Elisha and Naaman

 

Elisha and Naaman

Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.  She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"  When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.  Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant."  The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. "If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."

"Go in peace," Elisha said. After Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, "My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him." So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. "Is everything all right?" he asked.  "Everything is all right," Gehazi answered. "My master sent me to say, 'Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.' "

"By all means, take two talents," said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left. Then he went in and stood before his master Elisha.

"Where have you been, Gehazi?" Elisha asked.
"Your servant didn't go anywhere," Gehazi answered.

But Elisha said to him, "Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants? Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever." Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence and he was leprous, as white as snow.

Concepts of Revenue under Different Market Conditions

 

Concepts of Revenue under Different Market Conditions

Total Revenue, Average Revenue, and Marginal Revenue behave differently in diverse situations. The principal forms of the Market situations are:

1. Perfect Competition
2. Monopoly and
3. Monopolistic Competition.

Concepts of Revenue under Perfect Competition

Perfect competition is the market situation in which there is a considerable number of buyers and sellers. The homogeneous commodity is sold at a uniform price.

All the three concepts of revenue that are total revenue, average revenue and marginal revenue under perfect competition are described hereunder:


1. Total Revenue: Under perfect competition because the price is fixed, total revenue increases at a constant rate. We note that if the price is Rs. 5, the total revenue of 2 units is Rs. 10 and of 3 units is Rs. 15. Thus, it is increasing by a constant amount of Rs. 5 for every additional unit sold.

2. Average Revenue: Average revenue or price under perfect competition does not change with the change in output sold. It is Rs. % whether the firm sells one unit or 4 units. It is because under perfect competition, price (average revenue) is determined by the industry and the firm can sell any amount at the given price.

3. Marginal Revenue: Under perfect competition, the firm has the same marginal revenue that is Rs. 5 no matter how much it sells. In fact, if Average Revenue is fixed, Marginal Revenue must also be fixed because the firm is receiving the constant price for every additional unit it is selling. Consequently, it implies that AR=MR. MR is calculated by dividing the change in total revenue by change in Quantity sold ΔTR ÷ ΔQ

For the second unit, the change in total revenue ΔTR is Rs. 10 – Rs. 5 and the change in quantity ΔQ is 2-1 = 1. Consequently, average revenue is 5 ÷ 1 = Rs. 5
Likewise, for the third unit and the fourth unit, it is Rs. 5

Objectives of Pricing

 

Objectives of Pricing

The objective of pricing should be the same as the objective of the firm's existence. If it is a profit-oriented company, the strategy used for fixing the price also profit-oriented. If it is a non-profit organization, the objective of the pricing would be non-profit oriented. At the same time, a firm can pursue more than one objective in the area of pricing. A firm should have the following objectives in its mind before fixing the price of its products.

1. Maximize profit in the short run as well as in the long run.
2. Maintain good relations with the consumers.
3. Maintain good relations with the workers.
4. Also, comply with the legal requirements imposed by the Government regarding pricing.
5. Increase sales and maintain goodwill.

To pursue all the above goals, a firm has to strike a balance between all the above objectives. The pricing should be harmonious with the objectives of the organization.

Objectives of the pricing can be classified into the following 3 categories:

1. Profit Oriented Objectives.
2. Sales Volume Oriented Objectives.
3. Other objectives.

Profit Oriented Objectives

The core objective of pricing is profit-oriented. The traditional pricing objective of a business enterprise is profit maximization. Profit-oriented objectives can be divided into the following two categories:

1. Profit Maximization.
2. To achieve Desired Return on Investment.

Profit Maximization: Profit maximization is the most general objective of business organizations. These results in a heavy margin of profit and high prices. The objective of profit maximization leads to soaring prices and consumer exploitation. If profit maximization is the objective of the firm, it will estimate the demand and costs at different prices and select the price that will generate maximum profits. This objective is beneficial for the organization. But to maximize profit in the long run, the firm sometimes has to accept short-term losses. To attract customers, a company that is entering into a potential market or introducing a new product often fix low prices.

To achieve the Desired Return on Investment: A firm may fix the price of its product at a level that helps in achieving a reasonable return on the investment. Some companies calculate the manufacturing and distribution cost and add a reasonable profit margin to it. This will ensure a fair return on the investment. The actual rate of return differs from company to company and industry to industry. The pricing strategy of achieving a target return on investment is predominantly used by manufacturers who are leaders in their industry so that they can get their pricing goals more independent of competitors.

