Traditional Versus Activity Based Costing-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Compare Traditional Costing with Activity Based Costing (ABC). Do you feel ABC is an improvement over traditional costing? Answer: Introduction In business there is occurrence of multiple costs in manufacturing of goods or rendering of services. The manufacturing organizations have to distribute the cost occurred for raw material,, labour, and overhead to the goods produced in order to determine the overall cost of the manufactured goods. In costing there are various methods for allocating the all the costs to the goods and services. Some of important cost allocation methods are traditional costing method and activity based costing method. In this essay, there will discussion on both of these costing methods and difference between them will also be explained. The traditional costing method and activity based costing method both are used to allocate the indirect cost incurred during the manufacturing of goods or providing the services. The main role of both these costing methods is to calculate the overhead costs and allocate them to the products using the certain cost drivers. Comparison of Traditional costing method and activity based costing method The traditional costing method of cost allocation is most easy and frequently used method for allocating the factory overhead to the products. The main reason why the traditional costing method is frequently used is because of its simplicity and easy to apply characteristics. Under this costing method, all the overhead cost (factory overhead) are allocated to the different products using the single cost driver such as direct labour hour method or machine hour method or direct material used method (Cooper and Kaplan,1991). There are many potential problems associated under this method like use of single recovery cost driver to allocate all the overhead irrespective of overhead consumed under respective product or not. This problem give rise to critical cost issues that can harm the companys performance. Under traditional costing method, the cost allocation takes place in two stages. In first stage, all the overheads are calculated by reporting all the overhead cost to the cost centers . In second stage, all the overheads cost are distributed form the cost center to the different products in the proportion of cost driver used by each of the product in the respective period (Hayden, 2017). The traditional costing method of cost allocation does not help in effective operating management performance system that will help managers to obtain the relevant information about the products to help in improvement of business performance. The users of the traditional costing method make unrealistic assumption that volume metric is the most common underlying driver of the manufacturing overhead cost. Under the traditional costing assigns all types of overheads using the single recovery rate among the products manufactured by the company. The traditional costing method of cost allocation has failed after company has started using the machines and other different tools for manufacturing of products. The modern manufacturing process involves many activities to produce any product and it is completely wrong to allocate the overhead costs using the allocation base that has no relation with the activities used in the manufacturing of products. To solve all these problems, the new costin g method has been introduced known as activity based costing system (Bromwich and Bhimani, 2005). The activity based costing method is very unique and most accurate method of cost allocation as this method completely based on the actual consumption basis. As per this method the complete manufacturing process has been divided into many stages and each stage consumes some costs. The certain activities can differ depending upon the products manufactured by the company. Every activity used in the manufacturing process critically based on some cost driver such as if product is processed through certain machine than the cost driver will be machine hours. The activity based costing system identifies the activities that are performed to make the product fit for the consumption and then allocate overhead cost linked with particular activity to the products using the recovery rate that define cost driver in respective activity. For example, the overhead cost associated with the use of machines will be apportioned among the products using the machine hour rate recovery rate not by the labor hour recovery rate (Cooper and Kaplan, 1991). The major advantage of this method is that it recognizes the relationship between the costs, activities and products, and by using this relationship it allocate the all the overhead costs to the products using the most real allocation method which helps he manager in improving the business performance and eliminate any non-value added activities (Hayden, 2017). The below table clearly shows the difference between the traditional costing method and activity based costing method: Basis of Difference Traditional Costing Method Activity based costing method Cost Pool Traditional costing method used one cost driver or maximum two Activity based costing method used multiple cost driver that itself represents the activities undertaken in the production Rate applied This costing method uses volume based cost driver This costing method uses activity based costing driver which is non-financial in nature Benefits Simple, inexpensive and easy to apply Provide accurate product costing and help in performance evaluation It is important to understand the difference between the traditional costing method and activity based costing method using the numerical example. Example: Following the cost incurred of the manufacturing of the two products P and Q by ABC Company. Direct Material cost $ 15,000.00 Direct Labour cost $ 45,000.00 Overhead Costs Setup the machine $ 9,500.00 Material receiving cost $ 5,500.00 Other information Labour hours 450 Hours (P: 60hrs and Q: 40 hrs) Number of Setups 95 (P: 45 and Q: 50) Number of Requisite 55 (P: 35 and Q: 20) Material P: $ 10000 Q: $ 5000 Cost Allocation using the traditional costing method Traditional Costing Method Particulars P Q Direct Material cost $ 10,000.00 $ 5,000.00 Direct Labour cost $ 25,000.00 $ 20,000.00 Overhead cost $ 8,333.33 $ 6,666.67 Total Cost $ 43,333.33 $ 31,666.67 Cost Allocation under activity based costing Activity Based Costing Method Particulars P Q Direct Material cost $ 10,000.00 $ 5,000.00 Direct Labour cost $ 25,000.00 $ 20,000.00 Overhead Costs Setup the machine $ 4,500.00 $ 5,000.00 Material receiving cost $ 3,500.00 $ 2,000.00 Total Cost $ 43,000.00 $ 32,000.00 Conclusion It can be said that traditional cost method provides only the basis for cost allocation not the performance measuring method as per costing techniques. On the other hand activity based costing is useful method for cost allocation as it can also be used for performance measurement. References Bromwich, M. and Bhimani, A., 2005.Management accounting: Pathways to progress. Cima publishing. Cooper, R. and Kaplan, R.S. 1991. Profit Priorities from Activity-Based Costing. [Online]. Available from: https://hbr.org/1991/05/profit-priorities-from-activity-based-costing [Accessed on: 28 February, 2018]. Hayden, A. 2017. Activity-Based vs. Traditional Costing. [Online]. Available from: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/pricing-strategy/activity-based-vs-traditional-costing/ [Accessed on: 28 February, 2018]

