In April 2020, the price of US oil has turned negative for the
first time in history.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52350082
Briefly explain how a negative occurs and what negative price in
oil may imply for the oil market.
In: Economics
Is my writing for this email correct?
I mean academy and grammar. (you can edit and add any sentence)
Dear Prof. Joseph,
I hope you are doing well.
As you know that the circumstances of the Corona pandemic caused the borders to close and the suspension of international flights, which led to my delay in coming to my mission headquarters in Britain, in addition to that the University of Manchester has been largely closed to students since March 2020. I need a letter from you indicating that I am in constant contact with you during The Coronavirus pandemic with regard to research topics and that we have started albeit in a small way, to develop initial plans for a PhD research project because I am facing an obstacle and questions why I have not started the PhD program yet and this will really help me clarify that, in addition to speeding up the procedures for opening a new scholarship file by my sponsor and then Final financial guarantee application and submit it to the university.
I hope you will understand my situation and help me with that.
Best regards
Lama
In: Economics
On December 31, 2019, Mills Manufacturing Ltd. had a $197,000 balance in its Accounts Receivable and a $10,400 balance in its Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. During 2020, the company made total sales of $858,000, of which $225,000 were cash sales. By the end of the year, Mills had received payments of $552,000 from its customers on account. The company also wrote off as uncollectible $13,300 of its receivables when it learned that these customers had declared bankruptcy. The company was subsequently able to recover $5,700 from one of these customers. (Note that this amount is not included in the cash collections noted above.) Management estimates that bad debts expense will be 3% of its credit sales.
1. Prepare the journal entries to record all the 2020 transactions, including the adjustment for bad debts expense at year end.
2. Show how the accounts receivable section of the statement of financial position at December 31, 2020, would be presented.
3. What amount of bad debts expense would appear in the statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2020?
In: Accounting
Supply and Demand: In early 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic swept
across the nation and world. In response, many workers moved from
in-person working to remote working.
Webcams in particular showed an increase in the amount sold,
especially the most well-known and trusted brands.
a. Most webcams are produced in China. The US is currently in a trade war with the Chinese which effectively causes additional costs on the production of Chinese goods through tariffs (i.e., taxes). Suppose after the next election, the US abandons the trade war and removes the tariffs. What effect should that have on the price of webcams?
b. Logitech claims that it is ramping up capacity but is working to “overcome component shortages.” Using an elasticity of supply argument,explain what Logitech is claiming here. Do you expect that to last indefinitely?
In: Economics
Entrepreneurship in Action
Facebook Interview Process
Facebook has developed a rigorous application process for prospective employees that ensures that the company gets top talent and finds people who fit the Facebook culture. For those interested in technical jobs, Facebook offers an online timed coding challenge, open to all, where the best performers automatically win a phone interview.
The phone interview is the first major step in the hiring process. It covers the candidate’s résumé and questions about previous work experiences, especially about the leadership roles they have held in the past. Facebook recruiters pay close attention to candidates who have been successful in previous positions and show a passion for the work they did on that job. The length of the résumé is not important at Facebook. What recruiters look for is demonstrated excellence and accomplishments. For some positions, applicants may go through second, third, and even fourth telephone interviews. Some of these telephone screenings can be quite lengthy and may involve collaborative online problem-solving exercises with the person conducting the interview.
Those who pass the telephone screening are flown to the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters for a series of on-site interviews with the hiring manager and several team members who are part of the work group. These interviews are designed to determine candidates’ skills and their fit with the Facebook’s unique culture. Team members ask many questions about the candidate’s experience working in teams and make note of how they interact with the team members doing the interview. If a candidate is applying for a technical position, he or she faces more skill-based challenges and a take-home test. The team assesses not only the candidate’s skills and abilities but also the approach they take to problem solving. Creative solutions are particularly important.
Candidates have the opportunity to offer suggestions on how they might make the Facebook product or user experience better. Interviewers want to see specific solutions and metrics to assess how the improvements are working.
Some of the typical questions asked in Facebook interviews are not that typical. Questions such as, “If you were an animal what kind would you be and why?,” “What is the difference between Facebook ads and Google Ads?,” “Should Facebook be available in China?,” and “What do you see as Facebook’s biggest challenge in the next five years?” are common. The goal of these questions is to see how each candidate responds when faced with questions that they could not prepare for in advance.
Facebook employees who are involved in the interview process then make a collective decision on the candidate’s fit for the position.
Interview teams expect applicants for nontechnical positions, such as business operations, sales, marketing, or analytics, to have done a great deal of research into Facebook before they arrive for the interview. “If you are going to work for Facebook tomorrow, what project do you want to work on?” was one question posed to a recent applicant for a market research position.
Facebook managers recognize that once they have made the decision to hire, the candidate also must make a decision about his or her fit with the company’s culture. “After the interview, I wasn’t sure if I would be happy working at Facebook,” says one software engineer candidate, “so they let me come back and speak with my would-be manager and director, as well as some coworkers, so I could make a good decision.”
“We’re primarily looking for builders,” says Thomas Arnold, head of recruitment at Facebook, which prides itself on its entrepreneurial spirit. The company has maintained a flat organizational structure that is best for those who seek to be empowered in their jobs and are highly self-motivated.