Sales Volume Oriented Objectives.

To increase the firm's market share or sales volume, some companies use the following pricing strategy:

1. Maximization of Sales Volume.
2. Maximization of Market Share.

Maximization of Sales Volume: Some companies opt for maximizing the sales volume by resorting to price cuts or heavy discounts which may result in an actual loss to the company. Management is willing to take a short-term loss in order to increase sales volume. Once the product is positioned in the market, they gradually increase the price and make a profit. In such situations, the company will set a minimum or lowest acceptable profit level and then seek to maximize sales. They believe that increased sales are more important in the long run than immediate high profits.

Maximization of Market Share: Market share is a better indicator of corporate strength. So big organizations are interested in increasing the market share. When the total market is growing and the competitor also may be growing at a fast rate, to check the growth of the competitor, companies keep a close watch on their market share. Pricing of the product will be adjusted so that the market share can be increased, as a good market share guarantees a long-term profit for the company.

Other Objectives.

Other than the above objectives of the pricing, there are some other important considerations in setting up the price of a product. They are:

1. To Improve Company Image as a Quality Goods Supplier.
2. To Prevent Competitors Entry.
3. .To Survive.
4. To Stabilize Prices.

To Improve company image as a quality-goods supplier: For supplying high-quality goods, the company may have to incur heavy expenditure in production. As the expenditure increases the price also increases.

To prevent Competitors Entry: Sometimes it is important for a manufacturer to prevent the possible entry of a competitor than earning profit in the short run. By lowering the price of the product, companies try to discourage the competitor. No one would enter into a market where there is no attractive profit in doing the business. To divert the attention of the competitor from the profit manufacturers adjusts the price of the products. This strategy is also known as the market penetration objective. This strategy prevents a potential competitor from entering the market.

To survive: When a company faces a lack of demand for its product or overcapacity or facing fierce competition, its objective may be to survive in the business. In such circumstances, a company may set low prices so that it can stay in the business for the time being.

To stabilize prices: When a company is faced with a key competitor who acts as a price leader and where the product is a standard one, in order to minimize competition, the company will follow the leader's prices. It can avoid price wars between companies. Most of the time the companies will follow the price of the leader.

Costing and Cost Accounting.

 

Costing and Cost Accounting.

Costing or cost accounting represents a branch of accounting that deals with recording classifying and appropriate allocation of expenditure to determine the cost of product and services. After determining the cost one can fix the profit margin and also fix the selling price. In this complex and competitive market scenario, it is essential to determine the cost of products and services. It also helps the management to take an informed decision to reduce costs and increase the profit, reduce the manufacturing cost, thereby reducing the selling price. To sustain in this competitive market, producers need to reduce the selling price and increase the quality.

Definition of Costing.

According to Harold J Wheldon "Costing is the classifying, recording and appropriate allocation of expenditure for the determination of the costs of products or services; and for the presentation suitably of arranged data for purposes of control and guidance of management."

The term "Costing" and "Cost Accounting" are used interchangeably. However, Costing refers to the technique and process of ascertaining costs. There are specified rules and principles used to determine the cost of products and services. Whereas the term Cost Accounting refers to the process of finding out the cost.

According to the Institute of Cost and Management Account "Cost accounting is that part of management accounting which establishes budgets and standard costs and actual costs of operations, processes, departments or products and the analysis of variances, profitability or social use of funds."

Use of Costing

Every economic activity such as production and services involves some expenses. These expenses may be of raw materials, labor costs, or other direct and indirect expenses. The purpose of production or services is to earn a profit. Cost accounting serves the purpose of identifying the expenses and cost and the profit margin of the product. For example, a cloth factory launches a new shirt. It has to incur $30 for materials $ 20 for labor and $ 25 for other overheads. The selling price is fixed at $ 100. The cost of the shirt is $ 75 (30+20+25) Profit is $ 25 (100-75).

Every manufacturer requires such information for planning, decision making, and cost control. Most of the time it is challenging to extract such information from financial accounting. A modern system of accounting is developed to cater to the requirement of the management to control the cost. Various limitations and deficiencies of financial accounting gave rise to the need for cost accounting.

