John West’s Used Cars plc has always hired students from the local university to wash the cars on the lot. John West is considering the purchase of an automatic car wash that would be used in place of the students. The following information has been gathered by John West’s accountant to help him make a decision on the purchase:
a) Payments to students for washing cars total R15 000 per year at present.
b) The car wash would cost R21 000 installed, and it would have a 10-year useful life. John West uses straight-line depreciation on all assets. The car wash would have a negligible salvage value in 10 years.
c) Annual out-of-pocket costs associated with the car wash would be: wages of students to operate the wash, keep the soap bin full and so forth, R6 300; utilities, R1 800; and insurance and maintenance, R900.
d) John West now earns a return of 20% on the funds invested in his inventory of used cars. He feels that he would have to earn an equivalent rate on the car wash for the purchase to be attractive.
Required
1 ) Determine the annual savings that would be realised in cash operating costs if the car wash was purchased.
2) Calculate the simple rate of return promised by the car wash. (Hint: Note that this is a cost reduction project.) Will John West accept this project if he expects a 20% return?
3) Calculate the payback period on the car wash. John West (who has a reputation for being something of a penny-pincher) will not purchase any equipment unless it has a payback of four years or less. Will he purchase the car wash equipment?
4) Calculate (to the nearest whole per cent) the internal rate of return promised by the car wash. Based on this calculation, does it appear that the simple rate of return would normally be an accurate guide in investment decisions?

A university has 15,000 students. We have drawn a simple random sample size of 400 from the population and recorded how much money each student spent on cellular telephone service during November 2003. For this sample, the sample mean is $36, and sample standard deviation is $20. At a 99% level of confidence, test the null hypothesis that these 15,000 students, combined, did not spend more than $500,000 on cellular telephone service during November 2003.

Ann and Suzan are classmates who graduated with business degrees from Athabasca University. Ann inherited $50,000 from her father. She considers forming a 10-year business partnership with Suzan. To join the partnership, Ann needs to invest $50,000. She believes her portion of the partnership will generate the following profits at a discount rate of 4%.

a) Calculate the Net Present Value (NPV).

b) Instead of forming a partnership with Suzan, Ann has the option to buy a government bond. Ann expects to receive $150 per year for each of the next ten years, and then receive a principle repayment of $50,000. What is the value of a coupon bond that pays $150 per year for each of the next ten years? Assume the rate is 5%.

c) Suppose Ann has the option to buy a new motor home for $25,000 and sell it for $15,000 after six years. Alternatively, she can lease the motor home for $250 per month for six years and return it at the end of the six years. For simplification, assume that lease payments are made yearly instead of monthly and pay at the beginning of each year. If the interest rate, r, is 3.5%, is it better to lease or buy the motor home?

You recently graduated from Empire State University with a degree in Marketing. You loved your time at Empire State, and have made numerous friendships with faculty members, current students, and community members. Because of this, you want to remain in your college town and achieve your dream of opening your own coffee shop, The Daily Grind. Before you can open your business, you know that you need to divide the market into segments, to develop customer profiles in order for you to determine which segment of the market you want to target. You have decided to focus on a handful of variables that represent all four market segmentation bases (demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioral). In one or more fully formed paragraphs, identify and explain at least one variable within each base of market segmentation that should be used to segment the market to create a customer profile of patrons appropriate for The Daily Grind.

John West plc used cars has always hired students from the local university to wash the cars on the lot. John West is considering the purchase of an automatic car wash that would be used in place of the students. The following information has been gathered by John West's accountant to help him make a decision on the purchase:

a) Payments to students for washing cars total R15 000 per year at present.

b) The car wash would cost R21 000 installed, and it would have a 10 year useful life. John West uses straight line depreciation on all assets. The car wash would have a negligible salvage value in 10 years.

c) Annual out-of-pocket costs associated with the car wash would be: wages of students to operate the wash, keep the soap bin full and so forth, R6 300; utilites, R1 800; and insurance and maintenance , R900.

d) John West now earns a return of 20% on the funds invested in his inventory of used cars. He feels that he would have to earn an equivalent rate on the car wash for the purchase to be attractive.

Required:

1) Determine the annual savings that would be realized in cash operating costs if the car wash was purchased.

2) Calculate the simple rate of return promised by the car wash, (Hint: Note that this is a cost reduction project.) Will John West accept this project if he expects a 20% return?

