Question 1

For a party tonight you want to make your special hamburger recipe. You have only the following ingredients:

10 meat patties

24 buns

18 cheese slices

If you need to make as many complete hamburgers as possible and each hamburger must follow your special hamburger recipe contain 1 meat patty, 2 bun halves, and 2 cheese slice, then what is the maximum number of complete hamburgers can you make given the reagents, I mean ingredients, that you have on hand?

You can make a maximum of 24 hamburgers.
You can make a maximum of 9 hamburgers.
You can make a maximum of 10 hamburgers.
You can make a maximum of 18 hamburgers.
You can make a maximum of 12 hamburgers.  

QUESTION 2

Write down logical dimensional analysis steps, starting with the given number of each ingredient and ending up with numbers of hamburgers; match the number of food reagents available with the number of hamburgers just that reagent could make if that ingredient is all that controlled your hamburger production that day.

10 meat patties

33 tomato slices

18 cheese slices

24 buns halves

A. 9 hamburgers

B.12 hamburgers

C. Wait a minute! Tomatoes aren't in this receipe.

D.10 hamburgers

QUESTION 3

Given the food supplies for the party (the reagents) in problem #1 above. Which "reagent" would make the largest number of hamburgers if the "yield" were only based on that reagent? Note this is NOT the limiting reagent. This is the fantasy scenario. If you follow the recipe, it is impossible to make this number of hamburgers because one of the other reagents will be used up.

The buns could make 24 complete hamburgers.
The patties could make 20 complete hamburgers.
The cheese could make 18 complete hamburgers.
The cheese could make 9 complete hamburgers.
The buns could make 12 complete hamburgers.
The patties could make 10 complete hamburgers.

QUESTION 4

Given the food supplies for the party (the reagents) in problem #1 above. Which "reagent" would make the fewest number of hamburgers if the "yield" were only based on that reagent and you followed the recipe? The reagent you choose is called the limiting reagent because it makes the least amount of the product. It makes the least amount of product because it's completely consumed.

The buns would make 12 complete hamburgers.
The patties would make 10 complete hamburgers.
The cheese would make 18 complete hamburgers.
The cheese would make 9 complete hamburgers.

QUESTION 5

Given the food reagents in Problem #1, after the maximum number of hamburgers are made, what number of each excess reagent will be left over?

Here's how to do this: start with the number of the limiting reagent and calculate the number of each of the other reagents CONSUMED when the limiting reagent is completely used up. Subtract those from the number your started with and that's what's left over for that reagent. All ingredients will be left over EXCEPT for the limiting reagent.

1 meat patty, 0 cheese slices, and 6 bun halves
9 meat patties, 9 cheese slices, and 2 bun halves
9 patties, 2 cheese slices, and 12 bun halves
0 patties, 5 cheese slices, and 10 bun halves

QUESTION 6

This limiting reagent hamburger quiz is analogous to the chemical limiting reagent problems we've been studying in many ways. Match the following correctly:

The word must in the first problem describing that each hamburger must be composed of a certain recipe corresponds to:

Determining the food item that will make the fewest number of hamburgers corresponds to:

Determining which and how much of each food items will be left over after the hamburgers are made corresponds to:

Determining which food item makes the most hamburgers corresponds to:

A. the process of determining the limiting reagent in chemical analysis.
B. nothing useful in chemical analysis.
C. the stoichiometric relationship between reactants and products.
D. the process of determining the excess reagents in chemical analysis.

Getting It Right: The Success of Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines was doing something that seemed like a horrible mistake. All other airlines at the time were following a simple rule: They would only offer a flight if, on average, 65 percent of the seats could be filled with passengers, since only then could the flight break even. Continental, however, was flying jets at just 50 percent of capacity and was actually expanding flights on many routes. When word of Continental’s policy leaked out, its stockholders were angry, and managers at competing airlines smiled knowingly, waiting for Continental to fail. Yet Continental’s profits – already higher than the industry average – continued to grow. What was going on?

