Catrina Corporation took out a new insurance policy on their recently built offices. The policy cost $240,000 and covered 24 months, from Oct 1, 20X1 to the end of Sep 20X3. When Catrina prepares its balance sheet at year-end 20X1, what amount will be shown as prepaid insurance?  

TOXIC RECREATIONAL CENTER ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM?

The growing concern for the environment has increased public interest in the need for eco-friendly cities.  Baltimore City residents and policymakers are, therefore, becoming more environmentally conscious in the development and rehabilitation of  the city. The management of Baltimore City is becoming increasingly more complex as city is experiencing, crime including political corruption,  socio-economic divisiveness, racial segregation, dwindling tax base and stalled physical and economic growth. Remembering you are the Assistant Director of Recreation and Parks for the City of Baltimore. You are the trouble shooter and problem solver for the city residents and the parks department. When something happens in this city you are the go-to person they  (The Director of Recreation and Parks, The Mayor and, The City Council) turn to you, you are respected, experienced and well educated so your decisions actual become departmental policy.

Urban growth in East Baltimore has led to an increase in land values; thus, leading to competition between land uses including the demarcation of land for urban parks. The indirect economic benefits of urban parks make it difficult to place an economic value on them; thus, affecting the ability for policymakers to assess their true cost and benefits. This adversely affects the level of investment in the development of parks which limits the sustainable management of parks. Strigl (2003) describes the sustainable management of parks as the efficient and effective organization of park use through negotiations, comprises, and consensus building among stakeholders. However, recent news reports and complaints by residents in the city, especially West Baltimore and its residents who have been severely neglected in terms of  overall development and improvements because of crime, abject poverty and socio-economic demographics which prevented the private sector developers from investing in the area. In addition, the West Baltimore area houses some of the poorest areas of the city and some of the worst areas in terms of city services according to residents and outside observers. This is especially true regarding parks and recreation facilities in the West Baltimore area. Recently a park refurbishment in the Harlem Park section of West Baltimore was halted due to concerns by environmentalist that the grounds where the park was being built were contaminate decades ago during early part of the 19^th century by an automobile battery factory owned by General Motors. The environmentalist have determined through studies that the company upon closing the factory have buried thousands of tons of automobile batteries and chemicals underground which have been slowly leeching out into the grounds of the park.  However, during the initial development of the park several soil samples have been taken by several different groups including the Federal government through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The State of Maryland Department of Environment and The Baltimore City Department of Environmental control all signed off on the project. government indicating that the grounds under park were safe and free from harmful levels of contamination and the project was greenlighted by the Mayor, The City Council, and numerous other elected officials, neighborhood association leaders, celebrities and the surrounding community. The project was viewed as a resounding success and the park was expanded into a neighborhood recreational facility complete with a food bank, job training center, daycare and senior center  and numerous sports programs and activities for the community. The facility is currently viewed as model for urban revitalization of impoverished communities nationwide. It has evolved from a simple clearing of abandoned homes to a large recreational center with the possibility of further expansion. It has attracted numerous volunteers, donors throughout the country

In spite of the success of the facility and its effects on the neighborhood a recent Netflix Documentary/investigation about the extremely high cancer rate amongst residents  in the West Baltimore, Maryland 21215-area code surrounding the facility and neighborhood. After the documentary investigation more samples were taken of the soil and investigation of the processes undertaken to complete the project. In addition , the Maryland Department of Health, Johns Hopkins University, and several other public and private hospitals and concerned citizens formed a consortium to investigate the allegations outlined in the documentary. The consortiums findings revealed that the facility should have never been built on the site and it was highly likely that the site and the underground contamination were possibly the root causes in the high levels of cancer, asthma, skin rashes, COPD, suffered by the residents and patrons on the facility. In the mad rush to open the facility and under pressure by the constituents and the media someone signed off on the project. Further investigation has found that the culprits who were involved in green lighting the project are either deceased or retired so there would be one alive to held accountable, no criminal convictions, arrests, indictments but there will be a Class Action Lawsuit by the residents. Currently the facility has been ordered closed temporarily by the city effective April 20, 2020  based on recommendations by the consortium researching the situation while further tests and a solution to correct the problem is discovered. However, the summer months are coming up and the need by all stakeholders is to get out in front of this issue ASAP by coming up with a plan.

The Mayor of the City of Baltimore has ordered an Emergency Action Plan to be developed by the Department of Recreation & Parks. The Director of Recreation and Parks has asked you to come up with a plan to determine what are the essential programs and how to transfer/ temporarily move those services to other organizations in the area to keep the programs operating. Because many of the programs utilize separate funding specifically for their programs based upon participation it is essential that there be no disruption of their program or they would lose funding for the program  Your directives coming from the Mayor, the Director of Parks & Recreation, and other city leaders is to first address the community in a Town Hall Meeting at a local church in the area.