Muna AbuSulayman

Introduction Muna AbuSulyman is considered to be one of the most influential and successful women in the Arab league of nations. She has achieved so much success in both her career as well as through her efforts to bring about prosperity, development and equality in the Arab nations. Her achievements are made even more phenomenal by the fact that she is a woman and she has been able to achieve so much in a society whereby the women are undermined and are constantly mistreated.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Muna AbuSulayman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More She stands up for the rights of women and aspires to prove that indeed women can be able to achieve as much as their male counterparts can (Book, 2000). Her achievements and accomplishments are made even more admirable by the stigma that she is able to overcome in a society that has for a long time been known to have strong opposition to single mothers and div orcees in the community. Achievements Muna’s popularity has risen to a great extent and she is a famous figure especially in the Middle East region; she has also served as a television co-host with MBC. The social program that she co-hosted drew her wide range of admirers and her great sense of fashion has modeled her as a fashion icon amongst the women especially in the Arab nations. Her fields of work and interest are diverse and she works in philanthropy, the media, as aforementioned, as well as in the fields of international relations; in addition, she also has business interests. Muna was born in 1973 on the 16th of May in Philadelphia in the United States, she spent her early years in the US whereby she attended and attained her elementary education as well as college education. Afterwards, she spent two years in Malaysia with her father who was working there; her interaction with the different and diverse cultures is perhaps one of the key contributors that helped to s hape her personality (Carli Eagly, 1999). Muna graduated from the George Mason University, her academic accomplishments include a B.A. and an M.A in English Literature, and currently she is pursuing her doctorate degree. Her career has spun around a number of fields and interests; she has lectured American Literature at the King Saud University. In the field of education, her contribution cannot be overlooked because she helped to formulate and oversee the successful implementation of courses in English Literature. Her achievements and accomplishments in both the education and the corporate worlds have seen her receive regular invitations to give keynote addresses in various conferences as well as gatherings. She has also received several awards and recognitions for her efforts and achievements alike; due to here public image and style, she has travelled to various parts of the world to spread her efforts to influence people and spread her values and the ideals that she stands for. Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Her recent achievements include being the first woman to be appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Development Program; this was in the year 2005 and in the year 2007 she was recognized by the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute for her efforts and achievements. In the same year, she managed to achieve another milestone at the World Economic Forum whereby she was named as a Young Global Leader. In view of all of her accomplishments, then it is very easy to conclude that Muna did deserve her awards and the recognition that she was given because she has influenced the lives of many people all over the world. Her success in the corporate world is also a key indicator of her achievements; she has even managed to successfully launch her own clothes fashion line. Muna describes her efforts as being geared towards bridging the gap between the Arab nations and the western world especially in the way that the women are treated in these nations. Women are perceived to be inferior to men and they are not seen as being fit to appear as public figures; by co-hosting a television show, Muna was able to fight this perception of the Arab women (Raelin, 2003). She has also spread her efforts by giving talks and various lectures in various Universities about the various misconceptions that are associated with the Arab women. Challenges and Conclusion It is very important to note that in spite of her achievements, Muna has faced several challenges especially in her personal life. She is currently a divorcee and a mother of two daughters; having undergone a divorce in a society that does not generally support divorces might have hampered her efforts at empowering women and her other achievements. However Muna was able to successfully overcome all these and has continued with her efforts and drive towards helping the commu nity and the change the perceptions that were associated with the Saudi women. It is clear that Muna AbuSulayman exhibits the characteristics of a true leader and her style of leadership is exhibited by her numerous achievements in an environment that can be described as having been far from being perfect (Book, 2000). References Book, E. W. (2000). Why the best man for the job is a woman. New York: HarperCollins.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Muna AbuSulayman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Carli, L. L., Eagly, A. H. (1999). Gender effects on influence and emergent leadership. In G. N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender work (pp. 203-222). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Raelin, J. (2003) Creating Leaderful Organizations. San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc. This essay on Muna AbuSulayman was written and submitted by user Cayden Watkins 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.

Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850 The issues related to slavery were still burning in the middle of the nineteenth century. The tension can be illustrated by the debate concerning the Compromise of 1850. It is possible to consider three viewpoints on the matter to see three major arguments which existed in the American society of that time. John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster and Henry Seward gave speeches that embody the three arguments.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Compromise of 1850 specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Calhoun was an advocate of slavery and criticized the compromise as he stressed that the newly created state, which was agricultural, had the right to adopt the effective ways which were used in other Southern states. The politician stressed that Southern states’ interests were often â€Å"sacrificed. however oppressive the effects† could be (Calhoun, 2010). Even though Webster was largely against proliferation of slavery, he also noted that it was logical for a new state to become a slavery state. Unlike Calhoun, the politician did not consider the interests of the North and the South, but he stressed that there was some legislation and acts which addressed the issue and there was no need in inventing new regulations (Webster, 2010). In contrast to the two arguments mentioned above, Seward appealed to the God’s law, he did not consider interests’ or laws of people. The politician stressed that â€Å"no climate† could justify slavery and all people were created equally free (Seward, n.d.). Thus, he claimed that new states had to be free from slavery due to the higher law. In my opinion, Seward’s argument is the most compelling as the politician articulated the ideas which were in the air at that time. He was brave (and persuasive) enough to reveal the wrongs of the American society. Clearly, his argument is the strongest as he appeals to the law of nature, the greater law. Reference List Calhoun, J.C. (2010). Proposal to preserve the Union. Web. Seward, W.H. (n.d.). William Henry Seward’s higher law speech. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Webster, D. (2010). Speech to the U.S. Senate in favor of the Compromise of 1850. Web.

Residency Requirements For Congress - Weird Details

Residency Requirements For Congress - Weird Details The residency requirements for Congress contain one of the most unusual quirks in American politics. And that is: You dont even have to live in a congressional district to be elected to serve in that House of Representatives seat. In fact, nearly two dozen members in the 435-member  House live outside of their congressional districts, according to published reports. How can that be? Is it a flaw in the residency requirements for Congress spelled out in the U.S. Constitution? Shouldnt representatives elected to a House seat actually live in the same district with the people who elected them, just like elected members of your local, state and federal government offices are required to live in the municipalities they represent? What the Constitution Says If you want to run for the House of Representatives, you must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least seven years and be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen,† according to the  Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.   And thats it. Theres nothing in there that requires a member of the House to live within his districts boundaries. Notably Few Hurdles The Constitution placed notably few hurdles between ordinary citizens and becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The founders wanted the House to be the legislative chamber closest to the people - the least restrictive on age, citizenship, and the only federal office at the time subject to frequent popular election, states the House Office of History, Art Archives. Members of the House are elected every two years, and generally, their re-election rate is very high. The Speaker of the House Doesnt Have to Be a Member Oddly enough, the Constitution doesnt even require the highest-ranking officer of the House  - the speaker  - to be a member. When Speaker John Boehner stepped down the from the post in 2015, several pundits made the case that the House should bring in an outsider, even a dynamic (some would say  bombastic) voice such as Donald Trump or former Speaker Newt Gingrich, to lead the disparate factions of the Republican Party.   Open to Merit of Every Description James Madison, writing in the Federalist Papers, stated: â€Å"Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this part of the federal government is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or old, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to any particular profession of religious faith.† Residency Requirements for Serving in the U.S. Senate The rules for serving in the U.S. Senate are a bit tighter in that they require members to live in the state they represent. U.S. senators are not elected by districts, though, and represent their entire state. Every state elects two people to serve in the Senate. The Constitution also requires members of the Senate to be at least 30 years old and a citizen of the United States for at least nine years. Legal Challenges and State Laws The U.S. Constitution does not address residency requirements for local elected officials or members of state legislatures. It leaves the matter up to the states themselves; most require elected municipal and legislative officials to live in the districts where they were elected. States cannot, however, enact laws requiring members of Congress to live in the districts they represent because state law cannot supersede the Constitution. In 1995,  for example, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that qualifications clauses were intended to preclude the states from exercising any [power over Congressional requirements] and, as a result, the Constitution fix[es] as exclusive the qualifications in the Constitution. At that time, 23 states had established term limits for their members of Congress; the Supreme Court decision made them null and void. Subsequently, federal courts struck down residency requirements in California  and Colorado. [This article was updated in September 2017 by Tom Murse.]

