Budgetary Process Essay Example for Free

Budgetary Process Essay â€Å"Identify and describe the key features that a budgetary process should achieve to achieve managerial goal congruent behaviour. However if budgets are over emphasised myopic behaviour may be observed where a manager (or groups of managers) takes action(s) that improve budgetary performance in the short term but may cause long term harm to the organisation† Discuss. A budget is a short term, often one year, business plan, usually expressed in financial terms (Atrill, Mclaney, 2011, p.314). There are three broad functions of budgeting, these are: quantification of plans, help in financial planning, and monitoring and controlling scarce resources through performance measurements. Throughout this essay I shall be discussing these three areas, breaking them down into seven more specific features of budgeting. Furthermore I shall discuss how myopic behaviour can cause long term harm to an organisation. Goal congruence means developing and maintaining the various activities within the enterprise in proper relationship to each other (Welsch, Hilton, gordan, 1988 p.50). From a managerial point of view this is better explained by making sure they are aware of the different goals set by multiply departments within the organisation; as well as making sure their own goals are in line with the organisations overall plans. There are seven key features that a budgetary process should achieve in order to achieve managerial goal congruent behaviour. The first key feature is authorization, this makes managers accountable for their actions/spending and helps prevent fraud in an organisation (Atrill, McLaney, 2011). For an organisation it is important to make the right choice between a centralised control of the budget, where the organisations overall aspirations are at the heart of any decision making, or to delegate the responsibility to subordinates who will have a better understanding of their local environment. Usually a mixture of centralised and delegated control is chosen, giving some responsibility to subordinates to maintain motivated (Berry, Broadbent, Otley, 2005 p.108). Goal congruence is best achieved by using authorization in the budgetary process to keep Managers / Subordinates clear on what is expected of them from a financial point of view. The next four functions come into effect when planning a budget. Forecasting is critical in preparing an organisation for what is to come in the future, â€Å"looking ahead must be better than moving forward with eyes closed† (Garrett, 2010). It involves calculating many variables in order to predict future economic conditions as well as how governments and competitors will behave. On top of this, the company needs to forecast how the relationship between price and demand will change. Planning links in closely with forecasting as both use secondary data to help organisations determine what to do next. Drury (2004) states that managers are encouraged to plan whilst preparing the budget so that they can consider what changes may occur and how they can respond. An organisation needs to plan out how they are going to treat upcoming circumstances, for example seasonal changes, trends in the market and the likely hood of the company incurring growth or decline. A combination of forecasting and planning enables managers to remain goal congruent as they are aware of what is expected from them and what is expected to happen to the market or organisation in the future. This allows them to have a better understanding of how they are going to achieve their goals and helps keep them focused and in line with the organisation. Berry, Broadbent, Otley, (2005) states the budgetary process provides, in different ways, a focus for forecasting and planning, whilst serving as a channel for communication and coordination. Communication is a critical part of the budgetary process as it is vitally important that each area of the organisation is given a budget that is relevant to the overall goals of the organisation as well as to their specific needs. It is extremely difficult to keep every area of the business content with the budgetary targets and goals set. Individual areas in a business will be competing with each other when relating to funding, resources etc. Goal congruence is achieved through communication by making sure communication is efficient between the different hierarchical levels and between each department. Most organisations form a budgetary committee which includes the senior management that are responsible for designing the strategy; they also receive the initial budgets from each functional man ager (Weetman, 2010, p.319). This will enable swift and clear transparent communication when negotiating the budget, resulting in the best possible budget for each area of the business, whilst achieving the organisations overall aspirations. The final feature of a budget that comes into effect during the planning stage is control / coordination. I have touched upon coordination in the budget process whilst talking about communication as there cannot be effective control/coordination without effective communication and vice versa. Control is critical in planning budgets, as it is important to make sure each area of the business is accountable for its actions, as well as being able to link the budget/targets for each area