A researcher collected data from a small random sample of ten students by asking them individually how much time (y) they spent studying and how much time (x) they spent on social media, on one day during an exam week. Both times were given in hours, rounded to the nearest half hour. They shown in the table below.
| x | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6.5 | 6 |
| y | 2 | 4.5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3.5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.5 |
The researcher wishes to find a simple linear regression model Yi ∼ N(a + bxi , σ2 ).
(i) Find data summaries for this data and use them to calculate estimates for the slope and intercept parameters (b and a) for this linear regression. (ii) Construct the ANOVA table for this regression. (iii) Calculate the coefficient of Determination, R2 and comment on how well the regression line fits the data. (iv) Find a 90% confidence interval for the mean expected number of hours of studying in a day, for an individual who spends 1.5 hours on social media.
In: Math
ETHICS
Why Be Moral?
Plato tells the story of Gyges (The Republic, Book II), a shepherd, who finds a magic ring. When Gyges turns the ring 180˚, he becomes invisible, and upon turning the ring again, he reappears. Under the cloak of invisibility he performs a series of unethical and immoral acts, including murder. He is a villain and rogue yet becomes wealthy and famous. Gyges not only accrues benefits by appearing to be moral but also enjoys the bounty reaped from wrongdoing with no punishing consequences – he will never be caught!
Now imagine a second magic ring given to a just and upright individual. Will the temptation to engage in wrong-doing for personal gain be too great? Knowing there will be no punishing consequences, would a good person quickly turn into a scoundrel? Given the situation just described, why the need to be moral?
What would you do if you were given a Gyges ring?
Discuss your answer in 100-150 words minimum.
For further references:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qjGp6TWqe4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMl4AeBpVQE
In: Psychology
Complete the following information about the organization and products and/or services you will focus on as you develop a complete marketing plan throughout the course. You may need to do research to get answers to the questions below. Be sure the organization and offer you select will 1) remain interesting to you for the duration of the course, and 2) have sufficient information available for you to conduct research and make informed recommendations in your marketing plan.
Company Profile
Market Segmentation and Targeting
Situation and Company Analysis
Economic Environment
Discuss factors that affect your consumers’ purchasing power and spending patterns. What is the economic environment that you are operating in? Is it growth, recovery or recession? Will it be easy to find staff? What is the current interest rate i.e. is it increasing or decreasing? What is consumer confidence like?
Technical Environment
The technological environment changes rapidly. You need to make sure that you are aware of trends in your industry and other industries could affect your business. New technologies create new markets and can influence you, consumers and competitors. Industry environment What are the trends in your industry? Are there new entrants in the market? Has a substitute product been introduced? Are there changes in industry practices or new benchmarks to use?
Competitive Environment
How many competitors do you have? Who are the key competitors? What are the key selling points or competitive advantages of each one? What is your advantage over competitors? Is the market large enough to support you and competitors?
Political Environment
Consider the political environment for the areas that your business will trade and operate in. Is there a stable political system? Are there any licenses and regulations that you should be aware of? Do you need to win support to be able to operate?
SWOT Analysis
Instruction: Complete the table below with descriptive responses and explanation as you answer the questions below.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|
|
| Opportunities | Threats |
|
|
Mission, Objectives, and Goals
State the mission or business purpose: what the organization wants to achieve, in market-oriented terms. (Example: Disney’s mission could be, “We create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages.)
List 1–3 objectives that move the organization a step closer to achieving the mission. (Example: A Disney objective could be, “To be the most popular theme park for international visitors.”)
Convert objectives into specific marketing goals that are easy to measure and evaluate. (Example: Our goal is to increase the market share of international theme park visitors by 10% in the next two years.”)
In: Operations Management
Complete the following information about the organization and products and/or services you will focus on as you develop a complete marketing plan throughout the course. You may need to do research to get answers to the questions below. Be sure the organization and offer you select will 1) remain interesting to you for the duration of the course, and 2) have sufficient information available for you to conduct research and make informed recommendations in your marketing plan.
