Explain how we think about the social world, our perception of the world, and how we view ourselves in the social environment. Draw in-depth conclusions about each of the topics.

Then, select and respond one (1) of the following in the discussion forum:

- List the two (2) major types of social cognition. Discuss the differences between them and give an example of each type.

- Explain how culture influences social thinking. Give an example of a culture that has shown to influence social thinking. It can be a personal experience or a general example. Provide a detailed explanation of how do you consider that the culture identified influences social thinking.

- Provide an in-depth explanation of how people use nonverbal cues to understand others. What are some examples of nonverbal cues?

- How do we determine why people do what they do? Provide an example of a time when you performed an academic or professional action to enable your academic or professional success. Were you successful? If not, what could you have done differently?

You are a nonprofit manager and you are preparing for the upcoming fiscal year. You are in charge of leading the budget process for the organization. Briefly describe how you would start to prepare the organization’s budget. What considerations would you need to take into account? Who would you involve in the process? What are the timeline and key activities of the budget process? Once your budget is developed, what steps would you take to ensure the organization is on track to meet its budget?

Preparing a Budget

o Describe the key steps you would take to prepare your nonprofit organization’s budget. Cite at least one academic source to support your response.

o Discuss the considerations that you would need to take into account when preparing the nonprofit organization’s budget. Cite at least one academic source to support your response.

o Describe individuals involved in the budgeting process. o Outline the budgeting process timeline and key activities.

 Ongoing

o Describe the steps you would take to ensure the organization is on track to meet its budget.

In 2002 the Supreme Court ruled that schools could require random drug tests of students participating in competitive after-school activities such as athletics. Does drug testing reduce use of illegal drugs? A study compared two similar high schools in Oregon. Wahtonka High School tested athletes at random, and Warrenton High School did not. In a confidential survey, 7 of 135 athletes at Wahtonka and 27 of 141 athletes at Warrenton said they were using drugs. Regard these athletes as SRSs from the populations of athletes at similar schools with and without drug testing. Do the data give good reason to think that drug use among athletes is lower in schools that test for drugs? Let Group 1 be the schools that test for drugs Let Group 2 be the schools that do not test for drugs

(b) What is the...

...test statistic?  (Use 2 decimal places)
...p-value?  (Use 4 decimal places)

(c) What is your decision?

Reject the null because the p-value is less than α.

Fail to reject the null because the p-value is less than α.   

Reject the null because the p-value is greater than α.

Fail to reject the null because the p-value is greater than α.

Recent studies, as summarized, for example, in E. Mortensen et al. (2002). The association between duration of breastfeeding and adult intelligence. Journal of the American Medical Association , 287 , 2365–2371, suggest that breast-feeding of infants may increase their subsequent cognitive (IQ) development. Both experiments and observational studies are cited.

(a ) What determines whether some of these studies are experiments?

(b) Name at least two potential confounding variables controlled by breastfeeding experiments.

2. Downs & Abwender (2002) evaluated soccer players and swimmers to determine whether routine blows to the head experienced by soccer players produced long-term neurological deficits. Neurological tests were administered to mature soccer players and swimmers, see the following data: Swimmers: 10, 8, 7, 9, 13, 7 Soccer Players: 7, 4, 9, 3, 7, 6

Perform the appropriate test by hand and evaluate if neurological test scores were significantly different between the soccer players and the swimmers.

Between 2002 and 2005, French wine exports to the United States dropped by nearly 18 percent. Some wine experts blamed part of the decline on what they perceived to be a drop in the quality of French wine. Others blamed a shift in U.S. tastes in favor of domestic wines, and others suggested U.S. residents’ unhappiness with the French government’s foreign policies.

Economists offered a different explanation. During 2003, the dollar depreciated by almost 20 percent relative to the euro. Even if the euro price of a bottle of French wine remained the same, U.S. residents would have seen its dollar price rise by nearly 20 percent. The effective increase in the U.S. price of French wines resulted in a decrease in the quantity of French wine demanded by U.S. residents. Thus, French wine exports to the United States decreased.

What do you predict will happen to French wine exports to the United States, other things being equal, if the dollar appreciates considerably in relation to the euro?

Case 1–2: True Religion Jeans: Flash in the Pants or Enduring Brand?

