Examining Ethnic Differences in Achievemen Essay

1. The definition of an ethnic group is a group of people of the same race or nationality that share the same cultural norms and values. 2. Three ways in which the education system may encourage separation between children of different ethnic backgrounds are: Labelling and teacher racism, many teachers label their students and studies by interactionist sociologists found out that many teachers labelled black children as disruptive and they didn’t want them in their class. Another reason is the ethnocentric curriculum. Troyna and Williams describe the curriculum in British schools as ethnocentric because it gives priority to white culture and the English language; this causes separation between white pupils and other ethnic pupils. A final reason is the selection and segregation available to schools. David Gillborn argues that marketization has given schools greater scope to select pupils. This puts some ethnic minority pupils at a disadvantage because selection gives more scope for negative stereotypes to influence decisions about school admissions. 3. There are many ways in which factors in children’s home background may lead to differences in achievement levels between ethnic groups. The first way is cultural deprivation; this is split into 3 aspects. The first is intellectual and linguistic skills. Cultural deprivation theorists argue that many children from low-income black families lack intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences. Bereiter and Engelmann consider the language spoken by low-income black American families as inadequate for educational success. The next aspect is attitudes and values. Cultural deprivation theorists say that some black children are socialised into a subculture that instils a fatalistic ‘live for toady’ attitude that does not value education and leaves them unequipped for success. The final aspect of cultural deprivation is family structure and parental support. Daniel Moynihan argues that because many black families are headed by a lone mother, their children are deprived of adequate care because she has to struggle financially in the absence of a male breadwinner. Also Ken Pryce claims that Asians are higher achievers because their cukture is more resistant to racism and gives them a greater sense of self-worth. However, he argues, black Caribbean culture is less cohesive and less resistant to racism. As a result, many balck pupils have low self-esteem and under-achieve. Another reason is Material deprivation and class. According to Flaherty; Pakistani’s and Bangladeshis are over three times more likely than whites to be in the poorest fifth of the population, as a result statistics show that Pakistani and Bangladeshi boys are among the lowest ethnic groups in the country to obtain 5 A-C GCSE’s. A final reason is racism in wider society. David Mason says â€Å" discrimination is a continuing and persistent feature of the experience of Britain’s citizens of minority ethnic origin. † 4. The differences in educational attainment between different groups of pupils have been a major focus of much sociological research. These differences can often be seen to be largely due to different social class, but also gender or ethnicity. Social class is the most significant and dominant factor when looking at these differences, but ethnicity also has a relative impact on educational achievement. Education has a key role to play in eradicating racism and valuing diversity and it a responsibility for all educational establishments, including those with few or no ethnic minority pupils. Promoting racial equality demands a whole school approach and commitment from all those who are involved in the life and work of their school. Racism is linked to the educational achievement of minority ethnic groups, however the connections are complex. Gilborn and Mirza conclude that ‘social class and gender differences are also associated with differences in attainment but neither can account for persistent underlying ethnic inequalities: comparing like with like, African Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils do not enjoy equal opportunities. ’ They also argue that in promoting educational inclusion as a means of raising standards, there is a need ‘for clarity and guidance in translating the commitment to equality and inclusion into policy proposals and practice at the local and school level. Many cultural deprivation theorists see the lack of intellectual and linguistic skills as a major cause of under-achievement. Gordon Bowker identifies their lack of standard English as a major barrier to progress in education and integration into wider society. However the Swann Report found that language was not a major factor in under-achievement. Other cultural deprivation theorists suc as Charles Murray argue that a high rate of lone parenthood and a lack of positive male role models lead to the under-achievement of some minorities. Also Anthony Flew believes that ethnic differences in achievement stem from cultural differences outside the education system, not discrimination within it. However Geoffrey Driver criticises the cultural deprivation theory for ignoring the positive effects of ethnicity on achievement. He shows that the black Caribbean family, far from being dysfunctional, provides girls with positive role models of strong independent wome Driver argues this is why black girls tend to be more successful in education than black boys. Some socilogists that the ethnic differences in education are cause by racism. John Rex shows how racial discrimination leads to social exclusion and how this worsens the poverty faced by ethnic minorities. In housing, for instance, discrimination means that minorities are more likely to be forced into substandard acoomodation than white people of the same class. This creates separation due to the ethnic children not being able to study at home and therefore getting lower grades than the white children who are able to study at home.

Triple Talaq

Triple Talaq, which is also, know as talaq-e-biddat (Instant divorce) and talaq-e-mughallazh (irrevocable divorce). This is a form of Islamic divorce, which is practiced by Muslims in India. Triple talaq allows any Muslim man to legally divorce his wife by stating the word (Talaq) three time in any form like oral, written or can be in electronic form. As women and society are getting educated Triple Talaq has become subject of controversy and debate. Because it is not only being violated by some of the men in society but is also has questioned on issues of justice, gender equality, human rights and secularism. This debate has involved Government of India and the supreme court of India. We live in country, which is constitution and gives right to every citizen to life freely. Every citizen of India has right to Equality, which is first one. Right to freedom where every citizen has right to speak and express themselves. Right against exploitation where every citizen has right to speak if they are exploited with something. Right to freedom of religion, India being multi religious and culture citizen has right to follow any culture they want. Equal and educational rights where citizen has right to get educated equally no matter from what cast gender or sex they belong to and know what's right and good for them and raise voice for the same. Last but not the least Right to constitutional remedies where every citizen has right to raise voice and take it Supreme Court for justice. And talking about this issue it is seen that amongst 6 of the rights that every citizen of India holds hardly any of them is practiced completely. And the victims of this is none another but MUSLIM women of the country. Talking about Islam In the words of prophet Mohammad,† Of all the lawful things, divorce is the most hated by Allah.† The fundamental issues is the by default right for talaq is only granted to man, it get mandatory for woman to make a clause in her marriage contract that even she can decide to end the marriage. Which is known as Talaq-e-Isma.But because of lack of knowledge or from pressure of her own family a woman cant do that, which give whole and soul power in the hands of her husband which is sometimes just taken for granted. Why can they not live the way they want? Why do the have to fear man they get married to and give them power to decide if they want marriage or not? Why should they suppress under them? When they have a bright future and this doesn't always mean not getting married, but even they can have power to decide, even they can grow and stand above or with men in the society. And the biggest question is HOW MANY WOMEN IN INDA ARE AWARE OF THEIR ISLAMIC RIGHTS? This has led man to by default have all the power and for women there are *terms and condition applied. ReferenceAishwarya Krishnan. 2018.  List of Fundamental Rights in Constitution of India: Supreme Court Rules Privacy as a Fundamental Right | Buzz News, India.com. [ONLINE] Available at:  https://www.india.com/buzz/list-of-fundamental-rights-in-constitution-of-india-supreme-court-rules-privacy-as-a-fundamental-right-2424171/. [Accessed 11 October 2018].Feminism In India. 2018.  A Woman-Friendly Nikah-Nama And Muslim Women's Right To Divorce | Feminism In India. [ONLINE] Available at:  https://feminisminindia.com/2017/04/27/nikah-nama-muslim-women-divorce/. [Accessed 11 October 2018]Feminism In India. 2018.  What Does The Quran Actually Say About Triple Talaq?. [ONLINE] Available at:  https://feminisminindia.com/2017/08/23/quran-triple-talaq/. [Accessed 11 October 2018].The different methods of Islamic separation – Part 2: The different types of Talaq. 2018.  The different methods of Islamic separation – Part 2: The different types of Talaq. [ONLINE] Availa ble at:  http://www.familylaw.co.uk/news_and_comment/the-different-methods-of-islamic-separation-part-2-the-different-types-of-talaq#.W78g7C9L2u4. [Accessed 11 October 2018].

Understanding persuasive speeches Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Understanding persuasive speeches - Assignment Example Fernandez delivery to convince the audience of his ideas. He conclusively establishes trust and influences the audience using evidence and proof to back up his claims. Persuasively, he presents the audience with new ideas, shaping their beliefs, values, and attitudes, causing them to consider his team eventually, an idea that they were not so enthusiastic about initially. The speaker, Fernandez, employs pathos in his delivery, revealing the challenges he encountered while relocating to study in the US. The strategy is in a bid to appeal and relate sympathetically to other students who might have had similar experiences. In his well-organized sequential presentation, he applies repetition and humor to foster emphasis of crucial points on a light note. He employs hand gestures effectively to aid his visual part of the delivery. The main points are well articulated. The introduction is inherent with humor, creating a light moment in revealing himself to the crowd. In the conclusion, he relates with the audience`s approval of him presenting his entire team to the stage. The speakers tone is bold and sympathetic with varied volume to reflect the magnitudes of the issues he addresses. Citations are relayed in revelation of challenges he encountered in his relocation. The quality of the delivery is exceptional according to the standards of persuasive speech. Fernandez speech is effective in recalling the initial subject matter and systematically presenting himself as viable

Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Debate - Essay Example In most cases, restitution can happen by restoring liberty, social status, employment, family life, and legal rights of the people (van Boven). Aside from offering rehabilitation programs, there are also cases wherein reparation can happen by extending monetary compesation to the affected people (van Boven; Goldberg). In the United States, a lot of Black farmers have suffered from the psychological, social, and economic consequences of racial discrimination. Today, the administration of Obama is using monetary compensation as a means of settlement for mistreatment that most of the American Indians and Black farmers living in Arizona, the New Mexico, and Montana who have encountered under the administration of the previous U.S. presidents (Baker). Personally, I am against the Native Americans’ reparations. First of all, the U.S. economy is still in the midst of economic uncertainty. By extending $4.5 billion in reparations to the American Indians and Black farmers, the U.S. government may have inadequate fund to boost the entire U.S. economy. As of October 2012, the unemployment rate in the U.S. is 7.9% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). In the absence of sufficient monetary stimulus, the unemployement rate in the U.S. will remain high. van Boven, Theo. â€Å"Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution†. United Nations. 2008. Web. 16 November 2012

