1. Two streams (Brimer and Standifer creeks) located in the same watershed are similar in size/shape and most habitat conditions (e.g., temperature, dissolved oxygen, channel substrate); however, they exhibit different pH values. Brimer Creek has a mean pH of 6.1, whereas Standifer Creek has a pH of 5.6. A stream ecologist wishes to determine whether the pH has an influence on the local distributions of benthic macroinvertebrates (annelids, crustaceans, insects) in the two streams. Two study sites were established (one in each stream) that are in close proximity to each other (~50 m apart, separated by a ridge) and located near the mouths of their respective streams. Benthic invertebrates were collected at the two sites using a standardized kick-sampling technique (equal sampling times and areas). Invertebrates were counted in samples from the two sites. The data are summarized below. Number of invertebrates per sample: Brimer Creek, n = 1373 individuals Standifer Creek, n = 955 individuals Perform a G-test for goodness of fit (α = 0.05) to test the ecologist’s hypothesis.

The Coronavirus will obviously impact the economy of big organizations like FIFA or the NBA but also their future strategy, rules and policy. How exactly will the CORONAVIRUS affect governance bodies like FIFA or the NBA? What will happen within the governance in these 2 organizations? Will they have to make some changes within their governance and their policy in the near future ? If yes, what would they probably have to change?

In order to have a good governance, big organizations like the NBA or FIFA will need to have the 5R's which are : Regulations, rules, rankings, records, results. They will also need to follow the SLEEPE model which is: Social, Legal, Economic, Ethical, Political, Educational. Finally, they will also need to have a clear structure within their governance, rules and policies and so be good at planning, organizing, leading and evaluating in order to keep getting revenue in the future. After the CORONAVIRUS, both NBA and FIFA will have to resolve a lot of issues since they will loose a lot of money during this rough period. What will be these issues that they will have to resolve in order to still have with the 5R's and follow the SLEEPE model, and what are the solutions for it?

“I’ll Take That Customer!” Neal Erwin has a reputation he has always been proud of in the Haskin’s Bookstore customer service department. He takes calls from customers that others don’t want to deal with. Sometimes, when he is on the phone with a customer, he asks co-workers to come near his desk to hear his side of the argument. In the past, he has gotten loud and belligerent with customers and later has even boasted of “winning.” Things have changed, however, and Neal is now in trouble with management because of a recent incident. A loyal 20-year customer, who spoke to Neal on the phone last week, contacted owner Mr. Charles Haskins and told him in no uncertain terms that she was taking her business elsewhere.

1. In your opinion, should Neal have been allowed to get away with his behavior to customers? Explain.

2. As a co-worker of Neal’s, would you have any responsibility to report his aggressive communication style to his supervisor?

Between 1962 (79 percent) and 2011 (61.4 percent) Voter turnout fell dramatically. According to a portion of its comparable Australia, New Zeland, and the United States, the Gallagher Index of Disproportionality for Canadian government races in that period ran from 6.26 to 20.91, yet altogether higher than many others such as Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the United States, and the Scandinavian nations.Consider the following situation: Julie and Mark are brother and sister. They are traveling together in France on summer vacation from college. One night they are staying alone in a cabin near the beach. They decide that it would be interesting and fun if they tried making love. Julie was already taking birth control pills, but Mark uses a condom too, just to be safe. They both enjoy making love, but they decide not to do it again.

(a) Briefly explain, in 100 words or less, why Julie and Mark’s actions would be morally wrong, according to Natural Law Theory. (10%)

(b) How would liberal ethics view Julie and Mark’s actions? Briefly explain, in 100 words or less. (5%)

I have a question that I would like to ask here since I'm not an expert or any near to that. Actually I just came up with this question when I was watching The fabric of cosmos. I couldn't find where I can ask this kind of question. So hopefully this is the right place.

What is the "background" of multiverse?

Let me elaborate a little more what that means clearly. As far as I understand, multiverse is a cluster of many universe and it seems like (well from what I saw in documentary) that bubbles in a cup of soda.

What I am curious is that then what is the mechanism of the background or surrounding, I should say, of the multiverse? Since if multiverse "exists" somewhere, then that means the surrounding has to have some kind of characteristics, such as space-time.

I hope that I explained comprehensibly, and somebody can give some reasonable explanation. Even better, any book recommendation would be appreciated!

