Question 1
Could you answer this question, its different from the one you denied.Kindly let me know. Tom Emory and Jim Morris strolled back to their plant from the administrative offices of Ferguson & Son Manufacturing Company. Tom is manager of the machine shop in the company's factory; Jim is manager of the equipment maintenance department. The men had just attended the monthly performance evaluation meeting for plant department heads. These meetings had been held on the third Tuesday of each month since Robert Ferguson, Jr., the president's son, had become plant manager a year earlier. As they were walking, Tom Emory spoke: ?Boy, I hate those meetings! I never know whether my department's accounting reports will show good or bad performance. I'm beginning to expect the worst. If the accountants say I saved the company a dollar, I'm called ?Sir,? but if I spend even a little too much?boy, do I get in trouble. I don't know if I can hold on until I retire.? Tom had just been given the worst evaluation he had ever received in his long career with Ferguson & Son. He was the most respected of the experienced machinists in the company. He had been with Ferguson & Son for many years and was promoted to supervisor of the machine shop when the company expanded and moved to its present location. The president (Robert Ferguson, Sr.) had often stated that the company's success was due to the high-quality work of machinists like Tom. As supervisor, Tom stressed the importance of craftsmanship and told his workers that he wanted no sloppy work coming from his department. When Robert Ferguson, Jr., became the plant manager, he directed that monthly performance comparisons be made between actual and budgeted costs for each department. The departmental budgets were intended to encourage the supervisors to reduce inefficiencies and to seek cost reduction opportunities. The company controller was instructed to have his staff ?tighten? the budget slightly whenever a department attained its budget in a given month; this was done to reinforce the plant manager's desire to reduce costs. The young plant manager often stressed the importance of continued progress toward attaining the budget; he also made it known that he kept a file of these performance reports for future reference when he succeeded his father. Tom Emory's conversation with Jim Morris continued as follows: Emory: I really don't understand. We've worked so hard to meet the budget, and the minute we do so they tighten it on us. We can't work any faster and still maintain quality. I think my men are ready to quit trying. Besides, those reports don't tell the whole story. We always seem to be interrupting the big jobs for all those small rush orders. All that setup and machine adjustment time is killing us. And quite frankly, Jim, you were no help. When our hydraulic press broke down last month, your people were nowhere to be found. We had to take it apart ourselves and got stuck with all that idle time. Morris: I'm sorry about that, Tom, but you know my department has had trouble making budget, too. We were running well behind at the time of that problem, and if we'd spent a day on that old machine, we would never have made it up. Instead we made the scheduled inspections of the forklift trucks because we knew we could do those in less than the budgeted time. Emory: Well, Jim, at least you have some options. I'm locked into what the scheduling department assigns to me and you know they're being harassed by sales for those special orders. Incidentally, why didn't your report show all the supplies you guys wasted last month when you were working in Bill's department? Morris: We're not out of the woods on that deal yet. We charged the maximum we could to other work and haven't even reported some of it yet. Emory: Well, I'm glad you have a way of getting out of the pressure. The accountants seem to know everything that's happening in my department, sometimes even before I do. I thought all that budget and accounting stuff was supposed to help, but it just gets me into trouble. It's all a big pain. I'm trying to put out quality work; they're trying to save pennies. Question:Synthesize data to explain the concept of ROI, and discuss how use of an activity based costing system can improve the companies ROI, and this potential impact on free cash flow (approximately 1 page).
Question 2
Assignment 5: Employee Compensation and Benefits This assignment consists of two (2) sections: a narrative and a PowerPoint presentation. You must submit two (2) sections for the completion of this assignment. Label each file name according to the section of the assignment it is written for. Imagine that you have just been hired by a new company as the director of the HR department. You have been tasked to hire a new secretary for the department and to develop an employee compensation and benefits package that will be used for that position upon hire. Develop a PowerPoint presentation to present this information to your Vice President. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics? (BLS) Website, located at www.bls.gov, for information regarding organizations and pay in your geographical area. Section 1: Narrative Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you: 1. Choose the type of organization for which you are designing the package. 2. Develop an employee compensation and benefits package for this new position. Support your ideas for the compensation/benefits package. 3. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources. Section 1 of your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: 1. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. 2. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student?s name, the professor?s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. Section 2: Presentation Create a twenty (20) slide PowerPoint presentation in which you: 4. Provide an overview of the employee compensation and benefits package that you developed in the narrative portion of this assignment. 5. Determine if the employee will be exempt or nonexempt and discuss how overtime will be handled. 6. Suggest other benefits that might be considered within the next few months to enhance employee performance and provide job motivation. 7. Provide information on how government regulations will influence the compensation. 8. Examine data from two (2) organizations listed in the BLS Website with packages similar to yours, focusing on salary, compensation, and benefits in order to convince upper management that your package should be accepted and implemented. 9. Describe how the competitive compensation and benefits package will align with the HRM strategy.