The UK National Curriculum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The UK National Curriculum - Essay Example For the essay to critically analyze the National Curriculum, it will try to elaborate why the curriculum was deemed necessary, examine the different negative and positive consequences related with the curriculum implementation since 1988. Outline of the UK National Curriculum According to National Curriculum Council (1991), the National Curriculum was adopted with the main purpose to standardize the content that is taught in State Schools. This was meant to enable assessment which consequently will enable the league table compilation. The league table details the statistics of assessment for each school. Moreover, league tables combined with the provision for a choice to parents in assigning schools for their children were created with the main intention for free market encouragement. This allowed parents to choose schools for their children based on the ability to teach the National Curriculum (National Curriculum Council (Great Britain) 1989). The UK National Curriculum was structu red in key stages and based on subjects. This covered the core subjects such as mathematics, English and science and the foundation subjects such as Geography, Art, Music, History, Technology and Physical Education. Moreover, the subjects were being studied from 5 to 16 years of age (Great Britain 1997). It was mandatory for each school to teach Religious Studies and other areas such as health, personal and social education. When and why the curriculum developed The department of science and education issued a consultation document that outlines the national curriculum. After consultation, the parliament passed the education reform act of 1988 which established the National Curriculum framework. The implementation of the curriculum commenced in 1989 and continued till mid 1990s (Walker & Soltis 2004). Great Britain (1999) points out that the first phase of the four key stages testing was finished in 1991. In addition, the school inspection responsibility was transferred from the ins pectors of her majesty and the inspection teams of the local authority in 1993 to inspection of independent teams. The new work was to be coordinated by the new depart of state. According to Wales (2001), the documentation of the National Curriculum outlines the two main aims for the development of the National Curriculum. The first aim was that the school curriculum should strive to give all pupils opportunities to learn and excel (Great Britain 1997). National Curriculum Council (Great Britain) elaborates the aim that the schools are entitled to develop commitment to, enjoyment and learning as a mode of stimulating and encouraging the best progress possible and the best pupil’s attainment. Moreover, the curriculum should build interests, strengths and experience of the pupils and develop to their capacity their confidence to enable the pupils learn and independently work in collaboration. The curriculum is also intended to equip the pupils with learning skills which are ess ential such as numeracy, literacy and information and communication technology and lastly to promote an inquisitive mind and capacity to rationally think (Duckett, Sixsmith & Kagan 2008). National Curriculum Council (Great Britain) (1991) points out that the school curriculum should help the pupil’s development of sense of identity through understanding and knowledge of the spiritual, social, moral and cultural heritages of the diverse society of

HR class wirtting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HR class wirtting - Essay Example Employee engagement leads to â€Å"better customer outcomes, employee retention and increased productivity and these are what every organization needs in order to thrive† (Hein, 2014). Employers should focus on the recency, frequency, duration, virality and ratings to be able to understand and analyze their engagement levels. Some of the tips in improving employee engagement include finding out what motivates the employees; setting goals and sharing organizational vision; constructing feedback on a regular basis; hiring the right managers; setting clear expectations; empowering employees; and gamification among others (Hein, 2014). Gamification is one of the useful tools used in an organization and it has many key metrics including employee engagement. It is one of the most effective ways to motivate employees thereby leading to greater satisfaction and higher productivity and performance in an organization (Hein, 2014). Generally, employee engagement is considered one of the most important and effective strategies to increase worker’s performance and productivity in an organization. It is one of the approaches designed at the workplace to ensure that all employees are committed to the organization’s goals and values. Notably, being committed to the organizational goals enables employees to enhance organization’s success and well-being. Engagement is a two-way relationship between the employer and employees. That is, engagement involves what employees think and feel about their employers, their emotional connection and their actions and perceptions of their colleagues and clients. Those organizations that consider employee engagement have strong established values, trust and fairness and mutual respect among members and the needs of every employee is understood and fulfilled accordingly. Employee engagement is the extent to which employees are motivated to contribute to organiza tional success

