B).- Las operaciones interproposicionales como grupo
3.4. PRINCIPALES CRÍTICAS A LA TEORIA DE PIAGET
The FCA methodology provides a base for developing different concepts and tools for environmental–economic substantiation of waste management activity, taking into account the range of this activity and the requirements of the national, regional and local normative–
legal base, existing stereotypes, etc. For most countries, the cost structure presented in Table E of the Appendices is regarded as understandable and convenient for the practical implementation of SWM schemes.
The following list of basic functions of FCA emphasize that it is:
a) An information support tool for decision making in integrated waste management;
b) A tool for rational planning of SWM activity; i.e. budgeting of a project;
c) A tool for balanced analysis of elements of the whole SWM scheme including collection, recycling, composting, etc.;
d) A tool for efficiency evaluation of a SWM scheme and its attending services;
e) A tool for calculation of competitive rates for services, charges for pollution and prices of solid waste facilities(US EPA, 1997).
The basic cost accounting concept proposed in the FCA methodology(US EPA, 1997) is presented in Table F of the Appendices.
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Thus, the FCA methodology provides a basis for developing different concepts and tools for ecological–economic substantiation of waste management activities taking into account the range of activity, the requirements of national, regional and local normative–
legal bases and existing stereotypes(European Commission, 1996, Makarieva, 1999, Pakhomova et al, 2001). Consequently, the FCA methodology is considered suitable as the basis for the cost structure theory set-up in the present work and as an ECO–EE tool.
2.5.2.1 Difference between full cost accounting and other accounting methods
AWAST(2004) stated five basic principles it considers that distinguish FCA from other accounting methods to include:1. Accounting of costs rather than expenditures: An expenditure is an amount of money fixed for the acquisition of a good or service. A cost is the sum of all the expenditures carried out around an equipment over its life span. This cost will then be annualized via the countable techniques of amortization and depreciation, each year contributing to its deterioration.
2. Accounting of hidden costs: It is significant to take into account the value of the good used. An equipment acquired, thanks to a help or subsidy has a value, even if the community has not carried out expenditure for the acquisition of this material.
3. Accounting of monitoring costs and indirect costs: Some costs can be shared with other services (in particular general administration). In order to "stick" as close as possible to the real cost of the service, it seems relevant to break down these indirect costs in proportion of what can be allotted to the management service. A solution suggested consisted, concerning employees, in calculating a ratio with the number of municipal employees assigned to the municipal waste service compared to the total number of municipal employees (it is possible to improve the precision of this ratio by breaking it up by die).
4. Accounting of past and future expenditures: Frequently, they are not appearing on annualized budgets. That requires a research task of investments carried out in the past, which lead today to carry out certain expenditures (cf. re-curring expenditures). Taking into account only these expenditures does not reflect the real cost of the service. The reasoning is worth when regarding future expenditure Privileging the installation of a landfill without, for example, taking into account the costs of closing and reprocessing can lead to management errors.
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5. Accounting according to two approaches (Figure XIV in the Appendices, refers): The system of domestic waste management in its entirety distinguish the concepts of cost per path (a) and cost per activity (b).
(a) In the centre of a path, there is a treatment process. One will speak thus about the thermal path, the organic path, and the recycling path. A path is made up of activities as a whole (collection, transport, treatment, valorization, and storage) brought back to a particular treatment (vertical approach).
NB: It is possible to speak about path either by referring to a treatment process or by referring to the waste nature (household refuse path ...). Adopting a FCA approach crossed by nature of waste poses once again the data availability problem. Which break down adopt when waste of different nature follows an identical path of treatment?
(b) One can distinguish the activity of collection, transport, the transfer activity, the treatment activity, the activity of valorization etc. The result obtained is a cost every nature of waste intermingled (horizontal approach). The cost of an activity is divided between the various paths. To each activity, it should be possible to make correspond a percentage of "responsibility" for this activity in the cost of the path (example: the collection activity represents X% of the thermal path cost).
The benefits to expect with the adoption of such an approach include:
i. The identification of costs centers and the knowledge of action levers for a better management of the service by the competent authorities.
ii. A communication towards citizens on the cost of proposed service, especially when a specific pricing is adopted
iii. A rationalization of the service with the research of a balance between vided service and cost.
iv. The elimination of inefficiencies and the highlighting of opportunities or profit.
v. A stronger position in the negotiation of contracts, allowed by the cognitive aspect of the method.
vi. The financial comparison between the recourse to a private service provider and a state owned company for the furniture of the service.
vii. The adoption of the various treatment paths, combination for an optimized management of the global service.
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viii. The comparison between different waste elimination strategies. How, by associating the whole installations and paths, obtain the best "mix" of service?
ix. The determination of the budget and setting of the necessary amount of taxes to recover in order to finance the service. The FCA approach can prove to be a very powerful tool within the installation and the development of a specific pricing, function of the citizen's behaviour, respecting the principle of a balanced budget. It allows the siting of the suitable general tax level (the total amount of receipts to recover from users).
x. The highlighting of eventual prohibitive costs per ton. The comparison, from the financial point of view of different recycling programmes.
It should be noted that the finality of the FCA approach is not to reduce to the maximum the cost of supply of the service. It remains a tool of knowledge to guide local authorities in their choices while evaluating the financial consequences resulting from a decision on the system in its globality. [Excerpted from AWAST (2004)]