Even though I studied physics for 1 year and half, I forgot many of them except curiosity. ;)

Some Rough Cost-Benefit Numbers for a “Bridge to Nowhere”

A widely publicized federal earmark in the 2006 transportation appropriation bill was $223 million for a bridge intended to provide access to Ketchikan, Alaska’s airport on lightly populated Gravina Island. The project had the misfortune to become labeled the “Bridge to Nowhere” when the earmark came to light in the 2008 presidential campaign. It is possible to do some rough cost-benefit analysis on the project.

Gravina Island has a population of around 50, so most of the bridge traffic would likely be those using the airport. The island was not inaccessible without the bridge. A ferry serves the island, with ferries leaving every half hour. The primary impact from the bridge would be to reduce travel time on the trips. It has been estimated that the drive to the airport from Ketchikan would take 13 minutes, compared to 27 minutes by ferry. Therefore, the time saving is around 15 minutes per passenger. Ketchikan is a port for cruise ships, which dock on the mainland, so some of the bridge traffic would be ship passengers either joining or leaving the cruise ships. Airline enplanements/deplanements (total passengers coming and going through the airport) are on the order of 400,000, so that traffic would create 800,000 crossings of the bridge. But let’s be generous and round up to 1,000,000 crossings, each saving around one quarter hour by taking the bridge.

How much is the time saving worth? Let’s assume that each visitor earns $125,000 in income per year. If the visitor works 50 weeks per year and 40 hours per week, then the work year is 2,000 work hours. Some visitors are children and some are retired—and the earning level assumed here is much higher than the national average—but let’s not worry about that. Work it out with different estimates on your own, if you wish. With these numbers, the value of work time equals $62.50 per hour. But this is leisure time for most of the traffic, not work time, so let’s adjust the value downward by 50 percent (probably an underadjustment) to get an estimate of the value of leisure time—$31.25. Each passenger saves 15 minutes with the bridge (compared with travel by ferry), so the saving per passenger equals $7.81. Multiply that by 1 million passengers to get $7,810,000.

We will assume that the bridge will last forever and will have no maintenance cost and that 3 percent is a reasonable discount rate (that’s lower than the OMB rate of 7 percent, but probably higher than current market interest rates). Divide $7,810,000 by 0.03 (because benefits are perpetual—the value is lower if we use a finite life for the bridge) to get the present value of the services from the bridge of $260.4 million, a large number and, as it turns out, larger than the amount of the appropriation. (If you are uncomfortable with perpetual life, use 100 years and the annuity formula to get a present value of services: (7.81/0.03)[1 − (1/1.03)100] 5 $246.8 million.)

But that is not the end of the story. In order to make the bridge functional, the state of Alaska has to spend $165 million in addition to the federal government’s $233 million. Summing up, the present value of the benefits of the bridge is at most $260.4 million, but its total cost is $398 million.

1. Would you consider the bridge to be a worthwhile use of federal resources? Why or why not?

2. Why might the state of Alaska be interested in getting the bridge built, even though the total cost of the bridge exceeds the present value of the benefits from the bridge? From the standpoint of Alaska, what are the relevant costs and benefits?

3. How do the benefit-cost analysis results change if the discount rate is 7 percent? What about 2 percent?

Heartland Watches Case

Imagine that you have just started working at Heartland Watches, a manufacturer of women's wristwatches, Following is the income statement of Heartland Watches for the last fiscal year.

Heartland Watches had manufactured 2 million watches, which had been sold to various department stores. At the start of 2017, Jodie Velasquez became the new president. She knew very little about accounting and manufacturing. Jodie has several questions, including inquiries about pricing of special orders.

A: To prepare better answers, you decide to convert the traditional income statement shown into a Contribution Format Income Statement. Total variable manufacturing cost was $18 million. Total variable selling and administrative expenses were $9 million. Prepare the revised Contribution Format Income Statement.

B: Complete the following table for Jodie, including your calculations:

C: Jodie says, "Near the end of 2016, I brought in a special order from Target for 100,000 watches at $16 each. I said I'd accept a flat $20,000 sales commission instead of the usual 6% of selling price, but my sister refused the order. She usually upheld a relatively rigid pricing policy, saying that it was bad business to accept orders that did not at least generate full manufacturing cost plus 80% of full manufacturing cost. That policy bothered me. We had idle capacity. The way I figured, our manufacturing costs would go up by 100,000 x $11 = $1,100,000, but our selling and administrative expenses would go up by only $20,000. That would mean additional operating income of 100,000 x ($16-$11) minus $20,000, or $500,000 minus $20,000, $480,000. That's too much money to give up just to maintain a general pricing policy. Was my analysis of the impact on operating income correct? If not, please show me the correct additional operating income."

