Beyond starting and running new businesses, entrepreneurs are change agents who transform innovation into reality. Apple Inc. is known as one of the world's most innovative companies, and it co-founder Steve jobs was credited with Apple's most important breakthrough innovations. Steve Jobs also founded Pixar, one of the most successful film studios of all time. He was clearly an entrepreneur extraordinaire, and created continuous innovation in his quest to create value through new products or services. Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk are also entrepreneurs that stand out as examples of successful entrepreneurs. Discuss the traits and behaviors of these entrepreneurs that might have contributed to the outstanding record of innovation in the companies they led. What are the major differences in how these individuals have approached entrepreneurship? How have those differences impacted the organizations they have founded?  

***Must be 2 pages long***

Company NewCo has hired you to advise its senior management on how to communicate a strategy for unleashing the firm’s creativity. You have eight weeks to put your recommendations together, which will be on the agenda of the company’s next Leadership Retreat.

Fortunately for NewCo, you have just completed a course on this very subject. After thinking about it for a while, you thought you should structure your project using material from the course you just completed, augmented by some additional research.

Your assignment this week is to establish the commitment to creativity and innovation of the leadership at NewCo. Is there a strong desire among leadership for the company to be innovative and creative? What company goals or achievements are tied to creativity and innovation? Lay out the commitment to creativity and innovation that will drive your work over the course of this project.

For your company Uber:

(Please answer step by step) (Dont copy/paste information please)

1. What is your company's innovation process?
2. What is the life cycle for the company's industry?
3. Which type of innovation does your company use? Explain why or why not you believe this is the appropriate innovation type.
4. What is the company's growth strategy?
5. Select a foreign country where your company currently does not operate and perform a CAGE Distance framework between your home country and the selected foreign country.
6. Which global strategy does your company deploy using the integration-responsiveness framework?
7. Is your company's organizational structure mechanistic or organic? Explain why.
8. Which strategy and structure does your company utilize - simple, functional, multidivisional, or matrix?
9. What is your company's corporate governance policy?
10. What is your company's ethics policy?

For your company Amazon:

(Please answer step by step) (Dont copy/paste information please)

1. What is your company's innovation process?
2. What is the life cycle for the company's industry?
3. Which type of innovation does your company use? Explain why or why not you believe this is the appropriate innovation type.
4. What is the company's growth strategy?
5. Select a foreign country where your company currently does not operate and perform a CAGE Distance framework between your home country and the selected foreign country.
6. Which global strategy does your company deploy using the integration-responsiveness framework?
7. Is your company's organizational structure mechanistic or organic? Explain why.
8. Which strategy and structure does your company utilize - simple, functional, multidivisional, or matrix?
9. What is your company's corporate governance policy?
10. What is your company's ethics policy?

Notes for Journal Entries:

1) Kuechly uses periodic inventory system and LIFO

2) All credit sales discounts are recorded using the net method – customers receive a 3 percent discount if they pay within 30 days.

3) Purchase discounts are recorded using the net method

4) All depreciation is straight line.

5) 2020 is first year of operation.

June 30 2020 -  Purchased land and a building.  A $200,000 cash down payment was required and a $800,000 note was accepted by the seller for the balance (12 percent interest payable each year on June 30). The fair value of the land at the date of purchase was deemed to be 300,000 and the fair value of the building was 900,000. The building has an estimated residual value of $0 and a useful life of 30 years.

October 1 2020 - Purchased equipment for in exchange for a $30,000 non-interest bearing note due in one year. The equipment has an estimated residual value of $2,000 and a useful life of 8 years. Note: Assume an effective interest rate of 8 percent.

What Adjusting Journal Entries should be made at 12/31/2020

Larkspur Company began operations on January 1, 2019, adopting the conventional retail inventory system. None of the company’s merchandise was marked down in 2019 and, because there was no beginning inventory, its ending inventory for 2019 of $38,000 would have been the same under either the conventional retail system or the LIFO retail system.

On December 31, 2020, the store management considers adopting the LIFO retail system and desires to know how the December 31, 2020, inventory would appear under both systems. All pertinent data regarding purchases, sales, markups, and markdowns are shown below. There has been no change in the price level.

Cost

Retail

Inventory, Jan. 1, 2020

$38,000$59,600

Markdowns (net)

12,800

Markups (net)

22,000

Purchases (net)

129,900175,400

Sales (net)

166,400

Determine the cost of the 2020 ending inventory under both (a) the conventional retail method and (b) the LIFO retail method. (Round ratios for computational purposes to 2 decimal place, e.g. 78.72% and final answers to 0 decimal places, e.g. 28,987.)

Analyzing and Interpreting Restructuring Costs and Effects
Hewlett-Packard, Inc., reports the following footnote disclosure (excerpted) in its 2010 10-K relating to its restructuring programs.

Fiscal 2010 Acquisitions: On July 1, 2010, HP completed the acquisition of Palm and initiated a plan to restructure the operations of Palm, including severance for Palm employees, contract cancellation costs and other items.

The total expected cost of the plan is $46 million.

On April 12, 2010, HP completed the acquisition of 3Com. In connection with the acquisition, HP's management approved and initiated a plan to restructure the operation of 3Com, including severance costs and costs to vacate duplicative facilities.

The total expected cost of the plan is $42 million.

In fiscal 2010, HP recorded restructuring charges of approximately $18 million.

Fiscal 2010 ES Restructuring Plan: On June 1, 2010, HP's management announced a plan to restructure its enterprise services business. The total expected cost of the plan that will be recorded as restructuring charges is approximately $1.0 billion, including severance costs to eliminate approximately 9,000 positions and infrastructure charges. For fiscal 2010, a restructuring charge of $650 million was recorded primarily related to severance costs. As of October 31, 2010, approximately 2,100 positions have been eliminated.

Fiscal 2009 Restructuring Plan: In May 2009, HP's management approved and initiated a restructuring plan to structurally change and improve the effectiveness of several businesses. The total expected cost of the plan is $292 million in severance-related costs associated with the planned elimination of approximately 5,000 positions. As of October 31, 2010, approximately 4,200 positions had been eliminated.

Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan: In accordance with the acquisition of EDS on August 26, 2008, HP's management approved and initiated a restructuring plan to combine and align HP's services businesses, eliminate duplicative overhead functions and consolidate and vacate duplicative facilities. The restructuring plan is expected to be implemented over four years at a total expected cost of $3.4 billion.

The adjustments to the accrued restructuring expenses related to all of HP's restructuring plans described above for the twelve months ended October 31, 2010 were as follows:

(a) Which of the following in NOT an example of a common non-cash charge associated with corporate restructuring activities?

Inventory revaluations

Fixed-asset write-downs

Impairment charges on intangible assets

Severance paid to employees

(b) Using the financial statement effects template, show the effects on financial statements of the (1) 2010 restructuring charge of $1,138 million, and (2) 2010 cash payment of $1,316 million.

Use negative signs with your answers, when appropriate.

List three main sources of innovation and provide examples of the banking industry's responses to each.

How can financial innovation lead to financial crises? Apply this topic to your life.