Problem-Solving Case: Training Call Center Employees

The employees in a call center need to be able to speak to customers politely, but their skill set is more complicated than etiquette. They also need to handle a range of questions and problems about particular products. Whenever their company adds a new line of products or services, the employees have to be prepared to answer a new set of questions. Thus, training is an ongoing con- cern in call centers. The traditional approach is to present new material in a classroom setting and supplement this learning with other training components. For efficiency and flexibility, call center train- ing often uses Web-based components. The most common form of these is called asynchronous Web-based training, a set of modules that each agent completes independently at his or her own computer by viewing the course content and then answering questions at his or her own pace. No live instructor is needed. Sometimes, the modules include a simulation in which the trainee handles calls from actors posing as customers with ques- tions or problems related to the course content. Some organizations can afford to customize their training programs to make them more engag- ing than reading text and answering multiple- choice questions. One such call center hired a training company called Resource Bridge to develop online training with the flavor of a video game. Modules for teaching courtesy and profes- sionalism show animated videos of three agents taking a phone call. One agent has a stiff manner, another speaks in pleasant, conversational tones, and the third is extremely casual, addressing the caller as “hon.” When trainees choose the style they think is most appropriate, the training video shows the customer’s reaction, rather than just indicating whether the choice is correct. For example, the customer responds to being called “hon” by becoming annoyed at the familiarity. Trainees quickly realize that the approach is ineffective. When supervisors monitor agents’ calls, they can use the recordings to identify training oppor- tunities. If the supervisor observes that an employee is having difficulty handling a particu- lar type of problem or customer, the supervisor can send the employee a Web-based training module that addresses the situation. Envision Click2Coach is a software tool that lets the super- visor select video demonstrations of how to handle a type of problem. The supervisor can record a voice-over explanation of how the employee could have handled a problem more effectively. These and other training programs allow supervisors to select graphics, documents, and audio clips (including recordings of the calls the employee handled) for insertion into the training modules. This capability lets the supervisor efficiently coach individual employees while both remain at their desks. Electronic coaching is easy and flexible, so supervisors need to be reminded of the importance of face-to-face communication with employees. Personal communication to offer encouragement is essential as a way to reinforce their use of the desired skills. New employees or employees who have just learned a new set of skills may begin working in a “nesting area.” They are seated together in an area of the call center where one or two supervisors are close at hand to provide assistance and answer questions. Also, experienced agents may be assigned to help employees in the nesting area. Plac- ing them in this coaching role may make employees feel more at ease (it can be more comfortable to seek help from a peer rather than from a supervisor). At the same time, coaching others can reinforce the more experienced employees’ knowledge and develops them to become supervisors in the future. Another popular way to train agents is to assign them to a veteran employee who serves as a mentor. For example, if a supervisor at Georgia Power’s call center determines that new agents have a weakness in a particular skill, the supervi- sor assigns those agents to experienced employees who excel in that skill. The agents and their mentors sit near one another so that the mentors are readily available to help. However, Paula Sacks, a Georgia Power supervisor, notes that mentors must be selected carefully. The mentors must be more than skillful at their jobs; they also must be good communicators who are willing to use part of their time for coaching.

Questions –

1. Imagine that you are a supervisor in a call center, where you oversee 20 employees who handle questions and problems from people who buy your client’s products—furniture that must be assembled using basic hand tools. Your client is preparing the launch of new products: rugs and other accessories. Now your agents must be prepared for a new set of issues, such as questions related to fabrics and colors. Which of the methods described in this case will you use to prepare the agents for these changes? Why?



2. Prepare a training plan for your agents. Will you train them all at once or in groups? Which method will you use first? Will you start the training before or during the product launch?



3. What, if anything, will you need to learn to prepare yourself for these changes? How will you develop your own skills?

Unit 2 Assignment: Management Tools Application For the past several years, Dustin Larkin has operated a part-time consulting business from his home. As of June 1, 2013, Dustin decided to move to rented quarters and to operate the business, which was to be known as Quixote Consulting, on a full-time basis. Quixote Consulting entered into the following transactions during June:

June 1. The following assets were received from Dustin Larkin: cash, $10,000; accounts receivable, $1,500; supplies, $1,250; and office equipment, $7,500. There were no liabilities received.

June 1. Paid three months' rent on a lease rental contract, $4,500.

June 2. Paid the premiums on property and casualty insurance policies, $1,800.

June 4. Received cash from clients as an advance payment for services to be provided (Record it as unearned fees), $3,000.

June 5. Purchased additional office equipment on account from Crawford Company, $1,800.

June 6. Received cash from clients on account, $800.

June 10. Paid cash for a newspaper advertisement to run during June, $120.

June 12. Paid Crawford Company for part of the debt incurred on June 5, $800.

June 12. Recorded services provided on account for the period June 1 to June 12, $2,250.

June 14. Paid part-time receptionist for 2 weeks' salary, $400. (Note: Ignore any payroll tax or withholdings).

June 17. Recorded cash from cash clients for fees earned during the period June 1-16, $3,175.

June 18. Paid cash for supplies, $750.