together to compensate for possible weaknesses in the organisation. Such weaknesses arise when one area of the organisation is relying on another area that cannot commit to what is needed (Weetman, 2010, p.325). Having coordinated budgets allows superiors in the organisation to realise where there are weaknesses early on and counteract the negative effect. An example of this would be out sourcing if the work load for one area of the business is more than it can handle. Budgetary control is often implement ed through cost centres or profit centres. Profit centres allow centralised responsible for revenue, expenses and profit. Whereas a cost centre enables responsibility for mainly costs (expenses) (Welsch, Hilton and gordan, 1988 p.597). These again support goal congruence as the business as a whole is able to see how each specific sections of the organisation is financially performing and whether or not they are helping to achieve the company’s aspirations. Motivation and evaluation are features of budgets that come into effect once the budgets are active. Motivation in budgeting can make or break how goal congruent managers are as motivation in budgeting is an extremely tricky procedure. It has been proven that budgetary targets can indeed improve staff motivation. However too soft a target will make it too easy for staff to achieve and therefore staff performance may fall, whereas setting targets that are deemed unachievable are also likely to decrease performance. Geert (1968) reached the conclusion that provided the budget does not exceed the highest target acceptable to an individual; the results will increase in line with increasing difficulty. A budget allows organisation to set targets and goals that are then compared with actual performance and evaluated. When using budgets (that have been used for motivational purposes) for evaluation, managers need to be careful not to look on small deviations to harshly. A motivational budget is harder to achieve as it is there to improve performance and efficiency in the organisation (Drury, 2004, p.595). Managers should remember that the budget is financially based and evaluating areas such as innovation, corporate social responsibility, staff moral and customer satisfaction are also important to the organisation when evaluating good performance. â€Å"In the context of dynamic demand analysis, habit formation is defined to be â€Å"myopic† when in each period the individual takes into account his consumption history but does not recognise the impact of his present consumption decisions on his future tastes,† (Pashardes 1986).Myopic behaviour is where individuals, organisations or managers focus solely on the short term. In an accounting context this can be extremely detrimental to an organisation’s long term goals, as managers are more focused on achieving their short term budgetary plans than looking at the company’s overall targets. A myopic mind can bring many problems to an organisation’s none financial goals. If managers are too focused on ach ieving there budgetary targets it can stifle the creativity and risk taking culture of the organisation (CIMA, ICAEW, 2004). This intern can have dramatic long term effects on an organisation’s creativity and entrepreneurial ability, as it is critical for them to move forward and develop as an organisation. A prime example of this can be seen with the demise of Woolworths, â€Å"history might have been different had woolworths not clung to its time-served ‘pic and mix’ business model† (Boje, Burnes and Hassard, 2012, p.332). In the retail industry it should be critical for managers to remain focused on keeping their store modern. It is proven that modernised stores can set higher prices, leading to larger profits, due to a higher net value added (Hemashree, 2008). Clearly Woolworth lack of enthusiasm towards modernising their stores and being too focused on cutting costs lead to a negative operating environment, hindering their chance of survival. A myopic approach to budgetary goals leads to a concentration on cost reduction and not value creation for managers. For any retailer like Woolworths, managers know that staff take up a huge amount of the companies costs. In the short term it becomes increasingly tempting for managers to enforce staff redundancies to help achieve those targets set by superiors (Berry, Broadbent, Otley, 2005). The actions of cost cutting by retail managers including Woolworths, for example reducing staff during seasonal change (e.g. after Christmas), would cause long term costs to the organisation. Instead of paying high costs due to seasonal staff redundancies and staff training, organisations could reduce staff hours during low points in trading then increase staff hours in line with increasing sales. As well as hindering the organisations ability to think of new ideas, the budgetary process can also have an effect on future development that is already in the pipeline. New projects are often put on hold by organisations which become more worried about meeting financial targets, than trying to expand the company and launch into new markets or create new products. IBM’s budgetary process became so long during the 1970’s that it took 18 months to complete their ‘annual’ planning cycle (Hope, Fraser, 2003, p.7). IBM’s management were affected by another budg etary related issue; becoming