E-Commerce - Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

E-Commerce - Case Study - Essay Example Since each party has their own case against each other discussing the cases between parties separately for a better understanding of the issues shall be the norm of this paper. At the end of each case an advice will be given from my contemplation of the merits of each of the case. This case study involves A (Alfred), B (Bert), C (CDE Corporation), Freegames, and Freepcgames portal. Freepcgames is a portal that is involved in providing free computer game programs to its subscribers who pays a monthly subscription fee. Freegames is the local company that represents Freepcgames. It should be noted that Freepcgames.com is a portal registered in the United States. From the facts of the case it is not apparent if the use of Freegames or Freepcgames is a registered trademark or company brand name. Several parties each with their own interest and culpabilities have brought legal actions against one another to protect their rights and legal interests. I shall evaluate the merits of each case between the protagonists and the legal anchors if possible shall be used to provide a solid base for the critical analysis. In some cases I shall provide advice on what charge and the basis of the charges to bring the other party to court. There will be instances wherein I will be providing legal advice or defence for Freegames, since for all intents and purposes Freegames, is my client in this simulated legal situation. The legal advice provided herein remains a theoretical exercise and shall be a hyperbolic representation of an actual legal advice that may be provided to resolve legal issues for Freegames in the future that relates to the instant issues. A (Alfred) vs. Freepcgames.com From the facts of the case it is evident that the whole problem started with Alfred’s use of his company’s resources for personal gain. His case against Freepcgames,com for the recovery of his money shall not prosper because the case arose from his own negligence. A, agreed to the terms and condition of Freegames at the onset and therefore any problem arising from the use of his username and password combination is his responsibility. It should be noted that â€Å"Duty of Care†1 in order for Tort to settle against Freegames the claimant should have his hands dry and clean. Washing his hands of his own culpability and assigning blame to Freepcgames contrary to the tenets of the law and it is against the ambit of human morality. Lord Atkin has set down the test when ‘duties of care’ arises in the following details of Donohue v Stevenson. â€Å"You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. Who then, in law is my neighbour? The answers seems to be – persons who are closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in my contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called into q uestions†(per Lord Atkin [1932] AC 562 at p 580) It should be noted, that the username, password combination is the established means in which the identity of a person transacting business in the internet is established. With the express understanding of the user or customer of any internet based commercial entity that his username password combination is in fact his identity as far as this internet based commercial entity is concerned. A, therefore is not only expected to be more prudent in

Case Study on Liability for Supply Defective Product Coursework

Case Study on Liability for Supply Defective Product - Coursework Example Paul Price has the right to demand for the repairing of the Actifrys or ask for a replacement or demand for a credit note. If any customer has incurred any pecuniary losses due to usage of such faulty products, the retailer has the every responsibility to make good the loss sustained by Paul Price. Under Limitation Act 1980, a customer has up to six years to initiate legal proceedings against the retailer for the supply of defective product.(Bhatia, 2008:458). APPLICATION The Sale of Goods Act (Amended) will be applicable to all transactions where products are transferred for a consideration or price. Contracts of sale may be either implied or expressed with stipulations concerning any contract, or refer to mere consumer contracts. Nonetheless, once it has been decided that the Sale of Goods Act is applicable to a transaction, there are some stipulations implied in the sale by the Act. A seller cannot avoid these stipulations. For each sale of products, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 sti pulates that wherever there is a sale of products by depiction, there exists an implied stipulation simultaneously that the products offered will have to be identical to their description. Thus, the seller must offer the consumer what has been advertised. S.13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (amended) is applicable to all sales, whether by business or individuals. Anyone who offers a product to another will be covered. S.13 is applicable to all products with no concern over purchasing scenario. S.13 is a significant section as it offers the right to a consumer either to obtain a refund or to reject a product. The consumer has the right either to accept or reject a product and is not at the mercy of a seller. S.30 of the Act offers protection to a consumer where the products are not corresponding to the description, and also offers a relief to the buyer if the quantity or description of the products differs from what has been advertised or requested. S.14 of the Act stipulates that pro duct sold should be of merchantable quality. If a consumer purchased the product after 2003, he has every right to request either to repair or replace the defective products within 6 months of receiving the products. (Bryan, 2009:16). Even if the shop where the purchase was made had included an exclusion clause limiting liability, still the shop cannot escape from the liability to Paul Price. Exclusion clause cannot offer any protection to the seller even when exclusion clause tries to shun accountability to consumers. The sellers usually will incorporate the exclusion clause into the contract by trying to have a blanket avoidance of any accountability to the buyers for any detriment, loss, injury or damage and even in case of death. In the majority of cases, courts have declined to implement such clauses if they are not brought to the attention of the buyer at the time of signing the contract or if the exclusion clause imposes unduly exorbitant or onerous penalties. Further, as the exclusion clauses are so damaging to the rights of the consumers, courts will always have narrow interpretation, and this is known as â€Å"contra proferentemâ€Å" rule under English Law. (Jones & Benson, 2011:298). In â€Å"Curtis v Chemical Cleaning Co [1951] 1 KB 805†

Facilitate Learning and Assessment in the Clinical Environment Essay

Facilitate Learning and Assessment in the Clinical Environment - Essay Example This paper will define the key theory usage of rubric that is the focal point in the hybrid-problem based learning system that has tremendous benefits for any academic center and depicts the ideal relationship between the tutor and the tutee. The current model in the nursing field is to design a challenging curriculum, develop courses, teaching and guiding learners, clinical trials, and finally evaluating along with documenting the outcomes. However, research indicates that few attempts have been made to analyze  changes in relation to the quality of service and patient recovery in United Kingdom. The current reflective model has several aims for the young nurses to be successful.   The current UK model aims to meet the aspirations of the modern medical healthcare services by increasing the recruitment of nurses. One of the most critical components for these young medical professional is to put them in an environment in which they can enhance their skill base and competences with the hosptial’s development progress. More focus is emphasized on training while increasing the staff morale in midst of adversities. Furthermore, the goal was to escalate the interpersonal communications of these students in order for them to communicate with their patients. It is evident that patients and the hospitals want to have this symbotic relationship in which habits of trust and confidentiality are solidified. In today’s modern world of academics, assessing students is a vital component towards evaluating the students’ performances.   The benchmark of assessment is not standard as it varies all across the academic universities in United States and plays a vital role towards the learning process of the student. While students can be assessed through participation and homework, testing is at times required to evaluate students. English is one of the most complex languages in existence as it contains many grammatical intricacies and multiple-meaning wor ds. The issue of testing is sensitive towards students. Many students feel that some methods of testing are unjust as they fail to measure the competence levels of their language proficiency that extends beyond a traditional â€Å"pen and paper based test.† A good test should take both cognitive and verbal proficiency into account in order to assess the learning process. Nursing  education has a body of knowledge on which nurse educator is based on teaching, educational strategies, and curricular designs, but most importantly the knowledge base, which is based on experience. A model that should be developed for nursing students should be simple in order to facilitate the process. It should consist of peer collaboration, discussion, research and testing along with shadowing a medical professional. These steps are vital because they solidify the foundation of core competencies along with remedying deficiencies. Education in health begins with the young generations being more involved in mentoring rather than filling in the blanks of a test. This theory is supported by many scholars as more effective as it enables students to gain a better understanding of the overall approach that occurs. The traditional methods that the most classrooms enforce consist of giving mindless repetition of written drills to teach Math, Science, and English.   Many factors affect international student’s ability to acquire these subject matters since the pressure is on them to excel through a letter grade. That poses a huge problem for

How Life Can Be Changeable and Incredibly Frenzied Essay - 4

How Life Can Be Changeable and Incredibly Frenzied - Essay Example It was until his condition became worse that he qualified for palliative care and a number of nurses as well as social workers could attend to him. His conditions included pneumonia and caused his chest to grow wheezy. This disease was identifies as the best friend for my father since it offered an opportunity for slow death. Butler’s entire essay depicts a literal and emotional piece especially since it is about the slow death of her father. Bridget Potter in her essay ‘The lucky Girl’ describes her endeavors as she tries to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy during the eras when it was illegal. She uses her story to explain the dangers that women had to undergo prior to legalization of abortion in America. In her story, she points out most people especially women seeking for abortion lack any other option in mind even if realistically adoption is an option. This is the reason she has to beg the doctors to claim her condition as necrotic so that she would undergo t he process of abortion in a hospital. Performing illegal abortions can cause unnecessary deaths and for this reason, it would only be fair to let women choose affordable, safe and legal methods of abortions. In the essay ‘Topic of Cancer’, Christopher Hitchens provides information about his struggles with esophagus cancer. He confirms that a number of times, he had woken up feeling like death, but it did not feel as it did when it was confirmed that he had the cancer illness. In his description, he explains that he felt like he had manacled to his own corpse. In his essay, it is essential to identify the intellectual rather than the emotional bit since it actually dominates his entire writing. The theme of death and suffering that accompanies it are very evident in this essay as Hitchens describes the pain he felt from his thorax and chest. An individual listening to his description can picture the breathing struggles he had to endure, and as he explains how the above p arts appeared to have emptied out and then replenished with cement that was slowly drying. Breathing is the ideal meaning of life since difficulties in breathing result to much negativity such as excessive beating of the heart and strenuous efforts in doing simple things like breathing and walking. According to Hitchens, emergency individuals are kind hearted, engage professionalism and courtesy, and the ability to save lives. Those used in the essay that assisted Hitchens carefully worked on his heart and lungs guaranteeing that he did not have to put up with death. In the three essays, sickness and death are common themes although is one of the essay, the Lucky Girl, the condition is not really sickness. Hitchens’s and Butler’s essay provide a clear analysis of the differences of the employees in hospitals. The emergency crew in Hitchen’s essay is very humble and passionate and treats him with great care to the extent that his treatment is fruitful: resulting to his survival. On the other hand, the nurses providing medication for Butler’s father were ignorant and did not identify the causative disease for her father’s death. If they would have identified the initial signs of pneumonia, they would have had a reason to hospitalize him and offer him the required treatment. Similarly, Potter shows the kind of attitude that Doctors have towards assisting some of the patients who are in great need.