Question 3
Objective Students should familiarize themselves with bonds and/or preferred stock as an investment opportunity and as a source of funds. In this assignment, students will determine why a fixed-income security may be offered by a firm, what features it must have in order to be attractive to investors, and what kind of financial results were achieved as a result. Balance sheet accounts as well as certain ratios are to be analyzed. Guidelines Papers should be 10 to 20 pages in length, 10-point font, and double-spaced; and should include a cover page, table of contents, introduction, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and works cited. Even though this is not a scientific-type writing assignment and is mostly creative in nature, references are still very important. At least six authoritative, outside references are required (anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). These should be listed on the last page titled "Works Cited." Appropriate citations are required. All DeVry University policies are in effect including the plagiarism policy. Any questions about this paper may be discussed in the weekly Q & A discussion topic. This paper is worth 170 total points and will be graded on quality of research topic and paper information, use of citations, grammar, and sentence structure. See the grading rubric; this is also available in Doc Sharing. Students should pick a company that has issued bonds in the last three years so that the Internet can provide sufficient financial data for analysis. Post in the Journal (a) your company choice, (b) the security offered, and (c) when that security was issued. It?s suggested that you work on at least one of each of the remaining sections each week. The final report is made up of separate sections for each milestone listed below. Each section should be approximately one page (excluding charts, graphs, etc.). Important: When preparing your report, separate the sections with headings that are the same as the highlighted milestones below. Milestones Company Background (15 points) This section should include what industry the firm is in, its products, its competitors, and the stated main reason for needing capital (to fund receivables, capacity expansion, retire older debt, etc.). Balance Sheets (20 points) What did the balance sheet looked like in the quarter just prior to issuing the bonds? Include both a copy from before the issue and after the issue. Calculate at least five of the ratios shown in the Moody?s Bond Rating Chart contained in the Week 2 Lecture both before and after the bonds were issued, and discuss why you think they are important to your report. Trends in YTM and Price (20 points) At what price and YTM was the initial offering sold? Tabulate the price and YTM of the issue at the end of each calendar quarter for the last six quarters. Then, plot the tabulated values to visualize the trends in YTM and prices. Purpose of the Offering and Leverage (20 points) What was the planned use of the funds raised? If you can?t find a specific discussion about that, then use your judgment as to why you think the funds were needed and explain your reasoning. Calculate the financial leverage before and after the offering. Credit Rating (20 points) What credit rating have the bonds been given by the bond credit rating services? Research the criteria each agency uses to determine the rating. Why (or why not) do you think that recent financial statements justify the rating? Rate of Return (30 points) If you were one of the original investors in this issue and you had invested $10,000, what would your total return be if you sold the securities at today?s market price? Compute the duration of the bond and its convexity currently. Add a brief discussion about your calculations. Comparisons (30 points) Identify and compare pre-offering EPS and total equity $ to the most current values. Compute the firm's current WACC assuming the total debt of the firm is in the issue that you analyzed. This means that if the company has more than one debt issue outstanding with a total face value of $X million and your chosen issue involves $Y million, then assume that all $X million is in your issue. This will simplify the calculations without diminishing learning value. Discuss at least three overall conclusions about this offering as a result of your research. Comments (15 points) Please give your opinion about the value of this project to your overall learning experience in this course. Constructive comments, both positive and negative, are appreciated. Discuss at least two characteristics about this project. Please edit your report so that it is something that makes you proud. Grading Rubric Fixed-Income Security Project Rubric Part Points Full Credit 3/4 Credit 1/2 Credit 1/4 Credit 1 15 Thorough description with all requirements All elements included, but lacks some depth Clear reason for funding Some elements included, but lacks depth. Unclear reason for funding Minimal description Most elements missing No reason for funding II 20 Pre and post balance sheets Pre and post D/E and ROE ratios Balance sheets included 3/4 ratios shown Balance sheet included Only 1/2 the ratios shown Missing one or more balance sheet(s) No ROE shown III 20 Trends in YTM and price All included, except 18-month trend incomplete Partial trends included No indication of the trends IV 20 Found and commented on purpose of the offering Computed financial leverage before and after offering Found purpose of offering and leverage, but incomplete Purpose or leverage missing Some information provided without explanation V 20 Found credit rating on the security from two agencies; listed criteria needed for that rating Only one agency rating found Criteria shown Only one agency found, but no criteria shown No credit ratings found VI 30 Computed total return, duration, and convexity, and discussed All calculations shown, interest or dividends shown, but TVM improperly applied Calculations shown and TVM applied improperly TVM not used to calculate total return No calculations shown VII 30 Compared EPS, total equity pre-offering to most current Computed WACC and discussed your thoughts about them Three conclusions reached, but