On January 1, 2018, Blossom Ltd. purchased equipment for $808,000. The equipment was assumed to have an 8-year useful life and no residual value, and was to be depreciated using the straight-line method. On January 1, 2020, Blossom's management became concerned that the equipment may have become obsolete. Management calculated that the undiscounted future net cash flows from the equipment was $580,750, the discounted future net cash flows was $515,100, and the current fair value of the equipment (after costs to sell) was $505,000.

1. Assuming that Blossom is a private Canadian company following ASPE, and uses the cost recovery impairment model. Record the journal entry to record the impairment loss, if any

2. Assuming that Blossom is a public Canadian company, and uses the rational entity impairment model. Record the journal entry to record the impairment loss, if any

Your company received a letter from Mrs. Mirvat Amin in which she complained that the microwave she bought a month ago from your store does not work. In her complaint letter, she asked for either a new microwave or a full refund. Since the microwave has a one-year warranty, your company can meet Mrs. Amin’s request and replace the defective product.

Write an adjustment letter to Mrs. Mirvat Amin in which you inform her about the good news. The letter should be 150-400 words. It should be sent out on April 1, 2020

Mrs. Mirvat Amin’s address is: 546 Zayed Road Dubai, UAE Your company’s letterhead is RAWN Group 647 Emirates Road Dubai, UAE Your name is: Najla Fathi General Sales Manager

Please solve all answers on Excel and show step by step how you get the WACC answer.

  Tornado Motors is a major producer of sport and utility trucks. It is a family owned company,

started by Jane Biscayne in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression. Today the firm produces 3 lines

of trucks. These include a standard, no-frills short bed pickup truck (Model A), a mid-size version

(Model B

)

and a larger, heavy-duty work truck (Model C). Janet Biscayne, the founder’s grand-daughter

is the current CEO. She has asked you to provide a financial analysis of an idea that originated in the

company’s engineering department. The engineers have developed a “green” version of the smallest of

Tornado’s trucks – Model A. The green version would be made of recycled materials and would run on a

hybrid engine. Based on the results of a large market analysis, the CEO believes that there would be a

sizable demand for the green version of the Model A truck. Tornado pays an average tax rate of 40%. It

requires a 15% return on investments of this character.

The engineering department estimates that it would cost $40 million to purchase the additional

equipment necessary to convert an existing facility to production of the green trucks. This equipment is

expected to last 5 years and could be sold as salvage for $2 million at the end of its useful life. The full

cost of the equipment will be depreciated on a straight-line basis over 5 years. The marketing department

estimates that with a sticker price of $35,000 sales of the green trucks would be 6,000, 7,500, 8,000,

8,500 and 8,700 in each of the next five years. The green trucks are expected to cost $29,500 each to

produce. In addition, fixed costs associated with the production of the new trucks would be $15 million

per year and the truck production would require an additional initial one-time investment in Net Working

Capital of $5 million.

In addition, you are given the following information:

o

The company spent $4 million developing a prototype for the hybrid engine that would

be used in the green truck. In addition, the company spent $5 million on a marketing

study to evaluate demand for the green version.

o

The marketing department warns that it expects that production of the green trucks would

adversely affect sales of the current standard version of the Model A trucks as some of

the buyers who would have bought the standard model will be attracted to the green

version. The standard version costs $24,500 to produce and sells for $29,000. If the

green version is not introduced, the company expects to sell 9,000 units per year for the

next five years. However, with competition from the green version, annual sales of the

standard version are expected to decline by 500, 700, 1,000, 1,200 and 1,500 units in

each of the next 5 years. Furthermore, marketing expects that the company will have to

lower the price by $1,000 in order to achieve this level of sales.

o

The company’s stock is currently sold at $20.00 per share. It paid $2 dividend per share

last year. It is expected that the dividend growth rate will be 5% each year in the future.