In order to address the conflicts between the environmental and economic use of land; planners, park administrators and advocates need to combine their procedural and substantive skills and become central players in dealing with the conflict between growth, environment and social justice (Campbell 2011). The Baltimore City government and the Baltimore City Recreation & Parks authorities are also confronted and pressured with the problem of gentrification, budget challenges, appeasing various ethnic and cultural groups, socio-economic challenges, funding, creation, management and maintenance of urban parks and recreation. Despite their social and ecological benefits some of these projects will continue to move forward in an effort to appease constituents and the public. These competing interests make dealing with most urban issues such as the management of parks complex and costly; thus, the need to study some of the factors that influence the urban park development. The ability of recreation and park professional to conduct critical analysis, make strategic decisions make it imperative that leadership in the field be knowledgeable and taken seriously because the importance of recreation and parks cannot and should not be underestimated.

QUESTIONS:

1. You will write a statement( 1 page) on behalf of the Department of Parks & Recreation position of the issue, addressing the constituents, parents/children, vendors, staff, and all members of the community regarding the Recreation Center current status and what will be done to continue the programs and services offered be the community.
2. You will develop an emergency action plan to move the essential programs and services to other organizations, and entities in the community and determine the best way to notify the community of these changes.
3. You will develop a table outlining where the essential programs will be moved to and held.
4. Create a list of who you should approach and address with moving the programs and explaining the departments position. (simply cite the place where you obtain you references).

1-As a hotel owner what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a management company?

2-What are the issues GM's must address when operating a hotel for a management company?

In a survey of 529 travelers, 386 said that location was very important and 323 said that room quality was very important in choosing a hotel.

1. Construct a 90% confidence interval estimate for the population proportion of travelers who said that location was very important for choosing a hotel.
2. Construct a 90% confidence interval estimate for the population proportion of travelers who said that room quality was very important for choosing a hotel.

"The Role of the Room Rate" Analyze the hotel market in your state and determine if the room rates for the majority of hotels is elastic or inelastic. Explain your rationale and identify contributing factors (e.g., tax rates, competition, etc.). Imagine opening a small hotel in the town in which you attend class, Briefly describe the hotel and determine how you would determine the proper room rate.

New York City is the most expensive city in the United States for lodging. The mean hotel room rate is $204 per night.† Assume that room rates are normally distributed with a standard deviation of $55.

(a)

What is the probability that a hotel room costs $245 or more per night? (Round your answer to four decimal places.)

(b)

What is the probability that a hotel room costs less than $120 per night? (Round your answer to four decimal places.)

(c)

What is the probability that a hotel room costs between $210 and $300 per night? (Round your answer to four decimal places.)

Question 3: Pricing Multiple Product Versions (show all work)

Casey’s company produces two versions of a software program, “Advanced” and “Basic”.

There are 3 segments of customers, the Managers, Executives and Students, and the respective segment sizes are 2000, 1000 and 5000. The per-unit cost of producing the Advanced version is $20, while the per-unit cost of producing the Basic version is $10. The willingness to pay (WTP) for each version, by segment, is given as follows:

WTP (Managers) = $100 (Advanced) and $55 (Basic)

WTP (Executives) = $62 (Advanced ) and $45 (Basic)

WTP (Students) = $45 (Advanced ) and $30 (Basic)

If Casey sells only the Advanced version, what is the optimal price it should charge and the profits? (Answer: $45, Profit=$200K)

If Casey decides to sell both versions, what are the optimal prices it should charge for each version? What is the optimal profit of the company? Assume that customers will buy if consumer surplus is at least 0 and that they need at least $1 extra in consumer surplus to switch between product versions. (Answer: Basic @ $30, Advanced @ $74, Profit=$228K)

