Please write clear grammatically correct answer. Answers that are not grammatically correct will be counted wrong. Simplify your answers as much as possible. Do not write long paragraphs. Answer all 4 questions.

14. Name the two most important environmental changes during the Miocene and describe their effects on primate evolution.

a.

b.

15. Name and describe the two phases of the walking cycle and the three main aspects of bipedal locomotion.

1.

2.

a.

b.

c.

16. Compare ape-human differences in vertebral column, pelvis, femur, feet and hands and how they affect locomotion.

a. Vertebral Column

Ape:

Human:

b. Pelvis

Ape:

Human:

c. Femur

Ape:

Human:

d. Feet

Ape:

Human:

e. Hands

Ape:

Human:

17. Name and justify the importance of the five most significant Australopithecine features that contribute to our understanding of human evolution.

a.
b.

c.

d.

e.

This week has focused on using several cost analysis tools to determine how well products contribute to a company’s profitability. However, all of these tools are internally used and not required to be published outside of an organization. Instead, external stakeholders rely on the three key financial statements reviewed in Unit 1:

• Income Statement
• Balance Sheet
• Statement of Cash Flows)

If a company’s CVP analyses showed it was not operating at break-even, where on the financial statements might one be able to see this impact (i.e., specific line items on the statements)?

As portfolio activities are to be self-reflective, please make sure to connect the portfolio assignment to:

• Your personal experiences
• Course readings and any external readings.
• Discussion forum posts or other course objectives that tie into your reflection.

Your entry should be a minimum of 500 words and not more than 750 words. Use APA citations and references if you use ideas from the readings or other sources.

This week has focused on using several cost analysis tools to determine how well products contribute to a company’s profitability. However, all of these tools are internally used and not required to be published outside of an organization. Instead, external stakeholders rely on the three key financial statements reviewed in Unit 1:

• Income Statement
• Balance Sheet
• Statement of Cash Flows)

If a company’s CVP analyses showed it was not operating at break-even, where on the financial statements might one be able to see this impact (i.e., specific line items on the statements)?

As portfolio activities are to be self-reflective, please make sure to connect the portfolio assignment to:

• Your personal experiences
• Course readings and any external readings.
• Discussion forum posts or other course objectives that tie into your reflection.

The Portfolio Activity entry should be a minimum of 500 words and not more than 750 words. Use APA citations and references if you use ideas from the readings or other sources.

QUESTION ONE

Operations Management is one of the three major functions of any organisation. No organisation can do without the Operations function. It exists for manufacturing and service organisations as well as to profit and non-profit making organisations. It is such a costly part of an organisation but contribute to a large extent to the success of the organisation. However, organisations are impacted continuously by business pressures and these provide them with the biggest challenges. Organisations often look to the Operations functions to respond to the business pressures.
(a) Carry out a literature review on the Operations Management Function, indicating a definition of Operations Management, its importance to organisations and how it contributes to the success of the organisation.    (1500 Words: 30 marks)

(b) With reference to an industry you are familiar with, identify five business pressures impacting on the industry and discuss how these challenges can be addressed by the operations functions of the latter. (1000 Words: 20 marks)

Students are expected to critically analyse the various aspects and not just report passively and should include a small conclusion.

An employee contributes $16,700 to a 401(k) plan each year, and the company matches 10 percent of this annually, or $1,670. The employee can allocate the contributions among equities (earning 14 percent annually), bonds (earning 6 percent annually), and money market securities (earning 4 percent annually). The employee expects to work at the company 20 years. The employee can contribute annually along one of the three following patterns:

Calculate the terminal value of the 401(k) plan for each of the 3 options, assuming all returns and contributions remain constant over the 20 years. (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to the nearest whole number. (e.g., 32))

Martin, Barry, and Sims each have $4,000 to contribute toward an office supply business that they would like to start up. They are aware that there will be stiff competition in the business district where they will be opening. The three of them want to begin the business with as little hassle as possible and with minimal overhead costs. On the other hand, they do not want to do so in a way that subjects them to unnecessary taxes or makes them more liable than they have to be for potential lawsuits based on torts or contracts. Please prepare a PowerPoint presentation discussing what the advantages and disadvantages would be to organize as a: 1) partnership, 2) corporation, and 3) limited liability company. Make a recommendation and explain why you reached your conclusions. As to the liability issue, would it make a difference whether the potential suits were based on tort or contract issues? Explaining why you reached your conclusion is just as important as the conclusions themselves.

