Bill has been accepted into a university and is looking into his housing options.   He is considering purchasing a mobile home to live in for the 4 years he will be going to school.   The initial purchase price for the mobile home is $35,000.   To purchase the home, Bill will make a 15% down payment and borrow the rest of the principal with a 7 year, fully amortized loan at 10% interest. Luckily, Bill knows two friends from high school who are willing to be his roommates and pay $450 per month, each.   Bill figures that his lot rent will be $270 per month and taxes, utilities and insurance will be another $300 per month as well.   Bill’s roommates will not pay utilities.   Also, by buying the home, Bill will save $7,200 per year in rent, adding to his net returns.   After the four years, Bill hopes to sell the home for $20,000.   Assume straight-line depreciation over 9 years, a marginal tax rate of 25%, and an inflation rate of 2.5%. Bill requires a pre-tax rate of return of 10% and a risk premium of 2%.

1).What is the loan amount?

a.$35,000

b.$29,750

c.$31,500

d.$28,000

2). What are the tax savings from depreciation?

a.$1,000

b.$1,500

c.$972.22

d.$1,312.5

3). What are the tax savings from interest in year 1?

a.$567

b.$600

c.$743.75

d.$756

4). What is the yearly payment on the loan?

a.$11,160

b.$6,110.81

c.$5,563.33

d.$7,021.97

5). What is the book value of the loan after the four years?

a.$15,000

b.$15,196.69

c.$12,352.43

d.$14,082.44

6). What is Net Cash Flow after debt in year 1?

a.$31,500

b.$4,551.53

c.$4,184.41

d.$3,651.59

Please show all work for every question along with the formula that was used... Thanks!

(1 point) A researcher is interested in whether the number of years of formal education is related to a person's decision to never smoke, continue to smoke, or quit smoking cigarettes. The data below represent the smoking status by level of education for residents of the United States 18 years or older from a random sample of 350 residents. Round all numeric answers to four decimal places.

1. Select the name of the test that should be used to assess the hypotheses:

?0H0: "Smoking Status" is independent of "Education Level"

??HA: "Smoking Status" is not independent of "Education Level"

A. ?2X2 test of independence
B. ?2X2 test of a single variance
C. ?2X2 goodness of fit

2. Under the null hypothesis, what is the expected number for people with an education of Some college and a smoking status of Never?  

3. Calculate the ?2X2 test statistic.

4.What was the contribution of Never smokers who attended Some college toward this test statistic?

5. What are the degrees of freedom for this test?

6. What is the p-value for this test?

7. Based on the p-value, we have:
A. strong evidence
B. very strong evidence
C. some evidence
D. little evidence
E. extremely strong evidence
that the null model is not a good fit for our observed data.

8. Which of the following is a necessary condition in order for the hypothesis test results to be valid? Check all that apply.

A. There must be at least 10 "yes" and 10 "no" observations for each variable.
B. The observations must be independent of one another.
C. The population data must be normally distributed.
D. There must be an observed count of at least 5 in every cell of the table.
E. There must be an expected count of at least 5 in every cell of the table.

You are a researcher working for an educational research firm. Your firm was asked to conduct a satisfaction survey among the parents of students attending the School District public schools. Your boss has asked you to develop a sampling design for this survey.

For this survey, you are asked to select a representative sample of parents. When you answer the questions, keep the following in mind:

• Assume that you have unlimited authority to access all the information you may need and remember that your task is to select the most representative sample of the parent population.
• There are 10,000 households with children at public schools in the school district.
• One parent will be interviewed for each household in the sample. (Remember that multiple children from the same household may attend public schools, and there may be more than one parent in each household. Regardless of these variations, only one parent will be interviewed from each household selected for the sample.)

1. Describe your population. Elaborate on the specifics of your population.

2. Describe your sampling frame. Be specific in your descriptions. Where would you find the information to define it? Remember that you have full authority to access all the information available, (You just need to know whom to ask and what to ask for.)

3. If you use a simple random sampling design, what is the minimum sample size you will need to determine the percentage (proportion) of those parents who are satisfied with the public schools at the 4% accuracy level, with the 95% confidence level? Explain how you determined your sample size.