Company Profile
Market Segmentation and Targeting
Situation and Company Analysis
Economic Environment
Discuss factors that affect your consumers’ purchasing power and spending patterns. What is the economic environment that you are operating in? Is it growth, recovery or recession? Will it be easy to find staff? What is the current interest rate i.e. is it increasing or decreasing? What is consumer confidence like?
Technical Environment
The technological environment changes rapidly. You need to make sure that you are aware of trends in your industry and other industries could affect your business. New technologies create new markets and can influence you, consumers and competitors. Industry environment What are the trends in your industry? Are there new entrants in the market? Has a substitute product been introduced? Are there changes in industry practices or new benchmarks to use?
Competitive Environment
How many competitors do you have? Who are the key competitors? What are the key selling points or competitive advantages of each one? What is your advantage over competitors? Is the market large enough to support you and competitors?
Political Environment
Consider the political environment for the areas that your business will trade and operate in. Is there a stable political system? Are there any licenses and regulations that you should be aware of? Do you need to win support to be able to operate?
SWOT Analysis
Instruction: Complete the table below with descriptive responses and explanation as you answer the questions below.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|
|
| Opportunities | Threats |
|
|
Mission, Objectives, and Goals
State the mission or business purpose: what the organization wants to achieve, in market-oriented terms. (Example: Disney’s mission could be, “We create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages.)
List 1–3 objectives that move the organization a step closer to achieving the mission. (Example: A Disney objective could be, “To be the most popular theme park for international visitors.”)
Convert objectives into specific marketing goals that are easy to measure and evaluate. (Example: Our goal is to increase the market share of international theme park visitors by 10% in the next two years.”)
In: Operations Management
The customer billing and collection functions of the ThanksMe Company, a small paint manufacturer, are attended to by a receptionist, an accounts receivable clerk, and a cashier who also serves as a secretary. The company’s paint products are sold to wholesalers and retail stores.
The following describes all the procedures performed by the employees of the ThanksMe Company regarding customer billings and collections:
1. The mail is opened by the receptionist, who gives the customers’ purchase orders to the accounts receivable clerk. Fifteen to twenty orders are received each day. Under instructions to expedite the shipment of orders, the accounts receivable clerk at once prepares a five-copy sales invoice form, which is distributed as follows:
a) Copy 1 is the customer billing copy and is held by the accounts receivable clerk until notice of shipment is received.
b) Copy 2 is the accounts receivable department copy and is held for the ultimate posting of the accounts receivable records.
c) Copies 3 and 4 are sent to the shipping department.
d) Copy 5 is sent to the storeroom as authority for release of the goods to the shipping department.
2. After the paint order has been moved from the storeroom to the shipping department, the shipping department prepares the bill of lading and labels the cartons. Sales Invoice Copy 4 is inserted in the carton as a packing slip. After the trucker has picked up the shipment, the customer’s copy of the bill of lading and Copy 3, on which any undershipments are noted, are returned to the accounts receivable clerk. The company does not back order in the event of undershipments; customers are expected to reorder the merchandise. The company’s copy of the bill of lading is filed by the shipping department.
3. When Copy 3 and the customer’s copy of the bill of lading are received by the accounts receivable clerk, Copies 1 and 2 are completed by numbering them and inserting quantities shipped unit prices, extensions, discounts, and totals. The accounts receivable clerk then mails Copy 1 and the copy of the bill of lading to the customer. Copies 2 and 3 are stapled together.
4. The individual accounts receivable ledger cards are posted by the accounts receivable clerk using a one-write system, whereby the sales register is prepared as a carbon copy of the postings. Postings are made from Copy 2, which is then filed, along with staple-attached Copy 3, in numerical order. Monthly, the general ledger clerk summarizes the sales register for posting to the general ledger accounts.