Extract 1 The fourth step forward for telecoms Singapore introduced competition in its telecoms industry several years ago by breaking the monopoly of Singtel. M1’s entry in 1997 and StarHub’s in 2000 were meant to provide consumers with more choices and lead to higher levels of service at more competitive prices. Last week, the government announced the award of a fourth licence to Australian operator TPG Telecom. The outcome of these liberalisation moves should be good. The three existing telecoms companies have to up their game or lose their customers, who can switch easily from one telco to the next. Since the domestic market is now shared among multiple players, they also are forced to venture outside Singapore for new business. Singtel, in particular, has done this successfully, with its overseas businesses generating more than half its revenue and profit. This international exposure is good for Singapore companies because it strengthens their capabilities and finances. The entry of a fourth player should sharpen the competition further. That it is from outside Singapore should help to bring fresh ideas into this country and raise telecommunications standards in one of the most globalised nations on earth. While service levels are better now than they were before, there is room for improvement. Earlier this month, Singtel was hit by a widespread broadband outage, slightly over a month after a similarly disruptive StarHub breakdown. These incidents, which inconvenienced customers, show how important it is to maintain high standards of reliability. Telecoms services, which include broadband and mobile services, are part of a country’s critical infrastructure and are vital to its smooth and efficient running. This is more so for a place like Singapore, which is a financial centre and an aviation and shipping hub. There is no room for complacency. But the real issue is not domestic competition among local players. The digital revolution has meant that they have to compete now, not only among themselves, but against entities such as WhatsApp, Apple, WeChat and numerous other digital platforms that allow users to communicate, interact and share content with one another. These global giants have upended the industry. They are a boon to consumers but a nightmare to those whose businesses they have disrupted. If local telcos are not strong enough to adapt and meet the needs of their customers, who have many more choices now, they will suffer the consequences. Source: Adapted from The Straits Times, 20 December 2016.

Extract 2 Singapore’s big telcos face rude awakening, as the little guys get the last laugh Back in 2016, the three major Singapore telcos – Singtel, StarHub and M1 – held various meetings with investors and shareholders, reassuring them that a fourth telco would not be a threat to their businesses. The incumbents had felt that if a new competitor appears, it will be an uphill climb to deliver the same quality of services as them. The telcos believed they did not need to do anything. Whatever price the fourth telco offers, they will undercut it to kill off the competition. Sunway University Business School ECN1014 / October 2020 Mid-Term Test Page 2 of 2 But the telecommunications landscape today is far from the oasis of stability that the three telcos had portrayed to investors back then. There are now 11 telcos in Singapore, including the mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that have since flooded the scene. Right now, Singapore consumers are enjoying a variety of telco offerings at low prices like never before. Total mobile service revenue shrank 5.3 per cent in 2018. Industry leader Singtel’s group earnings fell by 7 per cent in the 2018 financial year compared with the previous year, while StarHub’s service earnings fell by 11.1 per cent and M1’s shrank by 3.7 per cent. For one thing, Singaporeans are now less willing to pay for data as before. People are no longer willing to pay high fees for premium plans that boasted more data. Today, nearly every telco offers affordable unlimited data plans. Consumers expect to get more data and pay less, which translates to more data consumption and less data revenue for the telcos. The popularity of off-contract plans also shows a change in handset replacement patterns among a segment of consumers, who are increasingly unwilling to be locked in. SIM-only plans have gradually reduced the dominance of the two-year post-paid contract model in Singapore, whereby expensive phones are subsidised by the telcos. Part of this is due to Chinese phone manufacturers such as Huawei and Oppo, whose phones boast lower prices than that of Apple and Samsung while offering similar performance. The influx of cheaper phones reduces the attractiveness of subsidised plans, and hence lowers the ability of telcos to lock customers into two-year plans. Source: Adapted from Channel News Asia, 8 July 2019.

(a) Using demand-supply analysis, analyse the view that a growing number of competitors in the telecommunications industry offers ‘a boon to consumers but a nightmare to those whose businesses they have disrupted’ (Extract 1). [10 marks]

(b) With reference to Extract 1, identify and explain four possible ways in which Singtel can exclude competitors. [10 marks]

(c) Explain the cost advantages which large telcos enjoy and consider the reasons for which ‘the little guys may get the last laugh’ (Extract 2). [10 marks]

(d) Using the theory of perfect competition, explain and illustrate how the entry of the mobile virtual network operators allows Singapore consumers to enjoy ‘a variety of telco offerings at low prices like never before’ (Extract 2). [10 marks]