            There was, indeed, a serious mistake being made – but by the other airlines, not Continental. This mistake should by now be familiar to you [students of managerial economics]: using average cost instead of marginal cost to make decisions. The “65 percent capacity” rule used throughout the industry was derived more or less as follows: The total costs of the airline for the year (TC), was divided by the numbers of flights during the year (Q) to obtain the average cost of a flight (TC/Q=ATC). For the typical flight, this came to about $4,000. Since a jet had to be 65 percent full in order to earn ticket sales of $4,000, the industry regarded any flight that repeatedly took off with less than 65 percent as a money loser and canceled it.

            As usual, there are two problems with using ATC in this way. First, an airline’s average cost per flight includes many costs that are fixed and are therefore irrelevant to the decision to add or subtract a flight. These include the cost of running the reservations system, paying interest on the firm’s debt, and fixed fees for landing rights at airports – none of which would change if the firm added or subtracted a flight. Also, average cost ordinarily changes as output changes, so it is wrong to assume it is constant in decisions about changing output.

            Continental’s management, led by its vice-president of operations, had decided to try the marginal approach to profit. Whenever a new flight was being considered, every department within the company was asked to determine the additional cost they would have to bear. Of course, the only additional costs were for additional variable inputs, such as additional flight attendants, ground crew personnel, in-flight meals, and jet fuel. These additional costs came to only about $2,000 per flight. Thus, the marginal cost of an additional flight – $2,000 – was significantly less than the marginal revenue of a flight filled to 65 percent of capacity – $4,000. The marginal approach to profits tell us that when MR>MC, output should be increased, which is just what Continental was doing. Indeed, Continental correctly drew the conclusion that the marginal revenue of a flight filled at even 50 percent of capacity – $3,000 – was still greater than its marginal cost, and so offering the flight would increase profit. This is why Continental was expanding routes when it could fill only 50 percent of its seats.

            In the early 1960’s, Continental was able to outperform its competitors by using a secret – the marginal approach to profits. Today, of course, the secret is out, and all airlines use the marginal approach when deciding which flights to offer.

After reviewing chapter 8, I am sure you will come to appreciate the significance of the marginal analysis for optimal decisions first introduced in Chapter 1. In Chapter 8, the approach boils down to what we generally call the optimal output decision rule that states: To maximize profit or minimize losses in the short run, a firm should produce at the level where marginal revenue (MR) is equal to marginal cost (MC).  Although this principle was long established by economists, the business community, however, was initially slow to understand and use it in their decision making processes. Those who understood the method and applied it earlier than their competitors were able to generate substantial profits while their competitors struggled to survive. Please find attached a summary of an article that demonstrates these events and along the way demonstrates how useful and powerful the method is.

After reviewing the summary, please post your thoughts and reactions. In particular, anything that you found particularly surprising or interesting and some other mistakes managers make, in light of what you have learned in this module. no graph needed.

Project 2
This assignment follows the standard form for a project submission. You need to include an introduction, primary discussion, and summary. Include graphs, tables, and images, as necessary, to improve the clarity of your discussion. Your project needs to be both correct and well written. Communication remains a critical component of our modern, technological society. A few notes about format: you MUST use MS Word for your project and use Equation Editor for all mathematical symbols, e.g. z(t) = sin(t) +   1/ln(t)
If you have any questions about the requirements for this project, ask before you submit.

This project addresses modeling with Ordinary Differential Equations and solutions to those equations. You will solve a problem analytically and program an Improved Euler’s method numerical solver.

Projects provide you with an opportunity to improve your Mathematical skills as well as your communication. For this project you will need to correctly solve the problems and effectively
communicate your ideas and solutions. This assignment will be evaluated across the areas of
Validity, Readability, and Fluency.
Validity – Validity corresponds to the validity of your arguments. It addresses the extent to which your method is appropriate, your calculations are correct, and your analysis is accurate.
Readability – If your written work is not readable it cannot be assessed. Since the ability to communicate Mathematics is a focal point for this class, special attention will be paid to the
readability of your work.
Fluency – Mathematics is a concise and precise language, and we wish to enhance your fluency.
Therefore, part of every assessment will focus on your ability to incorporate correct, established notation and terminology into your written work

Evaluation criteria
Validity              quality methods, correct solutions, proper conclusions, complete reasoning
Readability       organization, presentation, format, clarity, effectiveness
Fluency              proper notation, proper terminology, appropriate definitions, conciseness

Project 2: A bead sliding along a rod

A bead is constrained to slide along a rod of length L. The rod is rotating in a vertical plane with a constant angular speed, W, about a pivot in the middle of the rod. The pivot allows the
bead to freely slide along the rod, i.e. the pivot does not impede the movement of the bead. Let r(t) denote the distance of the bead away from the pivot where r(t) can be positive
or negative.