Theories of counseling and psychotherapy Essay Example for Free

Theories of counseling and psychotherapy Essay 1.1 Defining the Core Constructs of Adlerian Therapy. When Gina says she is determined, Dr. Carlson asks her where her determination is directed. What is his intent? Gina responds with happiness. Her own and her two boys. His intent is to get her to focus on the good and the progress made. He trying to scaffold the sessions questioning to determine more information and to promote client self awareness. His intent is as well for her to see the goal setting nature she internally is projecting. He is demonstrating a life style assessment and the ability for one to control where they want or see themselves. The use of open ended questions allow Gina to elaborate to gather more information. Why would Dr. Carlson tie Ginas motivations back to her parents? Dr. Carlson is following Adlerian’s theory that our future choices are driven by past experiences. By tying Gina’s motivations to her parents he is to showing her future behavior decisions were molded by mother and father through actions that she witnessed as a child. What basic life tasks does Gina describe in this footage? Gina describes the life tasks of occupation,love and social interests. Happiness,eventually a committed relationship and that her boys grow up to be happy and make good choices. Gina is demonstrating achievement of HIs intent is to scaffold the sessions questioning to determine more information and to promote client self awareness. He is also trying to activating the goal setting nature she internally is projecting. He is demonstrating a life style assessment and the ability for one to control where they want or see themselves. The use of open ended questions allow Gina to elaborate to gather more information.,competence and mastery. Theses are three of the lifestyle components Alder speaks about in his theory. 1.2 Conceptualizing Clients Using Adler’s Holistic Approach Dr. Carlson identifies patterns in Ginas early recollections. What do these patterns tell us about Ginas private logic? Gina’s private logic depends on what she viewed in her surroundings that she remembered. The lifestyle she was exposed to allowed her to develop her own compass to live by. It is hard to remember for her but Gina realized she had been doing things for herself to make herself happy rather than anyone else. Such as her obtaining the top ten in her class. Dr. Carlson suggests that Gina is almost selfish to a fault. What part does selfishness play in wellness and pathology, according to Adler? According to Alder, being selfish in regards to wellness and pathology, is natural. We are to become a contributing part of a larger social system. Gina is adapting to basically meet her needs and the needs she thinks are qualities of a â€Å"good† parent. Her feeling that is her responsibility to raise her children and a home is all on her and not letting her husband help is not really a good thing but a coping mechanism she has developed to handle situations. 1.3 Assessment and Treatment in Adlerian Theory In his clip, Dr. Carlson focuses on Ginas early recollections. What important assessment information is he seeking through his questions? Dr Carlson is seeking through his questioning the understanding of her lifestyles and how she viewed the world through asking her to elicit her memories of her siblings. He can also be trying to get a view of the family dynamic through using these types of questions. What elements of the treatment process can you identify in this clip? I can identify phase two, lifestyle assessment as a child, understanding of the person and the problem. Family constellation,birth order and earliest recollections priorities and ways of behaving are indicators of this phase. 1.4 Adlerian Therapeutic Techniques (Written case study) In what ways might an Adlerian therapist ask Steve to Act As If’? An  Adlerian therapists’s may as Steve to â€Å"Act as if â€Å" as follows; †¢Open questioning †¢Purposeful questioning By using questions being with â€Å"what† and â€Å"how† a counselor can elicit a response leading toward understanding or self awareness,self motivation and a level of self disclosure. References Seligman, L., Reichenberg, L. W. (2014). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Systems, strategies, and skills / Linda Seligman, late professor emeritus, George Mason University, Lourie W. Reichenberg, licensed professional counselor, Falls Church, Virginia.

Negative correlation Essay Example for Free

Negative correlation Essay However, the weakness of this negative correlation raises the notion that the results have no correlation at all. To investigate this possibility I will first try to find how just how weak this negative correlation is. As you can see from graph 2 the different result values for each temperature vary quite a lot from the average. This undermines the accuracy of the results, as the greater the range of the results from the average the less likely the results and therefore the average is accurate. The range of the different results for each temperatures and the standard deviation from the mean can indicate how accurate the results are. This is because, as I have explained earlier the range and the deviation of the results from the mean determines how accurate the results are. Graphs 3 and 4 show how the standard deviation and the range of the results change over the temperature range used in the experiment. In graph 3 the range was calculated by subtracting the lowest value from the highest, and in graph 4 the standard deviation was calculated using the formula; ? ((? (x -? x)/n) (where x = the values and n = the number of values). Graph 3 and 4 show that in general the accuracy of the result increases with an increase in the temperature, and that at low temperatures the results are not very accurate at all. I can conclude this as, the bigger the standard deviation or range the less accurate the results are. In both graphs 3 and 4 the general pattern shows high range and high standard deviation at low temperature (high inaccuracy) and low range and low standard deviation at high temperatures (low inaccuracy). This therefore contradicts my earlier theory that the inaccuracy would increase with an increase in the temperature, however it must be taken into account that the results are very inaccurate already. Because of this inaccuracy the results may have had a certain random element in them, evidence for this is in the fact that the results are very inaccurate (they have a large range and a large standard deviation), and that the inaccuracy varies a lot from its trend line (see graphs 3 and 4). So in conclusion, I think that the results of this experiment were not accurate at all and not accurate enough to draw any sound conclusions that are backed with scientific theory/knowledge. In fact I think there was a certain random element in the results that contributed to the inaccuracy of the results. Because of the inaccuracy of the results, I feel that it is not a good idea to use these results as a basis for any conclusions, especially as these conclusions cannot be backed up by any scientific knowledge. Therefore with only the results I have at this moment, I have to conclude that the resistance is directly proportional to the temperature. I can conclude this because I have decided to use scientific knowledge as a basis for the answer to this correlation. I have done this because the results I have are too inaccurate to use for making any judgements on this correlation. Evaluation: So far I do not think this investigation has gone very well because of the very inaccurate results, however with the large amount of scientific knowledge I have been able to come to a conclusion to this investigation that has a lot of backing. My prediction was of corse correct. The reason to this inaccuracy in the results is, in my opinion due to the large amount of contacts and wiring used in this method. Some components react to temperature by changing the resistance in different ways, most components react in a directly proportional linear way, but some components like a filament lamp or diode react in a directly proportional but logarithmic way and/or only at certain voltages. It is quite likely that in the multi-meters there were some of these components that react in a logarithmic way and at certain voltages. This means that the current flowing through the circuit would be affected out of proportion by these components, therefore affecting the resistance. Although the affect of these components would have been neutralised if one multi-meter were used, it might not be neutralised if two multi-meters were used as they were in this method. The large amount of wire used in this experiment has meant the current could have been easily affected by other variables that I did not take into account, like a change in the room temperature, or if I accidentally spilt some water onto the wires. Also like the different depths used in the water bath, or a magnetic flux from the high voltage used in the kettle. Due to the large amount of outside variables that can affect the large amounts of wire used, I have to conclude that the large amounts of wire used in this method was the main cause of the inaccuracy of its results. I cannot estimate how accurate my results are because I have no basis on what the true values are, only that the correlation is directly proportional. If I were to repeat this investigation, I would change the method so that less wire was used and only one multi-meter was used, I would also change the method so as to stop any of the variables mentioned in this evaluation affecting the results. If possible I would try and use a more accurate multi-meter in my experiment. A more accurate multi-meter will give me more accurate results; the reduced amount of wire to be used will reduce the effect of outside variables and make the results more reliable. I dont think I need to do any extra research, as I have more than enough scientific backing for any conclusions I will have to make if I repeat this investigation.

