (for example, you might both agree not to publicly discuss the dispute) Creating an appropriate setting for meetings Suggesting possible ways to compromiseBeing an â€Å"ear† for both side's anger and fear Listening to both sides and explaining their positions to one another Finding the interests behind each side's positions Looking for win-win alternatives Keeping both parties focused, reasonable, and respectful Preventing any party from feeling that it's â€Å"losing face† Writing the draft of your agreement with the opp osition Perhaps Harriet is considering quitting her job because her boss wants to transfer her to another office.The mediator might say, â€Å"It sounds like Harriet doesn't care about transferring to the downtown office. What she's worried about is losing rank. Harriet, do you agree with that? Ms. Snell, do you understand Harrier's concern? How can we assure Harriet that she won't lose rank if she agrees to transfer? ‘ Explore alternatives There may be times when, despite your hard work and good will, you cannot find an acceptable resolution to your conflict. You need to think about this possibility before you begin negotiations.At what point will you decide to walk away from negotiations? What are your alternatives if you cannot reach an agreement with your opponent? It is important that you brainstorm your alternatives to resolution early on in the negotiation process, and that you always have your best alternative somewhere in the back of your mind. As you consider possib le agreements with your opponent, compare them to this â€Å"best† alternative. If you don't know what the alternative is, you'll be negotiating without all the necessary information!In order to come up with an alternative, start by brainstorming. Then, consider the pros and cons of each alternative. Think about which alternative is realistic and practical. Also think about how you can make it even better. At the same time, don't forget to put yourself in the shoes of your opposition. What alternatives might they have? Why might they choose them? What can you do to make your choice better than their alternative? Roger Fisher and Danny Retell call this alternative your BATAAN Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.You can read more about BAT AN in their book Getting Ready to Negotiate. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics So far, we've talked about how to negotiate with a fairly reasonable opponent. However, you need to be prepared to negotiate with all kind s of opponents, both reasonable and unreasonable. What if your opponent is more powerful and influential that you are? What if they refuse to meet or alkyl with you? All of these situations are stressful, and intended to put extra pressure on you to make a quick decision in the opposition ‘s favor. Conflict resolution Healthy organizations which are characterized by well developed problem -solving mechanisms and a collaborative climate are able to identify conflict and deal with it in a elaborative way that leaves the organization stronger and better developed rather than weakened and wracked with hostility (Owens, Valleys, 2011). The potential conflict in this elementary school can be approached with five possible methods namely: muscle, reconciliation, harmony, retreat, and collaboration. The muscle method is assertive, aggressive, and competitive.This style creates win-lose situation. This is termed as † I am the boss. Just do it! â€Å". The reconciliation method is one of accommodating, giving in and acquiescing to preserve relationships while resolving the conflict, at least immemorially. The harmony style assumes a â€Å"middle ground,† aimed at achieving compromise in order to resolve conflict. On the other hand, retreat method avoids or withdraws in from the conflict. It is aimed at not becoming involved with conflict and the strong feelings it may generate.The collaborating approach attempts to reach consensus and stresses working together for a mutual solution to conflicts. (Owens, valleys,201 1). In order to manage the conflict in this elementary school and the community in question, the collaborative method seems in my opinion the most attractive approach in order to lessen the destructive hostility among the staff and all parties t and to pave the way for opportunities of growth and development of the school and the community as a whole.The first step I will take as a new principal is to get to the source of the imminent conflict sweeping across the school environment. I will have a private meeting with the librarian, the physical education teacher, and each of the other parties involved to be able to get to the root of the conflict. With eye contacts, open heartiness and impartial attitude, I will listen actively and discuss the issues tit these individuals privately. After that, I will form a committee comprising of teachers, staff members, parents, community members, administrators, board of directors, and all stakeholders.I will have a meeting with the committee to discuss the issue at hand while the director Of schools and myself serve as facilitators. Each party will present its view of the problem while the other parties listen attentively without interruption. We as facilitators will ensure that each party states its case clearly and calmly without personally attacking the other parties. Secondly, I will ask each party to state two or three specific