Equation of Motion

Applying Newton’s second law provides a balance of forces due to gravity, friction, centripetal acceleration, and linear acceleration. The equation resulting from these forces is

M d²r/dt² + B dr/dt – mw²r = -mg sin(wt) where m is the mass of the bead, B is the coefficient of viscous damping, w is the constant speed of angular rotation, g = 9.81 m/s² is the acceleration due to gravity, and r is the distance between the pivot and the bead. The rod is initially horizontal, and the initial conditions for the bead are r(0) = r₀ and r’(0) = v₀.

Problem 2

Consider the frictionless rod, i.e. B = 0. The equation of motion becomes m d²r/dt² - mw²r = -mg sin (wt) with g = 9.81 m/s² and a constant angular speed W. The rod is initially horizontal, and the initial conditions for the bead are r(0) = r₀ and r’(0) = v₀. You will need to write an Improved Euler Method system solver to find r(t) and v(t)

A) Numerically solve for r(t) when W = 2, r₀ = 0, and v₀ = 2.40, 2.45, 2.50. Solve in the time interval t E [0,5] . Use step sizes h = 1/32, 1/128, 1/512 and compare your results. Also, compare your best numerical answers with your analytic answers from Problem 1 part E).
B) Numerically solve for r(t) when W = 2, r₀ = 0, and v₀ is selected to give simple harmonic motion, i.e. Problem 1 part B. Use small step sizes, e.g. h =  1/512, 1/2048, 1/8192, etc. Solve for the longest time interval that provides reasonable values for r(t) . Compare your results to the analytic solution that gives simple harmonic motion. What does this demonstrate about numerical solutions?

Please use the most recent data available for Home Depot. Thank you!

*Excel not necessary if you can't attach, a word doc is fine*

Data Case for Chapter 14:

Capital Structure in a Perfect Market You work in the corporate finance division of The Home Depot and your boss has asked you to review the firm’s capital structure. Specifically, your boss is considering changing the firm’s debt level. Your boss remembers something from his MBA program about capital structure being irrelevant, but isn’t quite sure what that means. You know that capital structure is irrelevant under the conditions of perfect markets and will demonstrate this point for your boss by showing that the weighted average cost of capital remains constant under various levels of debt. So, for now, suppose that capital markets are perfect as you prepare responses for your boss. You would like to analyze relatively modest changes to Home Depot’s capital structure. You would like to consider two scenarios: the firm issues $1 billion in new debt to repurchase stock, and the firm issues $1 billion in new stock to repurchase debt. Use Excel to answer the following questions using Eq. 14.5 and Eq. 14.6, and assuming a cost of unlevered equity (rU) of 12%.

1. Obtain the financial information you need for Home Depot.

a. Go to www.nasdaq.com, and under “Quotes and Research” click “Summary Quotes.” Enter Home Depot’s stock symbol (HD) and click “Go Now.” From the Stock Quote & Summary Data page, get the current stock price. Click “Stock Report” in the left column and find the number of shares outstanding.

b. Click “Income Statement” and the annual income statement should appear. Put the cursor in the middle of the statement, right-click your mouse, and select “Export to Microsoft Excel.” (You will not need the income statement until Chapter 15, but collect all of the background data in one step.) On the Web page, click the Balance Sheet tab. Export the balance sheet to Excel as well and then cut and paste the balance sheet to the same worksheet as the income statement.

c. To get the cost of debt for Home Depot, go to FINRA’s Bond Center (http://finra- markets.morningstar.com/BondCenter/). Select the “Corporate” option, enter Home Depot’s symbol, and click “Search.” The next page will contain information for all of Home Depot’s outstanding and recently matured bonds. Select the latest yield on an outstanding bond with the shortest remaining maturity (the maturity date is on the line describing each issue; sometimes the list also contains recently retired bonds, so make sure not to use one of those). For simplicity, since you are just trying to illustrate the main concepts for your boss, you may use the existing yield on the outstanding bond as rD.