The company’s bond has a 6-year bond outstanding. It is currently priced at $906.15. The

bond pays 6% coupon semi-annually. The par value of the bond is $1,000. The

company’s market value debt-equity ratio is 0.5 (D/E=0.5)

Profit Center Responsibility Reporting for a Service Company

Thomas Railroad Company organizes its three divisions, the North (N), South (S), and West (W) regions, as profit centers. The chief executive officer (CEO) evaluates divisional performance using income from operations as a percent of revenues. The following quarterly income and expense accounts were provided from the trial balance as of December 31:

The company operates three service departments: the Dispatching Department, the Equipment Management Department, and the Treasurer’s Department. The Treasurer’s Department and general corporate officers’ salaries are not controllable by division management. The Dispatching Department manages the scheduling and releasing of completed trains. The Equipment Management Department manages the inventories of railroad cars. It makes sure the right freight cars are at the right place at the right time. The Treasurer’s Department conducts a variety of services for the company as a whole. The following additional information has been gathered:

Required:

1. Prepare quarterly income statements showing income from operations for the three regions. Use three column headings: North, South, and West. Do not round your interim calculations.

Feedback

1. Determine the dispatching rate per train by dividing service cost by output. For each division's dispatching cost, multiply the dispatching rate by the number of scheduled trains. Repeat this process for the other service department charges. Subtract the service department charges for a division from that division's income from operations before such charges.

2. What is the profit margin of each division? Round to one decimal place.

Identify the most successful region according to the profit margin.
West

3. What would you include in a recommendation to the CEO for a better method for evaluating the performance of the divisions?

1. The method used to evaluate the performance of the divisions should be reevaluated.
2. A better divisional performance measure would be the rate of return on investment (income from operations divided by divisional assets).
3. A better divisional performance measure would be the residual income (income from operations less a minimal return on divisional assets).
4. None of these choices would be included.
5. All of these choices (a, b & c) would be included.

How does your initiative support student learning in the classroom?

Cost/Factors for implementation

the bottom you will see what our company about i need help writting answers to the above question you represent a company that specialized in educational technology, specifically for STEM program. Your company has received $25,000 in federal funding to supply technology hardware or software to improve STEM education at the college level in the Boston metropolitan area. You will be meeting with an administrator of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology administration to present how your educational initiative can improve student learning and job readiness skills for students across the college.

Emily Leopold
Director of Career Services and Industry Partnership Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology

Dear Ms. Emily Luopold,

My name is Mark Griffin ​and I am co-Chief Executive Officer of C & J BIomedical Equipments. Our company creates and supplies both hospitals and clinics with imaging technology, such as x-ray machines, ​computed tomography (CT) scanners, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.

We are writing to you because we believe that your institution, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, shares our belief in facilitating student success and career readiness in technology fields. In respect to ​Biomedical Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Electrical Technology and Electronic Engineering Technology. ​We also believe that assisting students in owning their technical skills, understanding the impact of sustainable development and also demonstrating professionalism through leadership, a strong work ethic, and teamwork, is the best way to produce the most skilled members of named technical fields.

The mission of C & J Biomedical Equipments is to create innovation and improve lives through technology advancement. At present we have several departments that focus on the different fields of technologies used to create our state of the heart healthcare equipment. ​Our reason for approaching you is that we are seeking partnerships with like-minded institutions that also have a goal of seeing more young people hold positions in the technology field. In trying to identify those institutions that share our goal it was hard to go past BFIT, which has been an integral part of educating young people in the Boston community since 1908.

Our company is seeking to supply technology hardware to improve the STEM education provided at BFIT, which I would like to discuss further. We think this arrangement would provide your institution with a real profile boost in resources; in addition, this would benefit the community through strengthening and advancing the students’ accessibility to extensive tools or

C & J Biomedical Equipments Office of the CEO 123 Biomedical Science Ave.,

Building 3, Boston, MA 01234

equipment to be used for their success. We hope that Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology considers our offer.

I can be contacted during business hours on (857) 555-5555, or on mobile (617) 555-5555, while our other co-CEO, Matt Due, can be contacted on (917) 555-5555. I look forward to discussing this opportunity with you.