Online Cinema Reservation System

Online Cinema Reservation System This assignment title for Introduction to Software Engineering assignment is to do a research and analysis of a software project. The topic chosen for this assignment is Online Cinema Ticket Reservation System. Following are the tasks need to be done of the assignment. To identify the requirements for cinema online ticket reservation system. To identify the design principles and concept and produce the design based on the mentioned concepts. To identify the testing strategies and techniques for the software and how it can be carried out. To identify the implementation strategies for the software Online Cinema Ticket Reservation System is an Internet based application that can be accesses throughout the internet and can be accessed by anyone who has an internet connection. This application will automate the reservation of tickets and enquiries about availability of the tickets. This application includes email confirmation for the tickets. Currently, this system is widely use by airline, cinema, and other sector of company. For the system, the methodology chosen to develop the software is Rapid Application Design (RAD). The Following will state the advantages of RAD and the description of RAD with timeline to develop an online cinema ticketing reservation system. Increased speed of development through methods including rapid prototyping, virtualization of system related routines, the use of CASE tools, and other techniques. Lower costing as rapid development saves time. Low complexity, emphasis on simplicity and usability. Before cinema online ticket reservation is created, the way that customer make ticket reservation is through phone reservation. However, using phone reservation has some problems. Following will discuss about the problems before the system is created and how the system solve the problem. Prank Call The most common problem occurs is prank call. In the past, there are no member login is required, therefore, anyone able to make a reservation. In the situation, many people will take advantage to make a prank call. They will make reservation for many times without collect the ticket. Solution: System required customer to register and login to their account before they can use the system. If the customer cannot collect the ticket after make the reservation, customer required to cancel the reservation 1 hour before movie start showing. Otherwise, the customer account will be blocked from using for certain period if they repeated the same action for more than 3 times. Phone line traffic The second problem occurs is phone line traffic. Customer will make phone call to enquire the movie show time and they will spend some time to choose movie section. In the other hand, other customers try to make phone call reservation. Therefore, phone line traffic will occur. Part of the customer unable contacts the phone call center. Solution: The online reservation system should be designed that able to check the movie show time and make reservation via internet. Therefore it can reduce the problem of phone line traffic. Operator The third problem is similar case with second problem. The company needs to hire a lot of operator to able all the call of customer. However, there is not always many phone call will call in. Therefore, those operators will have nothing to do. This would be a waste of financial resource if the man power is not fully utilized. Solution: By using the system, customers able to get all information about movie show time. Therefore, mostly customers prefer to use the system. It can reduce dependency of phone call reservation. Meanwhile, company can reduce the number of operator and avoid the problem of operator complain by customer. In fact, there is similar system on the internet, but there is cancelation method found in the existing system. This problem cause the members that make reservation have to collect their ticket 30mins before the movie start showing, and they have wait at least 30mins until the movie start showing. Solution: The new system developed allow member to cancel their reservation tickets in 2 hour advanced before the movie start showing. If a member did not cancel the tickets and did not collect the ticket, the member account will be banned for certain period. Requirement Analysis There are 2 types requirement available in software engineering research method, there are functional requirement and non- functional requirement. Functional requirement defines functions available in a system. Functional requirements are supported by non- functional requirements. It drives the application architecture of a system. Functional requirements can be technical details, calculations, data processing and manipulation and other specific functionality that defines the system and the functional of the system supposed to accomplish. Non-functional requirements also know n as quality requirements. It drives the technical architecture of a system. It is a requirement that specifies criteria that can be used to judge the operation of a system. Non- functional requirements can be category into 2 categories which is execution qualities and evolution qualities. Execution quality is observable at run time. Example of execution quality is security and usability. In the other hand, Evolution quality is embodied in the static structure of the software system. The example of it is maintainability, testability, scalability, extensibility and many others. Functional Requirement There are certain functional requirements that need to be carrying out by cinema online ticket reservation system. Cinema hall need to have a website that allows any user of internet access to the webpage. Besides that, there should have other functionality can be perform by the system. For example, a user able to do following activity in the system: Login to the system through the first page of the application. Change the password after logging into the system. Able to modify their own information after login. Able to create a new login for the accessing the reservation facility. View movie now showing list after login. Reservation can be making three day before the show. View his current reservations with the details. Able to choose the seats which can are available for a certain class. Cancel reservation Figure above show that activity that able to perform by customer The system need to respond to the activity done by user. The following is the activity should be performed by the system: A new password send to the user though email if the user forgotten about his or her password. A mail will be send to the concerned person about the confirmation of the ticket to the specified email address after user make a reservation ticket. Show the fare for the corresponding shows and amount of money needs to be pay for selected seats. The login ID and password should be sent to the mentioned email address if a new account is created. However, the same customer always makes ticket reservation but did not collect the ticket. The particular customer will block from using the online ticket reservation system for certain period if repeated the action for more than 3 times. Reservation ticket will automatically open for sales if the ticket has not collect 15 minutes before the show. It gives more time for customer that make online reservation to collect the ticket. Figure above show that activity that perform by system automatically Non Functional requirement Each system also consists of non-functional requirements. In this case, when a user makes a reservation via online, the database needs to make a record of it. It is consider as execution quality. All the information need to be update in real time. The system will compatible with the ticket selling system in ticket selling point. Following is different type of non functional requirement need to include in the system. Usability known as user friendly, the system should have the user guild of the system and cannot allow complex interface design Response time -System also needs to have a good response time. It needs to respond in the shortest time after customer click a button. Platform compatibility -System need to able to perform in different platform such as Linux, Window, and Mac OS. Privacy -It also should keep of customer and do not review any information of customer to other people without agreement of the particular customer. Supportability -system should able to perform in any type of web browser. For example is Windows Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google and etc. Maintainability System able to updated time by time. In this case, when a new movie released, cinema able to update the movie information to the system. Design The design concept use to develop the online cinema ticketing reservation is software architecture. It is the overall structure of the software and the ways in which that structure provides conceptual integrity for a system. In order to design the system, there is some hardware and software required. The following is the tools for design the software. Hardware requirements No. Description Alternatives (If available) 1 PC with 2 GB hard-disk and 512 MB RAM Not-Applicable 2 Server Not-Applicable Software requirements No. Description Alternatives (If available) 1 Windows 95/98/XP with MS-office Not Applicable 2 MS-SQL server MS-Access 3 Linux Not Applicable 4 Oracle database system POSTgres 5 Adobe Dreamweaver Microsoft FrontPage After the system architect equip with the tools, he will start design the interface, functionally of the system and database according the system requirement. The Following are the flowchart of the system. Once a customer enter the system webpage, the customer able to perform the activities such as login, view movie show times, register and request a new password if member forgot about his password. If the customer wants to check the movie show times, customer needs to enter the cinema or movie with watching date. Then the system will display the movie shows time. Meanwhile, if the customer wants to become a member, the customer needs to submit his personal information and automatically he will register as a member. Once a member login, he can make movie reservation, cancel movie reservation and modify his personal information. In case a member forgot about his password, he can request a new password send to his personal email account. The following will display the design of the webpage and database design. The diagram above shows the main webpage of the online cinema ticket reservation system. Customers able to login, view show times, select movie description and other action in this webpage. The webpage above is the page after a member login. The page will show all the reservation has made. Member can cancel reservation, make reservation and modify personal information at this page. Member need to select the movie, cinema and enter number of seat before proceed to the next step. Member can choose the seat for reservation purpose. After the reservation made, a reference number will send to member email. The webpage also will shows the reference number If a member forgot about his password, the member can request a new password and the password will send via email to the email account registered. The webpage above shows the screen of the movie shows time. The webpage above allow user enter his personal information to become a member. Member also can update his personal information on the same page. The database of customer personal information The database of customer reservation The relationship diagram of customer information and customer reservation Testing The system will be tested using component testing. Component testing is test the system individually. Test will be caring out for ensure the system able to meet the function requirement include functional and non- functional required. The following are the test plan need to carry out to ensure the system work properly. Test Procedure / Input Expected Result Customer able to register as a member and save all the personal information in database. Customer enter all his personal information include name,, phone number, email address, and etc. All the information store in database Customer able to view movie show times without login as member. Customer select movie, cinema, or day to view to movie. The movie show time schedule for particular information will show. Member able to login into the system. Member enter ID and password Member able to use the online reservation system service Member able to update personal information in database. Member enter new personal information New information will updated in database. Member able to make reservation and the reservation information will update in database. Member select movie, cinema, show time, and seat for reservation All the information store in database, member able view the information Member able to cancel reservation and the reservation will remove from database. Member select the reservation that wish cancel The selected reservation will be remove from database. Member able to request new password and the password will send to member email account. Member request a new password The new password will send to the member email account based on the email provided when register System able to perform in different platform System test in different operation system System able to perform in different operation system Able to perform at different web browser System test in different web browser System able to perform at different web browser Information able to update anytime Staff enter the new movie show time list New movie show time list able to store in database, and member able to view it Implementation For implement the propose system, hardware and software are needed. The following table shows the minimum hardware and software needed to implement the system. Hardware requirements No. Description Alternatives (If available) 1 PC with 2 GB hard-disk and 512 MB RAM Not-Applicable 2 Server Not-Applicable Software requirements No. Description Alternatives (If available) 1 Windows 95/98/XP with MS-office Not Applicable 2 MS-SQL server MS-Access 3 Linux Not Applicable 4 Oracle database system POSTgres Manpower requirements The estimation of the manpower required is 2 to 3 students for complete the system in 2 à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 3 months if they work fulltime on it. Implementation process In order to implement the system, company need to register a domain name. According to www.exabytes.com.my, it will cost RM650 to register a .com.my domain name for 10 years. After register the domain, software engineer will upload the system to the internet and link it with the server. Testing will be carry out to ensure to system show to error. Conclusion After the research is caring out, there are some advantages toward the company and customer. Company does not need to hire extra staff as mention at the problem definition section. It can improve the cost efficiency of the company by installing the online cinema ticketing reservation system. Besides that, it can attract more costumer as internet used by many people at current era. From the point of customer, they do not need to worry about all the ticket sold out if they have made the ticket reservation earlier. They also do not have long queue to purchase ticket. Besides that, they can make ticket reservation anytime. Therefore, company estimate can gain more profit if they implement the online ticket reservation system.

How does a CD work? :: essays research papers

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................pg. 2 Factors Creating the Demand For Secondary Storage ............................pg. 2 Why Buy Optical ........................................................................................pg. 3 CD Physical Characteristics.......................................................................pg. 4 How Does a CD Work.................................................................................pg 5 What is a CD-R............................................................................................pg 5 What is CD-RW...........................................................................................pg 5 How Does A CD-RW Work .......................................................................pg. 5 Advantages of CD-RW ..............................................................................pg. 5 DVD.............................................................................................................pg 6 DVD VS. CD...............................................................................................pg 6 Glossary ......................................................................................................pg 7 Questions .................................................................................................... INTRODUCTION The use of optical storage continues to grow at an incredible pace. The word optical in the computer industry refers to any storage method which uses a laser to store and retrieve data from media. This term includes such devices as CD-ROM , rewritable optical, WORM, CD-R, and optical jukeboxes or autochangers. Most of us are familiar with CD-ROM, but other terms such as rewritable optical, WORM, and CD-R, may be foreign. Rewritable optical devices use media that allows data to be written repeatedly, while WORM technology writes data permanently to disk. CD-R , stores information permanently to a compact disc and is read on low-cost CD-ROM drives. These devices are currently sold as single or standalone items. The continuing development of optical technology has opened up many new avenues and created limitless possibilities. Migration software now allows unused data to be moved from its original location to an optical device where it resides until it is needed. Since the only thing that touches the media is the laser, it is the most durable way to store and archive data. Optical storage solutions are also used in a wide variety of applications such as document timing, records retention, backup systems, and desktop publishing. FACTORS CREATING THE DEMAND FOR SECONDARY STORAGE Because of its high capacity, low cost, durability, and random access to large amounts of networked information, secondary storage satisfies an essential need of data intensive organizations. This need for secondary storage arises from a number of factors: Digital convergence. The move towards graphical user interfaces and the success of operating systems, such as Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT, have resulted in a significant increase in the average size of a stored document. Industry estimates indicate that the average document size has grown almost tenfold (PC Magazine, 03/10/98, "To Write or Rewrite?") The information superhighway. The explosive growth of on line services, led by the Internet, has resulted in unprecedented use of such services to reach potentially huge new customer base. Another consideration for the need of reliable secondary storage is the increasing cost of managing storage on network servers. According to Strategic Research Corporation, as storage requirements explode, organizations are finding that the cost of managing the storage is almost four times the cost of the actual storage due to server downtime, backup procedures, and hard disk failures.