Founded in 2002 by Jeff Lubell, True Religion had become one of the largest premium denim brands in the United States by 2012. Although True Religion made its debut in upscale department stores and trendy boutiques a decade earlier, the company owned 86 full price retail stores and 36 outlet stores in the United States as well as 30 stores in international markets by the end of 2012. The company’s domestic retail store business accounted for about 60% of revenues and 64% of operating profit before unallocated corporate expenses in 2012. Just five years earlier, the U.S. retail store segment generated only 17% of sales and 25% of operating profit before unallocated corporate expenses.

Jeff Lubell’s vision of the company had come true—at least partly. The company had transformed itself from a jeans designer into an apparel retailer with it own brand à la Buckle and Diesel. At the same time, True Religion had managed to shift its product mix so that sportswear accounted for almost 35% of sales in its company-owned stores. Lubell felt these two ingredients were critical to establishing True Religion as a “lifestyle brand.” The ultimate in product differentiation, many companies attempt to create so-called “lifestyle” brands that transcend product category and inspire deep consumer loyalty. Lubell felt becoming a lifestyle brand was the key to insulating True Religion from the inevitable fluctuations in fashion trends.

Moreover, True Religion’s sales had grown at an average annual rate of almost 22% from 2007-2012. The company’s return on invested capital was an impressive 27% and its return on average assets was 12% in 2012. Despite these factors, press articles and analyst reports on True Religion described the company as, “the struggling maker of premium denim.”1 A New York Post article entitled “Escape From Hell for True Religion” described private equity firm, TowerBrook, as the company’s “savior,”2 when the company announced it had been acquired by TowerBrook in 2013. Other denim brands, such as Jeff Rudes’ J Brand, appeared to be usurping True Religion’s position as the “must have” denim brand for young consumers.

What had gone wrong at True Religion? Was the change in ownership the answer to the company’s problems? Was premium denim destined to go the way of Flash Dance legwarmers and Crocs as fast fashion from the likes of H&M became more mainstream? Private equity investors had snapped up stakes in both established and up-and-coming premium denim brands in the past five years—leaving just one publicly traded premium jeans maker, Joe’s Jeans. Should investors stay away from the industry?

A 2002 Income Statement for Anthony Industries, using a contribution margin approach, is shown below. Anthony makes only one product. 50,000 units were sold in 2002.

Data 1

Revenues                                                                                $650,000

Variable Costs:

Manufacturing costs                          $290,000

Selling costs                                        130,000

Total variable costs                                                                 420,000

Contribution margin                                                               $230,000

Fixed Costs:

Manufacturing costs                          $110,000

Administrative costs                             70,000

Total fixed costs                                                                    180,000

Net Income (before taxes)                                                     $50,000

Requirements: 2 points each part

Answer the following questions. Assume each situation is independent.  

a)     Determine the break-even point in dollars.

b)  Determine the number of units that must be sold to produce a before tax profit of $200,000 if the tax rate is 30%.    

c) Determine the number of units that must be sold to produce an after tax profit of $200,000 if the tax rate is 30%.    

d)  Calculate the expected change in a company’s net income if it undertakes an advertising program that costs $25,000 and increases sales $60,000.  

e)    Assume that the company is considering another product. They estimate that the product will have variable costs of $20 per unit and demand will be 25,000 units.  The fixed costs of developing the product will be $165,000. What is the lowest price the company should charge for the potential product given this information?

f)     What is the company’s degree of operating leverage? What percentage will profits increase if unit sales increase 10%?

Cindy moved to Seattle from Portland to work as a software engineer in 2002.  Assume she meets the duration test.  She incurs moving expenses of:  $10,000 for the movers (she could have paid $5,000 for a cheaper moving company); hotel fees of $1,000 on route to Seattle, $100 in meals while on route to Seattle, and closing costs of $3,000 for her new home.  All of these fees qualify for the moving expense deduction.True/False and Explain.

John bought a car three years ago for $20,000 for personal use.  In 2002, his car was totally destroyed by a tree that fell on the car.  John did not have insurance that covered this event.  The car’s fair market value before the tree came down was $9,000 and it was worth $0 after the accident.  He has no other personal casualty gains or losses and his AGI for the year was $50,000.  John’s personal casualty loss is $8,000. True/False and Explain.