Thanks for your time and respectfully,

(Mr.) Mark Griffin
Co-Chief Executive Officer
C & J Biomedical Equipments

In 2018, CBS Corporation submitted a below market bid to acquire Viacom. The rationale for the below market price bid stems from CBS’s due diligence of Viacom and numerous assumptions made by the Viacom management team about Viacom’s business prospects. In short, the CBS due diligence team discounted those statements made about Viacom’s business prospects by discounting the price offered. In addition to the perceived discounted price offered by CBS, there is a growing discord over who would run the combined CBS/Viacom entity. Shari Redstone of National Amusements is a majority shareholder in both CBS and Viacom. She has asked for CBS to acquire Viacom, but she believes that it is in the best interest of the new entity to be run by the current CBS CEO (Leslie Moonevs) and the number two position (COO and President) should be given to current Viacom CEO (Robert Bakish). However, CBS’s special advisory board believes that the current COO and President of CBS (Joe Ianniello) should have the number two position to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of operations. In response to the offer, Viacom’s advisory board has asked that CBS raise its bid by $2.8 billion. Company Backgrounds Viacom Inc . offers global media brands that create television programs, motion pictures, short-form content, applications, games, consumer products, social media experiences and other entertainment content. As of September 30, 2016, the Company offered its services for audiences in more than 180 countries. The Company operates through two segments: Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment. The Media Networks segment creates, acquires and distributes programming and other content for audiences The Media Networks segment provides entertainment content and related branded products for advertisers, content distributors and retailers. The Filmed Entertainment segment produces, finances, acquires and distributes motion pictures, television programming and other entertainment content under the Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Paramount Animation, Insurge Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, MTV Films and Paramount Television brands. CBS Corporation is a mass media company. The Company operates through four segments: Entertainment, Cable Networks, Publishing, Local Media. The Entertainment segment comprises the CBS TV Network; CBS TV Studios; CBS Studios International and CBS TV Distribution; CBS Interactive; CBS Films; and the Company's digital streaming services, CBS All Access and CBSN. The Cable Networks segment comprises Showtime Networks, which operates its subscription program services, Showtime, The Movie Channel, and Flix. The Publishing segment comprises Simon & Schuster, which publishes and distributes consumer books under imprints such as Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, Scribner and Gallery Books. The Local Media segment comprises CBS TV Stations, it owns 30 broadcast TV stations; and CBS Local Digital Media. Its businesses span the media and entertainment industries, including the CBS TV Network, cable networks and content production and distribution.

Given the information from contained in the question and your limited understanding of CBS and Viacom, discuss four problems that may occur as a result of this acquisition based on the information contained in the question

Summary:

Mick is a project manager at Zarlink, a multinational manufacturer of semiconductors for a variety of high-technology military, medical and consumer applications. Mick is also a part-time MBA student at his local university. As part of his MBA, Mick has to complete a dissertation on a management topic of his choice. Since Mick had recently been selected to embed a new quality management system called TS 16949 into his manufacturing site at Swindon in the West of England it seemed sensible that he chose to study quality for his dissertation. Mick’s particular fascination was his firm belief that the route to high-quality process in organizations was not through introducing specific techniques but through ensuring that quality was embedded in everything done at Zarlink: part of the lifeblood of the organization. ‘Quality is even about more than people’s attitudes’ said Mick; ‘it’s about their beliefs. Quality must be a way of life and dominate the thoughts of everyone in the organization, irrespective of their job.’ Mick wanted to use his dissertation as a way not only of obtaining his MBA but also of learning how he could be more effective in introducing embedded quality at Swindon.

Mick started off his research by searching the quality literature. There was no shortage of this. But soon Mick realized that he was concerned with that branch of the quality literature that dealt with the ‘soft’ issues of organizational culture change. He became rather disenchanted with much of the literature because it was largely prescriptive. ‘I was dubious about a lot of what the gurus were saying,’ said Mick. ‘They seemed to be saying that if you get your employees to believe this and do that then everything will be fine. I was skeptical of this because I knew through my MBA studies that the success of certain techniques is usually contingent upon the individual circumstances of the organization.’ Nonetheless Mick became attracted to the idea that embedding certain core values in the organization was a good way of achieving quality goals. The problem was that he did not know which core values were appropriate for his site. Therefore his research question became: ‘What are the core values that need to be adopted in Zarlink, Swindon, if embedded quality is to become a success?’