excessively inward focused to the point where they were unaware of competitor’s behaviour. Due to their high planning cost this lead them to be unable to, and lacking the agility and ability, to counteract (CIMA, ICAEW, 2004). Whilst competitors like Apple were becoming innovated and pushing through their new ideas involving personal computers, IBM were too busy focused on how they, as market leaders, were going to launch the next big thing. IBM misread the personal computer revolution and was unable to react to lower cost advanced computers created by competitors (Hope, Fraser, 2003). â€Å"Keeping an eye on the potential risks and changes in the operating environment is essential – as one delegate noted, budgeting may provide you with a map but if you drive with your eyes closed, you will crash anyway,† (CIMA, ICAEW, 2004). There are many methods or remedies that IBM and Woolworths could off used to prevent the budgetary problems associated with myopic behaviour. Beyond-budgeting is a modernised version of the traditional budgeting process that allows botto m up empowerment. This seems to be the best way for organisations to adjust to the fast changing world of the information age (Hope and Fraser, 2003). IBM were affected by being inward focused and unaware of competitors actions. If IBM had been aware of the new beyond-budgeting process they would have been setting their goals in relation to beating their competitors and not the budget (principle 7) (de Waal, 2005). This would of kept them market focused and enabled them to react faster to their competitors actions instead of misreading the market. Driver based planning and budgeting would of, again benefited IBM by helping to shorten their ‘annual’ budgetary process. Incorporating operational drivers would have meant IBM could reforecast on request and would have been agile enough to adapt to uncertain trading conditions (Barrett, 2005). This process as well as enforcing beyond-budgeting principles could off shortened the planning process involving three thousand people that IBM had in place. Woolworth main problem, like many organisations suffering from managerial myopic behaviour, was a lack of innovation. They became too focused with cost cutting practices, trying to achieving budgetary goals. â€Å"Everybody has a sandpit to play in. my sandpit financially is my control plan, If I stay within it, I’m free to play† (Marginson, Ogden, 2005). Keeping innovated and flexible is critical to achieve the organisations long term goals as well as meet short term budgetary targets. In conclusion, traditional budgets are seen as being incapable of meeting the demands of the competitive environment and are criticized for impeding efficient resource allocation and encouraging dysfunctional behaviour such as myopic decisions (deWaal, Hermskens-Janssen, Van de Ven, 2011). I have demonstated how individual beyond budgeting principles can add to traditional budgeting to support organisations, using examples of IBM and Woolworths to demonstrate. De Waal (2005) states that research shows the more beyond-budgeting principles an organisation implements, the better it performs. A combination of budgeting and beyond-budgeting principles allows managers to balance the inherent rigidity of their budgets with the more organic processes of innovation. (Marginson, Ogden, 2005). Using the key principles of beyond budgeting enables managers to focus on achieving long term goals, in line with the organisation’s overall objectives, as well as helping to speed up and modernise the traditional budgetary process. It is however important to remember that the features of a traditional budget are extremely important to most organisations. â€Å"Budgeting provides an overall framework of control without which it would be impossible to manage,† (CIMA, ICAEW, 2004). References Atrill, P., Mclaney, E., 2011. Accouting and Finance for non specialists. 7th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Barrett, R., 2005. Budgeting and Reforcasting, Financial Management. Berry, A. J., Broadbent, J., Otley, D., 2005. Management Control. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Boje, D., Burnes, B., Hassard, J., 2012. The Routledge Companion to Organisational Change. Oxon: Routledge. CIMA., ICAEW., 2004. Better Budgeting. London: Silverdart Ltd. de Waal, A., 2005. Insights from Practice is your Organisation ready for Beyond-Budgeting?, Measuring Business Excellence. Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 9 (2) (November) pp. 56-67. de Waal, A., Hermkens-Janssen. M., Van de Ven, A., 2011. The Evolution Adoption Framework. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Drury, C., 2004. Management and Cost Accounting. 6th ed. London: Thomas Learning. Garrett, K., 2010. Budgeting. ACCA. Geert, H., Hofstede., 1968. The Game of Budget Control. London: Tavistock Publication. Hemashree, A., 2008. A Study on Working of Modern and Traditional Retail Outlets. Dharwad: University of agricultural sciences. Hope, J., Fraser, R., 2003. Beyond Budgeting. United States: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Marginson, D., Ogden, S., 2005. Budgeting and Innovation, Financial Management. Pashardes, P., 1986. Myopic and Forward Looking Behaviour in a Dynamic Demand System, International Economic Review. Wiley, 27 (2) (June), pp.387-397. Weetman, P., 2010. Management Accounting .2nd ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Welsch, G. A., Hilton, R. W., Gordan, P. N., 1988. Budgeting Profit, Planning and Control. 5th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Comparing and Contrasting Self-Awareness in the Works of Emerson, Whitm

