Lavage Rapide is a Canadian company that owns and operates a large automatic car wash facility near Montreal. The following table provides data concerning the company’s costs:

For example, electricity costs are $1,100 per month plus $0.06 per car washed. The company expects to wash 8,300 cars in August and to collect an average of $6.60 per car washed.

The actual operating results for August are as follows:

Required:

Calculate the company's revenue and spending variances for August. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "F" for favorable, "U" for unfavorable, and "None" for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values. Do not round intermediate calculations.)

Lavage Rapide Revenue and Spending Variances For the Month Ended August 31

Revenue

Expenses:

Cleaning supplies

Electricity

Maintenance

Wages and salaries

Depreciation

Rent

Administrative expenses

Total expense

Net operating income

Lavage Rapide is a Canadian company that owns and operates a large automatic car wash facility near Montreal. The following table provides data concerning the company’s costs:

For example, electricity costs are $1,200 per month plus $0.09 per car washed. The company expects to wash 8,200 cars in August and to collect an average of $5.90 per car washed.

The actual operating results for August appear below.

Required:

Calculate the company's revenue and spending variances for August. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "F" for favorable, "U" for unfavorable, and "None" for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

Max Flyer is the founder and sole owner of the Go for broke Company. The company develops oil wells in unproven territories. His company has purchased a tract of land that larger oil companies have spurned as unpromising even though it is near some large oil fields. Max has provided you the following information:

• Drilling for oil on the tract would cost $100,000 (his investment). If the drilling is successful, and the well produces oil, his revenue would be $800,000. If the well turns out to be a dry hole he loses the entire $100,000. The chance of hitting oil on the tract of land is 1 in 4, or 25%.

• Max does have the option of selling the tract of land. Another oil company, after hearing a geologist’s report, would like to purchase the land for an amount that would provide him a profit of $90,000.

• A friend of Max has told him about a company that does seismic studies. The cost of a study is $30,000. If the study is performed there is a 70% chance that the results will be unfavorable. If the study results are unfavorable, and Max decides to drill for oil anyway, there is an 85.7% chance that he will have a dry well. If the results are favorable, and Max decides to drill, there is a 50% chance that he will have a dry well.

• These are the only alternatives Mr. Flyer has. The alternatives are mutually exclusive.

You have been asked to help Mr. Flyer.  Since you are familiar with how to use decision trees to solve problems, prepare a report that will help Mr. Flyer make his decision in this situation.  Your report should be addressed to Mr. Flyer.

Lavage Rapide is a Canadian company that owns and operates a large automatic car wash facility near Montreal. The following table provides data concerning the company’s costs:

For example, electricity costs are $1,200 per month plus $0.15 per car washed. The company expects to wash 9,000 cars in August and to collect an average of $4.90 per car washed.

The actual operating results for August appear below.

Required:

Calculate the company's revenue and spending variances for August. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "F" for favorable, "U" for unfavorable, and "None" for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

What are the possible fates of glucose that is produced by photosynthesis?

Your research team identifies a bird species that has defective amylase. What would be the result of this defect?

Which of the following statements regarding feedback inhibition is true?

You clone a genetically-modified plant that has increased expression of amylase in the roots of a raspberry plant. What would you expect to occur?

A plant is grown in soil depleted in magnesium and potassium, but rich in phosphorous and available ground water. Which if the following would occur?   

Plants and fungi have a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship in that fungi provide __________ to plants, and plants provide ___________ to fungi.

You are growing Brassica rapa plants in the lab. A mutation is introduced into a subset of plants that impairs mitochondrial function in cells. Which of the following pathways of cellular respiration would be affected?

Which of the following statements regarding noncyclic electron flow (the Z-scheme model) and cyclic electron flow are correct?

You are buying a condo on the beach in Galveston, TX. Here are the details.

Overview:

condo 893 sqft

2 beds $286/sqft

2 baths 673

Built in 2006

131 days on Trulia

Description:

New washer/dryer, fresh paint in living and kitchen in October. This condo is one of the best on Seawall. enjoy the beautiful interior with its relaxed atmosphere. You'll be drawn to the balcony where you will enjoy the amazing biew of the ocean and enjoy the sounds of seagulls. This condo has a modern and full equipped kitchen, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, travertine floors throughout. The elegant master bedroom with an amazing view of the ocean. Full furniture conveys with the sale. Ready for you to move in or rent out.

SELLING PRICE:   $224,000

Welcome to your virtual bank. For this assessment, assume the mortgage amount is the sale price of the house you chose. Based on your credit score, you are offered a fixed rate, an adjustable rate, and a balloon mortgage. Each is described below. For each mortgage option, submit the following to your instructor:

• Fill in each table. (2 pts for each answer in table)

• Calculate the total cost of principal and interest for each option. (2 pts each)

• Conclude with the option you would choose and why. (4 pts)

OPTION 1:

Fixed Rate Mortgage: 5% for 30 years

TOTAL COST (PRINCIPAL + INTEREST): ­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________________

    OPTION 2:

TOTAL COST (PRINCIPAL + INTEREST):___________________________

   OPTION 3:

TOTAL COST (PRINCIPAL + INTEREST):__________________________

Which option would you choose and why?