5. Since the ThanksMe Company is short of cash, the deposit of receipts is also expedited. The receptionist turns over all mail receipts and related correspondence to the accounts receivable clerk, who examines the checks and determines that the accompanying vouchers or correspondence contain enough detail to permit the posting of the accounts. The accounts receivable clerk then endorses the checks and gives them to the cashier, who prepares the daily deposit. No currency is received in the mail, and no paint is sold over the counter at the factory.
6. The accounts receivable clerk uses the vouchers or correspondence that accompanied the checks to post the accounts receivable ledger cards. The one-write system prepares the cash receipts register as a carbon copy of the postings. Monthly, the general ledger clerk summarizes the cash receipts register for posting to the general ledger accounts. The accounts receivable clerk also corresponds with customers about unauthorized deductions for discounts, freight or advertising allowances, returns, and so on and prepares the appropriate credit memos. Disputed items of large amounts are turned over to the sales manager for settlement. Each month the accounts receivable clerk prepares a trial balance of the open accounts receivable and compares the resulting total with the general ledger control account for accounts receivable.
Required:
I) Identify four (4) internal control weaknesses in the ThanksMe Company’s procedures related to customer billings and remittances and the accounting for these transactions.
II) For each weakness, identify one (1) error or irregularity that could result.
III) For each weakness, list one (1) substantive audit procedure for testing the significance of the potential error.
In: Accounting
An insurance company agrees to pay the promoter of a drag race $15000 if the race has to be canceled because of rain. If the company's actuary feels that a fair net premium for this risk is $2400, what does this tell us about his assessment of the probability that the race will have to be canceled because of rain? （Please indicate the formula and Explain each step in detail. Thank you.）
In: Statistics and Probability
Use google to search for VPN uses. Make a list of how a company that hires remote employees might us a VPN. What kinds of hardware and software do you need to run a VPN? List general steps to install and use a VPN. Describe security risks of using VPNs to a business. Submit your findings in a brief 250 word essay.
In: Computer Science
Please respond to the discussion post 1 and 2 in your own words: (Must respond to both)
Discussion post 1
Organize and review all your work-to-date. What stands out to you that is potentially of strategic relevance? Think in particular about how your organization is, or can be, or should be different!How will being (more) different in this way potentially create competitive advantages for the organization? Is this a matter of completely reinventing the organization or of enabling it to morph from what it is to something better in a manner that is realistic and doable?
Discussion Suggestion
In your interactions with your group members this session, you will want to compare and contrast the responses of your group members to this question to your own. Why may their perspectives be different from your own? Argue for or against the various positions taken by the group members here.
The one thing that stands out the most after doing research for the past six weeks on The Vitamin Shoppe is their reputation of their Health Enthusiasts. They already stand out from their competitors like GNC and BodyBuilding.com because these employees offer a more personal touch with each customer as opposed to someone just standing at a cash register to take your money. By implementing and promoting their health enthusiasts through their marketing and social media, I think they will have a definite competitive advantage over their competitors. People want to see that there are individuals out there who actually care about your goals and want to help you along the way. Building those relationships between the health enthusiasts and customers will ensure long-time loyalty to the brand and products.
A lot of the members in our group have all mentioned that the goal of The Vitamin Shoppe is to give every individual a unique experience when using their products. This is something we can all agree on is the most important as far as giving customers what they want. I think getting feedback and going through every individual’s journey and helping them along the way is what gives them this advantage over their competitors. As I scrolled through reviews on Indeed about working as a Health Enthusiast, I saw mostly great things and how rewarding of a job it was. When an employee feels confident and loves their job, it will show in how they give customer service. A lot of people also mentioned that they learned a lot of about nutrition, health, and everything in between which makes them a trusted person when it comes to selling these products. As stated by a current employee “The company requires taking short classes online on products and supplements throughout employment” (Indeed). This stands out from competitors as I have not found research stating other companies employees are to do these training classes.
