Strategic Management ABB, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is a major competitor in the power and automation technologies industries across the major markets globally. It has 140,000 employees operating in almost 100 countries. In fact, it has five major businesses—power products, power systems, discrete automation, low voltage products, and process automation. It operates in eight major regions: (1) Northern Europe, (2) Central Europe, (3) the Mediterranean, (4) North America, (5) South America, (6) India, the Middle East, and Africa, (7) North Asia, and (8) South Asia. Over time, ABB has been a successful company using its geographic diversification across the globe to its advantage. It also exemplifies the difficulty of managing an international strategy and operations. For example, its power systems business has experienced performance problems in recent years due to poor performance in some countries due primarily to the economy downturn. Notwithstanding the difficulty of managing in emerging economies, much of its growth is focused on improving country infrastructure such as power systems and grids. In 2014, the firm announced that the Asia, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA) region currently contributes about 37 percent of ABB’s total revenue, or about $15.3 billion, and “emerging markets were planned to contribute to two-thirds of the forecast growth between 2015 and 2020.” In recent years, most of ABB’s entries to new mar- kets and expansions in existing markets have come from acquisitions of existing businesses in those mar- kets. Recently, it acquired Siemens’ solar energy busi- ness, Power-One, and U.S.-based Los Gatos Research, a manufacturer of gas analyzers used in environmental monitoring and research. The purchase of Power-One represents a major risk as the solar power industry is in a downturn. Yet some analysts predict a brighter future for the industry over the long term. ABB also uses other modes of entry and expansion, exemplified by the 2013 joint venture with China’s Jiangsu Jinke Smart Electric Company to design, manufacture, and provide follow-up service on high voltage instrument transformers. It also recently procured major contracts for business in Brazil and South Africa. Partly due to the global economic recession that began in 2008, recent weak economic performance, and some poor expansion decisions, ABB’s performance has been weaker than expected. As a result, the CEO and chief technology officer announced their resignations in 2013. Despite these changes, ABB is a highly respected global brand, and, after its recent changes (e.g., closing some country operations), its revenues and earnings have started to rise. These positive changes have been largely attributed to the success of its North American businesses. Its acquisitions of Baldor (maker of indus- trial motors) in 2010 and Thomas & Betts in 2012 greatly enhanced its North American operations and revenues. It has also had success in manufacturing equipment and robots with its robotics business headquartered in the United States. It is even moving to help small com- panies, such as ones in the beer industry, to automate their production processes. Therefore, even in turbulent times, ABB’s future looks bright. Case study: An International Strategy Powers ABB’s Future 1. What are the dominant reason’s for ABB to enter into international markets? 2. Which corporate international strategy would you classify ABB as using? Explain your answer. 3. Why has ABB used acquisitions and joint ventures as dominant entry modes in international markets? 4. What are the main political and economic risks that ABB must deal with given that it has a strong focus on entering emerging economies? 5. What are the significant organizational complexities that ABB encounters as it tries to manage its international strategy?

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic recession the unemployment rate spiked to more than 15% (the highest level since the Great Depression of the 1930s) and has slowly declined to a 7.9% in September. In response, the Federal Reserve has taken increased the money supply by more than 40% between February and September. This effort was made to prevent a financial crisis and lower interest rates.

The inflation rate fell from 2.3% before the recession to 1.4% in September. Given the information in the paragraph above, was this decline in inflation better predicted by monetarist economic theory or Keynesian economic theory? Please write your answer in the text box below. Please DO NOT write out an explanation, just your answer to the question.

24.  The Trump administration has increased tariffs (taxes on imports) on imports from China.  Most of the tariffs are in so-called intermediate goods, used to produce goods and service in the United States. This will raise the  cost of producing U.S. goods that are made with Chinese parts and cause:

Group of answer choices

A aggregate demand to decrease.

B aggregate demand to increase.

C aggregate supply to increase.

D aggregate supply to decrease.

The following ethical dilemma discussion is from Chapter Three of the accompanying text. The questions immediately following each ethical dilemma are guided questions for you to consider as you frame your thinking. Seek to develop your own positions where neither the law nor public opinion has reached an ethical consensus that conforms to accepted values. For every question, there are two or more valid positions that are consistent with universal values and principles.

1. Should everyone who pays into insurance risk pools be forced to pay higher health insurance premiums to cover the costs of the uninsured when they become seriously ill? Is this situation fair, especially when the higher premiums lead to the insured becoming underinsured?
2. What values are making the legislation mandating universal health coverage controversial in the United States?
3. Is the value of providing universal health coverage great enough to incur the cost of care to the uninsured? Or, are the uninsured of less value to society than the insured?
4. What are society's obligations, if any, if someone decides not to purchase health insurance, but then falls seriously ill or is involved in a catastrophic accident? What are the obligations if their uninsured child needs care, if any?