2. Compute the market D/E ratio for Home Depot. Approximate the market value of debt by the book value of net debt; include both Long-Term Debt and Short-Term Debt/Current Portion of Long-Term Debt from the balance sheet and subtract any cash holdings. Use the stock price and number of shares outstanding to calculate the market value of equity.

3. Compute the cost of levered equity (rE) for Home Depot using their current market debt-to- equity ratio and Eq. 14.5.

4. Compute the current weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for Home Depot using Eq. 14.6 given their current debt-to-equity ratio.

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for the two scenarios you would like to analyze, issuing $1 billion in debt to repurchase stock, and issuing $1 billion in stock to repurchase debt. (Although you realize that the cost of debt capital rDmay change with changes in leverage, for these modestly small changes you decide to assume that rDremains constant. We will explore the relation between changing leverage and changing rD more fully in Chapter 24.) What is the market D/E ratio in each of these cases?

6. Prepare a written explanation for your boss explaining the relationship between capital structure and the cost of capital in this exercise.

7. What implicit assumptions in this exercise generate the results found in Question 5? How might your results differ in the “real world”?

TWO MEANS – INDEPENDENT SAMPLES

Choose a variable from the advising.sav data set to compare group means. While the choice of which variable to test is up to you, you must remember that it must be a metric variable. The grouping variable, which is used to define the two groups to be compared, must be categorical.   You can look in the “Measure” column of the “Variable View” in the data file for help in determining which is which. The managerial question is whether or not there is a significant difference between the groups for the metric variable you have chosen.

Once you have the results, report your findings using the five step hypothesis testing procedure outlined in class. (See below.)   For Step 4, simply cut and paste the SPSS output into the report. This can be done by clicking on the desired portion of the output which will then be highlighted, and then right clicking on the highlighted portion and copying it to your flash drive. (Note that you may want to drop the results into a word document immediately since if you do not have SPSS on your personal laptop, you will not be able to open any SPSS output.) Then state the answer to the managerial question that was initially posed. For example, is there a significant difference between the two groups defined by the grouping variable (which you must identify in your report) for the metric variable tested? Also, interpret the confidence interval provided for the test. Does it indicate a significant difference or not?   

PAIRED SAMPLE T-TEST

Choose a pair of metric variables and run a paired sample t-test on the pair. Again, these must be metric variables. The managerial question will be “Is there a significant difference between the two variables?” for the pair. Report your findings using the same procedure described above, including an interpretation of the confidence interval.

REPORT(SAMPLE)

Your report will consist of two hypotheses tests, (one for the independent sample test and one for the paired sample test). It will look something like this (for the independent sample test):

1: H₀: μ₁= μ₂

H_a: μ₁ ≠ μ₂

2: Two group independent sample t-test (note that SPSS does everything as a t-test regardless of sample size).

3: α=.05 → t_crit = ±whatever the appropriate value is

4

5: Make a decision regarding the null hypothesis and interpret the confidence interval.

6: Answer the managerial question.

RESULTS AFTER RUNNING

INDEPENDENT

PAIRED

The ISO 9000 series of quality management systems standard has been widely applied all over the world since its introduction in 1987. By the end of 2013, ISO 9000 had been adopted by over 1,129,000 facilities in 189 countries. Both academics and practitioners are interested in understanding the relationship between adoption of ISO 9000, and other factors (Christmann & Taylor, 2006; Du, Yin, & Zhang, 2016; Fikru, 2014a, 2014b, 2016; Nakamura, Takahashi, & Vertinsky, 2001; Pekovic, 2010; Wu, Chu, & Liu, 2007).