Another thing that this company does that stands out from others is by holding “Share the Health” expos across the country every year. They offer free samples and have health enthusiasts there as well. As stated in the new releases, “Health Enthusiasts, who strive to be the most knowledgeable associates in the industry, will also be on-hand to help answer any product-related questions” (para. 1). This is a great promotion that will show off their reputation of their health enthusiast as well as bring attention to the company and their products. Events like this is what draws people into the company and allows the health enthusiasts to really work and help individuals who don’t know where to start.
I have also noticed a few members of the group have brought forward strong points about the company standing out because of their pricing on the products. This is definitely something that The Vitamin Shoppe has been known for but I have to personally argue that price doesn’t always bring in the customers. I would rather pay a little more for a product if I knew everything I had to know about it. I would choose to go to The Vitamin Shoppe because of their health enthusiasts and the trust I would have in them and getting the products at a lower cost is just an added bonus.
Discussion post 2
Choose the strategy or strategies that the organization should seek to implement going forward. Give a strong rationale for your choice
The strategies that the Vitamin Shoppe should seek to implement going forward are price, and promotion.
Price: The Vitamin Shoppe has great selection of quality products at a certain diverse price point. The company carries over 400 nationally branded kinds of products. A strategy that the company has is being able to sell lower cost alternatives to consumers who need a product but don’t want to purchase one at a certain price range. The company is able to retail other alternatives for consumers who want a specific type of product.
Promotion: Currently, the Vitamin Shoppe is able to advertise through different type of health magazines and through its own website, www.vitaminshoppe.com. Additionally, the company connects with a third-party banner advertisement that shows on other websites. It ends up showing up on the right side of the website that consumers are viewing. This third-party banner helps the company grow by being able to click on the ad that is being displayed on a different website to go directly to the Vitamin Shoppes website. Vitamin Shoppe is able to hand out coupons and rewards to all new and existing customers. It helps bring more traffic into the stores and also have a stronger relationship with customers. Rewards make consumers always want to come back.
Be very clear by both stating the strategies the company should go forward with (new and current strategies) and the current strategies they company should discontinue.
The strategies that the Vitamin Shoppe should go forward with are having a wide range of products with different alternatives so consumers are able to purchase what they need at a lower cost. Any product that is not being sold in a great amount should be discontinued and off the shelves so other great products are able to come in and be tried out. However, advertisement is being more viewed on other websites and social media. Vitamin Shoppe should consider being sponsored on the most used social media applications that way it can help draw more customers attention. Rewards and coupons are a great to grab customers into their doors. When customers see a great coupon, they have a better chance of wanting to walk into that store to spend their money. Magazines and newspaper are rarely being used as often as they were before. The Vitamin Shoppe should consider discontinuing the ads that are being placed on paper and focus more on digital advertisement.
In: Operations Management
The Williams Company, a U.S.-based company, owns 100% of a European Subsidiary (ES). The investment in ES totals $10 million (euros 13.5 million) as of the end of Year 1. This represents an initial investment of $6 million and retained earnings of $4 million. The Currency Translation Adjustment (CTA) account included in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) totals $1 million (loss) at the end of Year 1.
During Year 2, Williams decided to sell 25% of ES to the Tremont Company, an unrelated U.S.-based Company for $15 million in cash. The closing date of the transaction is June 30 of Year 2. Earnings of ES for the six months of Year 2 are $1 million and there was an additional increase of $200,000 in the CTA during the first six months of Year 2. No dividends have been paid by ES to Williams.
Instructions:
In: Accounting
Economic Concept: There are substitutes for Everything...even Labor! Economic Concept: Unintended Consequences! Seattle Aims at McDonald’s, Hits Workers A $15 minimum wage changes the basic labor-market bargain between the fast-food industry and its workers.
A $15 minimum wage changes the basic labor-market bargain between the fast-food industry and its workers.
By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
June 30, 2017 3:42 p.m. ET
By now you have read 15 articles on the Seattle minimum-wage fiasco. Since the city boosted its local minimum from $9.47 in 2014 to $13 last year (on its way to $15), a detailed investigation by University of Washington economists finds that beneficiaries actually saw their incomes fall by a net $125 a month because employers cut their hours.