suggestions on how it thinks the conflict could be solved. An example might be,† I will like the administration to handle all field trip approvals†.Another clear suggestion might be, â€Å"I will like all teachers and staff to select a representative from their respective department to handle curriculum and standards issues†. It is of paramount importan ce for the facilitators to encourage and prompt each party to identify the root cause of the problem and then come up with specific ways that will resolve the issue Seafarer, 2007). Through the lens of impartiality, active listening skills and compassion, I will ensure that the suggestions presented are thoroughly discussed and agreed upon to make the necessary changes.At this point, all parties will be encouraged to engage each other in a reasonable and professional manner to come to an agreement on the suggestions made and are satisfied with the implementation Of the resolutions. For instance, the veteran librarian will be satisfied with the resolution that bus duties will be assigned to any teacher who volunteers for that opportunity. Parents will be satisfied with the opportunity to lead and provide interesting programs for parent -teacher association.Also they will be excited to be given the golden chance to be part of the decision making body of the school improvement ventures . The final step for the facilitators, especially me is to set up a date for the resolutions to be enacted and follow up on its progress. It is of cardinal importance for me to fearlessly look into the conflict in detail, if necessary. If new policies or procedures need to be put in place to avoid the same conflict arising in the true, will have that discussion with the staff and all parties involved. Conflict resolution Successful negotiations pave the way for smooth relationships in the future. To find peaceful solutions to difficult situations. Full-blown battles use up resources time, energy, good reputation, motivation. By negotiating, you avoid wasting these resources, and you may actually make new allies and find new resources! When should you resolve conflict? Conflict resolution is appropriate for almost any disagreement. Our daily lives offer plenty of opportunities for negotiation – between parents and children, co-workers, friends, etc. And as a result, you probably already have a variety of effective strategies for resolving minor conflicts. But for more serious conflicts, and conflicts between groups rather than individuals, you may need some additional skills. How, for example, should you structure a meeting teens your group and your opponent? When should you settle, and when should you fight for more? How should you react if your opponent attacks you personally? Read on for mor e information on specific conflict resolution techniques. How should you resolve conflict?There are seven steps to successfully negotiating the resolution of a conflict: 1. Understand the conflict 2. Communicate with the opposition 3. Brainstorm possible resolutions 4. Choose the best resolution Use a third party mediator 5. 6. Explore alternatives 7. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics Understand the conflict Conflicts arise for a variety of different reasons. It is important for you to define clearly your own position and interests in the conflict, and to understand those of your opponent. Here are some questions to ask yourself so that you can better define the conflict.Inertest What are my interests? What do I really care about in this conflict? What do I want? What do I need? What are my concerns, hopes, fears? Possible Outcomes What kinds of agreements might we reach? Legitimacy What third party, outside of the conflict, might convince one or both of us that a proposed agreement is a fair one? What objective standard might convince s that an agreement is fair? For example: a law, an expert opinion, the market value of the transaction. Is there a precedent that would convince us that an agreement is fair? Their Interests What are the interests of my opposition?If were in their shoes, what would I really care about in this conflict? What do they want? What do they need? What are their concerns, hopes, fears? Interests play an important role in better understanding conflict. Often, groups waste time â€Å"bargaining over positions. † Instead of explaining what the interests of their position are, they argue about their â€Å"bottom line. † This is not useful way to negotiate, because it forces groups to stick to one narrow position. Once they are entrenched in a particular position, it will be embarrassing for them to abandon it.They may spend more effort on â€Å"saving face† than on actually finding a suitable resoluti on. It is usually more helpful to explore the group's interests, and then see what positions suit such interests. Example: Your parent group wants the high school to change its history textbook. You feel that the textbook doesn't represent the history of Africa adequately. You come to the School Committee and say, â€Å"The only textbook that works for us s The People of Jamaica, and that's final! † You have presented a position rather than your interests.By drawing a bottom line, you're stuck in one position. If you don ‘t convince the School Committee to choose this textbook, you'll lose. A more effective way to approach the School Committee would be to state your interests. You might