Effects of Smoking While Pregnant :: smoking while pregnant

During a pregnancy there are many choices to be made and smoking should not be one of them. Smoking while pregnant can cause major effects before the birth of the child and also in the child’s future. Here are a few effects before the actual birth of the child: 1) Cigarettes contains a large number of chemicals that harm unborn babies. 2) Smoking raises the levels of carbon monoxide in your bloodstream. This gives less oxygen for baby. 3) Nicotine tightens the blood vessels, meaning the oxygen is passed over less effectively to the baby 4) Miscarriage or stillborn.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome triples if the mother has smoked during pregnancy. â€Å"It is estimated that twenty-five percent of expectant mothers in the U.S. smoke throughout their pregnancies. According to a report from the Surgeon General, twenty percent of low birth weight births, either percent of preterm deliveries and five percent of all perinatal could be prevented by eliminating smoking during pregnancy.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not only can smoking cause considerable damage to the unborn baby, but it could affect the baby later in life. Smoking increases the chances of the baby having birth defects. For example, the child might develop severe brain damage. The baby also might be considerably light in weight. All these outcomes are extremely negative and can cause guilt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another thing that should be taken into consideration is secondhand smoke. Even though the smoking is not being done firsthand, there is still a big risk. Side effects of secondhand smoke are ear infections, colds, and damage to the lungs. And even though it is not definite that complications during pregnancy might not occur, the chance of putting a child at risk for the sake of smoking a cigarette should not be taken.