Positive Organizational Scholarship Essay Example for Free

Positive Organizational Scholarship Essay Positive organizational scholarship is an emerging discipline in organizational behavior and is about positivity in organization. The need for it emerged to bridge the gap between moral and rational objectives. It is not a new science, it is the new way of looking at things, it’s like you have just changed your glasses. In today’s world, society is facing extremely tough challenges in the form of global warming, natural disasters, economic recession, unprecedented homelessness, terrorism and the draining continuation of war. So at this moment of extreme negative happenings and uncertainty, what is needed to be emphasized and brought up is positive. With all this sadness and horror, where in the world does a science based on testing happiness, wellbeing, personal growth and ‘the good life’ ? t into the modern-day agenda? So, Positive psychology; is the study of topics such as happiness, optimism, personal growth and subjective well being. It promotes the factors that allow the groups and communities to thrive or flourish. At the current stage in this world of negativity, positive psychology focuses on positive experiences at three time points a) past centering contentment; b) present focusing current happiness c) future including optimism and hope. We should know that what a good life is ? Aristotle and Plato used to believe that when people carried out a virtuous life they would become authentically happy. The happiness are of two types in positive psychology according to Seligman, one is hedonic happiness which is high level of positive affect and low levels of negative effect, in addition to high subjective life satisfaction. See more: how to start a scholarship essay Other is eudemonic wellbeing which focuses more on creation of meaning and purpose in life. (Hefferon Boniwell, 2011) A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The model of Seligman of Positive psychology is divided into three parts: The pleasurable life, the good life, and the meaningful life. The pleasurable life is about things like shopping, eating, drugging, meaningless sex, etc. The research is finding that having more pleasures does not increase life satisfaction. The good life as defined by Seligman is about understanding and using ones core strengths/virtues in work and love and play. He, in conjunction with Chris Peterson, developed a VIA Signature Strengths Survey found that Having a life of high absorption does correlate to life satisfaction measures according to Seligman. Lastly, the meaningful life is when a person uses his/her strengths for the purpose of something larger than him/herself. Choosing to live a life of faith, purpose, meaning, correlates to life satisfaction measures. Marty also sees this aspect of his model directly related to Positive Institutions—those organizations that promote positive character development and/or meaning. Hes mostly focused on non-profits and religious organizations but others are applying it to for-profit organizations. (Seligman Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) An approach that is positive to selection, development, and management of human resources in organizations has been emphasized by both scholars and professionals over the years. A wide variety of positively oriented high-performance work practices in placement, compensation, and motivation and their underlying strategies, structures, and cultures have also been extensively studied and supported for their contributions to organizational performance and competitiveness. Research and consulting by the Gallup Organization also supports the importance of positive, strength-based organizational cultures and human resource practices . (Buckingham Clifton, 2001). For example, factors such as effective selection and placement practices that capitalize on employees’ talents, clear and aligned goals and expectations, social support and recognition, and opportunities for growth, development, and self actualization have been found to significantly contribute to employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and ultimately organizational profitability and growth(Harter, Schmidt, Keynes, 2003) On the academic side, the positive organizational scholarship or POS movement has been instrumental in providing macro-level scholars with a conceptual framework for organizing and integrating their research on positive organizations (Cameron et al. , 2003). Positive refers to the elevating processes and outcomes in organizations. Organizational refers to the interpersonal and structural dynamics activated in and through organizations, specifically taking into account the context in which positive phenomena occur. Scholarship refers to the scientific, theoretically