More specifically, Mick’s research objectives were:

to identify general constructs that constitute ‘embedding quality’ within an organization;

to compare these beliefs with those espoused by a sample from the senior Zarlink Management team;

to establish the behaviors and attitudes of the current workforce towards the quality management system at the Zarlink foundry, Swindon;

to propose a framework of core values to facilitate the embedding of quality into Zarlink, Swindon.

Having used the literature to refine his research question and objectives Mick then turned his attention to collecting primary data within Zarlink. Initially he thought of using a positivist approach based on a questionnaire using qualitative data, but discussions with Philippa, his tutor, convinced him that there were other ways of collecting data. Mick began to think more deeply about his research strategy, and thought that the advantage of triangulating his data by using multi-method would convince not only his examiners that his data were valid but also the managers at Zarlink who he was hoping would give him the go-ahead to introduce his ideas.

Mick’s first research objective had been met by his coverage of the literature. This had been useful in concentrating his mind on embedded quality, but it only took him a limited way. The second and third objectives would lead to a much more meaningful management dissertation.

The second objective involved conducting interviews with key managers in order to ‘test’ the ideas that Mick had developed about core values as a result of the literature review. The managerial sample he chose comprised managers from other Zarlink sites in the world who had an excellent reputation for embedding quality. At the same time Mick thought it important to include those managers who were concerned with implementing quality at Swindon. Mick conducted six interviews across three sites: one in Canada and one in southern England in addition to the third in Swindon. In each site he interviewed the foundry director and the quality manager. These were the key managers concerned with quality. The non-Swindon managers were interviewed by telephone, and the Swindon managers were interviewed face to face by Mick. He hoped this phase of data collection would give him a very clear idea of Zarlink’s view of quality.

In order to meet the third objective he decided to collect data in two ways. The first was to conduct what he called a ‘gap analysis. The purpose of this was to establish the current behaviors concerned with quality – that is, what people actually did in their working lives. This would tell Mick what was being done well and what was being done badly, or not at all, and therefore identify what needed to be done to embed quality. In order to do this Mick designed an audit form based on a purpose-made audit that had been used before in similar organizations. This was administered in all departments of Zarlink, Swindon. Ten of Mick’s colleagues were responsible for carrying out the audit. This involved Mick in training them in its use in order to achieve reliability. Mick was opportunistic in the second way he collected data in respect of the third objective. He was fortunate that a general employee attitude survey was imminent. He decided to insert a subsection in this survey that consisted of questions to establish employees’ attitudes to quality. This went to each of the 130 employees at Swindon.

Mick was confident that his research strategy would yield rich, valid and reliable data on management beliefs and employee attitudes and practice, which would enable him to propose a framework of core values to facilitate the embedding of quality into Zarlink, Swindon. This would enable him to make a valuable contribution to the well-being of Zarlink and pass his MBA!

Discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented. Respond to these questions in an essay format using APA style of writing, and use at least 5 peer-reviewed references.

Question:

1 Which type(s) of research strategy is Mick employing?

2 In what other ways could Mick have used the literature to refine his research question?

3 In what other ways might Mick have achieved his research aim?

Based on the following case study answer two of the questions

a. Dell is a pioneer in stimulating exchanges with customers through social media. With reference to Dell, discuss the differences between e-marketing and traditional marketing activities.

b. As more companies are moving towards green businesses, should Dell adopt a similar strategy to market its products? Justify your answer

Dell Direct and Not-So-Direct Case Study:

When Michael Dell started his Texas-based computer business in 1984, he chose a distribution strategy that was radically different from that of other computer marketers. Instead of selling through wholesalers and retailers, the company dealt directly with customers. This kept costs low and allowed Dell to cater to customers' needs by building each computer to order. Using a direct channel also minimized inventory costs and reduced the risk that parts and products would become obsolete even before customers placed their orders, a constant concern in high-tech industries.