Prepare a memo for Jodie summarizing your response. Answers must include supporting calculations.

D: After receiving the explanations offered in B and C, Jodie said, "Forget the Target order. I had an even bigger order from Lands' End. It was for 500,000 units and would have filled the plant completely. I told my sister I'd settle for no commission. There would have been no selling and administrative costs whatsoever because Lands' End would pay for the shipping and would not get any advertising allowances.

Lands' End offered $8.70 per unit. Our fixed manufacturing costs would have been spread over 2.5 million instead of 2 million units, Wouldn't it have been advantageous to accept the order? Our old fixed manufacturing costs were $2.00 per unit. The added volume would reduce the cost more than our loss on our variable costs per unit. Am I correct? What would have been the impact on total operating income if we had accepted the order?"

Prepare a memo for Jodie summarizing your response. Answers must include supporting calculations.

Red Carpet LLC is a national hospitality and entertainment company with headquarters in Philadelphia, PA with national operations in the US. Historically, the company has had 3 divisions: hotels, food service, and cruise lines. However, it recently completed the acquisition of Sparkstar theaters, a movie theater company, that it is slated to become its 4th division. Red Carpet now owns 200 hotels in 48 states, 4 brands of restaurants with 1776 locations, 4 Buoy Bay branded cruise ships, and 300 Sparkstar theaters.

Its matrix organizational structure consists of a central HR, accounting, business development, sales, marketing, and research and development departments located at the headquarters in Philadelphia that serve each division. Each division is located in a different part of the US and lead by a VP that reports to the President and CEO. The company is privately owned by a consortium of investors and investor groups.

Red Carpet has 16,000 employees, 1000 of which work at its corporate headquarters. The organizational culture of the headquarters is informal and organic and there are few policies and processes that guide employee behavior. The company, as a whole, does not value HR so employees struggle with many employee relations and employment law concerns. The company outsources all of its training to one of the investor group companies, however this training is commonly not customized to the needs of Red Carpet.

As a whole, Red Carpet struggles with its business to business partners and suppliers because of its reputation for being nonnegotiable. Red Carpet would rather disrupt the quality and availability of its only products and services rather than partner for the supply chain resources that it needs. Likewise, Red Carpet does not hold many of the General Managers in its hotels, restaurants, and its cruise ships accountable for performance, opting instead for a weaker political strategy of blaming and gotcha games.

Being aware of these challenges, Red Carpet acquired Sparkstar for their strong industry reputation and financial performance in the hopes that merging the structure and culture of Sparkstar into Red Carpet would change the organization for the better. Historically, Red Carpet has been a highly successful company, however in recent years, its mismanagement has created noticeable effectives in product and service quality and its bottom line.

Divisions

Hotels: Red Carpet branded hotels are mid-price semi-luxury hotels known for high quality. Each customer is given a red velvet cupcake upon checking in. Red Carpet relies on its General Managers to micromanage the hotel. Despite its corporate parent owning a restaurant division, no Red Carpet hotels have restaurants. The Red Carpet division headquarters are in Sedona AZ. Many of the hotels are in need of refurbishment.

Food Service: Chicken Heaven is a fast-food chain with a long tradition of quality, large customer base, and 1000 locations. It is a solid overall performer for Red Carpet with high employee satisfaction. Burger Blast is another fast-food chain recently launched to cater to upscale customers who seek customized, gourmet-style burgers. It has 200 locations, however General Managers are struggling with budget and supplies causing a poor customer experience and high employee turnover. Food Park is a buffet-style restaurant with 500 locations that has been recently struggling because of high competition and poor marketing. Delicacy is a high-end restaurant with an urban theme. It has 76 locations, is the oldest of Red Carpet's food service operations, and provides a unique dining experience for customers. However, General Managers have a high turnover at Delicacy because of the grueling schedule. The food service division is located in Burke, ID.