derived, and rigorous investigation of that which is positive in organizational setting. (KIM S. CAMERON CAZA, 2004). Positive organizational scholarship (POS) is considered an alternative approach to studying organizations; it is argued that POS plays a critical theory role in contemporary organizational scholarship. By using essays on critical theory in organizational science to consider POS research, and drawing from the principles of Gestalt psychology, it is argued that the important distinctions between POS and traditional organizational scholarship lie in POSs emphasis on positive processes, on value transparency, and on extending the range of what constitutes a positive organizational outcome. In doing so, it is concluded that the primary contribution of POS is that it offers an alternative to the deficit model that shapes the design and conduct of organizational research. (Caza. Caza. , 2008) There are several reasons that exist for the neglect of positive phenomena in organizational science. They include a) Lack of valid and reliable measuring devices b) the association of positivity with uncritical science c) the fact that negative events have greater impact on people than positive events(Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, Vohs, 2001) The first reason for the neglect towards POS concerning measurement and instrumentation, most positively focused at work up to now has been at the psychological level. For example only surveys had been used up till now for finding out anything related to it. Most scholarly work in POS has been conceptual and definitional rather than empirical. Little empirical work has been published. (Cameron, Dutton, Quinn, 2003). The article by Losada and Heaphy uses a model to estimate team effectiveness. Communication patterns in 60 top management teams were observed and coded in day long strategic planning sessions. The ratio of positive to negative communication was ranging among high, medium and low performing teams. Positive teams performed significantly better Similarly Cameron, Bright and Caza’s study in which they surveyed organizations across a number of industry types, and eventually they found out that the organizations scoring higher on virtuousness had a better performance than the other ones. The second reason to the neglect towards POS is that the topics related to it have sometimes been associated with non scholarly prescriptions. Hope and optimism for example have been interpreted as wishful thinking. POS uses the word scholarship to identify its scientific and theoretical foundations. It is committed to documenting, measuring, and explaining usually positive human experiences in organizations. The third reason for the dearth of POS illustrated by Baumeisteret et al’s concluded that the events that are negative for example losing money or receiving criticism will always have a greater impact on the individual than the positive events such as winning money or receiving praise. Many good events can overcome the psychological effects of a single bad one. In case the numbers of good and bad events are equal then the psychological effects of bad ones always outweigh the good ones. This tells us that the neglect of problems and challenges might threaten the survival of individual. And the neglect of positive might only result into regret or disappointment. (KIM S.  CAMERON CAZA, 2004) Identifying the factors that lead to joy and happiness, hope and faith, and what makes life worth living represents a shift from reparative psychology to a psychology of positive experience. Similarly, Positive organizational scholarship examines the positive side of organizational performance. It investigates positive deviance, or the ways in which organizations and their members flourish and prosper in especially humane and extraordinary ways. It investigates virtuous elements in organizations such as compassion, forgiveness, dignity, respectful encounters, optimism and positive effect, integrity, and wisdom. This emphasis parallels a new movement in psychology that is shifting from the traditional focus on illness and pathology (e. g.  , deviancy, abnormality, and therapy) toward a positive psychology that focuses on human strengths and virtues. (Dinnah Pladott, 2003) Pos is concerned with understanding the integration of positive and negative conditions. Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) and Positive Psychology are focused on understanding the conditions and processes that explain flourishing. What differentiates POS is an explicit interest in understanding and explaining flourishing in organizational contexts (including individuals, groups, units and whole organizations). Flourishing refers to being in an optimal range of human functioning and is indicated at the individual level by goodness, generatively, growth and resilience. At  the collective level of groups and organizations, flourishing may be indicated by creativity, innovation, growth, resilience, thriving virtuousness or other markers that a collective is healthy and is performing in an â€Å"above normal† or positively deviant range. POS also focuses on the development of individual, group and collective strengths that represent forms of individual and collective excellence. POS unites existing domains of organizational inquiry focused on flourishing. This includes work on flourishing indicators such as creativity, engagement, flow, growth, health and well-being, as well as contributors to flourishing that consider features of the organization, group and job contexts.