Building of its reputation for manufacturing no-thrills, efficient and affordable automobiles, the Indian car manufacturers Indy Car Limited, is ready to launch an international marketing campaign, specifically targeting low- to- medium income customers in Asia and Europe. In preparation for the expected demand increase, a new production facility will be added in the state of Andhra Pradesh near Hyderabad to complement the already existing plants in Mumbai and New Delhi. The Company’s CFO, Raja Jain is planning to raise the required funds of Indian Rupees 10 billion ($222.4 million) in the form of a 20- year annual coupon paying corporate bond. The company’s current debt rating with Standard & Poor is “A” with a positive outlook, indicating the likelihood of a rating upgrade to “AA” in the near future. In that case, the market’s required rate of return could drop by as much as 75 basis points from 6.80 percent to 6.05 percent. Mr. Jain is wondering if the bond should be issued at a premium or a discount and if the company should offer a fixed or floating rate or instead of making explicit interest payments, issue a zero- coupon bond instead. Each bond will have a nominal value of Rs. 1,000. The intended issue date is 1st July 2019. You are required to: Q1. Advise Mr. Jain on the impact of the following set of bond features and characteristics on the cost of debts: sinking fund, asset backing, seniority conversion feature, differed call and make whole call provision, a put provision, and a floating rate as well as positive & a negative covenants. Q2. Compute the expected issue price based on the required rate of return of 6.8 percent for: (a). A fixed annual interest payment of Rs 64 per bond. (b). A fixed annual interest payment of Rs 72 per bond. (c). does your answer of (a) and (b) change if semi annual interest payments of Rs 32 and Rs 36 respectively, are made? If so why? (d). a zero- coupon bond Q3. Recompute your results of 2 (a), (b) and (d), assuming an upgrade in the company’s credit rating and determine the impact on the expected issue price. Q4. Explain to Mr. Jain if an affluent investor would rather buy a premium or a discount bond.

Suppose that chemical X is manufactured using a raw material B that is available from a location ... Suppose that chemical X is manufactured using a raw material B that is available from a location called the "mine." Production of one ton of X requires 1/3 of a ton of B. A firm called X ENTERPRISES, which has a contract to deliver 30 tons of X to a location called the "market," is trying to decide where to locate its plant. The mine and the market are 50 miles apart. Overland shipping of both X and B costs $2 dollars per ton per mile shipped. However, additional costs must be incurred because a river passes between the mine and the market, and the river has no bridge. Goods must be loaded onto barges to cross the river, which is located 16 miles from the mine. Barge operators charge $1 dollar per ton of X shipped across the river. However, since the input B is highly toxic when mixed with water, barge operators must charge an extremely high price to transport B across the river. This price defrays the cost of insurance that the operators must carry to meet liability claims should they accidentally pollute the river with their cargo. The cost of shipping one ton of B across the river is $195. A) Using the above information, find the transport-cost-minimizing location for X ENTERPRISES. The answer can be found by computing transport costs at four locations: mine, market, mine side of the river, and market side of river. Show your work. You can assume that the width of the river is negligible, so that it can be ignored. B) Illustrate your results in a carefully-drawn diagram like that presented in Figure 1.6 (use graph paper, if preferred). Graph the input shipping-cost curve by plotting the input shipping costs at the same four locations as in part (a) and then connecting the dots (the curve is drawn backwards). Similarly, plot the output shipping cost at the four locations, and then connect the dots to generate the output shipping-cost curve. Then, graph the total shipping-cost curve by adding the input and output shipping costs at each of the four locations, plotting the points and connecting the dots. Using the diagram, identifying the best location for X ENTERPRISES, which should be the same as your answer in part (a). Note that the shipping-cost curves for this problem are straight lines with jumps at the river C) Give an intuitive explanation of your results. D) Suppose that a bridge were built across the river, which would eliminate the cost of crossing it. Redo parts (a), (b), and (c) under this assumption

in each region of the world we adapt to cultural norms and nuances, but we hold true to our standards and best practices that benefit our owners, team members, and guests. This impacts our approach to every aspect of our business—from the ways we train and engage our team members to our customer marketing campaigns and service delivery. Our strategic perspective is that a brand is a promise consistently delivered. Equally important, we strive to be culturally relevant. Cultural differences largely come to life in food and beverage and leisure amenities, such as spa offerings. For example, our eforea: spa at Hilton treatment menus are designed so that each hotel offers core elements that our guests expect, but the menus also give our owners in China flexibility to add treatments specific to their local market. Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe will feature spa treatments such as a foot massage and a variety of full-body massages inspired by traditional Chinese aromatherapy oils.