Cases for Management Decision Making

Cases for Management Decision Making CA-1 suggested uses of cases Case CASE 1 Greetings Inc. : Job Order Costing CASE 2 Greetings Inc. : Activity-Based Costing CASE 3 Greetings Inc. : Transfer Pricing Issues CASE 4 Greetings Inc. : Capital Budgeting CASE 5 Auburn Circular Club Pro Rodeo Roundup CASE 6 Sweats Galore CASE 7 Armstrong Helmet Company Overview This case is the first in a series of four cases that presents a business situation in which a traditional retailer decides to employ Internet technology to expand its sales opportunities. It requires the student to employ traditional job order cost- ing techniques and then requests an evaluation of the resulting product costs. (Related to Chapter 2, Job Order Costing. ) This case focuses on decision-making benefits of activity-based costing relative to the traditional approach. It also offers an opportunity to discuss the cost/ benefit trade-off between simple ABC systems versus refined systems, and the potential benefit of using capacity rather than expected sales when allocating fixed overhead costs. (Related to Chapter 4, Activity-Based Costing. This case illustrates the importance of proper transfer pricing for decision making as well as performance evaluation. The student is required to evaluate profitability using two different transfer pricing approaches and comment on the terms of the proposed transfer pricing agreement. (Related to Chapter 8, Pricing. ) This case is set in an environment in which the company is searching for new op- portunities for growth. It requires evaluation of a proposal based on initial esti- mates as well as sensitivity analysis. It also requires evaluation of the underlying assumptions used in the analysis. Related to Chapter 12, Planning for Capital Investments. ) This comprehensive case is designed to be used as a capstone activity at the end of the course. It deals with a not-for-profit service company. The case involves many managerial accounting issues that would be common for a start-up business. (Related to Chapter 5, Cost-Volume-Profit; Chapter 7, Incremental Analysis; and Chapter 9, Budgetary Planning. ) This case focuses on setting up a new business. In planning for this new busi- ness, the preparation of budgets is emphasized. In addition, an understanding of cost-volume-profit relationships is required. (Related to Chapter 5, Cost-Volume- Profit, and Chapter 9, Budgetary Planning. ) This comprehensive case involves finding the cost for a given product. In addi- tion, it explores cost-volume-profit relationships. It requires the preparation of a set of budgets. (Related to Chapter 1, Managerial Accounting; Chapter 5, Cost- Volume-Profit; Chapter 9, Budgetary Planning; Chapter 10, Budgetary Control and Responsibility Accounting; Chapter 11, Standard Costs and Balanced Scorecard; and Chapter 12, Planning for Capital Investments. CA-2 case 1 ?Greet ings Inc. Greetings Inc. : Job Order Costing Developed by Thomas L. Zeller, Loyola University Chicago, and Paul D. Kimmel, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee THE BUSINESS SITUATION Greetings Inc. has operated for many years as a nationally recognized retailer of greeting cards and small gift items. It has 1,500 stores throughout the United States located in high-traffic malls. As the stock price of many other companies soared, Greetings’ stock price re- mained flat. As a result of a heated 2010 shareholders’ meeting, the president of Greetings, Robert Burns, came under pressure from shareholders to grow Greetings’ stock value. As a consequence of this pressure, in 2011 Mr. Burns called for a formal analysis of the company’s options with regard to business op- portunities. Location was the first issue considered in the analysis. Greetings stores are located in high-traffic malls where rental costs are high. The additional rental cost was justified, however, by the revenue that resulted from these highly visi- ble locations. In recent years, though, the intense competition from other stores in the mall selling similar merchandise has become a disadvantage of the mall locations. Mr. Burns felt that to increase revenue in the mall locations, Greetings would need to attract new customers and sell more goods to repeat customers. In order to do this, the company would need to add a new product line. However, to keep costs down, the product line should be one that would not require much addi- tional store space. In order to improve earnings, rather than just increase rev- enues, Greetings would have to carefully manage the costs of this new product line. After careful consideration of many possible products, the company’s management found a product that seemed to be a very good strategic fit for its existing products: high-quality unframed and framed prints. The critical el- ement of this plan was that customers would pick out prints by viewing them on wide-screen computer monitors in each store. Orders would be processed and shipped from a central location. Thus, store size would not have to in- crease at all. To offer these products, Greetings established a new e-business unit called Wall Decor. Wall Decor is a â€Å"profit center†; that is, the manager of the new business unit is responsible for decisions affecting both revenues and costs. Wall Decor was designed to distribute unframed and framed print items to each Greetings store on a just-in-time (JIT) basis. The system works as follows: The Wall Decor website allows customers to choose from several hundred prints. The print can be purchased in various forms: unframed, framed with a steel frame and no matting, or framed with a wood frame and matting. When a CA-3 Greet ?ings CA-4 ase 1 Cases for Management Decision Making customer purchases an unframed print, it is packaged and shipped the same day from Wall Decor. When a customer purchases a framed print, the print is framed at Wall Decor and shipped within 48 hours. Each Greetings store has a computer linked to Wall Decor’s Web server so Greetings’ customers can browse the many options to make a selection. Once a selection is made, the customer ca n complete the order immediately. Store em- ployees are trained to help customers use the website to shop and to complete their purchases. The advantage to this approach is that each Greetings store, through the Wall Decor website, can offer a wide variety of prints, yet the indi- vidual Greetings stores do not have to hold any inventory of prints or framing materials. About the only cost to the individual store is the computer and high- speed line connection to Wall Decor. The advantage to the customer is the wide variety of unframed and framed print items that can be conveniently purchased and delivered to the home or business, or to a third party as a gift. Wall Decor uses a traditional job order costing system. Operation of Wall Decor would be substantially less complicated, and overhead costs would be sub- stantially less, if it sold only unframed prints. Unframed prints require no addi- tional processing, and they can be easily shipped in simple protective tubes. Framing and matting requires the company to have multiple matting colors and frame styles, which requires considerable warehouse space. It also requires skilled employees to assemble the products and more expensive packaging pro- cedures. Manufacturing overhead is allocated to each unframed or framed print, based on the cost of the print. This overhead allocation approach is based on the assumption that more expensive prints will usually be framed and therefore more overhead costs should be assigned to these items. The predetermined over- head rate is the total expected manufacturing overhead divided by the total ex- pected cost of prints. This method of allocation appeared reasonable to the ac- counting team and distribution floor manager. Direct labor costs for unframed prints consist of picking the prints off the shelf and packaging them for ship- ment. For framed prints, direct labor costs consist of picking the prints, framing, matting, and packaging. The information in Illustration CA 1-1 for unframed and framed prints was collected by the accounting and production teams. The manufacturing overhead budget is presented in Illustration CA 1-2. Illustration CA 1-1 Information about prints and framed items for Wall Decor ?Unframed Steel-Framed Print, Wood-Framed Print, Volume—expected units sold Cost Elements Direct materials Print (expected average cost for each of the three categories) Frame and glass Matting Direct labor Picking time Picking labor rate/hour Matting and framing time Matting and framing rate/hour Print 0,000 $12 10 minutes $12 No Matting 15,000 $16 $4 10 minutes $12 20 minutes $21 with Matting 7,000 $20 $6 $4 10 minutes $12 30 minutes $21 ?Greet ?ings ?case 1 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-5 Illustration CA 1-2 Manufacturing overhead budget for Wall Decor ?Manufacturing Overhead Budget Supervisory salaries Factory rent Equipment rent (framing and matting equipment) Utilities Insurance Information te chnology Building maintenance Equipment maintenance Budgeted total manufacturing overhead costs $100,000 130,200 50,000 20,000 10,000 50,000 11,000 4,000 $375,200 Instructions Use the information in the case and your reading from Chapters 1 and 2 of the text to answer each of the following questions. 1. Define and explain the meaning of a predetermined manufacturing overhead rate that is applied in a job order costing system. 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the cost of each print as a man- ufacturing overhead cost driver? 3. Using the information in Illustrations CA1-1 and CA1-2, compute and interpret the predetermined manufacturing overhead rate for Wall Decor. 4. Compute the product cost for the following three items. a) Lance Armstrong unframed print (base cost of print $12). (b) John Elway print in steel frame, no mat (base cost of print $16). (c) Lambeau Field print in wood frame with mat (base cost of print $20). 5. (a) How much of the total overhead cost is expected to be allocated to unframed prints? (b) How much of the total overhead cost is expected to be allocated to steel framed prints? (c) How much of the tot al overhead cost is expected to be allocated to wood framed prints? (d) What percentage of the total overhead cost is expected to be allocated to un- framed prints? . Do you think the amount of overhead allocated to the three product categories is rea- sonable? Relate your response to this question to your findings in previous questions. 7. Anticipate business problems that may result from allocating manufacturing over- head based on the cost of the prints. case 2 ?Greet ings Inc. Greetings Inc. : Activity-Based Costing Developed by Thomas L. Zeller, Loyola University Chicago, and Paul D. Kimmel, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee THE BUSINESS SITUATION Mr. Burns, president of Greetings Inc. created the Wall Decor unit of Greetings three years ago to increase the company’s revenue and profits. Unfortunately, even though Wall Decor’s revenues have grown quickly, Greetings appears to be losing money on Wall Decor. Mr. Burns has hired you to provide consulting serv ices to Wall Decor’s management. Your assignment is to make Wall Decor a profitable business unit. Your first step is to talk with the Wall Decor work force. From your conver- sations with store managers you learn that the individual Greetings stores are very happy with the Wall Decor arrangement. The stores are generating addi- tional sales revenue from the sale of unframed and framed prints. They are espe- cially enthusiastic about this revenue source because the online nature of the product enables them to generate revenue without the additional cost of carry- ing inventory. Wall Decor sells unframed and framed prints to each store at product cost plus 20%. A 20% markup on products is a standard policy of all Greetings intercompany transactions. Each store is allowed to add an additional markup to the unframed and framed print items according to market pressures. That is, the selling price charged by each store for unframed and framed prints is determined by each store manager. This policy ensures competitive pricing in the respective store locations, an important business issue because of the intense mall competition. While the store managers are generally happy with the Wall Decor products, they have noted a significant difference in the sales performance of the unframed prints and the framed prints. They find it difficult to sell unframed prints at a competitive price. The price competition in the malls is very intense. On average, stores find that the profits on unframed prints are very low because the cost for unframed prints charged by Wall Decor to the Greetings stores is only slightly be- low what competing stores charge their customers for unframed prints. As a re- sult, the profit margin on unframed prints is very low, and the overall profit earned is small, even with the large volume of prints sold. In contrast, stores make a very good profit on framed prints and still beat the nearest competitor’s price by about 15%. That is, the mall competitors cannot meet at a competitive price the quality of framed prints provided by the Greetings stores. As a result, store managers advertise the lowest prices in town for high-quality framed prints. One store manager referred to Wall Decor’s computer on the counter as a â€Å"cash machine† for framed prints and a â€Å"lemonade stand† for unframed prints. In a conversation with the production manager, you learned that she be- lieves that the relative profitability of framed and unframed prints is distorted CA-6 ?Greet ?ings ?case 2 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-7 ecause of improper product costing. She feels that the costs provided by the company’s traditional job order costing system are inaccurate. From the very beginning, she has carefully managed production and distribution costs. She explains, â€Å"Wall Decor is essentially giving away expensive framed prints, and it appears that it is charging the stores too much for unframed prints. † In her office she shows you her own product costing system, which supports her point of view. Your tour of the information technology (IT) department provided additional insight as to why Wall Decor is having financial problems. You discovered that to keep the website running requires separate computer servers and several in- formation technology professionals. Two separate activities are occurring in the technology area. First, purchasing professionals and IT professionals spend many hours managing thousands of prints and frame and matting materials. Their tasks include selecting the prints and the types of framing material to sell. They also must upload, manage, and download prints and framing material onto and off of the website. The IT staff tells you much of their time is spent with framing and matting material. Only a highly skilled IT professional can properly scan a print and load it up to the site so that it graphically represents what the print will look like when properly matted and framed. In addition, you discover that a different team of IT professionals is dedi- cated to optimizing the operating performance of the website. These costs are classified as manufacturing overhead because a substantial amount of work is required to keep the site integrated with purchasing and production and to safe- guard Wall Decor’s assets online. Most time-consuming is the effort to develop and maintain the site so that customers can view the prints as they would appear either unframed or framed and matted. A discussion with the IT professionals suggests that the time spent develop- ing and maintaining the site for the unframed prints is considerably less than that required for the framed prints and in particular for the framed and matted prints. Developing and maintaining a site that can display the unframed prints is relatively straightforward. It becomes more complicated when the site must al- low the customer to view every possible combination of print with every type of steel frame, and immensely more complicated when one considers all of the pos- sible wood frames and different matting