Implementation strategy of Ashland University MBA program

Strategic Planning and Business Policy

Imagine that you have recently finished your MBA and have a company that has entered the arena of Project Management. During your interview, you are told that project management is not something that the company has always done. In fact, the company began as a retail software design company. As the company grew from small to medium-sized, it became apparent that they needed to employ Project Managers to help their clients rollout the use of their software and not leave the PM to the client. As their newest hire, you have been asked to create a proposal for the management team to consider the installation of a bonafide Project Management Department. Your duty is to prepare a concise (about 2-pages) proposal addressing the value of robust project management approach will bring to the company. Be as concise as possible and ensure that at least three key benefits are clearly emphasized.

- At a local hospital, a decision was made to downsize the nursing staff. The local television station sent a reporter and camera crew to interview the administrator regarding the impact of this action on patient care. After 20 minutes of filming the interview, the reporter left. Later that evening, the CEO received a call from the hospital’s public relations director, who directed her to YouTube. A video had been posted showing several nurses and former patients protesting the hospital’s decision in front of the hospital. The public relations director also directed the CEO to a new community blog called “SaveOurLovingNurses.com.” The CEO called a meeting for the next morning and wondered, “How did things get so out of control?” She asked the public relations director to provide an overview and present a brief plan.

Present the overview and plan.

At a Midwestern business school, historical data indicates that 70% of admitted MBA students ultimately join the business school’s MBA program. In a certain year, the MBA program at the University admitted 200 students.

a. Find the probability that at least 150 students ultimately join the MBA program.

b. Find the probability that no less than 135 and no more than 160 students finally join the MBA program.

c. How many students should the MBA program expect to join the program?

d. What is the standard deviation of the number of students who will join the MBA program? e. Let X be the number of students out of 200 who will join the program. Would the empirical rule apply to the probability distribution of X in this case?

1. survey of the MBA students at a university in the United States classified the country of origin of the students as seen in the table.

1. What percent of all MBA students were from North America?

2. What percent of the Two-year MBA students were from North America?

3. What percent of the evening MBA students were from North America?

4. What is the marginal distribution of origin?

1. Using the table below, calculate the variance of X, variance of Y, standard deviation of X, standard deviation of Y, the covariance between X and Y, the correlation coefficient between X and Y, and find the regression line assuming X is the independent variable (find the slope and the intercept). Show your work.

Problem #8

Among 300 employees in a company 100 had Engineering degree, 110 had MBA degree, and 70 had both Engineering and MBA degrees. If an employee from this company is selected at random, find the probability that the employee

a. Has Engineering degree but not MBA..

b. Engineering or MBA degree.

Top Notch Homes Ltd. (TNH) is a privately owned company selling a luxury range of home equipment. Fiona Fielding, the daughter of the company’s founder, took over responsibility for running the company in December 2018. She has little management experience. Her main interest is in developing a new business line to broaden the company’s activities. She has no interest in day-to-day internal control activities preferring instead to adopt a more informal management style.
Fiona found a supplier of a new design of hot tub in Norway. She immediately started to import these hot tubs financed by a substantial bank overdraft. The company sells to retailers at £2,000 per unit representing a typical mark-up of 100% on cost. At first sales averaged 50 units per month. Demand was so great that Fiona was forced to engage a second supplier in Finland but at a purchase cost of £1,500 per unit. That supplier required Fiona to sign a three-year contract committing to purchase 400 units per annum.
In the last two months of the accounting period ended 31 December 2019, sales of the hot tubs have fallen significantly and the selling price has had to be reduced by 30%. The hot tubs are sold with a three-year warranty. Some of the units bought from Finland have developed faults which cannot be rectified on site. Customers have insisted that the faulty units be replaced or a complete refund given. Fiona is reluctant to tell the auditors exactly how many units have had to be replaced. At the year-end, inventory consisted of 200 saunas. Fiona is adamant that these should be valued at cost.
Payments due to the suppliers have been delayed because there have been problems reconciling the invoices payable to suppliers with the deliveries received from them. The supplier in Norway is threatening legal action to enforce payment and the supplier in Finland is insisting on cash upfront before any more deliveries are made.

REQUIRED:
1. Identify EIGHT specific factors that should concern the auditors and explain why each factor is of concern?

2. Outline FIVE substantive audit procedures that the auditors of TNH could undertake and explain the purpose of each.

John Ross graduated from college 6 years ago with a finance undergraduate degree. Although he is satisfied with his current job, his dream is to become an investment banker. To become an investment banker, he would need to take an MBA degree. He is, thus, looking for colleges. After some time, John has narrowed his choice to Brandeis University, Carlton College, or Northeastern University. Both schools allow and encourage internships. However, the Northeastern University will allow students to work while enrolled in a MBA program.

I will describe below the four alternatives that John Ross can evaluate as of today.

Alternative (1)

He can keep his current job at the management firm D&L. His annual salary at the firm is $65,000 per year and is salary is expected to increase at 3% per year until retirement. He is currently 28 years old and he expects to work for 40 more years. His current job includes a full paid health insurance plan and is current average tax rate is 26%. Ben has a savings account with enough money to cover the entire cost of the MBA program.

Alternative (2)

The MBA program at Brandeis University requires two years of full-time enrollment at the university. The annual tuition is $70,000. Books and other supplies are estimated to cost $3,000 per year. John expects that after graduation from Brandeis University he will receive a job offer of $110,000 per year with a signing bonus of $20,000. The expected salary will increase at 4% per year. Because of the higher salary, the average income tax rate will be 31%.

Alternative (3)

The Carlton College offers a one-year program. The tuition cost is $85,000 to be paid upon matriculation. Books and other supplies for the program are expected to cost $4,500. John thinks that after the Carlton degree he will be able to receive an offer of $92,000 per year with a $18,000 signing bonus. The salary at this job will increase at 3.5% per year. His average tax rate at this level of income will be 29%.

Alternative (4)

Northeastern University offers a two-years program. The annual tuition is $90.000. Northeastern allows students to work while enrolled in the MBA program. After some research, John has found out that he can potentially work for his marketing professor as research assistant. The annual stipend for this position at Northeastern University is $25,000 for the first year and $27,000 for the second year. Books and other supplies are estimated to cost $2,000 per year. John expects that after graduation from Northeastern University he will receive a job offer of $85,000 per year with a signing bonus of $10,000. The expected salary will increase at 2% per year for the first 10 years. The growth rate will be 4% thereafter. The average income tax rate is 30%.

All schools offer a health insurance plan that will cost $3,000 per year. John also estimates that room and board expenses will cost $2,000 more per year at all schools than his current expenses. The appropriate discount rate is 6.3%.

Determine the NPV for each of the four alternatives.