By 1997, Dell's website alone was responsible for $1 million a day in sales. Relying on the strength of its online sales, catalogs, and phone orders, Dell expanded beyond the United States and added new products for four target markets: consumers, large corporations, small businesses, and government agencies. Meanwhile, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and other competitors were reaching out to many of the same segments with a combination of direct and indirect channels. Apple Stores, for example, proved to be major customer magnets and gave a significant boost to sales of Macintosh computers and other Apple electronics. Hewlett-Packard forged strong ties with value-added resellers (VARs), intermediaries that assemble systems of computers, servers, and other products customized to meet the special needs of business buyers.

Although Dell tested retail distribution on a number of occasions, it never let the experiments go on too long. In the 1990s, it tried selling PCs through a few big U.S. retail chains, but soon discontinued the arrangement because the profit margins weren't as healthy as in the direct channel. Later, it opened a series of branded retail kiosks in major U.S. markets to display its products and answer customers' questions. Unlike stores, however, the kiosks didn't actually sell any-thing: Customers could only place orders for future delivery. Dell ultimately closed the kiosks down. By 2007, with competitors coming on strong, Dell was ready to rethink its worldwide channel strategy. As convenient as online shopping was for many U.S. computer buyers, it was much less popular in many other countries. To gain market share domestically and internationally, Dell would have to follow consumers into stores, malls, and downtown shopping districts. The company began selling a few models through Walmart's U.S. stores, Carphone Warehouse's U.K. stores,. Bic Camera's Japanese stores, and Gome's Chinese stores. In addition, it opened Dell stores in Moscow, Budapest, and other world capitals.
By 2010, sales through retailers had gained enough momentum that Dell sought out other retail deals. In another channel change, it began selling through VAR partners that serve small- and medium-sized businesses and lined up wholesalers to distribute its products in Europe, Latin America, and elsewhere. When Dell introduced a new line of smart-phones, it needed a new channel arrangement to reach buyers. Therefore, it arranged for cell phone carriers such as AT&T to sell the new models to their customers.

As successful as Dell has been in revamping its indirect channels, selling directly to customers remains a top priority. Dell invites orders around the clock through Web pages tailored to the needs of each 'target market. It also maintains an online outlet store to sell 4 discontinued and refurbished products. It mails millions of catalogs and direct-mail pieces every year. And its sales force calls on government officials and big businesses that buy in volume. Dell's website notes, with pride, that the 10 largest U.S. corporations and five largest U.S. commercial banks "run on Dell."

Moreover, the company is a pioneer in stimulating exchanges with customers through social media. Dell has 139,000 fans on Facebook, for example, and regularly posts offers that drive customers to its various websites. It's become a pioneer in selling directly to customers via the micro blog site Twitter. In less than three years, it generated $6.5 million in revenue from sales transactions that originated on Twitter. That may be a tiny sliver of Dell's $53 billion in annual revenue, but it demonstrates the company's flexibility in adapting to shifts in customer behavior and environmental forces, such as technological advances. With market share and profit-margin challenges still facing the company, and global demand just picking up steam after a long, difficult recession, watch for Dell to make more channel adjustments in the coming years.

(a) Write a short essay in which you compare the relative advantages and shortcomings of Discounted Cashflow (DCF) and REAL options analysis. Does the latter always replace the former? ) You are given the Black-Scholes Option Pricing formula as: ????? ?? ???? ?????? = [?(?1 )??] − [?(?2 )???(??)] (1) Where: ?1 = 1 ?√?−? {?? ( ? ??(??) )} + ?√(?−?) 2 (2) ?2 = ?1 − ?√(? − ?) (3) N(di) = cumulative normal probability density function of i i=1,2 EX = exercise price of option; PV(EX) = present value of EX = PV(EX) = ?? 1+?? rf = the risk-free rate T = the exercise date (T-t) = time to maturity P = current share price σ = standard deviation per period rate of return on shares