Cruise Ships: Buoy Bay cruise ships offer low-cost, short-term cruises from Port Canaveral, FL only to the US Virgin Islands. Buoy Bay offers customers average quality staterooms and food from Chicken Heaven, Burger Blast, and Food Park. However, it does not offer a non-buffet formal dining option such as Delicacy. Although they are known for their over-the-top entertainment, employee turnover is very high relying primary on seasonal employees who are poorly trained. Buoy Bay has had much controversy. Just 5 years ago, the Buoy Bay cruise ship, Garland of the Sails, hit a reef, partially sank, and had to be salvaged in a 1.5 billion dollar operation. This resulted in a Federal investigation that is still pending. The Buoy Bay division is located in Lapsowanne, OR.

Movie Theaters: Sparkstar theaters were recently purchased from the Vegamega group for 2.3 billion dollars. Sparkstar is the highest rated movie theater chain the US. It has high customer and employee satisfaction, an efficient organizational structure, and solid financial results. Sparkstar's culture is one of high HR involvement including a strong training and development department, Sparkstar Institute. Sparkstar has a customer rewards program that provides a free movie rental of the film that the customer saw in the theater which has been very popular and has increased its strong customer base. Sparkstar has its divisional headquarters in Pasadena, CA.

The Issues

With the purchase of Sparkstar theaters, Red Carpet is hoping to redefine its operations in the next 5 years. It sees opportunities to integrate its divisions, products, and services to better serve its customers and employees. Here is a summary of some of the issues that Red Carpet must address in its strategic plan:

Internal politics and communication
Improved HR and training
Employee relations issues
Federal investigations
Product and service quality
Marketing support
Performance issues
Redefining the organizational structure
Improving its organizational culture
Integrating products and services
Resource and supply chain issues

Your Role

Leroy Banks, the Director of Change management at Red Carpet is seeking an Organization Development Consultant to address Red Carpet's need for change. You've just received a consulting contract from him to help prepare a plan to assist Red Carpet. You're excited about the opportunity and are motivated to work on this project. You know that your insight will assist Red Carpet with managing organizational change.

Leroy Banks is the Director of Change Management for Red Carpet, a national hospitality and entertainment company. He has contracted you to be an OD Consultant because Red Carpet has recently acquired a movie theater company and needs to create a new division. Leroy realized that this acquisition has provided an opportunity to restructure some other parts of the Red Carpet as well so it can streamline its operations. Leroy has asked you to begin by assessing Red Carpet’s organizational environment.

Review the Red Carpet scenario for this course and with your classmates; discuss the following questions that will help you become familiar with Red Carpet:

Identify and describe 3 examples of external forces affecting Red Carpet.
Identify and describe 3 examples of internal forces affecting Red Carpet
What challenges have these forces created at Red Carpet?

Red Carpet LLC is a national hospitality and entertainment company with headquarters in Philadelphia, PA with national operations in the US. Historically, the company has had 3 divisions: hotels, food service, and cruise lines. However, it recently completed the acquisition of Sparkstar theaters, a movie theater company, that it is slated to become its 4th division. Red Carpet now owns 200 hotels in 48 states, 4 brands of restaurants with 1776 locations, 4 Buoy Bay branded cruise ships, and 300 Sparkstar theaters.

Its matrix organizational structure consists of a central HR, accounting, business development, sales, marketing, and research and development departments located at the headquarters in Philadelphia that serve each division. Each division is located in a different part of the US and lead by a VP that reports to the President and CEO. The company is privately owned by a consortium of investors and investor groups.

Red Carpet has 16,000 employees, 1000 of which work at its corporate headquarters. The organizational culture of the headquarters is informal and organic and there are few policies and processes that guide employee behavior. The company, as a whole, does not value HR so employees struggle with many employee relations and employment law concerns. The company outsources all of its training to one of the investor group companies, however this training is commonly not customized to the needs of Red Carpet.

As a whole, Red Carpet struggles with its business to business partners and suppliers because of its reputation for being nonnegotiable. Red Carpet would rather disrupt the quality and availability of its only products and services rather than partner for the supply chain resources that it needs. Likewise, Red Carpet does not hold many of the General Managers in its hotels, restaurants, and its cruise ships accountable for performance, opting instead for a weaker political strategy of blaming and gotcha games.