colors. Obviously, a very substantial portion of the IT professionals’ time and resources is required to present the over 1,000 different framing and matting options. Based on your preliminary findings, you have decided that the company’s ability to measure and evaluate the profitability of individual products would be improved if the company employed an activity-based costing (ABC) system. As a first step in this effort, you compiled a list of costs, activities, and values. Your work consisted of taking the original manufacturing overhead cost ($375,200, provided in Case 1) and allocating the costs to activities. You identified four ac- tivities: picking prints; inventory selection and management (includes general management and overhead); website optimization; and framing and matting cost (includes equipment, insurance, rent, and supervisor’s salary). The first activity is picking prints. The estimated overhead related to this ac- tivity is $30,600. The cost driver for this activity is the number of prints. It is ex- pected that the total number of prints will be 102,000. This is the sum of 80,000 unframed, 15,000 steel-framed, and 7,000 wood-framed. Illustration CA 2-1 Information for activity 1 ?Estimated Activity Cost Driver Overhead Picking prints Number of prints $30,600 Expected Use of Cost Driver (80,000 15,000 7,000) 102,000 prints Greet ?ings CA-8 case 2 Cases for Management Decision Making The second activity is inventory selection and management. The estimated overhead related to this activity is $91,700. The cost driver for this activity is the number of components per print item. An unframed print has one component, a steel-framed print has two components (the print and the frame), and a wood- framed print has three components (the print, the mat, and the frame). The total number of components is expected to be 131,000. Illustration CA 2-2 Information for activity 2 ?Activity Inventory selection and management Cost Driver Number of components: Print (1) Print and frame (2) Print, mat, and frame (3) Estimated Overhead $91,700 Expected Use of Cost Driver Prints: 80,000 components Print and frame: 15,000 2 30,000 components Print, mat, and frame: 7,000 3 21,000 components Total 131,000 components The third activity is website optimization. The total overhead cost related to website optimization is expected to be $129,000. It was difficult to identify a cost driver that directly related website optimization to the products. In order to re- flect the fact that the majority of the time spent on this activity related to framed prints, you first split the cost of website optimization between unframed prints and framed prints. Based on your discussion with the IT professionals, you de- termined that they spend roughly one-fifth of their time developing and main- taining the site for unframed prints, and the other four-fifths of their time on framed prints, even though the number of framed prints sold is substantially less than the number of unframed prints. As a consequence, you allocated $25,800 of the overhead costs related to website optimization to unframed prints and $103,200 to framed prints. You contemplated having three categories (unframed, steel-framed, and wood-framed with matting), but chose not to add this addi- tional refinement. Illustration CA 2-3 Information for activity 3 ?Activity Website optimization: Unframed Framed Cost Driver Number of prints at capacity Number of prints at capacity Estimated Overhead $25,800 $103,200 Expected Use of Cost Driver Unframed prints: 100,000 print capacity Framed and/or matted prints: 25,000 print capacity (16,000 steel; 9,000 wood) Once the $129,000 of the third activity was allocated across the two broad product categories, the number of prints at operating capacity was used as the cost driver. Note that operating capacity was used instead of expected units sold. The overhead costs related to website optimization are relatively fixed be- cause the employees are salaried. If a fixed cost is allocated using a value that varies from period to period (like expected sales), then the cost per unit will vary from period to period. When allocating fixed costs it is better to use a base that does not vary as much, such as operating capacity. The advantage of using operating capacity as the base is that it keeps the fixed costs per unit stable over time. ?Greet ?ings ?case 2 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-9 The final activity is framing and matting. The expected overhead costs re- lated to framing and matting are $123,900. None of this overhead cost should be allocated to unframed prints. The costs related to framing and matting are rela- tively fixed because the costs relate to equipment and other costs that do not vary with sales volume. As a consequence, like website optimization, you chose to base the cost driver on levels at operating capacity, rather than at the expected sales level. The cost driver is the number of components. Steel-framed prints have two components (the print and frame), and wood-framed prints have three components (the print, mat, and frame). The total components at operating ca- pacity would be steel frame 32,000 or (16,000 2) and wood frame 27,000 or (9,000 3,000). Illustration CA 2-4 Information for activity 4 ?Activity Framing and matting cost (equipment, insurance, rent, and supervisory labor) Cost Driver Number of components at capacity Estimated Overhead $123,900 Expected Use of Cost Driver Print and frame: 16,000 2 32,000 components at capacity Print, mat, and frame: 9,000 3 27,000 components at capacity Total 59,000 components To summarize, the overhead costs and cost drivers used for each product are expected to be: Illustration CA 2-5 Summary of overhead costs and cost drivers ?Cost Activity Driver 1. Picking Number of prints prints Steel- Wood- Framed, Framed, No with Unframed Matting Matting Total 80,000 15,000 7,000 102,000 80,000 30,000 21,000 131,000 Overhead Cost $ 30,600 91,700 25,800 103,200 123,900 $375,200 ?2. Inventory selection and management 3. Website optimization 4. Framing and matting Number of components Number of 100,000 prints at capacity Number of components at capacity na 16,000 32,000 9,000 27,000 100,000 25,000 59,000 Instructions Answer the following questions. . Identify two reasons why an activity-based costing system may be appropriate for Wall Decor. 2. Compute the activity-based overhead rates for each of the four activities. 3. Compute the product cost for the following three items using ABC. (Review Case 1 for additional information that you will need to answer this question. ) (a) Lance Armstrong unframed print (base cost of print $12). (b) John Elway print in steel frame, no mat ( base cost of print $16). (c) Lambeau Field print in wood frame with mat (base cost of print $20). ? Greet ?ings CA-10 ase 2 Cases for Management Decision Making 4. 5. 6. 7. In Case 1 for Greetings, the overhead allocations using a traditional volume-based approach were $3. 36 for Lance Armstrong, $4. 48 for John Elway, and $5. 60 for Lam- beau Field. The total product costs from Case 1 were Lance Armstrong $17. 36, John Elway $33. 48, and Lambeau Field $48. 10. The overhead allocation rate for unframed prints, such as the unframed Lance Armstrong print in question 3, decreased under ABC compared to the amount of overhead that was allocated under the traditional approach in Case 1. Why is this the case? What are the potential implications for the company? Explain why the overhead cost related to website optimization was first divided into two categories (unframed prints and framed prints) and then allocated based on number of prints. When allocating the cost of website optimization, the decision was made to initially allocate the cost across two categories (unframed prints and framed prints) rather than three categories (unframed prints, steel-framed prints, and wood-framed prints with matting). Discuss the pros and cons of splitting the cost between two categories rather than three. Discuss the implications of using operating capacity as the cost driver rather than the expected units sold when allocating fixed overhead costs. 8. (a) Allocate the overhead to the three product categories (unframed prints, steel- framed prints, and wood-framed prints with matting), assuming that the estimate of the expected units sold is correct and the actual amount of overhead incurred equaled the estimated amount of $375,200. (b) Calculate the total amount of overhead allocated. Explain why the total overhead of $375,200 was not allocated, even though the estimate of sales was correct. What are the implications of this for management? case 3 ?Greet ings Inc. Greetings Inc. : Transfer Pricing Issues Developed by Thomas L. Zeller, Loyola University Chicago, and Paul D. Kimmel, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee THE BUSINESS SITUATION Two years ago, prior to a major capital-budgeting decision (see Case 4), Robert Burns, the president of Greetings Inc. , faced a challenging transfer pricing issue. He knew that Greetings store managers had heard about the ABC study (see Case 2) and that they knew a price increase for framed items would soon be on the way. In an effort to dissuade him from increasing the transfer price for framed prints, several store managers e-mailed him with detailed analyses show- ing how framed-print sales had given stores a strong competitive position and had increased revenues and profits. The store managers mentioned, however, that while they were opposed to an increase in the cost of framed prints, they were looking forward to a price decrease for unframed prints. Management at Wall Decor was very interested in changing the transfer pric- ing strategy. You had reported to them that setting the transfer price based on the product costs calculated by using traditional overhead allocation measures had been a major contributing factor to its non-optimal performance. Here is a brief recap of what happened during your presentation to Mr. Burns and the Wall Decor managers. Mr. Burns smiled during your presentation and graciously acknowledged your excellent activity-based costing (ABC) study and analysis. He even nodded with approval as you offered the following suggestions. 1. Wall Decor should decrease the transfer price for high-volume, simple print items. . Wall Decor should increase the transfer price for low-volume, complex framed print items. 3. Youranalysispointstoatransferpricethatmaintainsthe20%markupovercost. 4. Adoption of these changes will provide Wall Decor with an 11% return on investment (ROI), beating the required 10% expected by Greetings’ board of directors. 5. Despite the objections of the store managers, the Gr eetings stores must ac- cept the price changes. Finishing your presentation, you asked the executive audience, â€Å"What questions do you have? † Mr. Burns responded as follows. Your analysis appears sound. However, it focuses almost exclu- sively on Wall Decor. It appears to tell us little about how to move for- ward and benefit the entire company, especially the Greetings retail stores. Let me explain. CA-11 Greet ?ings CA-12 case 3 Cases for Management Decision Making I am concerned about how individual store customers will react to the price changes, assuming the price increase of framed-print items is passed along to the customer. Store managers will welcome a decrease in the transfer price of unframed prints. They have complained about the high cost of prints from the beginning. With a decrease in print cost, store managers will be able to compete against mall stores for print items at a competitive selling price. In addition, the increase in store traffic for prints should increase the sales revenue for related items, such as cards, wrapping paper, and more. These are all low- margin items, but with increased sales volume of prints and related products, revenues and profits should grow for each store. Furthermore, store managers will be upset with the increase in the cost of framed prints. Framed prints have generated substantial rev- enues and profits for the stores. Increasing the cost of framed prints to the stores could create one of three problems: First, a store manager may elect to keep the selling price of framed-print items the same. The results of this would be no change in revenues, but profits would de- cline because of the increase in cost of framed prints. Second, a store manager may elect to increase the selling price of the framed prints to offset the cost increase. In this case, sales of framed prints would surely decline and so would revenues and profits. In addition, stores would likely see a decline in related sales of other expensive, high-quality, high-margin items. This is because sales data indicate that customers who purchase high-quality, high-price framed prints also purchase high-quality, high-margin items such as watches, jewelry, and cosmetics. Third, a store manager may elect to search the outside market for framed prints. † Mr. Burns offered you the challenge of helping him bring change to the company’s transfer prices so that both business units, Greetings stores and Wall Decor, win. From his explanation, you could see and appreciate that set- ting the transfer price for unframed and framed prints impacts sale revenues and profits for related items and for the company overall. You immediately rec- ognized the error in your presentation by simply providing a solution for Wall Decor alone. You drove home that night thinking about the challenge. You recognized the need and importance of anticipating the reaction of Greetings store customers to changes in the prices of unframed and framed prints. The next day, the market- ing team provided you with the following average data. For every unframed print sold (assume one print per customer), that cus- tomer purchases related products resulting in $4 of additional profit. †¢ For every framed print sold (assume one print per customer), that customer purchases related products resulting in $8 of additional profit. †¢ Each Greetings store sets its own selling price for unframed and framed prints. Store managers nee d this type of flexibility to be responsive to com- petitive pressures. On average the pricing for stores is as follows: unframed prints $21, steel-framed without matting $50, wood-framed with matting $70. Instructions Answer each of the following questions. 1. Prepare for class discussion what you think were the critical challenges for Mr. Burns. Recognize that Wall Decor is a profit center and each Greetings store is a profit center. ?Greet ?ings ?case 3 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-13 2. After lengthy and sometimes heated negotiations between Wall Decor and the store managers, a new transfer price was determined that calls for the stores and Wall Decor to split the profits on unframed prints 30/70 (30% to the store, 70% to Wall Decor) and the profits on framed prints 50/50. The following additional terms were also agreed to: †¢ â€Å"Profits† are defined as the store selling price less the ABC cost. †¢ Stores do not share the profits from related products with Wall Decor. †¢ Wall Decor will not seek to sell unframed and framed print items through anyone other than Greetings. †¢ Wall Decor will work to decrease costs. †¢ Greetings stores will not seek suppliers of prints other than Wall Decor. †¢ Stores will keep the selling price of framed prints as it was before the change in transfer price. On average, stores will decrease the selling price of unframed prints to $20, with an expected increase in volume to 100,000 prints. Analyze how Wall Decor and the stores benefited from this new agreement. In your analysis, first (a) compute the profits of the stores and Wall Decor using traditional amounts related to pricing, cost, and a 20% markup on Wall Decor costs. Next, (b) compute the profits of the stores and Wall Decor using the ABC cost and negoti- ated transfer price approach. Finally, (c) explain your findings, linking the overall profits for stores and Wall Decor. The following data apply to this analysis. (Round all calculations to three deci- mal places. ) Average selling price by stores before transfer pricing study Average selling price by stores after transfer pricing study Volume at traditional selling price Volume at new selling price Wall Decor cost (traditional) ABC cost Unframed Print $21 $20 80,000 100,000 $17. 