Contracts and Change Orders in a Small Business :: business, contracts, customers,

I began to use change orders in business because customers always want more than they have paid for, and the longer you work with a customer the more they feel entitled to free services. A change order takes place after an original contract has been signed by both parties, and additional work is required. A change order is most often used in construction and service trades when more work must be performed than originally agreed to, because conditions arise that were not originally known to either party. A change order does not nullify the original contract, on the contrary, it adds to the original scope of work and cost of the project. I knew a contractor who owned a motor yacht with a small dinghy attached. The dinghy was named Original Contract, and the yacht was named Change Order. I started a business named AAA Computer Repair. Unaware of what services the customers would require, an hourly rate was charged that began when I arrived at the place of service, with a minimum of one hour for a service call. The charges per hour did not vary at all, for all services provided, including installing software, fixing hardware, or software training. Most service calls required less than one hour of time and customers were willing to pay for the one hour rate of service without any questions or disputes. However, I began to develop long term relationships with many of the clients, especially if they required software training. A decision was made to design a software training package, which would allow for a more manageable hourly rate and defined what was included in an eight hour training package. The more time spent with each client, the more work was acquired for their businesses, home offices, and preparing computers for college. A general contract was creat ed for seven services provided, after speaking with a lawyer to make sure the contract would be legally enforceable. "A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties to perform or avoid performing, certain acts that they have a legal right to do and meet certain legal requirements (pg. 79)." The description of the services performed the cost of the specific service, the hours involved, and a place for all parties to sign and date.

Hewlett-Packard Under Carly Fiorina, and After Her Essay

1) How do you judge the quality of a product, whether a computer or something else? Is it mostly by price? Discuss your perception of price and quality as well as any ramifications. The quality of a product depends how well it was made and how well the product works to meet expectations. Price can be a determinate of quality, but this is not always true. A product may be cheaper and still be of good quality if the company has figured out a way to reduce overhead cost which helps determine price. I normally base my buying decisions off of quality and price. Many companies cut cost to make their products cheaper so their sales will increase, but lowering cost is not always a good plan. The companies that cut prices normally fall behind because the companies that have better quality products get ahead in the long run. 2) â€Å"Tradition has no place in corporate thinking today.† Discuss this statement. Many companies stay active by practicing tradition (ex. Starbucks employee treatment). Though tradition is an important aspect of many companies, tradition can hinder companies’ growth over time and the need for innovation can be faulted. I think tradition can be kept within a company and the company still be successful, but traditions gradually change to keep the company’s original objective alive. Depending on the company and the company’s objective determines whether tradition can be incorporated or not. 3) Giant organizations are often plagued with cumbersome bureaucracies. Discuss how this tendency could be prevented as an organization grows to large size over many years. Bureaucracy can limit the growth and innovation of a company. The leaders/management of a company need to be able to promote change and motivate others throughout the organization. Bureaucracy starts to form between different levels of an organization and can cause decision making processes to become slower, such as the case with Carly. A company may try decentralizing and delegating jobs to different parts of the organization. Though decentralization and delegations can be problematic for companies, it can also speed up processes and be less costly to the organization. Having strong leadership within each department can deter any fraudulent or selfish acts and allow for a more successful business with less bureaucracy. 4) Playing a devil’s advocate, present the case against the Compaq merger. Some risks were present in the potential merger of HP and Compaq. How would the merger take place? Would the merger affect the overall  structure and business plan of HP? Was PC growth the future of HP and would this venture help HP become and stay profitable? How long would the merger take? Would this merger be cost effective or would it be more costly to overtake Compaq? Would loyal customers to each brand stay around throughout the merger or would the customers switch their brand loyalty? All of these questions are potential arguments and reasons why HP should not complete the merger with Compaq. In the end the merger was a good decision for HP even though it took a while for the company to get where forecasters projected. 5) â€Å"HP is gouging the consumer in charging such high prices for its ink refill cartridges. Sure, it’s a high profit item, but such profits cross the line and are obscene.† Discuss. HP’s printer and ink business had high profits to help keep its other products stay in production. Though ink refills was HP’s sweet spot in the market, HP would probably not hold out in the long run and would eventually need to venture into other types of markets with a strong presence to stay afloat. Just because HP was successful in the ink cartridge market in the beginning did not mean the company would remain that way, especially with the other competition in the technology market. 6) Do you think the 17,000 jobs lost in the merger was laudatory, or should it be condemned? What would swing your opinion? Cost cutting is to be expected when mergers or reorganization occurs in a company. Even though 17,000 is a large number of job losses it might have been warranted. When merging the company there were many duplicate jobs and departments. With so many duplicate positions it can be hard to manage a successful company. These duplications can cause excessive amount of costs that aren’t warranted. The job cutting in the case of HP seemed to be necessary but have been a bit excessive in some instances. 7) Why do you think Hurd’s efforts were so successful and so quickly accomplished? Support your conclusions as persuasively as you can. Hurd’s success came after the merger was already completed. He took advantage of what was already completed and made the other necessary changes to finish making the company successful. His strategic marketing and application of more costs cutting techniques helped the company reach Carly’s projected goals. Both Hurd and Carly should receive credit for making HP the company it is today since the merger. 8) Why do you think Dell lagged so far behind HP in tapping into retail markets? Dell was succeeding in the business market and staying very  profitable. They probably focused all of their attention on this market instead of targeting both markets (business and retail). Since Dell used a low price strategy, the company remained one of the top companies in the market and did not need to worry about expanding and incurring more costs. None of the companies expected the overseas companies to start producing and marketing in the United States thus increasing competition in the technology market. Because Dell focused on low prices and the business market, the invasive competition made them start expanding to the retail market which increased costs and prices of their products. This increase and change took time and affected the company’s profits. I think this is why it took so long for Dell to enter the retail market.