say, â€Å"We're concerned about the under- representation of racial minorities in the current Jamaican history textbook, and would like to find an alternative. † By communicating your interests, rather than one position, you are leaving some room to negotiate while still Ewing fi rm and clear about your goals. Often, the same interest can have many positions.For example, the School Committee might vote to us plenty the history textbook with a packet of articles about minorities as well as other thing about minorities in Jamaica. These are different positions that address the same interest. Communicate with the opposition Now that you have thought through your own interests and those of the other party, you can begin to communicate directly with your opposition. Here are some tips for productive talks: Listen. Their opinions are important to you, because their Opinions are the source of your conflict. If something is important to them, you need to recognize this.Recognizing does not mean agreeing of course! Let everyone participate who wants to. People who participate will have a stake in a resolution. They will want to find a good compromise. Talk about your strong emotions. Let the other side let off steam. Don't, however, react to emotional outbursts! Try an apology instead of yelling back. Apologizing is not costly, and is often a rewarding technique. Be an active listener. Rephrase what you're hearing as a question: â€Å"Let me see if I'm following you. You're saying that†¦ Have got that right? † You can still be rim when you're listening. Speak about yourself, not the other party.In the textbook example, you might say, â€Å"l feel angry to know that my children are reading this old-fashioned textbook,† rather than, â€Å"How could you choose such a racist book? † Be concrete, but flexible. Speak about your interests, not about your position. Avoid early judgments. Keep asking questions and gathering information. Don't tell the opposition, â€Å"It's up to you to solve your problems. † Work to find a solution for everyone. Find a way to make their decision easy. Try to find a way for them to take your position without looking cake, but don't call it a way for them to â€Å"save face. Egos are imp ortant in negotiations! Brainstorm Possible Resolutions Now that you know what the interests of both parties are, and how to better communicate with the opposition, you can start thinking about solutions. Look at all of the interests you have listed, for you and for your opponents, and look for common interests. Often both parties share many interests for example, both groups may want stability and public respect. Before you hold a brainstorming meeting, think carefully about how you'll set up the meeting. Write a clear purpose statement for the meeting. Try to choose a small group of 5-8 people total.Hold the meeting in a different environment from your usual setting. Make sure the setting is an informal one where people feel comfortable and safe. Find an unbiased facilitator, someone who can structure the meeting without sharing his or her own feelings about the conflict. To begin brainstorming, decide whether you want to brainstorm with your opposition, or with only your group. I n either case, you will want to establish some ground rules. Work on coming up with as many ideas as possible. Don't judge or criticize the ideas yet that might prevent people room thinking creatively.Try to maximize (not minimize) your options. Look for win-win solutions, or compromises, in which both parties get something they want. Find a way to make their decision easy During the meeting, seat people side by side, facing the â€Å"problem†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a blank chalkboard or large pad of paper for writing down ideas. The facilitator will remind people of the purpose of the meeting review the ground rules, and ask participants to agree to those rules. During the brainstorming session, the facilitator will write down all ideas on the chalkboard or pad. Choose the best resolutionAfter the meeting, you will need to decide which resolution is best. Review your brainstorm ideas. Star the best ideas – these are whatnot will work With during the conflict resolution process. Set a time to discuss them and determine which idea is the best. The goal here is to use both groups' skills and resources to get the best result for everyone. Which resolution gives both groups the most? That resolution is probably the best one. Use a third party mediator As you are brainstorming and choosing a good resolution, you may want to use a third party mediator.This is a person who is not from your group or our opponent's group, but whom you both trust to be fair. Your mediator can help both sides agree upon a standard by which you'll judge your resolution. Standards are a way to measure your agreement. They include expert opinions, law, precedent (the way things have been done in the past), and accepted principles. For example, let's say you're building a new playground for your town's elementary school. You disagree with the superintendent about what kinds of materials you'll use to build the playground. The superintendent wants to use chemical-treated wood, but you feel it' s unsafe.A mediator might read the current guidelines of the lumber industry and tell you which kinds of wood are considered safe for children. Maybe you and the superintendent will