a)Explore how we can enhance productivity, and increase innovation while considering employee wellbeing. You must address the challenges of bias and prejudice on achieving the most effective outcomes.

Discuss factors affecting the adoption of environmentally friendly technological innovation among firms.

From your perspective what is the most important factor?

Support your answer with realistic examples.

Which of the following is a consequence of a country running fiscal deficits? Lower balance of trade Higher trade deficits Higher national debt Less innovation

A manager of a mattress manufacturing company with a cost of capital of 8% believes that the market is oversaturated with diamond dust mattresses. In order to get ahead of competitors, one must come up with marketing innovation. Using palladium or platinum dust may consist such an innovation. The cash flows associated with palladium- and platinum-dust mattress manufacturing are given below:

a) What is the NPV of each project?

b) Based on the above calculations please decide which project is better?

One of the specific problems socialist economies had was keeping up with capitalist countries technologically.

a. Can you think of any reason inherent in centrally planned economy that would make innovation difficult?

b. Can you think of any reason inherent in a capitalist economy that would foster innovation?

c. Joseph Schumprter, a famous Harvard economist of 1930s, predicted that as firms in capitalist societies grew in size, they would innovate less. Can you suggest what his argument might have been? d. Schumpeter’s prediction did not come true.

Modern capitalist economies have had enormous innovations, can you provide explanations as to why?

For the purposes of this assignment, you must select a real-life organisation for analysis. The
chosen company should be known to you and having access to the required information to
complete the assignment is a must. The chosen field is a banking industry-Nedbank to be precise

Imagine that you have successfully completed the value based management module and you
are approached by the leadership of the selected company to assist them in creating new
value for their target market. Your assignment brief is to:
1. Construct a detailed Position Map or Customer Matrix for its leading product or service.

2. Identify innovation strategic moves and competitive positioning open to the organisation
and propose how the organisation can ensure sustained competitive advantage? (20
marks)

3. Determine what type of innovation and value-creation the organisation is capable of
undertaking. Is it incremental or disruptive? Please explain fully and support your choice.

4. Based on the findings of the preceding analyses and evaluation, recommend how the
organisation should proceed to deliver on the value proposition in the market place by:

4.1 Identifying the required value-added competencies
4.2 Proposing how the organisation should configure these competencies in its capital
base
4.3 Proposing how the organisation should align and leverage these value-added
competencies to achieve its innovation strategy or goals
4.4 Identify the relevant internal organisational arrangements and suggest how these
should be addressed to sustain innovation and value creation

You are required to present to the leadership a formal report detailing the following: a suitable
cover page, signed declaration of own work, an executive summary, a table of contents, a
brief introduction and background of the company, its leading product or service, the target
market, the approach and methods used, the findings generated, the recommendations and
conclusion, as well as a list of references.

Comprehensive Problem: Consolidation Working Paper and Financial Statements Pierre

Corporation acquired 75 percent of Selene Corporation’s common stock for $20,100,000 on January 2,

2017. The estimated fair value of the noncontrolling interest was $5,900,000. Selene’s book value at date

of acquisition was $10,000,000, and its identifiable net assets were fairly stated except for previously

unreported completed technology, valued at $4,000,000, with a remaining life of 5 years, straight‑line. It

is now December 31, 2020, and you are preparing consolidated financial statements for Pierre and Selene.

Following is information on intercompany transactions

1. On January 2, 2018, Pierre sold equipment to Selene for $6 million and recorded a gain of $2 million.

The equipment had a remaining life of 10 years at that time.

2. Selene supplies Pierre with component parts for its products, at a markup of 20 percent on cost.

During 2020, Selene made sales totaling $20 million to Pierre. Pierre had parts purchased for $1.8

million and $2.4 million in its 2020 beginning and ending inventory balances, respectively.

3. Pierre sells materials to Selene for use in its manufacturing processes, at a markup of 20 percent on sell‑

ing price. During 2020, Pierre made sales totaling $15 million to Selene. Selene had materials purchased

for $3 million and $2.8 million in its 2020 beginning and ending inventory balances, respectively

Goodwill arising from this acquisition was impaired by $3 million during the years 2017–2019, and no

further goodwill impairment occurred in 2020. Pierre uses the complete equity method to report the in‑

vestment in Selene on its own books. The separate December 31, 2020, trial balances of Pierre and Selene

appear below, before Pierre’s end‑of‑year adjustment to record its equity in Selene’s net income and other

comprehensive income for 2020.

in thousands) Pierre Selene

Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,000 $ 2,500

Receivables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,600 10,000

Inventories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,000 30,000

Investment in AFS debt securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,000 6,000

Plant and equipment, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452,000 144,000

Investment in Selene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,225 —

Current liabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4,000) (2,800)

Long-term debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (489,825) (163,700)

Capital stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5,000) (2,000)

Retained earnings, January 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (88,500) (19,600)

Accumulated other comprehensive income, January 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1,500) (400)

Dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000 3,000

Sales revenue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (150,000) (50,000)

Cost of sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,000 35,000

Operating expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,500 7,900

Unrealized losses on AFS investments (other comprehensive income). . . . . . 500

100

Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 0 $ 0

Required

a. Calculate the total goodwill arising from this acquisition and its percentage allocation to the control‑

ling and noncontrolling interests.

b. Prepare a schedule calculating Pierre’s equity in the net income of Selene for 2020, and the noncon‑

trolling interest in Selene’s net income for 2020.

c. Update Pierre’s trial balance for its 2020 equity method entries and prepare a working paper consoli‑

dating the 2020 trial balances of Pierre and Selene.

d. Present the consolidated financial statements of Pierre and Selene, in proper format

Goldstein's Classical Mechanics has a puzzling few sentences in his discussion of orbits.

Referring to the case of orbit where the energy is low enough for the orbit to be bounded, he says :"This does not necessarily mean that the orbits are closed. All that can be said is that they are bounded, contained between two circles of radii r1 and r2 with turning points always lying on the circles."

Doesn't "bounded" automatically mean "closed"? The object cannot escape from the attractive force and hence returns over and over. At least, that is my understanding of the terms. Wikipedia says "The orbit can be open (so the object never returns) or closed (returning), depending on the total energy (kinetic + potential energy) of the system." But it also says "Orbiting bodies in closed orbits repeat their paths after a constant period of time." So the only way out I see is if a closed orbit is a special case of non-precessing bounded orbit.