In 2008, the National Bureau of Statistics of China conducted an Economic Census of the service firms. The descriptions of variables, the coding are shown in the table. The data is available in Moodle.

Table: Variables, their descriptions and coding

Required Task

You are expected to work in groups and write a research report. When you work on your report, you need to use the dataset, and other sources such as journal articles. If you use website material, please pay attention to the quality of the material (e.g. government website or industry website etc.). There is no word limit for the report. For the number of references, there should be at least ten academic sources (journal articles, or books). It is encouraged to use more relevant, high quality, and up to date sources in the report.

Students have a high degree of flexibility in doing the research. The important thing is that the research should be well connected with the literature.   

The required structure should be as following.

1. Executive Summary: Major findings and major recommendations
2. Introduction: Background (of the case); purpose (of this report); two to three research objectives for a study that you would seek to conduct; and format (of this report).
3. Write a short literature review of at least ten academic sources relevant to your topic. Any source including books, journal articles are acceptable, as long as they are relevant. You can also use a particular website for some information. If websites are used they will be in addition of the ten academic sources.
4. Describe the methodology and justify your choice.
5. Analyses and findings: Run some analysis to turn the data into useful information as follows:

1. Descriptive statistics: Sample characteristics will be described with descriptive analysis. This will include at least the following analysis: Frequency, percentage; Measures of central tendency; Measures of dispersion (variance, standard deviation)
2. Inferential statistics: Inferential statistics will be used to analyse relationship between variables. This will include at least the following analysis (Chi-square, Pearson’s r, t-test, ANOVA test).

6. Discussion and managerial advises: link your findings to extant literature. Advise the management about the usefulness of the findings.
7. Limitations and directions for future research. Suggestions of how the research can be improved.
8. Include a correctly constructed reference list of all sources used in the project, not just those used in the literature review section. Appendices also should be attached which will include all the analysis and graphs etc. that are not included in the body of the report.

Income statements and balance sheets follow for The New York Times Company. Refer to these financial statements to answer the requirements.

Continued next page

Continued next page

Required:

a. Compute net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) for 2016 and 2015. Compute net operating assets (NOA) for 2016 and 2015. Assume that combined federal and state statutory. Compute return on net operating assets (RNOA) for 2016 and 2015. Net operating assets are $397,299 thousand in 2014.

b. Compute return on common shareholders equity (ROE) for 2016 and 2015. Stockholders’ equity attributable to New York Times Company in 2014 is $726,328 thousand.

c. What is nonoperating return component of ROE for 2016 and 2015?

d.    Comment on the difference between ROE and RNOA. What inference do you draw from this comparison?

Please Show Work - Excel or Word Answer is Prefered.

in Java please

For this assignment you are to write a class that supports the addition of extra long integers, by using linked-lists. Longer than what is supported by Java's built-in data type, called long.

Your program will take in two strings, consisting of only digits, covert each of them to a linked-list that represents an integer version on that string. Then it will create a third linked-list that represents the sum of both of the linked lists. Lastly, it will print out the result of the sum.

Conceptual Example
For the string: "12", create a list: head->1->2->null
For the string: "34", create a list: head->3->4->null
Add the two lists to create a third list: head->4->6->null
print the resulting linked list as "46"
Where "->" represents a link.

Keep in mind that the conceptual example above is conceptual. It does suggest a certain implementation. However as you read on you will see that you have several options for implementing your solution. You need not use the suggested implementation above.

For this class you are to implement a minimum of three methods. They are:

1. A method called makeSDList() that takes in a string, consisting only of digits, as an argument, and creates and returns a linked-link representation of the argument string.

   The method has the following header:

   SDList makeSDList(String s) { }

   where s is a string, and SDList is the class name of the linked list.  

2. A method called addLists() that takes takes two lists, adds them together, and creates and returns a list that represents the sum of both argument lists.

   The method has the following header:

   SDList addLists(SDList c) { }

   wherec  linked-list of type SDList .