June 20. Recorded services provided on account for the period June 13-20, $1,100.

June 24. Recorded cash from cash clients for fees earned for the period June 17-24, $1,850.

June 26. Received cash from clients on account, $1,600.

June 27. Paid part-time receptionist for two weeks' salary, $400. (Note: Ignore any payroll tax or withholdings).

June 29. Paid telephone bill for June, $130. Unit 2 [AC499: Bachelor’s Capstone in Accounting]

June 30. Paid electricity bill for June, $200.

June 30. Recorded cash from cash clients for fees earned for the period June 25-30, $2,050.

June 30. Recorded services provided on account for the remainder of June, $1,000.

June 30. Dustin withdrew $4,500 for personal use.

Instructions-Use the Excel template provided in the class titled “Unit 2 and 3 Management Tools Assignment” to complete the following 3 requirements for Unit 2: 1. Journalize each transaction in the two-column journal tab, referring to the following chart of accounts in selecting the accounts to be debited and credited. 11-Cash 31-Dustin Larkin, Capital 12-Accounts Receivable 32-Dustin Larkin, Drawing 14-Supplies 41-Fees Earned 15-Prepaid Rent 51-Salary Expense 16-Prepaid Insurance 52-Rent Expense 18-Office Equipment 53-Supplies Expense 19-Accumulated Depreciation 54-Depreciation Expense 21-Accounts Payable 55-Insurance Expense 22-Salaries Payable 59-Miscellaneous Expense 23-Unearned Fees 2. Post the journal to a ledger of four-column accounts, see the Excel tab labeled accordingly. 3. Prepare a trial balance as of June 30, 2013 – using the tab in the Excel workbook labeled accordingly. Be sure and save your work, you will complete the accounting cycle in Unit 3 using the same Excel Template and information. Unit 2 [AC499: Bachelor’s Capstone in Accounting] Notes: 1) Proper Journal Entry Formatting is absolutely mandatory. a. Debit Account Descriptions are to be fully left-justified in the line. b. Credit Account Descriptions are to be indented in the cell. c. A short description is required for every journal entry. 2) You will be required to create at least ONE additional general Ledger Account to accommodate a few Journal Entries. 3) You may need to add the “Miscellaneous Expense" account to the GeneralLedger. 4) Or, you may create 2 or 3 new G/L accounts. For example "Utilities." 5) Be sure that you use proper formatting when you create the Financial Statements. For example: a. Add required underlining, b. "$" signs must be properly formatted. 6) The templates are NOT fully “pre-formatted.” You must re-format them for proper presentation in a number of places. Remember, if you have any questions, concerns, or doubts about any of the instructions, please contact your instructor in the Virtual Office as soon as possible.

Karla Tanner opens a Web consulting business called Linkworks and completes the following transactions in its first month of operations.
  

April 1 Tanner invested $130,000 cash along with office equipment valued at $31,200 in the company.

  2 The company prepaid $7,200 cash for twelve months’ rent for office space. (Hint: Debit Prepaid Rent for $7,200.)

  3 The company made credit purchases for $15,600 in office equipment and $3,120 in office supplies. Payment is due within 10 days.

  6 The company completed services for a client and immediately received $2,000 cash.

  9 The company completed a $10,400 project for a client, who must pay within 30 days.

  13 The company paid $18,720 cash to settle the account payable created on April 3.

  19 The company paid $6,000 cash for the premium on a 12-month insurance policy.

  22 The company received $8,320 cash as partial payment for the work completed on April 9.

  25 The company completed work for another client for $2,640 on credit.

   28 Tanner withdrew $6,200 cash from the company for personal use.

   29 The company purchased $1,040 of additional office supplies on credit.

   30 The company paid $700 cash for this month’s utility bill.

READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY TO GET FULL VALUE FROM THE PRACTICE. IF NOT COMFORTABLE WITH CLASSES,I WOULD START WITH DEFINING THE CLASS WITH ONE constructor AND GO FROM THEREUse the following to calculate a GPA (the following is for calculation information only):A = 4.00 grade points per credit hourA- = 3.70 grade points per credit hourB+ = 3.33 grade points per credit hourB = 3.00 grade points per credit hourB- = 2.70 grade points per credit hourC+ = 2.30 grade points per credit hourC = 2.00 grade points per credit hourC- = 1.70 grade points per credit hourD+ = 1.30 grade points per credit hourD = 1.00 grade points per credit hourD- = 0.70 grade points per credit hourgpa calculation = total grade points received (see above)/ number hours attemptedIf you took 3 classes; 3 credit hours each; received an 'A' in each classA = 4.00 points per credit hour means a total of 36 grade points earnedfor 9 attempted hoursgpa = 36/9 = 4.01. Create a header file (*.h) for a class named Student defined as follows:Private variables to hold:first namelast namestreet addresscitystatezipearned grade pointsattempted credit hoursgpaPublic methods:constructor of type Student; set all the private variables to spaceor zero, depending on the data typeconstructor of type Student; set all name values and all address values

