Intermediate Accounting II

1. United Health Group leased a life support machine on January 1, 2018, for a three-year period ending December 31, 2020. The lease agreement specified annual payments of $144,000 beginning with the first payment at the beginning of the lease, and each December 31 through 2019. The company had the option to purchase the machine on December 30, 2020, for $180,000 when its fair value was expected to be $240,000, a sufficient difference that exercise seems reasonably certain. The machine's estimated useful life was six years with no salvage value. United Health was aware that the lessor's implicit rate of return was 12%.

Required:

Round your answers to the nearest whole dollar amounts.

1.          Calculate the amount United Health should record as a right-of-use asset and lease liability for this finance lease.
2.          Prepare the appropriate journal entries for United Health from the beginning of the lease through the second payment (12/31/18).

field engineering is a stressful job, why would you choose it be a field engineering?

how do I answer this interview question?

In other words, how do I show that I am able to afford stress

please give an example

Knowledge acquisition can be performed via conducting different interview techniques. What method would you use to record multiple expert’s view for one particular problem? Explain steps involved and discuss why you would select this method.

"Interview with Robot Named Sophia” Imagine the most valuable new use of computer technology. This topic gets you to ponder what the world might be like for your children. Please also discuss and pros and cons of technology in addition to challenges ahead.

You are a database designer and data analyst working for the hypothetical employer, Park University. The University over the last few years has provided faculty and staff needed technology to support various job functions but is having some trouble tracking such technology to ensure the program is cost-effective.   In other words, the University Controls Department is having difficulty locating inventories and associated invoicing information. With the lack of this important information, the University Controls department has a very difficult time locating and tracking released technology which has the intended purpose of being an asset to assigned employees and departments.

The University Controls department has a Technology Asset Management System currently designed and implemented using Microsoft Access; however, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Park University needs some ideas of possible reasons the current Technology Asset Management System designed in Microsoft Access is not currently tracking technology assets as intended.

In a memo style response to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), share-based on your knowledge learned about databases using experience and research, some possible and or hypothetical reasons why the existing database, in this case, is not working as intended?

Suppose that Boeing (US company) sold airplane to Lufthansa (German company) on credit and invoiced €20 million payable in six months. Two companies agree to share the currency risks. In the Price Adjustment Clause, the neutral zone is $1.14/€ - $1.26/€, the base rate is $1.2/€; and both parties will share the currency risk beyond a neutral zone. How much each party have to pay/receive if:

A) How much each party have to pay/receive if the exchange rate is $1.08/€

a.   Boeing receives $21.6 million; Lufthansa pays €20 million.

b.   Boeing receives $23.4 million; Lufthansa pays €21.67 million.

c.   Boeing receives $24 million; Lufthansa pays €20 million.

d.   Boeing receives $22.2 million; Lufthansa pays €20.56 million.

B) How much each party have to pay/receive if the exchange rate is $1.32/€
a.   Boeing receives $24 million; Lufthansa pays €18.18 million.

b.   Boeing receives $24.6 million; Lufthansa pays €18.64 million.

c.   Boeing receives $26.4 million; Lufthansa pays €20 million.

d.   Boeing receives $25.8 million; Lufthansa pays €19.55 million.

a.   Ford pay ¥202.01 million; Nidec receives $1.529 million.

b.   Ford pays $1.529 million; Nidec received ¥202.01 million.

c.   Ford pay ¥213.51 million; Nidec receives $1.616 million.

d.   Ford pay $1.616 million; Nidec receives ¥213.51 million.

Suppose that Boeing (US company) sold airplane to Lufthansa (German company) on credit and invoiced €20 million payable in six months. Two companies agree to share the currency risks. In the Price Adjustment Clause, the neutral zone is $1.14/€ - $1.26/€, the base rate is $1.2/€; and both parties will share the currency risk beyond a neutral zone. How much each party have to pay/receive if:

How much each party have to pay/receive if the exchange rate is $1.32/€?

a. Boeing receives $24 million; Lufthansa pays €18.18 million.

b. Boeing receives $24.6 million; Lufthansa pays €18.64 million.

c. Boeing receives $26.4 million; Lufthansa pays €20 million.

d. Boeing receives $25.8 million; Lufthansa pays €19.55 million.