1 – Securities Exchange Commission (source: BYP4-5 of Kimmel textbook)

What event spurred the creation of the SEC? Why was the SEC created?

What are the five divisions of the SEC? Briefly describe the purpose of each.

What are the responsibilities of the chief accountant?

2. Financial Accounting Standards Board (source: BYP7-5 Kimmel textbook). The FASB is a U.S. private organization established to improve accounting standards and financial reporting. The FASB conducts extensive research before issuing a "Statement of Financial Accounting Standards," which represents an authoritative expression of generally accepted accounting principles.

What is the mission of the FASB? (Hint: Select Facts about FASB.)

How is a standard created? (Hint: See Standard Setting Process.)

Describe the make-up of the board members. (Hint: Select Board Members.)

3. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) (source: PYP7-6 Kimmel textbook.) The PCAOB was created as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It has oversight and enforcement responsibilities over CPA firms in the United States.

What is the mission of the PCAOB?

Briefly summarize its responsibilities related to enforcement.

High Country, Inc., produces and sells many recreational products. The company has just opened a new plant to produce a folding camp cot that will be marketed throughout the United States. The following cost and revenue data relate to May, the first month of the plant’s operation:

Management is anxious to assess the profitability of the new camp cot during the month of May.

Required:

1. Assume that the company uses absorption costing.

a. Determine the unit product cost.

b. Prepare an income statement for May.

2. Assume that the company uses variable costing.

a. Determine the unit product cost.

b. Prepare a contribution format income statement for May.

Distribution channels in marketing are product, promotion, price and placement. A distribution channel is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or service passes until it reaches the end consumer. It can include wholesalers, retailers, distributors, and even the internet. A distribution channel represents how an organization will make its product or service available to the end consumer for consumption or use. I chose to take a look at Apple. The first distribution channel that Apple utilizes is where the producer sells directly to a retailer who in turn sells Apple’s product to the end consumer. Apple sells their products to companies such as Best Buy, Target, Verizon, and many others stores. Another channel that Apple utilizes is a direct-to-consumer where the producer sells its product directly to the end consumer; this is the shortest distribution process. Apple has its own retail stores, along with the company’s online store to sell directly to the consumer. Apple is one of the most successful brick and mortar shops in the United States. I find it interesting how well Apple has done as an electronic mogul. They sell to reputable retailers and get their products in many different store fronts.

High Country, Inc., produces and sells many recreational products. The company has just opened a new plant to produce a folding camp cot that will be marketed throughout the United States. The following cost and revenue data relate to May, the first month of the plant’s operation:

Management is anxious to assess the profitability of the new camp cot during the month of May.

Required:

1. Assume that the company uses absorption costing.

a. Calculate the unit product cost.

b. Prepare an income statement for May.

2. Assume that the company uses variable costing.

a. Calculate the unit product cost.

b. Prepare a contribution format income statement for May.

Cintas designs, manufactures, and implements corporate identity uniform programs that it rents or sells to customers throughout the United States and Canada. The company’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ and has provided investors with significant returns over the past few years. Selected information from the company’s balance sheet follows. For 2012, the company reported sales revenue of $3,708,400 and cost of goods sold of $1,516,015. CINTAS Balance Sheet (in thousands) 2012 2011 Cash $ 35,373 $ 38,927 Marketable securities — 202,542 Accounts receivable 408,884 389,918 Inventories 231,752 198,019 Prepaid expense and other 15,797 15,797 Accounts payable 64,624 71,642 Accrued compensation and related liabilities 70,769 95,381 Accrued liabilities 263,516 239,067 Accrued tax liability 2,568 — Long-term debt due within one year 4,155 26,667 Required: Compute the current ratio, inventory turnover ratio, and accounts receivable turnover ratio (assuming that 70 percent of sales were on credit). (Round your answers to 1 decimal place.)

What is the:

current ratio?

Inventory turnover ratio?

Accounts recieveable turnover ratio?

1) According to Victor Rios, police violence should be understood not only as racial violence, but also as ________________.

a) Gender violence

b) National violence

c) Gyn violence

d) Political violence

2) According to Eric Klinenburg, which of the following are components of a sociological (denaturalized) approach to studying disasters?

a) The social morphology and political economy of vulnerability

b) The role of the state in determining this vulnerability

c) The tendencies of journalists and political officials to render invisible both the political economy of vulnerability and the role of the state in determining vulnerability

d) All the above

3) According to Eric Klinenburg, during the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave, __________ was linked to destiny.

a) Age

b) Gender

c) Geography

d) Income

4) According to Vivek Bald, early South Asian migrants to the United States often worked as:

a) Medical Doctors

b) Engineers

c) Peddlers

d) Businessmen

7. According to Walter Rodney, the question as to who, and what, is responsible for African underdevelopment is answered first that the __________ system bears major responsibility for African economic retardation by draining African wealth and by making it impossible to develop more rapidly the resources of the continent