agree to follow the lumber industry's advice-?in other words, to use that as the standard. Your mediator could also, for example, run your brainstorming session. Here are some other possible jobs for a mediator: Setting ground rules for you and your opponent to agree upon (for example, you might both agree not to publicly discuss the dispute) Creating an appropriate setting for meetings Suggesting possible ways to compromiseBeing an â€Å"ear† for both side's anger and fear Listening to both sides and explaining their positions to one another Finding the interests behind each side's positions Looking for win-win alternatives Keeping both parties focused, reasonable, and respectful Preventing any party from feeling that it's â€Å"losing face† Writing the draft of your agreement with the opp osition Perhaps Harriet is considering quitting her job because her boss wants to transfer her to another office.The mediator might say, â€Å"It sounds like Harriet doesn't care about transferring to the downtown office. What she's worried about is losing rank. Harriet, do you agree with that? Ms. Snell, do you understand Harrier's concern? How can we assure Harriet that she won't lose rank if she agrees to transfer? ‘ Explore alternatives There may be times when, despite your hard work and good will, you cannot find an acceptable resolution to your conflict. You need to think about this possibility before you begin negotiations.At what point will you decide to walk away from negotiations? What are your alternatives if you cannot reach an agreement with your opponent? It is important that you brainstorm your alternatives to resolution early on in the negotiation process, and that you always have your best alternative somewhere in the back of your mind. As you consider possib le agreements with your opponent, compare them to this â€Å"best† alternative. If you don't know what the alternative is, you'll be negotiating without all the necessary information!In order to come up with an alternative, start by brainstorming. Then, consider the pros and cons of each alternative. Think about which alternative is realistic and practical. Also think about how you can make it even better. At the same time, don't forget to put yourself in the shoes of your opposition. What alternatives might they have? Why might they choose them? What can you do to make your choice better than their alternative? Roger Fisher and Danny Retell call this alternative your BATAAN Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.You can read more about BAT AN in their book Getting Ready to Negotiate. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics So far, we've talked about how to negotiate with a fairly reasonable opponent. However, you need to be prepared to negotiate with all kind s of opponents, both reasonable and unreasonable. What if your opponent is more powerful and influential that you are? What if they refuse to meet or alkyl with you? All of these situations are stressful, and intended to put extra pressure on you to make a quick decision in the opposition ‘s favor.

Accounting Hw

House of Organs, Inc. , purchases organs from a well-known manufacturer and sells them at the retail level. The organs sell, on the average, for $2,500 each. The average cost of an organ from the manufacturer is $1,500. House of Organs, Inc. , has always kept careful records of its costs. The costs that the company incurs in a typical month are presented below in the form of a spreadsheet: Costs Cost Formula Selling: Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $950 per month Delivery of organs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60 per organ sold Sales salaries and commissions . . . . . . . . . $4,800 per month, plus 4% of sales Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $650 per month Depreciation of sales facilities . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 per month Administrative: Executive salaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13,500 per month Depreciation of office equipment . . . . . . . $900 per month Clerical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500 per month, plus $40 per organ sold Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $700 per month During November, the company sold and delivered 60 organs. Required: 1. Prepare an income statement for November using the traditional format with costs organized by function. 2. Redo (1) above, this time using the contribution format with costs organized by behavior. Show costs and revenues on both a total and a per unit basis down through contribution margin. 3. Refer to the income statement you prepared in (2) above.Why might it be misleading to show the fixed costs on a per unit basis? SOLUTION 1. | |House Of Organs, Inc. | | |Income Statement | | |For the Month Ended November 30 | | | | | | | |Sales (60 organs ? 2,500 per organ) | |$150,000 | | |Cost of goods sold | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  90,000 | | |(60 organs ? 1,500 per organ) | | | | |Gross margin | |60,000 | | |Selling and administrative expenses: | | | | |Selling expenses: | | | | |Adv ertising |$  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  950 | | | |Delivery of organs |3,600 | | | |(60 organs ? $60 per organ) | | | | |Sales salaries and commissions |10,800 | | | |[$4,800 + (4% ? 