Choose a US public company that sells inventory (everyone needs to pick a different company). Review their most recent Annual Report. .

Questions

1. What inventory costing method does the company use? Explain why you think the company uses this particular method?
2. What might happen to the company’s income and inventory balance if they chose an alternative costing method? Be specific in your example.
3. Does the company value their inventory at lower of cost or market (LCM)? If so, how does the company define market? What factors might it consider in deciding whether or not to write down its inventory?
4. If the company does not use LCM, what method does the company use to value its inventory in consideration of possible inventory write-downs?

Can help with this question. The company is Costco.

Graphic rating scale is the evaluation of employees’ performance by comparing employees against certain “absolute” standards along a number of performance dimensions.

Question 26 options:

Question 27 (2.5 points)

If an applicant takes a test today and then retakes it a week from now, we expect the scores to be similar. This correlation between the scores means there is ______.

Question 27 options:

Question 28 (2.5 points)

Which of the following is an acceptable interview question?

Question 28 options:

Question 29 (2.5 points)

A company that places a high value on learning is also known as a(n) ______.

Question 29 options:

Question 30 (2.5 points)

Selection bias is the extent to which a selection method measures what it is supposed to measure and how well it does so.

Question 30 options:

Managing diversity in a Chinese-owned multinational IT firm

Company background

Established in 1988 in Beijing, Lenovo Group Limited (formerly known as ‘Legend Group Limited’) is the largest IT enterprise in China. Lenovo employs some 25,000 staff in all its operations in nearly 70 countries, but with the majority of employ- ees working in China. In 1984, with an initial capital of RMB 200,000 funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a government-funded institution, 11 researchers formed the parent company of Lenovo. It was the first company to introduce the concept of the home computer in China. Lenovo’s main business activities are in the sale and manufacturing of desktop computers, notebook computers, mobile handsets, servers and printers. Lenovo is a stock-listed company, with the Chinese government holding over a quarter of its shares. In April 2003, the group adopted a new logo and the English brand name ‘Lenovo’, replacing the original English brand name ‘Legend’ in order to appeal to the international market. The English company name was also officially changed to ‘Lenovo Group Limited’ a year later. In December 2004, Lenovo spent US$1.25 billion to acquire IBM’s PC business. This was the largest cross-border acquisition in China’s IT industry (China Business, 13 December 2004). The acquisition process was completed in May 2005. The marriage of IBM and Lenovo created one of the world’s largest PC powerhouses. IBM possessed strong competitive advantage in the higher end of the customer market in its distribution channel, high quality customer resources, which complemented that of Lenovo. The two companies have main- tained a long-term cooperative strategy since the acquisition, with Lenovo having access to some of IBM’s key resources, such as technology, sales force, PartnerWorld, Global Finance and IBM Credit. The continuing expansion and globalization of Lenovo has brought a number of challenges to its HRM function, including the alignment of corporate HR strategy and DM after the acquisition of IBM’s PC business. Below are some of the issues that illustrate the challenges.

Managing foreign employees in China

Lenovo’s growing global presence in the IT sector has in recent years attracted an increasing number of non-Chinese citizens who wish to work in its operations in China. This is in part because they want to spend time in China to gain wider work experience and a deeper understanding of the country. These foreign citizens are employed by Lenovo under the same employment conditions as those offered to Chinese citizens. Free working meals and company-subsidized accommodation are some of the benefits that Lenovo offers its employees. These are traditional and typical workplace welfare provisions of Chinese firms. Under the housing scheme, newly recruited single employees are provided dormitory accommodation. Since housing is expensive in Beijing, this often takes the form of one bedroom shared by a few employees of the same gender. This arrangement is normal and acceptable to Chinese employees – Chinese students also share their dormitories in schools and universities, and in sweatshop manufacturing plants the situation is far worse where ten or more rural migrant workers are crowded in a room with poor facilities. However, foreign employees, though only very small in number compared with the Chinese employees, find it difficult to get used to this idea because of the lack of privacy. Lenovo (China) has no special policy to accommodate their needs. Different management style is another source of cultural shock to foreign employees. According to an HR manager, foreign employees all emphasize their cultural shock when they come to China. However, Lenovo (China) has not developed a formal policy to manage these cultural shocks. This has led to the turnover of a few of the foreign employees and the company has made no effort to retain them.