4. If you use a multistage cluster sampling design, would your minimum sample size be larger or smaller than the previous simple random sampling design? Why?

5. If you use a proportionate stratified sampling design, would your minimum sample size be larger or smaller than the simple random sampling design. Why?

What advantages might there be for infants to be born with more nerve cells (neurons) than they actually need or use?  

Think of language, for example. When a human infant is born, he/she has to ability to learn to speak any language that humans speak however, as the infant grows and is exposed to one predominant language in his/her home, this becomes the language that the child learns to speak. The child sounds like other native speakers of his/her language. Later, if the person decides to take a foreign language in high school, he/she will most likely sound like a foreign speaker when speaking the newly learned language or for some students, learning a foreign language is a rather difficult task.

In later life, if a person has a cerebral vascular accident (CVA) or what people in the community call "a stroke", and this person speaks more than one language, after the CVA, she/he will more likely be able to speak basically the first language learned. The second, third, etc. languages the person learned, will typically be very difficult for this person.

Example: Elisita was born into a Spanish speaking family in Mexico . Her parents spoke only Spanish in the home, as did Elisita's siblings and other relatives. Very few of Elisita's neighbors spoke English therefore Elisita was never exposed to the sound of English as a baby/toddler. When Elisita was two years of age, her family migrated to Chicago, Illinois. At age five, Elisita was enrolled in a public school where she was exposed to the English language at least six hours per day. She learned to speak English quite well. When Elisita was age sixty-nine, due to uncontrolled high blood pressure, she suffered a cerebral vascular accident. With some speech therapy she was able to recover a great deal of her Spanish language skills, but her ability to speak English was impaired.  

answer all or do not answer

SHOW ALL WORK FOR COMPUTATIONAL PROBLEMS OR NO CREDIT (write out the equation and solution)

1. Determine the number of significant figures for the following:

A) 4778526

B) 0.075

C) 850

D) 14268.5

E) 25.8 x 10⁵

F) 3310 x 10^-1

2) Convert the following into scientific notation:

A) 0.004288

B) 4200

C) 363000000

D) 0.00000363

Please use these conversion for the following problems :

1mi = 1609 m               3.79 L = 1.00 gal           1.00 mi = 1.61 km

1 foot = 12 inches         1m/s = 2.2 mi/hr            1 inch = 2.45 cm = 25.4mm

3) Express 18 mi/h in units of meters per second. (1 mi = 1609 m)

4) Convert 775,632 seconds into days

5) Convert 42 miles into feet

6) Your car gets 22.6 mi/gal on a vacation trip in the U.S. If you were figuring your mileage in Europe, how many km/L did it get?

7) Suppose that an object travels from one point in space to another. Make a comparison between the magnitude of the displacement and the distance traveled by this object. Then write or draw out an example.

A) The displacement is either greater than or equal to the distance traveled.

B) The displacement is always equal to the distance traveled.

C) The displacement is either less than or equal to the distance traveled.

D) The displacement can be either greater than, smaller than, or equal to the distance traveled.

Example -

8) If the acceleration of an object is zero, then that object cannot be moving.

A) True

B) False

EXPLAIN

9) You are driving home on a weekend from school at 51 mi/h for 115 miles. It then starts to snow and you slow to 35 mi/h. You arrive home after driving 4 hours and 45 minutes. How far is your hometown from school?

With the increasing use of electronic communications and Internet, a growing problem among youth is the experience of online harassment (cyberbullying). Estimates of the extent of cyberbullying vary. In one national (U.S.) survey conducted in 2005, professional interviewers used random-digit dialing to construct a sample of 1,500 English-speaking households with youth between the ages 10 and 17 who use the Internet (Youth Internet Safety Survey). Youth were interviewed if their parents provided consent, and the youth assented. Nine percent of the youth in this sample reported being targets of online harassment within the past year. In another study conducted in 2008, 20,406 high school students (9th -12th grades) in the Boston metropolitan area completed an anonymous, paper-and-pencil survey about health and behavior topics one day in school (MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey). One question asked, “How many times has someone used the Internet, a phone, or other electronic communications to bully, tease, or threaten you?" In this sample, 15.8% of the students reported being victimized within the past year.

Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False, then explain your answer.

A.   The much larger sample size of the Boston survey indicates that 15.8% is a more reliable estimate of the amount of cyberbullying experienced by youth in the U.S. population.

B.   The different ages included in the two samples (10-17 and 9th-12th graders) may account for differences in the reported rate of cyberbullying.

C.   One reason youth reported more cyberbullying in the Boston study could be because an anonymous, self-report survey was used, compared to the telephone interview for the national sample.

D.   The findings for Internet bullying in the two surveys indicate that the Boston area has more Internet bullying than the overall national rate.

E.         The findings for the two surveys indicate that the percentage of cyberbullying increased nearly 7% points from 2005 to 2008.

On 11 August 2020, Vanya Ho entered into a contract with Diego Toh to renovate her school, The Umbrella Learning Centre and to set up the internet system for the school’s online lessons starting in October. They agreed to the total sum of $100,000 with a 10% deposit of $10,000 to be paid on the signing of the contract. $20,0000 was to be paid upon the design being approved by Vanya Ho. The balance of $70,000 was to be paid on the completion of the renovation works. The contract provided that Diego Toh was to complete the renovation works and handover the school to Vanya Ho not later than 20 September 2020. The design was approved by Vanya Ho on 18 August 2020. Diego Toh proceeded with the renovation which was completed on 19 September 2020. Vanya inspected the renovation work on 20 September 2020. She was not pleased with the internet system when she tested the wifi connection. The wifi signals were weak and created issues for running the online lessons. Diego Toh explained that his electricians have gone back to Malaysia and would only be back early 2021. He insisted that the renovation works including the setting up of the internet system were in accordance with the design as approved by Vanya. On 21 September, Vanya Ho called an independent electrician, Klaus Soh, to inspect and advise on internet system. Klaus Soh explained that the internet system was poorly set-up. He quoted $2,000 to rectify the defects which could be completed by 25 September 2020. On 22 September, Diego Toh contacted Vanya Ho and demanded payment of the balance amount of $70,000. Vanya Ho refused to pay the balance and insisted that Diego Toh rectify the internet system by 26 September 2020.

(b) Diego Toh would like to claim the full amount of $70,000. Discuss the LEGAL PRINCIPLES concerning the performance of the contract, APPLY the legal principles, and CONCLUDE on whether Diego Toh could discharge the contract with Vanya Ho and claim the full amount of $70,000.

QUESTION 4
Kati is 22 years of age and has struggled with her weight all her life. She remembers back in primary school how the kids used to call her “fatty” and would not want to play with her. The taunting continued throughout high school however it was subtler. Kati found it difficult to make friends and often found herself excluded from any social events.
Although Kati’s mother is very supportive, but her father would say things like “why don’t you go on a diet” or “what are you eating now it’s only going to make you fatter”. Her elder brother was embarrassed to be seen with her and to make things worse, he is quite athletic.
A few months back, things were starting to turn around for Kati. She began dating with Mamat, and she started exercising and lost about 10 kilograms. Slowly she started feeling better about herself, however the relationship did not last longer. She blames herself for the break-up and believes that Mamat ended the relationship because she is fat. However, when questioned further about this, Kati could not recall a time when Mamat had ever criticized her appearance, in fact he seemed to be very supportive.
Kati also described how her friends have stopped calling her because they say she is constantly criticizing them. Kati stays at home all day and every time she looks in the mirror she thinks how ugly she is. It is important to note that Kati is currently within the healthy weight range for her age and height.

a. According to you, what issue is Kati facing currently? Justify your answers.
       

b. Suggest what Kati should do to improve her condition and how her family and friends could support her?
       

Introduction

Lori Patrick’s conversation earlier that day with Mike Lowe, the company’s

CEO, kept running through Lori’s head during her 45-minute rush-hour

commute home. “What a great opportunity Mike’s given me,” she thought.