Strong applicants also “just get the social space,” says Arnold, and interviewers confirm this by making sure that the candidate is an active Facebook user. If an applicant has not used his or her Facebook account for several weeks, recruiters take this is a sign that he or she will not be a good fit.
Answer the following questions:
What are the principles behind Facebook’s interview process? Do you think it is too complex? Explain.
What does the interview process tell you about Facebook’s culture? Explain.
Can Facebook’s interview process be applied in companies that are not technology based? How might it be applied to a company that makes golf clubs?
Why is hiring new employees so important for a small business? Why is it so difficult? How does the process at Facebook address some of the challenges that companies face when hiring?
Write a 1-2 page paper detailing the above questions, and be sure to cite your references.
In: Operations Management
The Mateo Corporation's inventory at December 31, 2020, was $325,000 based on a physical count priced at cost, and before any necessary adjustment for the following:
What amount should Mateo Corporation report as inventory in its December 31, 2020, balance sheet? (Show your reasoning!)
In: Accounting
Trinidad is saturated with business schools; however, you want
to launch a new and private business school in the same market.
Traditionally, the existing business schools have not always
considered marketing and branding their schools because they are of
the firm belief that their institutions are already known and
nothing else needs to be done to attract new students.
Essentially, the existing business schools are not distinguishing
themselves from each other. There is competition where a lot of new
business schools are coming to the market, a lot of MBA degrees are
being offered by minor business schools, the market is less and
less clear, and there appears to be a brand proliferation and
business schools proliferation. Additionally, in conducting your
competitor research, you found that many of the existing schools
have weak brands and there is a clear danger of bringing down the
value of the MBA degree itself. Your continued research has found
that the majority of the existing business schools have been
plagued by low enrollment over the past five years. The reasons for
this predicament range from prospective students not being
interested in furthering their studies to financial challenges and
poor quality programmes. Moreover, the pricing structure for the
majority of the current business schools is extremely high, given
the present economic challenges facing the country. As a
consequence of these harsh realities, having an MBA degree will not
be the important thing; rather the importance now lies in the
school you got your MBA from.
Notwithstanding these challenges, you are determined to launch your
new business school by the next academic year (September 2017).
Your chief intention is to make a difference with your new business
school. In constructing your mini marketing plan for this scenario,
you can create a name for your business school and choose your own
location in Trinidad to set up your learning institution.
Construct your mini marketing plan around the following
elements:
Market-oriented Mission
Statement
Marketing Goals
Target Market
Product
Competition
Threats & Opportunities Analysis
Marketing Strategies/Promotions
Pricing, Positioning & Branding
Controls/Evaluation
In: Economics
Easy Company bought a piece of equipment four years ago. At December 31, 2020, the company revalued the equipment to its fair value. The following information relates to the equipment
Original cost: $1,200; Residual value: $ 200; Estimated useful life from purchase date: 10 years; Years used to December 31, 2020: 4 years; Fair value at December 31, 2020: $966; Depreciation method is straight-line.
Required:
In: Accounting
Lois Quam
Founder, Tysvar, LLC
After accompanying Will Steger on a trip to Norway and the Arctic Circle, Lois Quam's interest in global climate change was sparked. There she witnessed firsthand the astonishing changes in the polar ice masses and the resulting impact on wildlife. Inspired by Steger's call for action to reduce global climate change, in 2009 Lois Quam left Piper Jaffray, a leading international investment bank, to become the founder and CEO of Tysvar, LLC, a privately held, Minnesota-based New Green Economy and health care reform incubator. In 2010, Quam was selected by President Barack Obama to head the Global Health Initiative. This case is a retrospective of her executive experience at Tysvar.
“I'm focused on ways to finding solutions to really significant problems and taking those ideas to full potential,” Quam said. “I want to bring the green economy to reality in a way that is much broader than financing. I want to focus on areas where I can make the most difference bringing the green economy to scale.”
Tysvar works with investors who can create the change they wish to see in the world rather than simply reacting to events as they unfold. The company is a strategic advisor and incubator of ideas, organizations, and people working to facilitate and build the New Green Economy (NGE) to scale. Tysvar's goal is to contribute to a viable, profitable, and socially responsible industry of sustainability, clean technology, and renewable energy sources.
Conscientiously working to play their part to create a more sustainable world for the next generation, Tysvar's efforts include new creation of NGE industries, jobs, and investment opportunities, contributing to building NGE public policy frameworks, trade for import/export of clean technologies, and renewable energy sources around the world.
“We stand on the brink of a very exciting time in the world,” according to Quam. The interest in developing renewable energy sources to replace dwindling fossil fuel supplies and reduce carbon dioxide emissions is worldwide. “It is a very difficult time in the financial markets right now to do this, but that will change. Good companies will find ways to get things done.”
“I am an optimist about our future,” said Quam, “Which is why I started Tysvar. The challenges we face from climate change are immense, but so are our capabilities, and the rewards and benefits to humanity are even greater in the New Green Economy.”