150,000)] | | | | |Utilities |650 | | | |Depreciation of sales facilities |  Ã‚  Ã‚  5,000 | | | |Total selling expenses |  21,000 | | | |Administrative expenses: | | | | |Executive salaries |13,500 | | | |Depreciation of office equipment |900 | | | |Clerical |4,900 | | | |[$2,500 + (60 organs ? 40 per organ)] | | | | |Insurance |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  700 | | | |Total administrative expenses |  20,000 | | | |Total selling and administrative expenses | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  41,000 | | |Net operating income | |$? 19,000 | |2. | | | |House Of Organs, Inc. | |Income Statement | | |For the Month Ended November 30 | | | | | | | | |Total |Per Unit | | |Sales (60 organs ? $2,500 per organ) |$150,000 |$2,500 | | |Variable expenses: | | | | |Cost of goods sold |90,000 |1,500 | | |(60 organs ? 1,500 per organ) | | | | |D elivery of organs |3,600 |60 | | |(60 organs ? $60 per organ) | | | | |Sales commissions (4% ? $150,000) |6,000 |100 | | |Clerical (60 organs ? $40 per organ) |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2,400 |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  40 | |Total variable expenses |  102,000 |  1,700 | | |Contribution margin |  Ã‚  48,000 |$  Ã‚  800 | | |Fixed expenses: | | | | |Advertising |950 | | | |Sales salaries |4,800 | | | |Utilities |650 | | | |Depreciation of sales facilities |5,000 | | | |Executive salaries |13,500 | | | |Depreciation of office equipment |900 | | | |Clerical |2,500 | | | |Insurance |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  700 | | | |Total fixed expenses |  Ã‚  Ã‚  29,000 | | | |Net operating income |$  19,000 | | 3. Fixed costs remain constant in total but vary on a per unit basis with changes in the activity level. For example, as the activity level increases, fixed costs decrease on a per unit basis. Showing fixed costs on a per unit basis on the income statement make them appear to be variable costs. That is, management might be misled into thinking that the per unit fixed costs would be the same regardless of how many organs were sold during the month. For this reason, fixed costs should be shown only in totals on a contribution-type income statement.

Film, Television and Photography Essay

Film, Television and Photography Essay Writing a paper on film, television, or photography has always been a problem. In most cases it is a descriptive essay, term paper, research paper, where you need to express your personal opinion, do some research on the history and dig some information on the piece of art, and summarize the paper with some strong points. The essay writing process always starts with a suitable topic. You need to surf around the media to find the exact topic for your essay, term paper or research paper. It can either be something from modern media, or you can try to use something famous from the past. The best way to write a sound, logical, balanced and well structured essay on film, television, or photography is to develop a structure and outline first – afterwards write the first draft of the film, television, or photography paper, make a critical analysis of the first draft, make amendments, revisions, and based on the first draft – write the final version of the paper. Film, television, and photography is a tricky issue, as it requires a lot of creativity, imagination, originality and extra ordinary thinking. You will need to be observant and be able to seize a lot of information. A good film, television, or photography essay paper is the one which shows your knowledge on the subject along with comments of your own, on the influence of the media, and controversy issues. Always try to be as specific as possible. Your academic paper should contain specific examples of comparison, contrast, etc. Try analyzing the media you choose, using the step by step method. If you are in a desperate need of an essay, research paper, term paper on film, television, or photography – the best way to go – is to order a custom written paper from CustomWritings.com. We have diverse academic writers, who are able to write great quality and smart texts on film, television, or photography topics, and deliver the message you want it to deliver.

Whats a Good PSAT Score for a Sophomore

What's a Good PSAT Score for a Sophomore SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You wouldn't go for your driver's license test before ever getting behind the wheel, right? In reality, you'd practice your three-point turns and parallel parking first so you're ready and know what to expect when the real test comes. Just as you suspected, this scenario's an analogy for the PSAT. Rather than sitting for it junior year without a practice run, you can improve your performance if you've already taken it in 10th grade. Taking the PSAT as a sophomore is a great, low-pressure way to familiarize yourself with the test,gauge your level, and figure out where you need to improve. With this in mind, we'll look at what PSAT scores aregood for sophomores and how to improve them even more for junior year. But first, let's consider howthe PSAT is scored. How Is the PSAT Scored? The new PSAT is scored between 320 and 1520 points. You'll get two scaled scores between 160 and 760: one for Math and one for Reading and Writing combined (called Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, or EBRW). You'll also get to see how you performed on each of the three sections with a test score between 8 and 