“The CEO of this organization believes in the value of HR and asked me to

tell him how HR can help the company meet its strategic goals. When I was

studying for my master’s in HR, we kept reading and talking about how HR

needs to position itself as a strategic business partner; but I didn’t think I

would get the opportunity so soon in my career.” Lori had been the director

of Human Resources with Reyes Fitness Centers, Inc. (R FC) for only a couple

of months. She had been attracted to the position in part because it offered her

first opportunity to oversee all of HR, and because of her interview with Mike

Lowe. Lowe was fairly new to the company (just less than two years) and was

highly regarded by the founder and chairman, John Reyes, and the rest of the

board of directors as a strategic thinker and someone with proven ability to

inspire and motivate staff. Lori knew from the interview with Lowe that when

he said employees were the key to RFC’s future, he meant it.

RFC background

Reyes Fitness Centers, Inc. was launched in May of 1999 by John Reyes with

$150,000 of his own funding and some investment capital from three college

friends from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where they were

business majors attending the university in the mid-1990s. The first center

was located in Raleigh, NC, and was an immediate success. The center offered

a full range of workout equipment, exercise classes, personal trainers, an

outdoor pool, on-site daycare, and even a small restaurant. Additional private

investment was secured and R FC expanded rapidly from 1999 to 2007, opening

approximately three new centers a year throughout the Southeast. By the end of

2007, RFC operated 28 fitness centers, grossing $51 million in revenues and $1

million in net income. Figure 1.0 below provides the financial performance of

RFC and its comparison to competitors.

By 2005, John Reyes had general managers overseeing each center and had

gradually removed himself from day-to-day oversight of the company. He

had become interested in other business ventures and, as a result, his board

encouraged hiring a CEO and other senior management team members to

oversee the growing enterprise. He hired 48-year-old Mike Lowe as the

new CEO of RFC in late 2005, and Reyes assumed the role of chairman.

This CEO position was the second in Lowe’s career. He had more than 20

years’ experience in the fitness equipment industry; before coming to RFC

he had been the CEO of a smaller fitness center company in California that

had been acquired. Lowe’s transition as CEO had gone quite well in Reyes’,

the board’s and in Lowe’s view. Lowe had been somewhat concerned about

being micromanaged by Reyes, but he was given complete autonomy over

the operations of the company and was expected to involve the board only in

strategic leadership issues

The Fitness center industry

While the fitness center industry grew dramatically in the mid to late 1990s

(more than 20 percent annually), overall industry growth had slowed

considerably, as most towns now had two to three fitness centers within

close proximity.

As shown in Figure 1.0, RFC is considered a medium-sized fitness center

enterprise. While some competitors (Day Spa and Constant Fitness in

particular) continue to focus on large-scale, either through acquisitions of

smaller fitness clubs or by opening new fitness centers, many others (including

RFC) have reduced the number of new clubs being opened.

There is as much emphasis on health and recreation as ever in the U.S. Industry

reports suggest that the outlook for fitness centers in general is quite positive,

although some consolidation may occur because certain markets have been

saturated with too many clubs to remain profitable. However, the market in the

Southeast (where RFC operates) is still growing and market saturation is not

anticipated for at least five years.

Fitness centers hire a variety of professional and support staff. Some focus on

personal training and employ a large number of certified professional trainers

who work with members during club hours (typically 5-6am until 10pm,

although the more body-building oriented gyms have recently started offering

24-hour service). In addition to housekeeping and front desk staff, fitness

centers employ customer service representatives who can assist existing members

with questions and also act as sales representatives, giving tours of the facility to

prospective members.

RFC strategy

During Lowe’s tenure, RFC opened just one new fitness center (just outside

of Atlanta, GA). This modest club expansion is consistent with the three-

year financial strategy the RFC board has agreed on, where the focus is on

growing the profitability of existing clubs by increasing member enrollment and

retention. The company is privately held by a small group of investors and the

board wants it to stay that way. The board has discussed positioning itself for

acquisition by one of the larger fitness club chains at some point in the future. It

is agreed that improving the bottom-line (i.e., net income) performance of RFC

will only help in this regard.