Pleasanton Studios Kersten Brown, the CEO of Pleasanton Studios, is having a tough week – all three of her top management level employees have dropped in with problems. One executive is making questionable decisions, another is threatening to quit, and the third is reporting losses (again). Kersten is hoping to find simple answers to all her difficulties. She is asking you (her accountant) for some advice on how to proceed. Pleasanton Studios owns and operates three decentralized divisions: Entertainment, Streaming, and Parks. Pleasanton Studios has a decentralized organizational structure, where each division is run as an investment center. Division managers meet with the CEO at least once annually to review their performance, where each division manager’s performance is measured by their division’s return on investment (ROI). The division manager then receives a bonus equal to 10% of their base salary for every ROI percentage point above the cost of capital. The Entertainment division manager, John Freeman, was the first to knock on Kersten’s door this morning. Entertainment, Pleasanton Studios’ first endeavor, produces movies for the big screen. Entertainment has been in operation since 1965. Last month, John had mentioned a proposal to build a new animation studio. The build would cost $4,910,000 with an estimated life of 20 years and no salvage value and would allow Entertainment to start producing animated movies. Animated movies were projected to bring in an additional $1,210,000 in revenues each year, but would increase annual production costs by $574,000. John had dropped in to let Kersten know he had decided not to move forward with the animation studio. This surprised Kersten – her quick mental calculation indicated that the studio would have a payback period of 8 years, much shorter than the expected life of the studio. Not entirely sure that her quick assessment was valid, Kersten needed to check with her accountant on the matter. Next to Kersten’s door was the manager of Streaming, which produces short-form (30 minute to one hour) episodes in addition to streaming the movies developed by Entertainment. Customers then buy subscriptions to the service. Run by division manager Reyna Imanah, Streaming was introduced in 2016 and has increased subscriptions by 20% every year since. Reyna’s complaint was that, based on the current bonus payout schedule, John Freeman’s bonus last year was significantly higher than hers. She points to the increasing subscription rates at Streaming, and says that her division is being punished for having opened so recently (her division’s facilities are much more recent than those in Entertainment). She currently has an employment offer from another company at the same base pay rate, and stated that she will accept this offer unless she feels her performance is being appropriately acknowledged and compensated. Kersten needs to look at the relative performance across divisions to determine how to proceed with Reyna. Pleasanton Parks is a theme park based on the movies from Entertainment and the series from Streaming. For many years, it was a popular year-round destination, with characters, rides, and a hotel. This park has lost popularity in recent years, and has been ‘in the red’ for the past two years. If the park is not profitable this year, you will need to decide whether to permanently close that division. Included in the ‘Fixed COGS’ for Parks is an annual $1,650,000 mortgage payment on the land and buildings for the park, which would still need to be paid (as a corporate level cost) if the park is closed and that segment is removed from the financial statements. Incidentally, you recently had a conversation with a Marriott Hotels executive, who would like to expand into the area. If you decided to close Parks, you are fairly certain that you could lease the hotel facilities to Marriott for $650,000 annually. A partial report of this year’s financial results for Pleasanton Studios can be found in Table 1 below. The ‘Selling and admin costs’ listed in Table 1 are directly incurred by each division, and are determined at the beginning of each year (that is, they do not change with increased/decreased production). In addition to the divisional information above, there are $2,000,000 in corporate costs that are currently allocated evenly between the three divisions. These costs are primarily due to employee benefits costs, which are billed at the corporate level. If the Parks division is closed, the decreased employee base would reduce allocated corporate costs by $500,000. Pleasanton Studios has a cost of capital of 12 percent (and Kersten uses the cost of capital as their required rate of return) and are subject to 32% income taxes. Before she can make any decisions, Kersten needs to evaluate this year’s performance results. She sets off to see you, the company’s accountant, for answers.

Required: Write your response in the form of a 1-2 page memo to Kersten Brown, from the perspective of the company accountant. Be sure to include all the financial analyses to support your conclusions, clearly showing your calculations, at the end of the memo or attached in a separate document. Be sure to address the following points in your memo.

a. Evaluate this year’s performance results for the three divisions. Your financial analysis should include a segmented income statement for Pleasanton Studios, as well as the current annual ROI, residual income and EVA for the three divisions.

b. Evaluate Entertainment’s decision not to invest in the new animation studio (i.e., was the decision appropriate and in the best interests of Pleasanton Studios), including the appropriate financial analyses to support your evaluation.

c. Evaluate the validity of Reyna Imanah’s complaint regarding her evaluated performance. Explain why it is (or is not valid), and what further information would be necessary.

d. Provide a recommendation on whether to close the Parks division, including all necessary financial analyses.

Lynch was the loan officer at First Bank. Patterson applied to borrow $25,000. Bank policy required that Lynch obtain a loan guaranty from Patterson’s employer, a milk company. The manager of the milk company visited the bank and signed a guaranty on behalf of the company. The last paragraph of the guaranty stated, “This guaranty is signed by an officer having legal right to bind the company through authorization of the Board of Directors.” Should Lynch be satisfied with this guaranty? Would he be satisfied if the president of the milk company, who was also a director, affirmed that the manager had authority to sign the guaranty? Explain.

Ralph owned a retail meat market. Ralph’s agent Sam, without authority but purporting to act on Ralph’s behalf, borrowed $7,500 from Ted. Although he never received the money, Ralph repaid $700 of the alleged loan and promised to repay the rest. If Sam had no authority to make the loan, is Ralph liable? Why?

A guest arrived early one morning at the Hotel Ohio. Clemens, a person in the hotel office who appeared to be in charge, walked behind the counter, registered the guest, gave him a key, and took him to his room. The guest also checked valuables (a diamond pin and money) with Clemens, who signed a receipt on behalf of the hotel. Clemens in fact was a roomer at the hotel, not an employee, and had no authority to act on behalf of the hotel. When Clemens absconded with the valuables, the guest sued the hotel. Is the hotel liable? Why?