3. A method called displayList() that takes takes a list, prints the value of each digit of the list.  

   The method has the following header:

   void displayList() { }

Programming Notes

1. You need not add any methods you don't need.
2. You can add any methods use wish.
3. You can use any type of linked list like: singly-linked, doubly-linked, circular, etc.
4. You can choose you own list implementation such-as with or without sentinels, with head and/or tail points, etc.
5. Do not assume any maximum length for either addend.
6. You can assume that an each addend is a least one digit long.
7. You need not test for the null or empty string ("") cases.
8. The addends need not be the same length.

Programming Rules:

1. You are not allowed to change the signature of the three methods above.
2. You are not allowed to use arrays or ArrayLists anywhere in your solution.
3. You are not allowed to use any Java built-in (ADTs), such as Lists, Sets, Maps, Stacks, Queues, Deques, Trees, Graphs, Heaps, etc. Or make any class that inherits any of those ADTs.
4. You are to create your own node and list class. For your node and list class you can use the code that was used in the book, video and lecture notes related to the node and lists class examples.
5. You are only allowed to have one class for your nodes and one class for your lists.
6. You are not allowed to use Java Generics.
7. You can use any data type to represent the digits (in the node). However, each node must represent one and only one digit.
8. If hard-coding detected in any part of your solution your score will be zero for the whole assignment.

Submission Rules:

1. Submit only one Homework5.java file for all test cases. The starter file is names Homework5a.java so you will need rename the file before you begin submitting your solution.

2. Anything submitted to Mimir is considered to be officially submitted to me and is considered to be 100% your work. Even if it is not your last planned submission.

3. Any extra testing code that you wrote and used to do your own testing should be deleted from the file that gets used in the final grading. I emphasize the word deleted. Commenting out code is not sufficient and not considered deleted. It must be completely removed. English comments written to explain your code are perfectly fine.

Case Study: Max

Client Profile: “Max is a 12-year old boy whose father died about 5 years ago. His father experienced periodic episodes of depression during his lifetime. After his father’s death, Max displayed tantrums and became more aggressive toward his toys and people. He took on a serious, almost sad expression. He seemed empty and alone, even when in a room full of people. Max saw a therapist; after a period of play therapy, he stopped being more aggressive than boys his age, began to smile and played with peers.”

            “Max’s mother went to work after his father’s death; she now works two jobs. When she is home, she is authoritarian in her parenting style. Recently, Max’s mother snooped around Max’s room and found some morbid pictures that he had drawn (i.e., pictures of funerals, cemeteries, and people being shot or knifed to death). She also found cigarettes; as a consequence, he cannot have any friends visit and he may not leave the house except to go to school.”

            Max is not turning in schoolwork and is picking fights at school. In the evening, he plays video games and makes excuses for procrastinating with his homework. He lies awake at night worrying about his homework and things such as failing school, disappointing his mother, not having friends, and wondering if everyone hates him. When his mother tells him he is going to fail school, he responds, ‘I don’t care.’”

            The school nurse notices Max’s behavior and becomes concerned, especially since two other students recently attempted suicide. She shares this information with Max’s mother and suggests that a health care provider see Max. His mother takes him to a sliding-fee-scale clinic where a family practice health care provider who volunteers at the clinic sees Max. The health care provider identifies depression as a problem, considers putting Max on medication, but decides instead to have him admitted to a residential treatment center for evaluation and treatment. A clinic social worker finds funding from various sources to cover the cost of treatment at the facility for children and adolescents. The facility has child and adolescent psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses on staff.” [Richardson, B.K. (2007). Case Study Series: Psychiatric Nursing, Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.]

Case Study: The nurse on the children’s unit of the residential treatment center receives word Max will be admitted for treatment of depression. When Max and his mother arrive, the nurse does an intake interview with Max alone and then with both Max and his mother. Then the nurse interviews his mother and gives her a copy of the parent handbook while someone orients Max to the unit and its rules. Both Max and his mother are asked to sign a form indicating they have read the unit rules and will abide by them. Max’s belongings are inventoried; some are locked up, while he is permitted to keep others. The child psychiatrist prescribes fluoxetine (Prozac) as well as individual and group therapy.