Essay on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - 1713 Words

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is written from the point of view of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a French journalist and former editor-in-chief of ELLE magazine, in Paris. Bauby suffered a severe stroke on December 8, 2005, leaving him with a rare condition known as locked-in syndrome, in which the brain continues to function normally, but the body is completely paralyzed. Jean-Do retained some movement in his head and left eye, and wrote his memoir through a tedious method of blinking. An interlocutor would read aloud a special alphabet, ordered by their frequency of use in French language, and Bauby would blink whenever the person reached the correct letter (Wikipedia). Through this method, the reader is offered a glimpse into the mind†¦show more content†¦Jean goes on to share his experiences at the hospital, explaining his life on a day-to-day basis. He talks about his different doctors and therapists, the tortures that come with an inability to move, and what itâ€℠¢s like to be bathed, dressed, and fed. His right eye is eventually sewn up, as the eyelid no longer functioned. Bauby describes the communication code he sets up with his speech therapist, Sandrine, in which she recites the alphabet and he blinks when she calls the right letter. Friends and family sometimes visit Jean-Do. He recounts a day he spent with his children and their mother, on the beach, for father’s day, among other visits. Bauby also reminisce about his life before the stroke, recalling his early days as a journalist, shaving his father, a pilgrimage he once took with his lover, and, finally, the day of his stroke. At the end of the book, Bauby sees the contents of a half-open purse on a nearby table, a hotel room key, a metro ticket, and a hundred-franc note, and realizes that these ordinary objects have become alien to him: remnants of a way of life he has become a stranger to. This forces Bauby to realize that he is beginning a new life, and must acknow ledge this in order to move ahead. This differs from the beginning of the book, in which he only displays a longing for life to return to how it was before the stroke. It is not until he truly accepts his condition that Bauby’s mind is able to soar like aShow MoreRelatedThe Diving Bell And The Butterfly1334 Words   |  6 PagesPapillon Gratuit Question #1: Analyze a film A caterpillar is kept captive inside a chrysalis for months or even up to two years (â€Å"Butterfly Life Cycle†). Jean-Dominique Bauby was held captive in his chrysalis, but that did not stop him in becoming his own butterfly. The 2007 French film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was directed by Julian Schnabel. This film is about a forty-three-year-old man, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was the editor of Elle Magazine. He was valuable to the fashion worldRead MoreThe Diving Bell And The Butterfly1131 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) produced by critically acclaimed director Julian Schnabel, and Still Alice (2015) by directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, mental disorders are given life through the cinema. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a true story of a patient, affectionately called Jean-Do, who has â€Å"locked-in syndrome† that paralyzes almost his whole body except his left eye. Despite this major disability, he mana ges to write a book while he is hospitalized. In StillRead MoreThe Diving Bell And The Butterfly1277 Words   |  6 Pagesyears (â€Å"Butterfly Life Cycle†). The 2007 French film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was directed by Julian Schnabel. This film is about a forty-three year old man, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was the editor for Elle Magazine. He was valuable to the fashion world. He has reached the top of his career and had a publishing contract to write his book on a 19th century tale, until one day he found himself waking up on a hospital bed in Berck-Su-Mer Hospital (â€Å"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Synopsis†)Read