to values passed in as parameters, do not include earned grade point orattempted credit hours as parametersconstructor of type Student; set ALL private variables to valuespassed in as parametersmethod to display all private variables of the class (i.e., cout)method to calculate the gpa (no parameters)method to calculate the gpa with earned and attempted values passed in as parametersmethod to set the earned value; earned value passed in as parametermethod to set the attempted value; attempted value passed in as parameter2. Create an implementation program (*.cpp file) for class Student and code all the public methods.3. Create a client program (*.cpp) that uses class Student. Create three students using each ofthe three constructors defined in 1. Be aware of what data gets initialized or set to values.4. Calculate the gpa for each of the students.5. Display ALL the data for each of the students after the gpa has been calculated (name, full address,grade points earned, grade points attempted, gpa)6. Be aware that if the first two constructors are used, the earned and attemptedvalues will NOT be set to calculate the gpa. Try using your set methodsto give these a value.You will need to create a project.If you like to include the following line of code: system("pause");You MAY need to: #include <cstdlib>Complete as much as you can before you submit ensuring what you've completed compiles. You do not have to correctlysolve the coding exercise, however, you MUST include code that ATTEMPTS to solve the problem to get credit.The program may be named any name of your choice and must have a .cpp extention. Do NOT includespaces in program names; variables may be any name of your choice.

Lynbrook Automotive sells a variety of merchandise to retail stores on account, but it insists that any customer who fails to pay an invoice when due must replace it with an interest-bearing note. The company adjusts and closes its accounts at December 31.

On November 1, 2019 Lynbrook converted an Accounts Receivable balance from Scan House in the amount of $5,000 to a 120 day 8% Note Receivable.

Required: A. Prepare journal entries (in general journal form) to record: (1) the creation of the note on November 1, 2019; (2) the adjustment for interest on December 31, 2019; (3) the collection of principal and interest when it matures in 2020, including the maturity date. (Lynbrook makes adjusting entries only at year-end.) B. Explain why Lynbrook insists that any customer who fails to pay an invoice when due must replace it with an interest-bearing note.

Mel O’Conner operates rental properties in Michigan. Each property has a manager who collects rent, arranges for repairs, and runs advertisements in the local newspaper. The property managers transfer cash to O’Conner monthly and prepare their own bank reconciliations. The manager in Lansing has been stealing from the company. To cover the theft, he overstates the amount of the outstanding checks on the monthly bank reconciliation. As a result, each monthly bank reconciliation appears to balance. However, the balance sheet reports more cash than O’Conner actually has in the bank. O’Conner is currently putting his entire business up for sale. In negotiating the sale of the business, O’Conner is showing the balance sheet to prospective buyers.

Requirements

1. Identify who, other than O’Conner, could be harmed by this theft. In what ways could they be harmed?
2. Discuss the role accounting plays in this situation.

15.In a limited liability partnership (LLP)

a.a partner may avoid liability for the malpractice of other partners.

b.a partner who commits malpractice is automatically expelled from the partnership under the UPA.

c.the maximum number of partners is limited by the law of most states.

d.it is deemed unethical to employ non-professionals.

17.A limited liability company

a.is presumed to be member managed.

b.is presumed to be manager managed.

c.may not have members who are foreign nationals under federal law.

d.can have a duration of no more than 25 years under the law of most states.

19.A syndicate

a.cannot be incorporated under the law of most states.

b.is a type of criminal(organized crime) organization.

c.is an investment group formed to finance a particular project.

d.is an income tax avoidance device.

A partial listing of costs incurred at Archut Corporation during September appears below:

The total of the manufacturing overhead costs listed above for September is:

Multiple Choice

• $30,000

• $50,000

• $292,000

• $586,000

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Flesch Corporation produces and sells two products. In the most recent month, Product C90B had sales of $19,950 and variable expenses of $5,985. Product Y45E had sales of $26,190 and variable expenses of $10,476. The fixed expenses of the entire company were $17,000. If the sales mix were to shift toward Product C90B with total dollar sales remaining constant, the overall break-even point for the entire company:

Multiple Choice

• would increase.

• would decrease.

• could increase or decrease.

• would not change.

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Aaron Corporation, which has only one product, has provided the following data concerning its most recent month of operations:

The total contribution margin for the month under variable costing is:

Multiple Choice

• $43,120

• $45,620

• $109,820

• $125,970

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WV Construction has two divisions: Remodeling and New Home Construction. Each division has an on-site supervisor who is paid a salary of $86,000 annually and one salaried estimator who is paid $48,000 annually. The corporate office has two office administrative assistants who are paid salaries of $52,000 and $38,000 annually. The president's salary is $156,000. How much of these salaries are common fixed expenses?

Multiple Choice

• $246,000

• $156,000

• $90,000

• $318,000

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Younie Corporation has two divisions: the South Division and the West Division. The corporation's net operating income is $89,000. The South Division's divisional segment margin is $39,500 and the West Division's divisional segment margin is $171,900. What is the amount of the common fixed expense not traceable to the individual divisions?

Multiple Choice

• $122,400

• $128,500

• $260,900

• $211,400