Assume you are the HR director of a tech company located in Jackson, MS. Based on the kind of service it provides, it will see a sharp increase in their business due to the coronanvirus pandemic. Your CEO has tasked you with hiring a significant number of new employees, both professional and non-professional. Professional employees include computer scientists, engineers, designers, accountants, and marketing/sales people. The non-professional employees includes clerical staff, maintenance staff, and custodial staff. How would you go about successfully recruiting each group? How would you ensure the best possible and most diverse applicant pool? Assume that things will be back to normal by summer.

a) Describe the organizational culture at the Newskool. Be sure to use specific course concepts in your answer .

b) Is the culture at the Newskool strong or weak? How do you know?

c) In general, what are the pros and cons of a strong culture?

Imagine you are a senior manager at Newskool Grooves who has been tasked with putting together a cross-functional team that will decide on which type of communication platform the company should use for corporate communications (e.g., email, video conferencing, secure group chats, etc).

Imagine CEO Gerd Finger wishes to introduce a new line of music equipment at Newskool Grooves and that several of the other managers do not like his idea.

Read and complete the Capstone exercise on page 177 and answer all of the questions associated with the case.

In 1885, Binney & Smith had a product line of ONE—An-DuSeptic dustless chalk. While promoting this product to teachers across the United States, the company founders discovered that teachers were importing expensive wax crayons from Europe. In the early 1900s, nearly 20 years after starting the company, Binney & Smith introduced a new product, eight colored crayons packaged in a green and yellow box. Crayola Crayons remain a staple in American classrooms today. The size of the boxes and the selection of colors have changed over the decades, but the basic product remains essentially the same. (The “Big Box” with a mind-boggling 96 crayons was introduced in 1993.) In 1964, Binney & Smith acquired Permanent Pigments, an acrylic paint manufacturer, and in 1977, it acquired the rights to Silly Putty. In 1984, the Binney & Smith company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Inc. In 2007, the Binney & Smith corporate name was changed to Crayola because of the brand familiarity. The name Crayola has a 99% recognition among U.S. consumers. Eighty percent of all the crayons sold in the United States today have the Crayola brand name. Crayola products are sold in 80 different countries and packaged in 12 languages. The name change also reflected the company’s new direction. For nearly 100 years, Crayola targeted children and their parents with a product line of back-to-school products. The products had expanded from crayons to water paints, markers, chalk, colored pencils, and poster paints. However, in an effort to expand the market and generate revenues throughout the year, Crayola entered the toy industry. Bath tub art, glow stations, Color Explosion products, Mess-Free Art, flavored drinking water, and even a colorful computer keyboard and mouse are just some of the products added to the Crayola line. Today in any big box store, Crayola will have shelf space in both the art and school supply aisle AND the toy section.

1. How would you define the attributes and benefits of Crayola products?

2. Define the core, actual, and augmented product benefits.

3. Where was Crayola in the product life cycle before it entered the toy market? Where do you think they are now? Explain.

4. Do you see the move from school supply products to toys as product development? Explain.

5. Describe the Crayola product portfolio strategy.

Reid acquired two assets in 2017: computer equipment (5-year property) acquired on August 6th with a basis of $510,000 and machinery (7-year property) on November 9th with a basis of $510,000. Assume that Reid has sufficient income to avoid any limitations. Calculate the maximum depreciation expense including §179 expensing (but not bonus expensing). 1-Section 179 expense? 2-Depreciation on computer? 3-Depreciation on machinery? 4-Total maximum depreciation expense including §179 expense?

The Bookbinder Company has made $300,000 before taxes during each of the last 15 years, and it expects to make $300,000 a year before taxes in the future. However, in 2016 the firm incurred a loss of $750,000. The firm will claim a tax credit at the time it files its 2016 income tax return, and it will receive a check from the U.S. Treasury. Show how it calculates this credit, and then indicate the firm's tax liability for each of the next 5 years. Assume a 35% tax rate on all income to ease the calculations. Enter your answers as positive values. If an amount is zero, enter "0".

1. Prior Years	2014	2015
   Profit earned	$	$
   Carry-back credit	$	$
   Adjusted profit	$	$
   Tax previously paid (35%)	$	$
   Tax refund: Taxes previously paid	$	$

   
   Total check from U.S. Treasury $  
   
2. Firm's tax liability
   2017:    $  
   2018:    $  
   2019:    $  
   2020:    $  
   2021:    $  

3)

BOOER COMPANY

Worksheet (partial)

For the Year Ended December 31, 2018

Instructions

Prepare a classified balance sheet for Booer Company.

Presented below is information related to Concord Company. Date Ending Inventory (End-of-Year Prices) Price Index December 31, 2017 $ 83,200 100 December 31, 2018 145,934 131 December 31, 2019 142,950 150 December 31, 2020 161,696 163 December 31, 2021 193,200 175 December 31, 2022 227,698 181 Compute the ending inventory for Concord Company for 2017 through 2022 using the dollar-value LIFO method.

LimeBike is a start-up founded in 2017 located in San Mateo, California. Its mission is to make shared bicycles accessible and affordable. The company has taken the basic idea of shared bicycles and eliminated the need to return the bike to a docking station, which may not be near the cyclist’s destination.

LimeBike charges $1 per 30 minutes of riding. Students receive a discounted rate of $0.50 per ride.

To use LimeBike, you first use the LimeBike app to locate one of the citrus-colored bikes near your location. Once you are at the bike, you scan the QR code on the bike or enter the bike’s plate number into the app to unlock the bike. When you are finished using the bike, you park the bike by a bike rack or post – anywhere that is legal and visible. Once you press down the back wheel lock, the trip is finalized and your payment is processed – all within the LimeBike app.

LimeBike operates the bicycle networks within cities, eliminating the need for cities to maintain the bikes or deal with other logistics. The shared bicycle network is not dependent on government funding, making it appealing to cities with tight budgets.

LimeBike just raised $12 million in funding from investors to expand its operations. It is set to begin operating in as-of-yet undisclosed cities in April or May of 2017.

You are one of the only accountants in LimeBike headquarter's office.

The company’s CEO, Toby Sun, has tasked you with forming the company's the company’s accounting policies.

For the discussion post, write an email to the company CEO and address all of the following typical company scenarios and whether each item should be expensed or capitalized at LimeBike:

The cost of customized bikes. This includes the bike's purchase price, shipping, assembly and sales tax.

Development costs of the smart phone app for locating, paying, and returning bikes. (Resource: Accounting for Software Development)

Salary of the salesperson who works to get cities to adopt the Lime Bike program.

Replacement tires for bikes.

Routine bike maintenance including chain lubrication, brake pad replacement, and drive train cleaning

Electricity and other utilities in administrative offices

Somewhere in your email, also address why this classification is important. Be sure to include how these decisions would impact the company’s balance sheet and income statement.

1. Jessica is 14 years old and often assists neighbors to be their domestic helper on the weekend. Calculate the 2020 standard deduction Jessica will claim if she reports $2500 earning from a helper job.

IBM 150 Winter 2020 – Communication and Writing Reports for Global managers

4 - In what ways does a scannable résumé differ from the traditional format?

425-450 word answer