As a global brand with hotels in 78 countries, we invest a great deal of time and research into understanding the needs and expectations of travelers today, and we are prepared to meet these needs as they evolve over time. Research tells us that travelers have a great deal of trust for Hilton, particularly when traveling abroad. Because traveling abroad is a new experience for many of our guests from mainland China, our brand gives them confidence that the hotel experience will meet their needs so that they can focus on exploring a new destination.

From our more than two decades of experience operating in mainland China, we see two trends that differentiate the Chinese traveler. These trends are similar to the trends we have historically experienced with other rapidly expanding customer segments. First, we must provide our guests with familiar comforts, and make it a point to have team members fluent in Mandarin on staff at our hotels outside China. The recent global launch of the Hilton Huanying program is helping us achieve this goal.

Second, we recognize that most travelers from China are booking through government-approved travel agents and tour operators, rather than booking directly with a hotel or online. This affects how we communicate with our customers when they are considering lodging options. With more than 20 years of experience serving the China market, we have developed longstanding relationships with government travel agencies and tour operators. Hilton Worldwide opened its first international sales offices in Beijing and Shanghai in 2005, so we have teams in the market who really understand the travelers and communicate regularly with government travel agencies and tour operators. With Hilton Huanying, for example, we invited many of the tour operators to participate in the global launch events in San Francisco, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Our brand also has an aggressive marketing campaign in China, offers a Chinese version of our consumer site (www.hilton.com.cn) and recently launched a Chinese version of our global press site (www.hiltonglobalmediacenter.com.cn) as a resource for Chinese media

QUESTION

How do Hiltons china operations differ from its operations elsewhere?

Serenity Spa Vacations Inc. (SSV) is a company that specializes in organizing tours of luxury health and wellness spas around the world. During the first four years of its business, SSV experienced modest growth. Just over a year ago, however, the company was featured in an exclusive travel magazine. This, coupled with excellent web reviews and favourable word of mouth, fuelled a period of exponential growth that continues to this day. As there are a number of other well-established companies that offer similar services, SSV’s management knows that to continue its success, it must expand its loyal customer base by providing exemplary service and tours while controlling costs.
SSV’s accounting information system (AIS) currently consists of a purchased accounting software package that has only basic features and cannot be upgraded. It is supplemented by various spreadsheets used to track important information, including payroll, spa availability, bookings in progress, client preferences, and customer ratings of the wellness packages sold.
SSV’s vice-president of operations understands that the company’s current AIS is woefully inadequate and must be replaced with one that permits management to better direct the organization’s activities. The vice-president has requested you, CPA, the company’s chief financial officer, investigate the options that are available and make a recommendation as to how to proceed. The vice-president stated that the criteria considered should include cost, reliability, ability to accommodate continuing growth, reducing duplicative data entry, functionality, and compatibility with online purchases by customers.
You have eight people working for you in the accounting department in two locations and as such know that multi-user capabilities over a networked system are a must.
You are well aware of the inadequacies of the current system and the issues they are causing, and have researched various possibilities. You have narrowed the choice down to three options as described below, all of which meet the criteria of compatibility, multi-user functionality, network capability, and reducing duplicative data entry.

• Commercial package in the cloud (CPC) — SSV can arrange to access a widely used commercial software package for $2,750 per month based on an 18-month rental agreement. Your research suggests that the software package is very reliable, represents a significant improvement over SSV’s exiting AIS, and includes 100% of the identified “must haves” and about 60% of SSV’s “nice to haves.” Arranging access and uploading existing data take about two weeks. When a cloud-computing solution is used, expanding capacity is easily arranged at an additional cost. Moreover, as the host regularly upgrades the system on an ongoing basis, potential obsolescence isn’t a major factor.

• Commercial package purchased (CPP) — SSV can purchase the software package described above for $90,000. Installation of the program and conversion of the existing program will take about six weeks. The expected useful life of the new software is four years. Expanding capacity at a later date is easily accommodated by adding an additional module at a relatively nominal cost.

• Custom-built package (CBP) — You received two quotes from software engineers to custom build a system that meets all of SSV’s identified needs. The first engineer, who is very well known and has an excellent track record in building similar systems, quoted a price of $150,000. She suggests that the system will take about one year to build and install. The second engineer, who is new to the industry, promises delivery in six months at a firm cost of $80,000. The expected useful life of the custom-built software is four years. The system can be expanded at a later date; however, the expansion would have to be a customized solution, designed by a software engineer, at a cost that will likely be substantively higher than acquiring additional capacity for the CPP.

Required:
Make a recommendation to the vice president of operations of SSV.