Defining Self-Awareness in the works of Emerson, Whitman and Poe Literature in the American Renaissance influenced the Romantic sentiment that prevailed during this period: the emergence of the individual. This materialization evolved out of the Age of Reason, when the question of using reason (a conscious state) or faith (an unconscious state) as a basis for establishing a set of beliefs divided people into secular and non-secular groups. Reacting to the generally submissive attitudes predominant in America at this time, nineteenth century writers envisioned "the source of religion within consciousness itself" (Chai, 10). This "secularization of religion" ultimately led to the "isolation of the self from others" (Chai, 10), and manifested the persuasive theme in Renaissance literature that promoted independent thinking. The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman all emanate from this Romantic spirit. "Trust thyself" asserts Emerson, do not remain "clapped in jail by [your] consciousness" (261), be "led [out] in triumph by nature" (542). Merging the individual and nature is a common motif in Romanticism, but these writers had contrasting views on the dynamics of this connection. While Emerson and Whitman were on one end of the Romantic meter proclaiming the potential greatness of the individual, Poe was at the other end questioning human nature. Indeed, the literature these authors produced are relative to the Romantic trend in elevating self-awareness, however their work demonstrates Emerson and Whitman differ with Poe regarding the ascendancy of the conscious and unconscious states of the mind. Emerson and Whitman celebrated the conscious power of the individual, while Poe exposed the hidde... ... "Being Odd, Getting Even." The American Face of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Shawn Rosenheim and Stephen Rachman. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1995. 3-36. Chai, Leon. The Romantic Foundations of the American Renaissance. Ithaka: Cornell University Press, 1987. Coleridge, Samuel. The Portable Coleridge. Ed. I. A. Richards. New York: Penguin Books, 1950. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays and Lectures. Comp. Joel Porte. New York: Literary Classics, 1983. Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Poe, Edgar Allan. The Philosophy of Composition. Lauter 1529-37. Waggoner, Hyatt H. American Poets: From the Puritans to the Present. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1984. Whitman, Walt. Preface to Leaves of Grass. Lauter 2729-43. ---. Song of Myself. Lauter 2743-94. Â   Comparing and Contrasting Self-Awareness in the Works of Emerson, Whitm Defining Self-Awareness in the works of Emerson, Whitman and Poe Literature in the American Renaissance influenced the Romantic sentiment that prevailed during this period: the emergence of the individual. This materialization evolved out of the Age of Reason, when the question of using reason (a conscious state) or faith (an unconscious state) as a basis for establishing a set of beliefs divided people into secular and non-secular groups. Reacting to the generally submissive attitudes predominant in America at this time, nineteenth century writers envisioned "the source of religion within consciousness itself" (Chai, 10). This "secularization of religion" ultimately led to the "isolation of the self from others" (Chai, 10), and manifested the persuasive theme in Renaissance literature that promoted independent thinking. The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman all emanate from this Romantic spirit. "Trust thyself" asserts Emerson, do not remain "clapped in jail by [your] consciousness" (261), be "led [out] in triumph by nature" (542). Merging the individual and nature is a common motif in Romanticism, but these writers had contrasting views on the dynamics of this connection. While Emerson and Whitman were on one end of the Romantic meter proclaiming the potential greatness of the individual, Poe was at the other end questioning human nature. Indeed, the literature these authors produced are relative to the Romantic trend in elevating self-awareness, however their work demonstrates Emerson and Whitman differ with Poe regarding the ascendancy of the conscious and unconscious states of the mind. Emerson and Whitman celebrated the conscious power of the individual, while Poe exposed the hidde... ... "Being Odd, Getting Even." The American Face of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Shawn Rosenheim and Stephen Rachman. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1995. 3-36. Chai, Leon. The Romantic Foundations of the American Renaissance. Ithaka: Cornell University Press, 1987. Coleridge, Samuel. The Portable Coleridge. Ed. I. A. Richards. New York: Penguin Books, 1950. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays and Lectures. Comp. Joel Porte. New York: Literary Classics, 1983. Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Poe, Edgar Allan. The Philosophy of Composition. Lauter 1529-37. Waggoner, Hyatt H. American Poets: From the Puritans to the Present. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1984. Whitman, Walt. Preface to Leaves of Grass. Lauter 2729-43. ---. Song of Myself. Lauter 2743-94. Â  