MoreThe Diving Bell And The Butterfly1374 Words   |  6 Pagesor are recovering from incidences, remain hopeful and realistic by utilizing their support system, understanding that progress cannot occur overnight, and by reveling in the small accomplishments which are motivating. In the book, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, initially we see Jean-Dominique pitying himself and remember what was. The part where he expressed that he wished to die to his speech therapist while she was teaching him the new form of communication, shows the exact way he was stuntingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Diving Bell And The Butterfly1151 Words   |  5 PagesThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a film about Jean-Dominique Bauby who was the editor-in-chief of French fashion bible Elle magazine. At the age of 43 he suffered from a devastating stroke while driving to the theater with his son. He started having complications breathing and pronouncing words to his son realizing he needed to stop on the side of the road, where his son runs out of the car looking for help. Jean-Do lapsed into a coma awaking 20 days later learning that he has locked-in syndromeRead MoreEssay on A Day in the lLife of Jean-Dominique Bauby703 Words   |  3 PagesEventually over time Bauby had mastered this technique so well to the point that he could create o ne word in under three minutes. In spite of the difficulties Bauby had to endure he ended up writing a 140 page autobiography called â€Å"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly†. In his autobiography Bauby described what his life was like before and after he had the stroke and reflected on his personal experience of what it was like to become a victim of locked-in syndrome. On March 7th, 1997 Bauby’s autobiographyRead MoreThankful Breath612 Words   |  3 PagesThankful Breath Through this story, the author portrays what everyone goes through in life; life is like a hail of arrows (impact of the giant diving bell) that you continuously maneuver through with an open mind (mind takes flight like a butterfly). This story is about a person going through â€Å"locked-in syndrome† which is paralysis from head to toe after resuscitation from a brain stem accident and despite all of that, they are still able to see the brighter side in life. Day in and day out, peopleRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1129 Words   |  5 Pagesof Frederick Douglass â€Å"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.† Being illiterate has a major impact on an individual and their ability to be motivated. Jean Bauby wrote in his book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, â€Å"My diving bell becomes less oppressive and my mind takes flight like a butterfly.† Without books an individual is contained. With books an individual is more likely to be motivated to live a healthier life mentally and physically. The gift to read and write helps us build onRead MoreEssay about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind1561 Words   |  7 Pageson the frozen Charles River, Joel is diminished, and his view of himself and his place in the world is regressed. Positive memories have the same affect as negative memories on reality, best exemplified in Jean-Dominque Bauby’s The Diving-bell and the Butterfly; Bauby’s reality was influenced by his experiences before his â€Å"massive stroke†, his reality of life was based on his memories of his children, his work, his travels and his relationships. In Eternal Sunshine Joel’s positive memories ofRead MorePersonal Essay1612 Words   |  7 Pagesfilm The Diving Bell and the Butterfly which resonates with me: â€Å"Were all children, we all need approval.† This quote shows that we are driven by similar hopes, emotions, and experiences and we can come together to achieve great things. This perspective has allowed me to connect with classmates, strangers, and family in my experiences as the school’s Social Services prefect, as a volunteer at North York General Hospital, and as a granddaughter in a large family. The Diving Bell the Butterfly