3) Calculate the payback period on the car wash. John West (who has a reputation for being something of a penny-pincher) will not purchase any equipment unless it has a payback of four years or less. Will he purchase the car wash equipment?

4) Calculate ( to the nearest whole percent) the internal rate of return promised by the car wash. Based on this calculation, does it appear that the simple rate of return would normally be an accurate guide in investment decisions?

NAME Resolving Ethical Business Challenges Charlie just graduated from Michigan University and landed a job as a copywriter at Fletcher, Alexander, and Burgess (FAB) Advertising assigned to one of the subsidiary accounts of Delicious Uber Bacon Ingredients Extraordinaire Corporation. This conglomerate was primarily a food processing manufacturer beginning one hundred years ago with pork in the Midwest. Overall corporate sales of beef, chicken, pork, and seafood were more than $ million each year. FAB considered many advertising options and opted for a celebrity spokesperson. That meant Charlie would work with Alice Aimee Lucie Jeanne Bompard as the celebrity endorser. Ms. Bompard is a well-known, well-liked, and vibrant actress with a large younger following. Kelly, President of FAB, asked Charlie to step into her office. “Charlie, this new account is a good start for you. We usually don’t let our new copywriters handle accounts by themselves, but you have proven to be a capable employee. Your job on this account is to write copy for the commercials using Ms. Bompard’s product testimonials. The copy needs to be crafted as a testimonial, targeting the market of seventeen to thirty-year-olds. Ms. Bompard already signed an affidavit as to being a bona fide user of the product. The scripts should feature her testifying to the quality, value, and tastiness of the bacon. I want you to meet her tomorrow so you can start the writing process and understand her personality in order to script the messages. Spend the rest of the day immersing yourself in her biography and researching her on the Internet.” As Charlie left Kelly’s office he remembered a Facebook post about Ms. Bompard being a vegetarian. The next day at their meeting, Charlie asked her if she had actually tasted the bacon. Ms. Bompard replied, “Why yes, technically and legally I have tried Uber. In fact, I’ve been a huge fan since I was a kid. Bacon is my favorite food. I’ve done several testimonials in the past and know the American Advertising Federation (AAF) rules. I know as long as my comments are based on verifiable personal use, the message cannot be challenged as deceptive. In fact, Uber bacon has been a favorite of mine since I was young. It wasn’t until a month ago I became a vegetarian. Eating all that bacon for decades really did a number on my cholesterol.” “So, you feel comfortable about endorsing Uber even though you don’t eat it now?” asked Charlie. “No question about it. As far as bacon goes, Uber is second to none in taste. If people are going to eat bacon, why not eat the best? Even if it is a heart attack waiting to happen,” Ms. Bompard joked. The next day Kelly asked Charlie how it went. He explained their conversation and expressed concern over the fact Ms. Bompard is currently a vegetarian, and she attributed her high cholesterol to Uber bacon. Charlie felt relief when he saw the concern in Kelly’s
face, but soon realized her concern was about Ms. Bompard pulling out of the advertisement. Charlie reassured Kelly Ms. Bompard still wanted to promote the product, but it seemed like a contradiction to have a vegetarian promoting bacon. Kelly responded by saying as long as Ms. Bompard had eaten the bacon at some point in her life and thinks it is a good product, it makes no difference as to whether she currently eats the bacon. She continued, "Sometimes in advertising, you have to add a spin to the message you are communicating so it fits with the product you are selling. Not only are you selling a product, but more importantly, you are selling an experience, a feeling, an idea that appeals to consumers." As Charlie walked home that evening, he wondered how he was going to write this advertisement. He did not want to begin his career in a dishonest manner, but he also wanted to produce work that pleased his boss. He tried to think of creative ways to mask the contradiction of the advertisement. Maybe with humor? He asked himself if this approach would still feel dishonest. The next morning Charlie was going to meet with both Ms. Bompard and Kelly about what he had written thus far.

1. What ethical dilemma(s) is Charlie facing? (1-2 paragraphs)
2. What should Charlie do? Evaluate and defend your position by applying at least one concept from our chapter 10 studies on ethics and corporate social responsibility (1-2 paragraphs).