Martha Stewart’s Loss Reputation Essay

Martha Stewart is a well-known and respected woman who represents the successful women that made it on their own in today’s society. Not only is she a stock broker, but her fashion, style, good taste, TV show and her line of house wares is what got her the popular publicity among many. When allegations against Martha Stewart surfaced many questioned her ethical actions. Due to allegations her profit reduces and the MSO dropped. Martha Stewart’s main target consisted of women who were attracted by her charisma. Let’s face it Martha was good at what she did, and women wanted to be like her by purchasing her products. Martha’s customers trusted her products and believed in its purpose. When the accusations rose against Martha, many started to question her ethical actions and wondered if they knew the real Martha and what she stood for. As days passed Martha continued to take the highlight of top new, at the same time her revenue reduced tremendously. As the profits went down, investors were getting ready to pay less and less for the shares of MSO. After doing some research on MSO financial statement I realized that MSO revenue has rapidly increasing before her reputation was harmed. In 1999 MSO total revenue was $232,314 and in 2001 it was $295,627. You can defiantly see the increase in the numbers. Even though the economy and MSO competition I would assume that the revenue would keep on rising if Martha’s reputation weren’t harmed. According to MSO financial statements, even though the MSO total revenue dropped to $212,433 in 2005, but by 2007 it was already up to $327,890. Based on total revenue predictions I would assume that the same would happen with the stock price. If Martha’s reputation was not harmed the stock price would have kept on increasing. Regardless of legal actions, in my view Martha was ethically wrong. When the allegations first rose if Martha was innocent she should of came forward and defended herself. At the same time complying with police investigation would of helped with her reputation. To a person like Martha Stewart $45,673 would not have been a good motivation to break the law and most importantly damage her reputation. If she didn’t do anything wrong she could of donated that money to charity, which will show her well intentions. Martha also could of made a donation to a local community at need. Insider training is not only illegal but it’s also unethical. Everyone deserves a chance at fair opportunity to make investment decisions. Regardless of Martha Stewart’s actions I still believe she was unethical and her actions is what caused harm to her reputation. Texaco: The Ecuador Issue â€Å"Around 1964 Texaco Inc. started operating through a subsidiary company TexPet in the Amazon region of Ecuador† (Brooks & Dunn, 2010). TexPet was a minor owner of the project and its partner was Petroecudar. Petroecuador is a government owned oil company. Overtime thanks to TexPet’s operations Ecuador greatly benefited, however at the time no one saw the bigger picture and long-time damages. Not only did Ecuador receive â€Å"approximately 98 percent of all money generated† (Brooks & Dunn, 2010), but it also helped the economy by providing more then 2,800 job positions. At this time it looks like Texaco was ethically wrong. They were doing their business, which they were very successful at. At the same time they are able to help out country at need. For the short-term everyone seemed to be perfectly okay with Texaco doing oil business in Ecuador. But then what happened? Even though Texaco has pulled out of the consortium in 1992, three big lawsuits were filed against them. By 1998, the $40 million remediation project was completed, which included clear lands were replaced, contaminated soil was remediated, and producing water systems were modified. This right here shows that Texaco had some kind of moral and ethical consideration towards their actions. â€Å"In 1994, a cancer study released by the Centre for Economic and Social Rights in New York confirmed the health problems in the region† (Gillis, 2011). After reading this article written by Gills, I would say that Texaco was ethically wrong for what they did, and Ecuador had every right to sue them in United States. There had to be some kind of truth behind Texaco knowing what the possible negative effects were going to be, and someone has to stop the companies from unethical behavior. In situation where oil spills were caused by natural disaster the company should not be held liable. If there was a documented earthquake and Texaco could prove that the oil spill damages were cause by the earthquake then they should not be held responsible. Every company should have procedures in place to prevent from oil spills in case of natural disaster and try to control the action as much as possible. They way there is always a plan A, B and C in place. While the three lawsuits had significant points, I must say that Texaco’s argument showed evidence of concern. After all they did spend $40 million on remediation project. This act shows that they were concerned about the outcome of their actions. But was it already late for their generosity? Their