38. (This scoring scale differs from that on the old PSAT, which gave you 20-80 points on three separate sections.) The new PSAT scoring scale helps you predict your SAT scores. If you score 1500 on the PSAT, you're likely to achieve a similarly high score on the SAT. The scale is shifted about 80 points lower than that of the SAT (which has a total score range of 400-1600) sincethe PSAT is a slightly easier test. Therefore, you can only compare the scores up to about 1520; beyond that, you can't equate a perfect PSAT score with a perfect SAT score. Your PSAT score report will give you lots of data, including your scaled scores, section scores, and subscores, which further break down your performance. For the sake of figuring out what makes a good PSAT score for a sophomore, let's consider another important piece of data: your percentiles. Percentiles compare your section and composite scores with those of other test takers. So if your Math score falls in the 80th percentile, you've scored higher than 80% of test takers (and the remaining 20% scored higher than you). Basically, the higher your percentile, the better you scored on the PSAT compared with everyone else. Read on to learn about percentiles and how they can help us answer our question of what's a good PSAT score for a 10th grader. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: What's a Good PSAT Score for a Sophomore? We can define a"good" PSAT score for a sophomore as one that's higher than the 75th percentile.This means that you scored higher than 75% of other sophomores who took the PSAT.For sophomores, 75th percentile scores are around 520-540on each section, or about 1050-1060 total. An "OK" PSAT score for a sophomore is one that's higher than the 50th percentile, meaning you scored higher than half of test takers. In contrast, anexcellent score is one that's higher than the 90th percentile, or 90% of test takers. This chart shows the minimum section and composite scores you'd need to hit the 50th, 75th, 90th, and 99th percentiles on the PSAT: PSAT Percentile (10th Grade) EBRW Score Math Score Composite Score 50% (OK) 460-470 450-460 910-920 75% (Good) 540 520-530 1050-1060 90% (Excellent) 600-610 580-590 1180 99% (Top) 700 710 1370 Source: Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2018 Based on that reasoning, a good PSAT score for a sophomore is a composite score higher than 1050-1060, an OK score is one higher than a 920, and an excellent score is anything higher than a 1180. What DoPSAT Score Percentiles Mean? To understand how we chose the scores to represent "good," "OK," and "excellent" PSAT scores, as well as how you can interpret PSAT scores,you'll need to understandPSAT percentiles. This section will give you a more in-depth look at PSAT percentiles and the information you can get from them. YourPSAT score report will feature lots of score types and data. Among this data, you'll get not just one but two percentiles comparing your scores with those of other students. These percentiles are called the Nationally Representative Percentile and the User Percentile. The reason behind using two percentiles remains vague, and some educators have suggested that the College Board uses the Nationally Representative Percentile as a way to inflate students' scores and make the PSAT appear less competitive than it really is. Regardless, we'll focus on User Percentiles, which compare all students in a grade who typically take the PSAT (as opposed to the other percentile, which includes all students in a grade, even those who didn't take the PSAT- weird, I know). Below is a chart based on info from the College Board's 2018 PSAT score report, which gives PSAT User Percentiles specifically for 10th graders. As you look through the data, note that the same scores translate to slightly different percentiles. In past years, Math tended to be more competitive than Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW). Here, the comparisons are less straightforward. Check out the data, and then read on for further interpretation of how these sections compare. PSAT Score EBRW Percentile (10th Grade) Math Percentile (10th Grade) 760 99+ 99+ 750 99+ 99+ 740 99+ 99 730 99+ 99 720 99+ 99 710 99 99 700 99 98 690 98 98 680 98 98 670 97 97 660 97 97 650 96 97 640 95 96 630 94 95 620 92 95 610 91 94 600 89 92 590 87 91 580 85 89 570 83 87 560 80 85 550 78 82 540 75 80 530 72 77 520 68 74 510 65 71 500 62 68 490 59 64 480 55 60 470 52 56 460 49 52 450 45 48 440 42 43 430 39 39 420 35 35 410 32 30 400 28 26 390 25 21 380 21 17 370 17 14 360 14 11 350 11 8 340 8 6 330 6 5 320 4 4 310 3 3 300 2 2 290 1 and below 2 and below In past years, Math was pretty much always more competitive than Reading and Writing; however, Reading and Writing has recently become more competitive. This means that most of the time you'll need to achieve a slightly higher score on EBRW to make it into the same percentile as you did on Math. For example, a Math score of 500 puts you in the 68th percentile, but the same score on EBRW puts you in only the 62nd percentile. Why Are PSAT Scores Important for Sophomores? Your sophomore year PSAT scores aren’t as important as your PSAT scores from your junior year when you’ll be able to compete for National Merit, but they're still useful. You can use your sophomore PSAT scores to estimate how well you’ll do on the PSAT next year and on the SAT later on. This