When the price of something goes up, buyers demand less of it. This law of economics, like any law, some will always find inconvenient. But here’s the rest of the story.
The impetus came from people who don’t actually earn the minimum wage—labor-union leaders and think-tankers and activist organizations. The Service Employees International Union, as it has been happy to tell anyone, including a writer for the Atlantic Monthly two years ago, was already plowing $30 million into the “fight for $15” even though virtually all the hoped-for benefits would go to nonmembers.
There was even pushback from various union locals. Was this really a good use of our dues when most members already earn well above the minimum and have other priorities?
As the union also was not shy about noting, the real target was a very specific company, McDonald’s (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. , which SEIU dreams of organizing despite the historically unwelcoming nature of franchise-based industries.
How a $15 minimum leads toward this halcyon day was never exactly spelled out, but here’s the answer: $15 would be used to change the basic labor-market bargain implied between the fast-food industry and its workers. Fifteen dollars an hour amounts to $31,200 a year and hardly a princely living. But you start adding mandated benefits and think about two-income households, and now you’re talking about a job that will sustain a different kind of life strategy than a Golden Arches job will today.
Organizers look fondly to Denmark, where a McDonald’s line worker receives $41,000 a year and five weeks of paid vacation. As the Atlantic put it two years ago, “Unionizing workers at McDonald’s and other fast-food chains might be a long shot, but if it succeeds, it might help lift a million or more workers into the middle class (or at least into the lower middle class) and create a model for low-wage workers in other industries.”
This sounds pretty but is misleading in a fundamental way. The workers a McDonald’s franchise would hire at $15 an hour are different from those it would hire at $8.29, the average earned by a fast-food worker today.
Costs would go up. The industry would likely shrink, it would likely replace workers with automation, but it would still create jobs at $15 an hour for people whose productivity can justify $15 an hour. The people who work at McDonald’s today, typically, would already be earning $15 an hour somewhere else if their productivity could justify $15 an hour.
Everybody needs to start somewhere, including the unskilled and those who lack a work history. Some need a job that doesn’t demand much of them. They have other obligations. They accept less pay to maximize flexibility and freedom from responsibility. They don’t plan to make a career of it. The fast-food industry in America is built on such people.
Proponents like to argue that employers, especially in the fast-food business, actually benefit from an increased minimum. It enables them to attract a more dedicated, productive employee. But why shouldn’t employers be left to make this trade-off themselves? And what about the people who won’t get hired at $15 and lose the benefit of a fast-food opportunity that is one of the easiest, quickest jobs to land in America?
When President Obama joined the fight in 2015, he argued that a full-time job should be able to support a family. This sounded pretty too, but was a way of saying that jobs that won’t support a family shouldn’t exist, and people whose productivity won’t support a family shouldn’t have jobs.
This is curious. Many countries that set a minimum wage, including the U.S., also set subminimum wages for teenagers, trainees, probationary hires, certain categories of disabled persons, etc. Having both a minimum and subminimum is hard to reconcile logically: Low-paying jobs shouldn’t exist, except some people need low-paying jobs, so they should exist. This concession to reality, in fact, shows not all minimum-wage advocates are economic scofflaws.
SEIU signed off on the “fight for $15” as part of a convoluted scheme to bring unionization to McDonald’s. As all would admit privately, the idea was always pie in the sky. But union leaders have to spend their members’ dues on something, or members might get the idea they don’t need to keep paying dues.
Now SEIU’s spending priorities have been changing again. Lately the leadership has arguably rediscovered its first love, electoral politics, not organizing. The union has let it be known that the “fight for $15” will be scaled back to free up funds to fight the 2018 congressional elections and 2020 presidential race. No doubt the Seattle study and all the attention it’s getting in the media make the decision even easier.
Appeared in the July 1, 2017, print edition.
Read, analyze and comment
In: Economics