actions did not match their concerns at all, which makes my point more valid that they acted unethically. Where Were the Accountants? Norm, is a graduate student who is about to apply to an accounting firm for a job when he notices few issues that are bugging him. After applying what he has learned and the rules and regulations of GAAP, Norm came to conclusion that the actions taken were unethical and wrong. Considering that he is second guessing himself about becoming a professional accountant I would remind him what he has learned, what his beliefs are, and what the rules and regulations were of GAAP. First of all I would make sure to point out to Norm that he is a great accountant already for noticing those issues. Maybe those mistakes were made on purpose but maybe they were done by error with a poor judgment. Norm’s knowledge is fresh and he has so much to offer to every accounting firm that they would be lucky to have him. Next to his brilliance are his morals, which I would remind him of. The fact that he notices something wrong in those articles is big. But what is even bigger is that he is willing to do something about it. Trust is very big when it coms to accountants and its clients. Norm needs to keep in mind that he needs to establish a relationship based on trust with his future clients. Last but not least I would remind Norm that the best he can do is at all the time follow the rules and regulations of GAAP. If he sticks to the rules and regulations he will not have to worry about being in same position as those articles were. Anyone can do the job, but not everyone can do the job the right way. With that being said I would remind Norm of all the curses we took together and how we aced on all of them. Norm doesn’t need any help on figuring out what to do with his career. What he needs is a gentle reminder of what he knows and where his ethical stand is. As someone who went to school with Norm, I would make sure to tell him that I believe he would be a good accountant. Reference Brooks, L., & Dunn, P. (2010). Business &professional ethics for directors, executives & accountants. (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western. Form 10-k: Martha stewart living omnimedia inc-mso. (2008, March 17). Retrieved from http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/96/960/96022/items/284892/10-K_as_Annual-Report.pdf Gillis, C. (2011, April 27). Ecuador vs. chevron-texaco: A brief history. Retrieved from http://www.counterspill.org/article/ecuador-vs-chevron-texaco-brief-history

Macuahuitl The Wooden Sword of Aztec Warriors

The macuahuitl (alternately spelled maquahuitl and in the Taino language known as the macana) is arguably the best-known piece of weaponry used by the Aztecs. When the Europeans arrived on the North American continent in the 16th century, they sent back reports on a wide variety of weapons and military gear used by the indigenous people. That included both defensive tools such as armors, shields, and helmets; and offensive tools such as bows and arrows, spear throwers (also known as atlatls), darts, spears, slings, and clubs. But according to those records, the most fearsome of all of these was the macuahuitl: the Aztec sword. Aztec Sword or Stick? The macuahuitl wasnt really a sword, being neither of metal nor curved--the weapon was a sort of wooden staff similar in shape to a cricket bat but with sharp cutting edges. Macuahuitl is a Nahua (Aztec language) term which means Hand stick or wood; the closest similar European weapon might be a broadsword. Macuahuitls were typically made of a plank of oak or pine between 50 centimeters and 1 meter (~ 1.6-3.2 feet) long. The overall shape was a narrow handle with a wider rectangular paddle on the top, about 7.5-10 cm (3-4 inches) wide. The dangerous part of the macana was made up of sharp pieces of obsidian (volcanic glass) protruding from its edges. Both edges were carved with a slot into which was fitted a row of very sharp rectangular obsidian blades of about 2.5-5 cm (1-2 in) long and spaced along the length of the paddle. The long edges were set in the paddle with some sort of natural adhesive, perhaps bitumen or chicle. Shock and Awe The earliest macuahuitls were small enough to be wielded with one hand; later versions had to be held with two hands, not unlike a broadsword. According to Aztec military strategy, once the archers and slingers came too close to the enemy or ran out of projectiles, they would withdraw and warriors carrying shock weapons, such as macuahuitl, would step forward and begin  hand-to-hand close-quarter combat. Historic documents report the macana was wielded with short, chopping movements; old stories were reported to the 19th-century explorer John G. Bourke by an informant at Taos (New Mexico) who assured him that he knew of the macuahuitl and that a mans head could be cut off with this weapon. Bourke also reported that people on the Upper Missouri also had a version of the macana, a sort of tomahawk with long, sharp teeth of steel. How Dangerous Was It? However, these weapons were probably not designed to kill since the wooden blade would not have incurred any deep penetration into flesh. However, the Aztec/Mexica could inflict considerable damage on their enemies by using the macuahuitl to slash and cut. Apparently, the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus was quite taken with the macana and arranged for one to be collected and taken back to Spain. Several of the Spanish chroniclers such as Bernal Diaz described  macana attacks on horsemen, in which the horses were nearly beheaded. Experimental studies attempting to reconstruct the Spanish claims of horses heads being chopped off were conducted by Mexican archaeology Alfonso A. Garduà ±o Arzave (2009). His investigations (no horses were harmed) have made it clear that the device was intended for maiming fighters for capture, rather than killing them. Garduno Arzave concluded that using the weapon in a straight percussive force results in little damage and the loss of the obsidian blades. However, if used in a circular swinging motion, the blades can maim an opponent, taking them out of combat before taking them prisoner, a purpose known to have been part of Aztec Flowery Wars. Carving of Nuestra Seà ±ora de la Macana Nuestra Seà ±ora de la Macana (Our Lady of the Aztec War Club) is one of the several icons of the Virgin Mary in New Spain, the most famous of which is the Virgin of Guadalupe. This Lady of the Macana refers to a carving of the Virgin Mary made in Toledo, Spain as Nuestra Seà ±ora de Sagrario. The carving was brought to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1598 for the Franciscan order established there. After the Great Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the statue was carried to the San Francisco del Convento Grande in Mexico City, where it was renamed. According to the story, in the early 1670s, the gravely ill 10-year-old daughter of the Spanish colonial governor of New Mexico said the statue warned her about the coming revolt of the indigenous people. The Pueblo people had a lot to complain about: the Spanish had strenuously and violently suppressed the religion and social customs. On August 10, 1680, the Pueblo people revolted, burning down the churches and killing 21 of the 32 Franciscan monks and more than 380 Spanish soldiers and settlers from nearby villages. The Spanish were evicted from New Mexico, fleeing to Mexico and taking the Virgin of Sagrario with them, and the Pueblo people remained independent until 1696: but thats another story.   Birth of a Virgin Story Among the weapons used during the August 10th attack were macanas, and the carving of the Virgin itself was attacked with a macana, with such fury and rage to have shattered the image and destroyed the harmonious beauty of her face (according to a Franciscan monk cited in Katzew) but it left only a shallow scar at the top of her forehead. The Virgin of the Macana became a popular saints image throughout New Spain in the second half of the 18th century, engendering several paintings of the Virgin, four of which survive. The paintings have the Virgin typically surrounded by battle scenes with Indians bearing macanas and Spanish soldiers wielding cannonballs, a group of monks praying to the Virgin, and occasionally an image of the inciting devil. The virgin has a scar on her forehead and she is holding one or several macuahuitls. One of those paintings is currently on display in the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe. Katzew argues that the rise in the Virgin of the Macanas importance as a symbol so long after the Pueblo Revolt was because the Bourbon crown had begun a series of reforms in the Spanish missions leading to the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 and the decreasing importance of all Catholic monk orders. The Virgin of Macana was thus, says Katzew, an image of a lost utopia of spiritual care. Origins of the Aztec Sword It has been suggested that the macuahuitl was not invented by the Aztec but rather was in widespread use among groups of Central Mexico and possibly in other areas of Mesoamerica too. For the Postclassic period, the macuahuitl is known to have been used by the Tarascans, the Mixtecs and the Tlaxcaltecas, who were all allies of the Spanish against the Mexica. Only one example of a macuahuitl is known to have survived the Spanish invasion, and it was located in the Royal Armory in Madrid until the building was destroyed by a fire in 1849. Now only a drawing of it exists. Many portrayals of Aztec-period macuahuitl exist in surviving books (codices) such as the Codex Mendoza, the Florentine Codex, Telleriano Remensis and others. Edited and updated by  K. Kris Hirst Sources Bourke JG. 1890. Vesper Hours of the Stone Age. American Anthropologist 3(1):55-64.Feest C. 2014. The people of Calicut: objects, texts, and images in the Age of Proto-Ethnography. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emà ­lio Goeldi Cià ªncias Humanas 9:287-303.Garduà ±o Arzave AA. 2009. El macuahuitl (lanza de mano), un estudio tecno-arqueolà ³gico. Arqueologia 41:106-115.Katzew I. 2003. The virgin of the Macana: Emblem of a Franciscan predicament in new Spain. Colonial Latin American Review 12(2):169-198.Katzew I. 1998. La Virgen de la Macana. Emblema de una coyuntura franciscana. Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Està ©ticas 72:39-70.Obregà ³n MAC. 2006. The macuahuitl: an innovative weapon of the Late Post-Classic in Mesoamerica. Arms Armour 3(2):127-148.Smith ME. 2013. The Aztecs. 3rd edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Van Tuerenhout DR. 2005. The Aztecs. New Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Inc.