Being aware of these challenges, Red Carpet acquired Sparkstar for their strong industry reputation and financial performance in the hopes that merging the structure and culture of Sparkstar into Red Carpet would change the organization for the better. Historically, Red Carpet has been a highly successful company, however in recent years, its mismanagement has created noticeable effectives in product and service quality and its bottom line.

Divisions

Hotels: Red Carpet branded hotels are mid-price semi-luxury hotels known for high quality. Each customer is given a red velvet cupcake upon checking in. Red Carpet relies on its General Managers to micromanage the hotel. Despite its corporate parent owning a restaurant division, no Red Carpet hotels have restaurants. The Red Carpet division headquarters are in Sedona AZ. Many of the hotels are in need of refurbishment.

Food Service: Chicken Heaven is a fast-food chain with a long tradition of quality, large customer base, and 1000 locations. It is a solid overall performer for Red Carpet with high employee satisfaction. Burger Blast is another fast-food chain recently launched to cater to upscale customers who seek customized, gourmet-style burgers. It has 200 locations, however General Managers are struggling with budget and supplies causing a poor customer experience and high employee turnover. Food Park is a buffet-style restaurant with 500 locations that has been recently struggling because of high competition and poor marketing. Delicacy is a high-end restaurant with an urban theme. It has 76 locations, is the oldest of Red Carpet's food service operations, and provides a unique dining experience for customers. However, General Managers have a high turnover at Delicacy because of the grueling schedule. The food service division is located in Burke, ID.

Cruise Ships: Buoy Bay cruise ships offer low-cost, short-term cruises from Port Canaveral, FL only to the US Virgin Islands. Buoy Bay offers customers average quality staterooms and food from Chicken Heaven, Burger Blast, and Food Park. However, it does not offer a non-buffet formal dining option such as Delicacy. Although they are known for their over-the-top entertainment, employee turnover is very high relying primary on seasonal employees who are poorly trained. Buoy Bay has had much controversy. Just 5 years ago, the Buoy Bay cruise ship, Garland of the Sails, hit a reef, partially sank, and had to be salvaged in a 1.5 billion dollar operation. This resulted in a Federal investigation that is still pending. The Buoy Bay division is located in Lapsowanne, OR.

Movie Theaters: Sparkstar theaters were recently purchased from the Vegamega group for 2.3 billion dollars. Sparkstar is the highest rated movie theater chain the US. It has high customer and employee satisfaction, an efficient organizational structure, and solid financial results. Sparkstar's culture is one of high HR involvement including a strong training and development department, Sparkstar Institute. Sparkstar has a customer rewards program that provides a free movie rental of the film that the customer saw in the theater which has been very popular and has increased its strong customer base. Sparkstar has its divisional headquarters in Pasadena, CA.

The Issues

With the purchase of Sparkstar theaters, Red Carpet is hoping to redefine its operations in the next 5 years. It sees opportunities to integrate its divisions, products, and services to better serve its customers and employees. Here is a summary of some of the issues that Red Carpet must address in its strategic plan:

Internal politics and communication
Improved HR and training
Employee relations issues
Federal investigations
Product and service quality
Marketing support
Performance issues
Redefining the organizational structure
Improving its organizational culture
Integrating products and services
Resource and supply chain issues

Your Role

Leroy Banks, the Director of Change management at Red Carpet is seeking an Organization Development Consultant to address Red Carpet's need for change. You've just received a consulting contract from him to help prepare a plan to assist Red Carpet. You're excited about the opportunity and are motivated to work on this project. You know that your insight will assist Red Carpet with managing organizational change.

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 300-400 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

Additional Information:

The VP of HR reviewed the executive summary and decided that your recommendation was a strong course of action for the change process. In her discussions with Leroy, she mentioned that it would be good to have you participate in a focus group to discuss your experiences with the change process. She was interested in discovering some best practices for change and felt that your experiences would be very valuable to Red Carpet’s approach to change. To guide the discussion, she recommended addressing a few points that should be covered in the focus group. Leroy will gather the results of the focus group and share it with the VP of HR.

Review the Red Carpet scenario for this course and with your classmates; discuss the following questions that will provide insight into your own change experiences:

Describe a successful change initiative from your own experiences and why it worked well.
Describe an unsuccessful change initiative from your own experiences and why it did not achieve its intended objectives.
From your own experiences, summarize the key success factors for change at Red Carpet that you would recommend to Leroy.