with weak justifications EPS and ROE determined Conclusions shown but without justification Calculations incomplete No conclusions or calculations shown VIII 15 Opinion on value of project to course Two or more constructive comments Opinion with weak justification One constructive comment Opinion without justification One constructive comment No opinions One constructive comment Total Points = 170 Best Practices The following are the best practices in preparing this paper. Plan ahead using the suggested milestones. Do research early so if any problems occur you have time to fix them. If you get stuck at any point, pose questions to your instructor and/or your classmates. Cover page: Include who the paper was prepared for, who prepared it, and the date. Table of contents: List the main ideas and sections of you paper and the pages on which they are located. The illustrations should be included separately. Introduction: Use a header on your paper; this will indicate that you are introducing your paper. The purpose of an introduction or opening is to: introduce the subject and why the subject is important; preview the main ideas and the order in which they will be covered; and establish a tone of the document. Include in the introduction a reason for the audience to read the paper. Also, include an overview of what you are going to cover in your paper and the importance of the material. (This should include or introduce the questions you are asked to answer on each assignment.) Body of your report: Use a header titled with the name of your project (e.g., ?The Development of Hotel X - A World Class Resort?). Then proceed to break out the main ideas. State the main ideas, the major points in each idea, and provide evidence. Break out each main idea you will use in the body of your paper. Show some type of division; you can separate sections that are labeled, separate group of paragraphs, or separate headers. You will include the information you found during your research and investigation. Summary and conclusion: Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing, but presents the gist of the material in fewer words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas and major support points from the body of your report; minor details are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they affect the tourism industry. Work cited: Use the citation format as specified in the Syllabus. Additional hints on preparing the best possible project: Apply a three-step process of writing: plan, write, and complete. Prepare an outline of your research paper before you go forward. Complete a first draft and then go back to edit, evaluate, and make any required changes. Use visual communication to further clarify and support the written part of your report (e.g., graphs, diagrams, photographs, flowcharts, maps, drawings, animation, video clips, pictograms, tables, or Gantt charts).
Question 4
16-17 Quentin Giordano owns a small retail ice cream parlor. He is considering expanding the business and has identifies two attractive alternatives. One involves purchasing a machine that would enable him to serve frozen yogurt to customers. The machine would cost $4,050 and has an expected useful life of three years with no salvage value. Additional annual cash revenues and cash operating expenses associated with selling yogurt are expected to be $2,970 and $450, respectively. Alternatively, he could purchase for $5,040 the equipment necessary to serve cappuccinos. That equipment has an expected useful life of four years and no salvage value. Additional annual cash revenue and cash operating expenses associated with selling cappuccinos are expected to be $4,140 and $1,215, respectively. Income before taxes earned by the ice cream parlor is taxed at an effective rate of 20 percent. A. Determine the payback period and unadjusted rate of return (use average investment.) for each alternative. B. Indicate which investment alternative you would recommend. Explain your choice.,I was wondering if you were going to do this problem still? I will resubmitt this with the hope that someone will help me out if you cannot, but I need an answer, VERY soon. You said you would do it, but obviously you haven't so I don't see any other alternative. Please let me know ASAP. I believe I already communicated that this assignment is due today. I really hope I can turn it in on time. Thank you, Jennifer,THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
Question 5
5. (TCO 2) Which of the following statements is false? Select all that apply: (Points: 3) The optimal credit policy minimizes the total cost of granting credit. Firms should avoid offering credit at all cost. An increase in a firm's average collection period generally indicates that an increased number of customers are taking advantage of the cash discount. The costs of the credit application process and the costs expended in the collection process are carrying costs of granting credit. Character refers to the ability of a firm to meet its credit obligations out its operating cash flows. 6. (TCO 2) You place an order for 100 units of inventory Part A at a unit price of $522. The supplier offers terms of 3/25, net 40. How much should you remit if you take the discount? (Points: 3) $52,200 $50,634 $51,678 None of the above 7. (TCO 2) Auto Parts sells 1,600 electric parts per week and then reorders another 1,600 parts. If the relevant carrying cost per electric part is $4 and the fixed order cost is $650, what is the total carrying cost and the restocking cost, respectively? (Points: 3) $6,400 and $33,800 $3,200 and $33,800 $6,400 and $7,800 $6,400 and $33,000 None of the above 8. (TCO 2) Company ABC has expected sales of 12,000 units this year, an ordering cost of $6 per order and carrying costs of $1.60 per unit. What is the average inventory? (Points: 3) 310 units 300 units 150 units 155 units None of the above 9. (TCO 2) The ___________ is the time that elapses between the sale of an item and the receipt of payment for that sale. (Points: 3) accounts receivable period accounts payable period cash cycle customer operating cycle None of the above 10. (TCO 2) List three examples of short-term borrowing. (Points: 3)