Ethical Concepts from Chapter:

-Stages of Moral Development

-Social Entrepreneurship

-Corporate Social Performance

-Diversity Strengths

-Traditionalists

-Baby boomers

-Generation X

-Generation Y

-Decision Biases

Questions 1 through 12 are based on the following You work for a men’s designer apparel company based in the US that is planning to expand to the Netherlands. Your target market is young professional men in the age range 24-35. You conducted a survey of 239 Dutch people that satisfies this criterion. From this survey, you have the following information: average income = $43,348.44, standard deviation = $21,989.02, Standard Error = $1422.35

Question 1

The above income information obtained from the survey pertains to

a.The population of Dutch professional men in the age range 24-35

b. The sample of 239 Dutch professional men in the age range 24-35

c. Sampling distributions of the average income (n=239) of Dutch professional men in the age range 24-35

Question 2

The mean of the sampling distribution (n=239) of the average income of Dutch professional men in the age range 24-35 is

a. $43,348.44

b.$45,905.00

c.We need a confidence interval estimate

Question 3 The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the average income (n=239) of Dutch professional men in the age range 24-35 is

a. $21,989.02

b.$1422.35

c.We need to calculate the z-value

Question 4

You would like to know if the average income of your target market in the Netherlands is different from the US market. In the US, the average income is $45,000. In the past, your company did not expand to another country if the average income of the target market was different from the US. What are the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses to pursue your research question? Group of answer choices

a.Null Hypothesis: The average income of Dutch professional men in the survey is $45,000; Alternative Hypothesis: The average income of Dutch professional men in the survey is different from $45,000

b.Null Hypothesis: The average income of Dutch professional men aged 24 - 35 is $45,000; Alternative Hypothesis: The average income of Dutch professional men aged 24 - 35 is different from $45,000

c.None of the above

Question 5

From the above sample, the 90% confidence interval estimate of the average income of Dutch target market is [$40,999.74, $45,697.15]. Based on this information,

a.Reject the Null Hypothesis at 10% level of significance

b.Fail to Reject the Null Hypothesis at 10% level of significance

c.We need more information

Question 6

What is the Z-value (Ztest) of the hypothesis test? ______ (round up to 2 decimal points).

Question 7

At 10% level of significance, the rejection region to test your hypothesis is:  

a.Z < -1.16 or Z >1.16

b.Z < - 1.96 or Z > 1.96

c.Z < -1.64 or Z > 1.64

Question 8

Based on the test-statistics and your chosen level of significance, what is your statistical inference?  

a.Reject the Null Hypothesis

b.Fail to Reject the Null Hypothesis

Question 9

The p-value of the above hypothesis test is 0.247. What is your statistical decision (previously, you chose a significance level of 10%)?

a. Reject the Null Hypothesis

b. Fail to Reject the Null Hypothesis

Question 10

Based on the statistical inference above, what is your business decision? In the past, your company did not expand to another country if the average income of the target market was different from the US. Group of answer choices

a.Expand to Netherlands

b.Do not expand to Netherlands

c.I am undecided

Question 11

If the actual average income of the Dutch target market is $43,000, then your statistical decision and subsequent business decision is an example of

Group of answer choices

a.Type I Error

b.Type II Error

c. No Error has been committed

Question 12

How would your statistical and subsequent business decision change if you use a 5% level of significance (instead of the 10% level of significance used above) Group of answer

a. choices Remains the same

b. Gets reversed

1-Explain why a company that is publicly traded using a US market may not file a report on Form 10-K and still be in compliance with its’ annual reporting obligation.

2- Identify the reports that accompany a set of financial statements .

Let's begin by talking about plant assets. Can you tell us what kind of plant assets are used in your company or place of business? Do you have an estimate of the amount invested in those plant assets?

Lowell Company makes and sells artistic frames for pictures. The controller is responsible for preparing the master budget and has accumulated the following information for 2020.

Lowell has a labor contract that calls for a wage increase to $9 per hour on April 1. New labor-saving machinery has been installed and will be fully operational by March 1.

Lowell expects to begin the year with 16,100 frames on hand and has a policy of carrying an end-of-month inventory of 100% of the following month’s sales, plus 50% of the second following month’s sales.

Prepare a production budget for Lowell Company by month and for the first quarter of the year.

eTextbook and Media

Prepare a direct labor budget for Lowell Company by month and for the first quarter of the year. The direct labor budget should include direct labor hours. (Round Direct labor hours per unit answers to 1 decimal place, e.g. 52.7.)