can help you gauge how much studying you'll need to do to qualify for National Merit and/or meet your SAT score goals. Preparing for National Merit as a Sophomore The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) identifies juniors who get top scores on the PSAT. Students whose PSAT scores are in the top 1% are named Semifinalists. Reaching this stage can give you a big boost in college admissions and make you eligible for numerous scholarships,. Thus, many students who take the PSAT as sophomores do so to prepare themselves for when they take the PSAT as juniors and can compete for National Merit. There are several things you can do as a sophomore to help you prepare for the PSAT as a junior and potentially qualify you for National Merit. If you're already scoring in the 95th percentile or above as a sophomore, you're well on track to qualifying as a Semifinalist and eventually Finalist. While these are outstanding scores, National Merit scholarships only go to the top 1% of juniors, so you'll have to do some serious prep to compete with other juniors and bring up your scores to the top of the pack by the following year. If National Merit is in your sights, you'll want to aim for a score of around 1440 on the PSAT, or about 35-36 as your "test score" on each section (when you take the test as a junior). The exact score you need to qualify varies by state. Check out the cutoff scores here, as well as all the other criteria you must meet to be competitive for National Merit. Remember, though, that you have lots of time to prepare for both the PSAT and SAT, so if you’re not happy with your scores, there’s still time to develop a solid study plan and improve your scores. Speaking of prep... Disappointed with your PSAT performance? Want to improve your PSAT score by 150 points? We have the industry's leading PSAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: What Can You Do to Prepare for the PSAT? 3 Key Tips There are multiple steps you can take to prepare for both the PSAT you take sophomore year and the one you take junior year. Even a small amount of preparation can translate into significant score increases, so be sure to take a look at these tips and make use of them before test day! #1: Set Target PSAT Scores Before you take the PSAT your sophomore year, consider setting a target score to give you a goal to aim for while studying and to make sure you're on track to meet your goals for your junior-year PSAT and eventually SAT. A potential goal could be scoring in at least the 70th percentile, for example. Or you might aim higher, such as the 95th percentile, if you're hoping to qualify for National Merit as a junior. Once you get the results for your sophomore-year PSAT, you can start to set goals for your junior-year PSAT. Again, if you're aiming for National Merit, you'll need to get a composite score of about 1440 to qualify. With serious prep, you could raise your PSAT score by hundreds of points. Even apart from all your studying, you're likely to improve regardless since you'll be a year older with an additional year of high school under your belt! #2: Take PSAT Practice Tests The best way to improve your PSAT scores is to start practicing! You can use official PSAT practice tests as well as official SAT questions available through the College Board website and Khan Academy (a partner website). The abundance of practice material for the old (pre-2015) PSAT doesn't have to go to waste either. Many of these questions, especially the Math and reading comprehension ones, are still relevant. Just make sure to familiarize yourself with the changes to the test so you can shift your focus to the most important skills. If you're disappointed with your sophomore-year PSAT scores, don't worry! You still have plenty of time to learn and practice. Use your feelings as motivation to improve next year through focused, disciplined, and effective test prep. #3: Target Your Weaknesses After you've taken your first PSAT practice test, look it over and see which questions you got wrong and which ones you got right. Did you score well on Reading and Writing but struggle with Math? Were there specific types of questions or topics that gave you trouble? Take time to figure out where you need to make the most improvements. Then, get to work targeting those weaknesses! For each question you got wrong on your practice test, look at the correct answer and try to re-solve it, using the correct answer as a guide. If you still can't figure it out, read that question's answer explanation to understand what you did wrong and how to solve it. When studying, be sure to focus extra attention on your weak areas. Brush up on the topics themselves if you need to, and answer lots of practice problems until you feel more confident. Do all of this, and you'll be well on your way to a great PSAT score! What's Next? The PSAT is great prep for the SAT, but you might also be taking the SAT or ACT as practice. Learn about good SAT and ACT scores for sophomores so you can get a better idea of what scores to aim for on test day. Do your PSAT scores predict your SAT scores? Our guide offers a detailed look at the connection between the two tests and your scores on them. Got questions about the PSAT format? Read this complete guide to the redesigned PSAT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

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