2 more weeks of uni left, the Mechatronics crew are basically just living in the computer labs these past few days, working on our 370 project. There is also the 322 test coming up on Friday, I got the feeling there will be some intense study during Friday's 6 hours gap.
Over the recent two weeks, we learned about cost. Cost is one of the most important aspect when running a business because the more you reduce it, the more profit you will make. We went over different type of costs, there are variable costs, fixed costs and contribution margin. Variable costs varies with the level of output eg. direct material. Fixed costs are constant eg. rent. It sounded basic when the lecturer was going through the notes but as he went deeper, I realised that these are the fundamental concept which you have to know very well in order to make the right decision for your business.
We were taught how to make a right decision when we went through Relevant Costs and Special Decisions and this really opened my mind. If it took my company requires $110 to produce a table. Another company orders a bulk and wants $100 a piece, before I heard the lecturer, I thought obviously deny the deal, whats the point if you are losing $10? But that was because I did not take into account the fixed cost factor. With proven maths examples, I soon realised that how wrong I was. The crucial point here was that the fixed cost does not rise therefore the more order you take, after paying off the fixed cost, you will still earn profit.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Battle Los Angeles
After a hard day of working on the 322 project, Dennis and I went to watch Battle Los Angeles. Thought we could use the 2 for 1 voucher but nooo couldnt use it for Battle LA, scammed, so we end up paying full price. Went inside, found out some dudes stole our seats but meh the cinema wasnt full anyway, still had centre view.
So I went in there without knowing what it was about nor did I watch any trailers. All I've seen were the big posters around city. I think I'm going to do that from now on, go into a movie without prior knowledge of it, that why you can enjoy it more. The element of suprise hits you harder. Thats what I experienced, I didnt even know who they were fighting until like an hour into the movie lol.
Anyway I thought the movie was pretty good, a solid action war movie, not much story. If you're looking for an amazing story kind of movie please stop reading but if you're looking for an intense action just for the fun of it, this is your stop. One thing I really liked about this movie was the instrumental background music, it gave me the feeling of Transformers when I heard it which was perfect for this kind of movie. There was also a part where it was really sad, that plus the background music made my eyes all watery. My objective for watching this movie was purely for stress relief and I certainly achieved it when I walked out of the cinema so Battle Los Angeles gets at least 7/10 from me.
P.S. new favourite song Superhero by Chingy :D
So I went in there without knowing what it was about nor did I watch any trailers. All I've seen were the big posters around city. I think I'm going to do that from now on, go into a movie without prior knowledge of it, that why you can enjoy it more. The element of suprise hits you harder. Thats what I experienced, I didnt even know who they were fighting until like an hour into the movie lol.
Anyway I thought the movie was pretty good, a solid action war movie, not much story. If you're looking for an amazing story kind of movie please stop reading but if you're looking for an intense action just for the fun of it, this is your stop. One thing I really liked about this movie was the instrumental background music, it gave me the feeling of Transformers when I heard it which was perfect for this kind of movie. There was also a part where it was really sad, that plus the background music made my eyes all watery. My objective for watching this movie was purely for stress relief and I certainly achieved it when I walked out of the cinema so Battle Los Angeles gets at least 7/10 from me.
P.S. new favourite song Superhero by Chingy :D
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Management Reflection - week 2
So here we go again, although I havent received my marks back for the first reflection, I thought this blogging technique turned out quite well so I'm going to try sticking to it.
Last week we learned some basic concepts of financial accounting and documents which are essential to all businesses. I learned quite a few terms which can be seen often in everyday life, eg asset, revenue. I think it is important to know all these business terminologies because we will definately have contact with it in the future.
We then moved on to the core equation of accounting (Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity) and working capital. The whole concept of a working capital really opened my mind to businesses. I always thought that as long as you get sales, your business can keep going. I have never thought about the money that was required in the middle of the process; the gap between getting your sales and producing your goods. As the lecturer put it, like oil in an engine, without the working capital, a business will run "dry".
The documents which are essential to any business are the statement of financial position and the statement of financial performance. The more I learned about these documents, I realised that a lot of details had been put in them. It made sense because if you do not monitor your business properly and accurately, there is no way to determine which path your business should take in the future.
Last week we learned some basic concepts of financial accounting and documents which are essential to all businesses. I learned quite a few terms which can be seen often in everyday life, eg asset, revenue. I think it is important to know all these business terminologies because we will definately have contact with it in the future.
We then moved on to the core equation of accounting (Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity) and working capital. The whole concept of a working capital really opened my mind to businesses. I always thought that as long as you get sales, your business can keep going. I have never thought about the money that was required in the middle of the process; the gap between getting your sales and producing your goods. As the lecturer put it, like oil in an engine, without the working capital, a business will run "dry".
The documents which are essential to any business are the statement of financial position and the statement of financial performance. The more I learned about these documents, I realised that a lot of details had been put in them. It made sense because if you do not monitor your business properly and accurately, there is no way to determine which path your business should take in the future.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Management Reflection - week 1
So for this semester we have a management for engineers course and we're asked to write reflections on what we learned throughout the week. At first I thought geez more essays but then I realised this is kinda like writing a blog article, where I just write down what I see and how I feel about it. So here I will just gather my ideas and rewrite it for the tutorial, see if that works.
One of the first thing which I took note of the lecturer's saying was that we manage our classes, work, basically our lives without thinking about it. My friends and I weigh which classes are important and which ones arent, which ones are worth going to and which ones arent. A mum who manages household work and kids at the same time is an effective manager. What we are trying to learn is how to manage our engineering career.
We learned the four functions of management are planning, organising, leading and controlling. I already knew about the first three since I've been doing it regularly. My first thought on controlling was basically the same as leading. However the lecturer showed that was external control, there is also an internal control where you help people achieve results through self direction and self discipline. I have never considered that as a way of managing a team.
Another point I took in was the “Hawthorne Halo” effect. Studies show when someone is watching you or gives you compliments, you automatically do better in most cases. If my boss was watching me work, I would be forced to raise my standard and if he gave me a compliment then I would know that this is the level I should be working at, to make both him and the company happy. I can make use of this next time when I organise or lead a group, whether in games or for school projects.
I guess this is about it, hopefully this is enough XD
One of the first thing which I took note of the lecturer's saying was that we manage our classes, work, basically our lives without thinking about it. My friends and I weigh which classes are important and which ones arent, which ones are worth going to and which ones arent. A mum who manages household work and kids at the same time is an effective manager. What we are trying to learn is how to manage our engineering career.
We learned the four functions of management are planning, organising, leading and controlling. I already knew about the first three since I've been doing it regularly. My first thought on controlling was basically the same as leading. However the lecturer showed that was external control, there is also an internal control where you help people achieve results through self direction and self discipline. I have never considered that as a way of managing a team.
Another point I took in was the “Hawthorne Halo” effect. Studies show when someone is watching you or gives you compliments, you automatically do better in most cases. If my boss was watching me work, I would be forced to raise my standard and if he gave me a compliment then I would know that this is the level I should be working at, to make both him and the company happy. I can make use of this next time when I organise or lead a group, whether in games or for school projects.
I guess this is about it, hopefully this is enough XD
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