Extract 1

The fourth step forward for telecoms Singapore introduced competition in its telecoms industry several years ago by breaking the monopoly of Singtel. M1’s entry in 1997 and StarHub’s in 2000 were meant to provide consumers with more choices and lead to higher levels of service at more competitive prices. Last week, the government announced the award of a fourth licence to Australian operator TPG Telecom. The outcome of these liberalisation moves should be good. The three existing telecoms companies have to up their game or lose their customers, who can switch easily from one telco to the next. Since the domestic market is now shared among multiple players, they also are forced to venture outside Singapore for new business. Singtel, in particular, has done this successfully, with its overseas businesses generating more than half its revenue and profit. This international exposure is good for Singapore companies because it strengthens their capabilities and finances. The entry of a fourth player should sharpen the competition further. That it is from outside Singapore should help to bring fresh ideas into this country and raise telecommunications standards in one of the most globalised nations on earth. While service levels are better now than they were before, there is room for improvement. Earlier this month, Singtel was hit by a widespread broadband outage, slightly over a month after a similarly disruptive StarHub breakdown. These incidents, which inconvenienced customers, show how important it is to maintain high standards of reliability. Telecoms services, which include broadband and mobile services, are part of a country’s critical infrastructure and are vital to its smooth and efficient running. This is more so for a place like Singapore, which is a financial centre and an aviation and shipping hub. There is no room for complacency. But the real issue is not domestic competition among local players. The digital revolution has meant that they have to compete now, not only among themselves, but against entities such as WhatsApp, Apple, WeChat and numerous other digital platforms that allow users to communicate, interact and share content with one another. These global giants have upended the industry. They are a boon to consumers but a nightmare to those whose businesses they have disrupted. If local telcos are not strong enough to adapt and meet the needs of their customers, who have many more choices now, they will suffer the consequences. Source: Adapted from The Straits Times, 20 December 2016.

Extract 2

Singapore’s big telcos face rude awakening, as the little guys get the last laugh Back in 2016, the three major Singapore telcos – Singtel, StarHub and M1 – held various meetings with investors and shareholders, reassuring them that a fourth telco would not be a threat to their businesses. The incumbents had felt that if a new competitor appears, it will be an uphill climb to deliver the same quality of services as them. The telcos believed they did not need to do anything. Whatever price the fourth telco offers, they will undercut it to kill off the competition.

But the telecommunications landscape today is far from the oasis of stability that the three telcos had portrayed to investors back then. There are now 11 telcos in Singapore, including the mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that have since flooded the scene. Right now, Singapore consumers are enjoying a variety of telco offerings at low prices like never before. Total mobile service revenue shrank 5.3 per cent in 2018. Industry leader Singtel’s group earnings fell by 7 per cent in the 2018 financial year compared with the previous year, while StarHub’s service earnings fell by 11.1 per cent and M1’s shrank by 3.7 per cent. For one thing, Singaporeans are now less willing to pay for data as before. People are no longer willing to pay high fees for premium plans that boasted more data. Today, nearly every telco offers affordable unlimited data plans. Consumers expect to get more data and pay less, which translates to more data consumption and less data revenue for the telcos. The popularity of off-contract plans also shows a change in handset replacement patterns among a segment of consumers, who are increasingly unwilling to be locked in. SIM-only plans have gradually reduced the dominance of the two-year post-paid contract model in Singapore, whereby expensive phones are subsidised by the telcos. Part of this is due to Chinese phone manufacturers such as Huawei and Oppo, whose phones boast lower prices than that of Apple and Samsung while offering similar performance. The influx of cheaper phones reduces the attractiveness of subsidised plans, and hence lowers the ability of telcos to lock customers into two-year plans. Source: Adapted from Channel News Asia, 8 July 2019.

(a) Using demand-supply analysis, analyse the view that a growing number of competitors in the telecommunications industry offers ‘a boon to consumers but a nightmare to those whose businesses they have disrupted’ (Extract 1). [10 marks]

(b) With reference to Extract 1, identify and explain four possible ways in which Singtel can exclude competitors.

(c) Explain the cost advantages which large telcos enjoy and consider the reasons for which ‘the little guys may get the last laugh’ (Extract 2).

(d) Using the theory of perfect competition, explain and illustrate how the entry of the mobile virtual network operators allows Singapore consumers to enjoy ‘a variety of telco offerings at low prices like never before’ (Extract 2).

Using the Patients dataset, create a scatter plot (similar to Figure 13.5) with patient’s age on the x-axis and length of stay on the y-axis. Make sure that you fully label this chart (title for the chart, x-axis, and y-axis). (5 points)

Follow the directions in EG13.2 (Excel Guide) at the end of Chapter 13 and create a linear trend line along with the linear regression equation and R-squared value. Interpret both the linear regression equation and the R-squared value. (10 points)

Now calculate the correlation coefficient and interpret it. What do you conclude about the relationship between a patient’s age and length of stay? (5 points)