Lois Quam named her company after the hometown of her grandfather, Nels Quam. Tysvar is a majestically beautiful area in western Norway which is becoming a clean technology hub as part of Norway's growing NGE leadership and will soon be the site of the world's largest off-shore wind farm.
Lois Quam has continually worked for a better tomorrow. In 2005, Quam was named Norwegian American of the Year. She believes there is much to learn from Norway: From balancing work and life, allowing parents to fully participate in the economy while still being active parents, to how successfully Norway is immersing itself in new energy technologies such as wind and biomass. As an arctic oil producing nation with a carbon tax since 1993, Norway has reinvested its oil wealth to become a world leader in renewable energy.
Internationally recognized as a visionary and leader on universal health-care reform and the emerging NGE, Lois Quam embodies the skill sets needed to succeed in this new economy. Named in 2006 by Fortune magazine as one of America's “50 Most Powerful Women,” Quam has worked as head of Strategic Investments, Green Economy & Health at Piper Jaffray, a leading international investment bank; served as president and CEO of the Public and Senior Markets segment at UnitedHealth Group, a $30 billion division she helped create and run; chaired the Minnesota Health Care Access Commission, which led to legislation that brought health insurance to tens of thousands of Minnesotans; and served as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton's task force on health-care reform. She graduated magna laude from Macalester College in St. Paul and went on to attend the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a master's degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.
Lois Quam believes the New Green Economy will produce high quality jobs, improve our national security via less dependence on foreign fuels, and prevent the most damaging consequence of all: irreversible and diminishing climate change. She and Tysvar are committed to establishing universal health-care reform in America. They believe universal health care is the answer for dependable, affordable health care for all Americans and that it is necessary to help rebuild the American economy and restore American competitiveness worldwide.
Recognizing this, President Obama recently appointed Quam executive director of the State Department's Global Health Initiative. This $63 billion project will help developing countries improve their health care systems, with a special emphasis on women, children, and newborns. In accepting this position, Quam decided to step down as CEO of the company she founded and hand leadership to Norwegian Terje Mikalsen, co-founder and former chairman of Norsk Data.
“Although we are sad to see Lois leave the firm, Tysvar will continue to follow through on her vision to help bring the new green economy to scale and make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone,” Mikalsen said on Tysvar's Web site. “We wish Lois all the best as she assumes her new position at the State Department. Her vision and leadership will help improve health care delivery and access for millions of people around the world.”
On Earth Day Lois Quam gave a speech at the University of St. Thomas on the emerging opportunities in the NGE after which she said, “I enjoyed sharing …how we can all use these key capabilities as a platform for doing something you love. Imagine: helping to build the NGE with a purposeful passion. It doesn't get much better than that!”
In another speech she illustrated her philosophy:
The change required to combat climate change and conserve biodiversity will create a change in business and society similar to the Industrial Revolution. The new energy realities require nothing short of an energy revolution, a thorough retooling of our energy economy in ways that match up with the realities of the 21st century. It will affect every aspect of daily life and business, creating an immense set of opportunities for investors, businesses and individuals.
For investors, there are highly diverse and immense opportunities to create and scale new sources of energy, adapt our current methods of production and improve daily life in ways that drive down global warming emissions.
It will also create unprecedented depth and breadth of opportunities for businesses and investors…. clean energy will always be in strong demand …the world will always have massive energy needs, and they will always have to be balanced against the needs of the environment …the clean energy industry is fueled by the laws of nature—and there is no force as powerful or promising.
Think about what we can achieve working together at this conference and as a region …and think about the time sometime in the future when our work is reaching critical mass, when our environment is safer and our energy is cleaner, when we too will have our eureka moments, our moments of life-changing and world-changing discovery.
The answering should be from your own words.
1. How does Lois Quam use emotions and moods in her
speeches to convey her viewpoint? Cite examples to support your
statements.
2. Based on what you have learned about Lois Quam,
create hypotheses about the attitudes of her colleagues at Tysvar
while using the three basic components of attitudes in your
theories.
3. Take a moment to research the Global Health
Initiative. Why do you believe LoisQuam waschosen to lead this
program?
4. Research question: Search news reports, Web sites,
and blogs to find out more information on Tysvar. How is the
company faring in its quest to make the world cleaner and safer for
future generations? What implications might that have on Tysvar's
employees, their attitudes, and job satisfaction?
In: Operations Management
Question 4 (30 minutes)
Easy Company bought a piece of equipment four years ago. At December 31, 2020, the company revalued the equipment to its fair value. The following information relates to the equipment
Original cost: $1,200; Residual value: $ 200; Estimated useful life from purchase date: 10 years; Years used to December 31, 2020: 4 years; Fair value at December 31, 2020: $966; Depreciation method is straight-line.
Required:
Question 5 (25 minutes)
Buzz Bee Yard Company’ Apiary began operations on January 1, 2020, with the purchase of 100 bee hives for $500 total. Buzz follows IFRS and its standard on agricultural products. It has completed the first year of operations and has the following information for its bee hives at December 31, 2020:
Required:
Question 6 (25 minutes)
The following events occurred in 2020:
Required: Prepare ALL journal entries for 2020 related to the three situations above. Each situation may require more than one entry.
In: Accounting