            One night, Max gets irritable with the nurse for not letting him stay up past unit bedtime to watch his favorite television show. Max says, “It doesn’t matter because I am just going to kill myself tonight anyway.” The psychiatrist is notified and writes orders for Max to be placed on 1 to 1 observation within eyesight of an assigned staff member at all times. The following day Max learns he cannot go to the recreation building because a unit rule states, “Anyone who threatens to kill himself or herself cannot leave the unit until he or she no longer wishes to kill himself or herself and 24 hours have passed.” Max tells the nurse, “I was just kidding. I really wasn’t going to kill myself.”

Questions

1. Max’s mother tells you (the nurse) about the 2 other students at Max’s school who attempted suicide recently. How should you respond?

2.What data would you gather on Max and his family prior to writing a nursing care plan?

Point-of-sale (POS) system is used in Fiesta, a local supermarket. The supermarket maintains no credit sales; all transactions are paid using cash or credit/debit cards. The inventories are kept on the supermarket’s shelves. Customers pick the items they wish to buy and carry them to the checkout counter where the transaction begins.

First, the checkout clerk scans the bar codes printed on the items with a scanner. The scanner, which is the primary input device in the POS system, is mounted on the checkout counter. The POS system is connected online to the supermarket’s inventory file from which it retrieves price data. The price for each item is displayed on screen for customer’s checking. The quantity-on- hand figure in the inventory file is reduced in real time to reflect the item being sold. As an inventory item falls to a pre-determined level, it is reordered automatically by the system. When all the items are scanned at the checkout counter, the POS system calculates discounts and total for the sale transaction. A record of the sales transaction is stored in the POS system.

In case of credit card payment, the checkout clerk inserts the credit card into a small machine which is connected to the credit card issuer via electronic connection. Through this process, the clerk can determine whether the credit card is valid or not. When the checking is finished, the machine generates a credit card receipt on which the customer signs if the transaction exceeds certain dollar amounts. In case of signed receipt, the clerk compares the signature to the one signed at the back of the credit card to ensure the two signatures match with each other. The clerk gives the customer a copy of the receipt and secures a second copy in a drawer of the POS system. Similar steps follow for debit card (e.g. Octopus card) transaction, except customer signature is not required. For cash sales, the checkout clerk secures the cash in the drawer. The cash sale is recorded on a two-part paper receipt. One copy is given to the customer as a receipt, the other copy is secured within the POS system. The POS system records the types of payments (e.g. cash, credit card, etc.) made by customers for all sales transactions.

At the end of the checkout clerk’s work shift, a supervisor unlocks the drawer and retrieves all the cash and paper receipts. The drawer is removed and replaced with a new drawer containing a known amount of start-up cash for the next clerk. The supervisor and the checkout clerk take the cash and paper receipts to the treasury department. A cash receipts clerk in the treasury department reconciles the cash and paper receipts against the data stored inside the POS system.

Often, small discrepancies exist because of errors in giving change to customers. The supermarket’s policy specifies that cash shortages below certain small amount is recorded but not deducted from the checkout clerk’s salary. Cash shortages above that small amount, however, should be reviewed for possible disciplinary action.

When the cash and paper receipts have been reconciled to the POS system’s record, the cash receipts clerk prepares a cash reconciliation form and gives one copy to the checkout clerk as a receipt for cash remitted. The cash receipts clerk records the cash received and cash short/over in a cash receipts journal. The cash receipts clerk files the credit/debit card receipts and secures the cash in a safe for deposit at a local bank the next working day. At that time, the cash receipts clerk prepares a three-part deposit slip for the total amount of the cash deposited. One copy is filed, and the other two copies are taken to the bank together with the cash.

Required:

Answer the following questions. Observe the word limit as stated in the answer booklet.

a. What revenue cycle process in a level 0 data flow diagram is discussed most in the case?

b. Identify one automated control used by the supermarket to avoid uncollectible amount.

c. What is the name of the data file that must be kept accurate in order to avoid customer dissatisfaction at the checkout counter?

d. What is the manual control procedure to ensure the data file in part c is accurate?

e. What kind of control measure that is used by the supermarket to ensure their sales data input is accurate?

f. Identify one control weakness at the supermarket.

g. How to correct the control weakness as identified in part f?