Managing Chinese graduate returnees from overseas

Since the early 2000s, an increasing number of Chinese who went abroad for their higher education have been returning to China to seek employment and career development. The majority of Chinese overseas graduate returnees (known as haigui in China) are keen to work for multinational firms, and are often the favourite candidates. Lenovo is among the top employers of choice for which haiguis want to work. These repatriated Western educated and trained graduates bring with them different life styles, perspectives and (often unrealistic) expectations that may depart from Chinese norms. Some of them are said to be complacent and consider themselves superior to other graduate employees who have not been abroad for education or training. They expect high salaries up front, fast promotion, flexibility and autonomy in their work. Turnover is common among haiguis when expectations are unmet or better offers are available elsewhere. How to recruit and manage overseas graduate returnees effectively is an important issue for MNCs operating in China. Companies are now reportedly more cautious in recruiting and managing these returnees because they are seen as ‘demanding’ employees who are difficult to retain. Lenovo shares some of these issues. Although turnover has not been a major problem, how to harmonize the relationship between haiguis and home- grown graduate employees is sometimes a challenge for line managers.

Gender equalities

Prior to Lenovo’s acquisition of the IBM PC business unit, Lenovo had more women at the senior management level. The proportion of women in senior management has actually declined since the acquisition because it is now part of a bigger inter- national operation. Two main reasons are attributed to this change. One is that there is a lower proportion of women at senior management level in the acquired business unit of IBM than in the Chinese operation. Another reason is that Lenovo has been through successive rounds of senior management restructuring after the acquisition, partly to do with the post-acquisition integration and partly to do with the poaching of senior managers among IT firms in China. Cultural clashes triggered by the post-acquisition integration have led to the departure of a number of senior managers. When new managers are recruited, they tend to bring their own people and HR initiatives with them, which will later be displaced by their successors when those managers depart. As an HR director observed, ‘It is organizational politics, rather than equal opportunities, that we consider in the recruitment of senior managers. You need to be competent as well as well connected to get the senior management’s job, and men tend to be better connected than women in the IT sector in general.’

Developing a global diversity management strategy

According to informants from Lenovo (China), diversity is not a key issue in the workforce in China. Therefore, it is not a priority of the company. The major task is post-acquisition integration to align the organizational cultures and become a truly international company. Nevertheless, Lenovo (China) does emphasize the need for employees to respect other employees’ rights and privacy. Aggressive or discriminaory behaviours are forbidden, even as jokes. These expectations are written in the business conduct guidelines for employees. However, Lenovo (China) does not have any specific equal opportunities or diversity management programmes to enforce these clauses. The acquired business unit of IBM has good HR practices, for example, WLB and DM. These have not yet been transferred to the Chinese operation due to staff shortages. There was a corporate initiative (stimulated from the US side) about grouping women at international level together to have a global forum to discuss diversity issues in 2006. Unfortunately, budget constraints meant that the plan was set to one side. The HR directors from Lenovo (US) are well aware of the challenge they face in transferring their US-developed diversity management programme to other branches across different countries and cultures. The US HR team are the people who are familiar with the concept and responsible for promoting its global diffusion, and they are approaching the task with extreme caution. This is in part, as they admit- ted, due to their unfamiliarity with the local environments in different parts of the world, although they are planning to visit Lenovo (China) for the first time. How to accommodate the diversity of the global workforce and leverage it to enhance the performance of the firm on the one hand, and how to develop a strong corporate culture that all employees will identify with on the other hand is their main HR con- cern, and a solution has yet to be found. According to all managerial informants, the corporate priority is talent management. A new scheme called ‘Mobility Plan’ has been implemented at the international level. The purpose of the plan is to give managers an opportunity to work overseas to gain international experience to be able to lead at a global level. It is not aimed at Chinese managers in principle, but in reality has mainly involved sending Chinese managers to the US for development.

Questions:

1: Identify and explain the main issues in this case study

2. What are the key issues of diversity management in this case study and how are they manifested?