Benefits of Costing

Costing provides the following benefits:

1. Fast Decisions: Costing helps the management to take a fast and informed decision based on data provided by the Cost Accounting.
2. Optimum Profit: Costing helps the organization to maximize the profit by exercising efficient control in the personal, financial, production, and marketing activities.
3. Maximum Utilization of Limited Resources: By minimizing the wastage, one can minimize the wastage and maximize the utilization of resources.
4. Maintain Social Responsibility: Social responsibility in terms of regular supply, reasonable price, proper quality can be attained by effectively utilizing the cost accounting.
5. Effective Management: In large manufacturing plants requires special attention in every stage and process of manufacturing. Cost accounting helps the management to easily control every stage of the manufacturing process efficiently. It'll help the management to identify the inefficient department or process and address the issue and correct it.
6. Help the Organization Globally Competitive: In this ever-changing global market, stringent control over costs can help the organization to compete globally with other manufactures/markets.

Due to the numerous advantages, many companies are opting for the help of costing to control the cost. It is now a widely recognized branch of accounting and generating employment for people specialized in Cost accounting. Costing helps in checking wastage, pricing, control of resources, management of the process, the discharge of social obligations, the flow of data for decision making, and provides an opportunity for profit growth in the organization.

Items in a Cost Sheet

Some of the items that are frequently arriving in a cost sheet related to cost of direct materiel are: opening stock of raw material, add purchase of raw material, add: carriage inwards, less: closing stock, direct labor, direct expenses, prime cost (total of all the above)

Some of the items that are frequently arriving in a cost sheet related to factory overheads are: office salaries, power/fuel consumed, other consumable stores, indirect wages, repairs of machines/plant, depreciation of plant & machinery, less: amount received from the sale of scrap, factory/works cost (total of all the above + prime cost)

Some of the items that are frequently arriving in a cost sheet related to office and administrative overheads are: office rent, directors fees, office salaries, general charges, cost of production (total of all the above + factory/works cost)

Some of the items that are frequently arriving in a cost sheet related to selling and distribution overheads are: carriage outward, advertisements, sales department salaries, traveling expenses, cost of sales (total of all the above + cost of production)

Last items that are frequently arriving in a cost sheet are profit (balancing figure) and sales (actual sales value of the product)

Fertile soil.

Yesterday I had a vision while I was half asleep in the morning hours in which I saw land which was divided by a walkway. But the difference was that one side is fertile and producing good crops but on the other side is not fertile but producing weeds. The fertile land was plowed and weeded out and is in good shape.

This took my attention as I woke up in the morning. This shows how important it is for us to keep our minds fertile. We should weed out all filthy things from our minds to make them fertile for the Lord. Through the word of God, we must plow and weed out everything that is not godly. By reading the word of God we can remove anger, envy, strife, and other ungodly behaviors from our soul. Cares of this life and wayward life can choke the good things that are in us.  

The good soil represents a good heart. A good heart produces good character. Let us not allow the things of this world to enter into our hearts and dominate our thoughts. Good soil produces 100% crops. 

God is Good

In the atonement of Jesus Christ, we have salvation. But now we see that not only salvation but also we have healing, blessing, and prosperity in the atonement of Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary.  

The bible says that By his stripes we were healed. Past tense is used in this statement. So we are sure that the healing is a done deal and it has already happened on the cross.

You may be thinking you are cursed because of the sin of yourself or of your forefathers. But when you believe in Jesus, you are a new creation, and a new spirit is given to you. In you, a new holy spirit is born and you have the spirit of God within you. A perfect holy spirit. It cannot be contaminated by sin. It is from God and it remains Holy. Whether you sin or not, the spirit remains holy.  

If you obey the spirit of God, you will receive all the blessings of the Lord. God has loved us so much that He gave his one and only son for your salvation. This is the good news. Believe in Jesus and have a good life. The blessing will follow you as God has already blessed you through Christ.

Maranatha - Our Lord is coming soon.

Formal letter for the closure of a business

Dear Sir,

Due to the trade restrictions imposed by the Indian Government and the increased duty imposed on imported goods and Covid-19 pandemic which naturally caused the economic slow down in the global market, our Board of Directors feel that there is no scope of doing business with China in the near future. To reduce the economic burden, our Board of Directors decided to discontinue the operations of XYZ Pte. Ltd. as soon as possible.

We, through this email, formally request you to promptly initiate the process to deregister the company immediately. Post closure, we will not be needing the service of the external director.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

With Warm Regards,

Jacob K

Director