Within Porter’s classic framework of various business strategies, RFC’s strategy

most closely aligns with Porter’s “focus” strategy, where a company focuses

on serving the needs of a particular market segment to achieve a competitive

advantage. RFC has positioned itself as a place where the whole family can

enjoy fitness and social activities. RFC has deliberately chosen not to compete

with gyms that cater to body builders with large free weight workout areas,

24-hour access, onsite training supplement sales, and “no-frills” amenities.

RFC’s strategy is to attract families by offering a wide variety of fitness offerings

including cardio equipment; free weights and circuit training weight machines;

personal training; and exercise classes (such as Pilates, yoga, stationary cycling,

etc.). Most RFC fitness centers have a snack bar where nutritional smoothies

and other healthy snacks can be purchased. All RFC centers offer extensive

locker room facilities and on-site daycare. Newer RFC fitness centers have small

indoor basketball courts and TV lounges to appeal to the 10- to 16-year-old

age group.

From his first day on the job, Lowe has stressed to the staff that he wants them

to be strategic in how they approach their daily, weekly, and annual activities

and projects. By that he means that they should consider how their jobs

contribute to RFC being able to provide a fitness club experience to couples and

families that is superior to any of the competition. He has worked diligently

with his senior management team and the board to understand how RFC

creates value for its customers, employees and investors. The business model

for how fitness centers make money is fairly straightforward: profitable firms

grow by recurring monthly member revenue (via new member recruitment and

existing member renewal) while maintaining relatively stable fixed costs and

low variable costs. Lowe has worked to identify both financial and nonfinancial

variables that drive RFC performance. By locating RFC fitness centers in upper-

middle-class locations and focusing marketing efforts on couples and families,

RFC has been successful recruiting new members. Research data shows that

members typically do not have issues with the RFC monthly dues. Member

feedback indicates that having a friendly place for the whole family to stay fit is a

driver of member value.

RFC Strategic Challenges

As with most start-ups, the early strategy for RFC focused on growing

revenue. They did this by opening several clubs each year and offering new

club promotions to attract members. RFC experienced rapid revenue growth

(more than 20 percent annually) through 2004. However, several of the RFC

centers are not reaching their profit goals. Mike Lowe tried to address this by

implementing operational efficiencies when he first came on board at RFC,

but he soon realized that the profit challenges were driven in large part by a

customer retention problem. While a certain amount of turnover is expected in

the industry (due to competing clubs, families moving out of the area, etc.), the

best industry data RFC can find relating to member retention shows that their

member retention is approximately 20 percent lower than industry average.

An analysis of member records shows that members often join during a special

promotion (where the initiation fee is waived) but then rarely use the center

and fail to renew. A telephone survey of members (lapsed and current) reveals

that “non-use” was one of the reasons for members not renewing or stating

they were unlikely to renew. An analysis of member-visit frequency shows that

more than 50 percent of members in 2006 hadn’t even visited their RFC fitness

center two times per week. The hypothesis is that members who aren’t going

to their RFC fitness center frequently are far less likely to see sufficient value to

renew. Another concern is member feedback that RFC staff members do not

provide very good or excellent customer service. Lowe, senior management, and

the board have had extensive discussions about the member retention problem.

While part of Lowe’s strategy to increase profits is to enroll more members in

existing fitness centers, those profits will be short-lived if members stay only one

year. Data also shows that membership cost, quality of offerings, amenities, etc.,

are all rated highly.

Lori thinks about these strategic issues and how HR might affect them.

“There’s no question that problems with customer service and member

retention come down to people issues. It is affected by the type of people we

bring on board, how they’re trained and how their performance is managed

and rewarded.”

Questions:

1. Identify and prioritize a set of tasks for Lori. Provide a rationale for your prioritization. Link your responses to the key concepts to one of the examples in the The HR Scorecard.

2. Based on your understanding of RFC and its business strategy, how can HR add strategic value to RFC?

3. What challenges do you anticipate Lori will encounter as she develops the HR scorecard for RFC?

4. Anticipate potential outcomes for the plan that is proposed for RFC?

Thanks for your help!