36 $15. 258 Steel-Framed, No Matting $50 $50 15,000 15,000 $33. 48 $39. 028 Wood-Framed, with Matting $70 $70 7,000 7,000 $48. 10 $55. 328 3. Review the additional terms of the agreement listed in instruction 2 above. In each case, state whether the item is appropriate, unnecessary, ineffective, or potentially harmful to the overall company. case 4 ?Greet ings Inc. Greetings Inc. : Capital Budgeting Developed by Thomas L. Zeller, Loyola University Chicago, and Paul D. Kimmel, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee THE BUSINESS SITUATION Greetings Inc. stores, as well as the Wall Decor division, have enjoyed healthy prof- itability during the last two years. Although the profit margin on prints is often thin, the volume of print sales has been substantial enough to generate 15% of Greetings’ store profits. In addition, the increased customer traffic resulting from the prints has generated significant additional sales of related non-print products. As a result, the company’s rate of return has exceeded the industry average during this two-year period. Greetings’ store managers likened the e-business leverage cre- ated by Wall Decor to a â€Å"high-octane† fuel to supercharge the stores’ profitability. This high rate of return (ROI) was accomplished even though Wall Decor’s venture into e-business proved to cost more than originally budgeted. Why was it a profitable venture even though costs exceeded estimates? Greetings stores were able to generate a considerable volume of business for Wall Decor. This helped spread the high e-business operating costs, many of which were fixed, across many unframed and framed prints. This experience taught top manage- ment that maintaining an e-business structure and making this business model successful are very expensive and require substantial sales as well as careful monitoring of costs. Wall Decor’s success gained widespread industry recognition. The business press ocumented Wall Decor’s approach to using information technology to in- crease profitability. The company’s CEO, Robert Burns, has become a frequent business-luncheon speaker on the topic of how to use information technology to offer a great product mix to the customer and increase shareholder value. From the outside looking in, all appears to be going very well for Greetings stores and Wall Decor. How ever, the sun is not shining as brightly on the inside at Greetings. The mall stores that compete with Greetings have begun to offer prints at very com- petitive prices. Although Greetings stores enjoyed a selling price advantage for a few years, the competition eventually responded, and now the pressure on sell- ing price is as intense as ever. The pressure on the stores is heightened by the fact that the company’s recent success has led shareholders to expect the stores to generate an above-average rate of return. Mr. Burns is very concerned about how the stores and Wall Decor can continue on a path of continued growth. Fortunately, more than a year ago, Mr. Burns anticipated that competitors would eventually find a way to match the selling price of prints. As a conse- quence, he formed a committee to explore ways to employ technology to further reduce costs and to increase revenues and profitability. The committee is com- prised of store managers and staff members from the information technology, CA-14 ?Greet ?ings ?cacaseses 14 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-15 marketing, finance, and accounting departments. Early in the group’s discussion, the focus turned to the most expensive component of the existing business model—the large inventory of prints that Wall Decor has in its centralized ware- house. In addition, Wall Decor incurs substantial costs for shipping the prints from the centralized warehouse to customers across the country. Ordering and maintaining such a large inventory of prints consumes valuable resources. One of the committee members suggested that the company should pursue a model that music stores have experimented with, where CDs are burned in the store from a master copy. This saves the music store the cost of maintaining a large inventory and increases its ability to expand its music offerings. It virtually guarantees that the store can always provide the CDs requested by customers. Applying this idea to prints, the committee decided that each Greetings store could invest in an expensive color printer connected to its online ordering system. This printer would generate the new prints. Wall Decor would have to pay a roy- alty on a per print basis. However, this approach does offer certain advantages. First, it would eliminate all ordering and inventory maintenance costs related to the prints. Second, shrinkage from lost and stolen prints would be reduced. Finally, by reducing the cost of prints for Wall Decor, the cost of prints to Greetings stores would decrease, thus allowing the stores to sell prints at a lower price than competitors. The stores are very interested in this option because it enables them to maintain their current customers and to sell prints to an even wider set of customers at a potentially lower cost. A new set of customers means even greater related sales and profits. As the accounting/finance expert on the team, you have been asked to per- form a financial analysis of this proposal. The team has collected the informa- tion presented in Illustration CA 4-1. Illustration CA 4-1 Information about the proposed capital investment project ?Available Data Cost of equipment (zero residual value) Cost of ink and paper supplies (purchase immediately) Annual cash flow savings for Wall Decor Annual additional store cash flow from increased sales Sale of ink and paper supplies at end of 5 years Expected life of equipment Cost of capital Amount $800,000 100,000 175,000 100,000 50,000 5 years 12% ?Instructions Mr. Burns has asked you to do the following as part of your analysis of the capital investment project. 1. Calculatethenetpresentvalueusingthenumbersprovided. Assumethatannualcash flows occur at the end of the year. 2. Mr. Burns is concerned that the original estimates may be too optimistic. He has sug- gested that you do a sensitivity analysis assuming all costs are 10% higher than ex- pected and that all inflows are 10% less than expected. 3. Identify possible flaws in the numbers or assumptions used in the analysis, and iden- tify the risk(s) associated with purchasing the equipment. . In a one-page memo, provide a recommendation based on the above analy- sis. Include in this memo: (a) a challenge to store and Wall Decor management and (b) a suggestion on how Greetings stores could use the computer connection for re- lated sales. case 5 Auburn Circular Club Pro Rodeo Roundup Developed by Jessica Johnson Frazier, Eastern Kentucky University, and Patricia H. Mounce, University of Central Arkansas THE BUSINESS SITUATION When Shelley Jones became president-elect of the Circular Club of Auburn, Kansas, she was asked to suggest a new fundraising activity for the club. After a consider- able amount of research, Shelley proposed that the Circular Club sponsor a profes- sional rodeo. In her presentation to the club, Shelley said that she wanted a fundraiser that would (1) continue to get better each year, (2) give back to the com- munity, and (3) provide the club a presence in the community. Shelley’s goal was to have an activity that would become an â€Å"annual community event† and that would break even the first year and raise $5,000 the following year. In addition, based on the experience of other communities, Shelley believed that a rodeo could grow in popularity so that the club would eventually earn an average of $20,000 annually. A rodeo committee was formed. Shelley contacted the world’s oldest and largest rodeo-sanctioning agency to apply to sponsor a professional rodeo. The sanctioning agency requires a rodeo to consist of the following five events: Bareback Riding, Bronco Riding, Steer Wrestling, Bull Riding, and Calf Roping. Because there were a number of team ropers in the area and because they wanted to include females in the competition, members of the rodeo committee added Team Roping and Women’s Barrels. Prize money of $3,000 would be paid to winners in each of the seven events. Members of the rodeo committee contracted with RJ Cattle Company, a live- stock contractor on the rodeo circuit, to provide bucking stock, fencing, and chutes. Realizing that osts associated with the rodeo were tremendous and that ticket sales would probably not be sufficient to cover the costs, the rodeo com- mittee sent letters to local businesses soliciting contributions in exchange for various sponsorships. Exhibiting Sponsors would contribute $1,000 to exhibit their products or services, while Major Sponsors would contribute $600. Chute Sponsors would cont ribute $500 to have the name of their business on one of the six bucking chutes. For a contribution of $100, individuals would be included in a Friends of Rodeo list found in the rodeo programs. At each performance the rodeo announcer would repeatedly mention the names of the businesses and in- dividuals at each level of sponsorship. In addition, large signs and banners with the names of the businesses of the Exhibiting Sponsors, Major Sponsors, and Chute Sponsors were to be displayed prominently in the arena. ?CA-16 case 5 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-17 A local youth group was contacted to provide concessions to the public and divide the profits with the Circular Club. The Auburn Circular Club Pro Rodeo Roundup would be held on June 1, 2, and 3. The cost of an adult ticket was set at $8 in advance or $10 at the gate; the cost of a ticket for a child 12 or younger was set at $6 in advance or $8 at the gate. Tickets were not date-specific. Rather, one ticket would admit an individual to one performance of his or her choice— Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The rodeo committee was able to secure a location through the county supervisors board at a nominal cost to the Circular Club. The arrangement allowed the use of the county fair grounds and arena for a one- week period. Several months prior to the rodeo, members of the rodeo commit- tee had been assured that bleachers at the arena would hold 2,500 patrons. On Saturday night, paid attendance was 1,663, but all seats were filled due to poor gate controls. Attendance was 898 Friday and 769 on Sunday. The following revenue and expense figures relate to the first year of the rodeo. Illustration CA 5-1 Revenue and expense data, year 1 ?Receipts Contributions from sponsors $22,000 Receipts from ticket sales 28,971 Share of concession profits 1,513 Sale of programs 600 Total receipts Expenses Livestock contractor 26,000 Prize money 21,000 Contestant hospitality Sponsor signs for arena 1,900 Insurance 1,800 Ticket printing 1,050 Sanctioning fees 925 Entertainment 859 Judging fees 750 Port-a-potties 716 Rent 600 Hay for horses 538 Programs 500 Western hats to first 500 children 450 Hotel rooms for stock contractor 325 Utilities 300 Sand for arena 251 Miscellaneous fixed costs 105 Total expenses Net loss $53,084 ?3,341* ?61,410 $(8,326) *The club contracted with a local caterer to provide a tent and food for the contestants. The cost of the food was contingent on the number of contestants each evening. Information con- cerning the number of contestants and the costs incurred are as follows: Contestants Friday 68 Saturday 96 Sunday 83 Total Cost $ 998 1,243 1,100 $3,341 On Wednesday after the rodeo, members of the rodeo committee met to discuss and critique the rodeo. Jonathan Edmunds, CPA and President of the Circular Club, commented that the club did not lose money. Rather, Jonathan said, â€Å"The club made an investment in the rodeo. † CA-18 case 5 Cases for Management Decision Making Instructions Answer each of the following questions. . Do you think it was necessary for Shelley Jones to stipulate that she wanted a fundraiser that would (1) continue to get better each year, (2) give back to the com- munity, and (3) provide the club a presence in the community? Why or why not? 2. What did Jonathan Edmunds mean when he said the club had made an investment in the rodeo? 3. Is Jonathan’s comment concerning the investment consistent with Shelley’s idea that t he club should have a fundraiser that would (1) continue to get better each year, (2) give back to the community, and (3) provide the club a presence in the community? Why or why not? 4. What do you believe is the behavior of the rodeo expenditures in relation to ticket sales? 5. Determine the fixed and variable cost components of the catering costs using the high-low method. 6. Assume you are elected chair of the rodeo committee for next year. What steps would you suggest the committee take to make the rodeo profitable? 7. Shelley, Jonathan, and Adrian Stein, the Fundraising Chairperson, are beginning to make plans for next year’s rodeo. Shelley believes that by negotiating with local feed stores, innkeepers, and other business owners, costs can be cut dramatically. Jonathan agrees. After carefully analyzing costs, Jonathan has estimated that the fixed expenses can be pared to approximately $51,000. In addition, Jonathan estimates that variable costs are 4% of total gross receipts. After talking with business owners who attended the rodeo, Adrian is confident that funds solicited from sponsors will increase. Adrian is comfortable in budgeting revenue from sponsors at $25,600. The local youth group is unwilling to provide con- cessions to the audience unless they receive all of the profits. Not having the person- nel to staff the concession booth, members of the Circular Club reluctantly agree to let the youth group have 100% of the profits from the concessions. In addition, mem- bers of the rodeo committee, recognizing that the net income from programs was only $100, decide not to sell rodeo programs next year. Compute the break-even point in dollars of ticket sales assuming Adrian and Jonathan are correct in their assumptions. 8. Shelley has just learned that you are calculating the break-even point in dollars of ticket sales. She is still convinced that the Club can make a profit using the assumptions in number 7 above. (a) Calculate the dollars of ticket sales needed in order to earn a target profit of $6,000. (b) Calculate the dollars of ticket sales needed in order to earn a target profit of $12,000. 9. Are the facilities at the fairgrounds adequate to handle crowds needed to generate ticket revenues calculated in number 8 above to earn a $6,000 profit? Show calcula- tions to support your answers. 10. Prepare a budgeted income statement for next year using the estimated revenues from sponsors and other assumptions in number 7 above. In addition, use ticket sales based on the target profit of $12,000 estimated in 8(b). The cost of the livestock con- tractor, prize money, sanctioning fees, entertainment, judging fees, rent, and utilities will remain the same next year. Changes in expenses include the following: Members of the Club have decided to eliminate all costs related to contestant hospitality by soliciting a tent and food for the contestants and taking care of the â€Å"Contestant Hospitality Tent† themselves. The county has installed permanent restrooms at the arena, eliminating the need to rent port-a- potties. The rodeo committee intends to pursue arrangements to have hotel rooms, hay, and children’s hats provided at no charge in exchange for sponsorships. The cost of banners varies with the number of sponsors. Signs and More charged the Circular Club $130 for each Exhibiting Sponsor banner and $48 for each Major Sponsor banner. At this time there is no way to know whether additional sponsors will be Exhibiting Spon- sors or Major Sponsors. Therefore, for budgeting purposes you should increase the cost of the banners by the percentage increase in sponsor contributions. (Hint: Round ase 5 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-19 all calculations to three decimal places. ) By checking prices, the Circular Club will be able to obtain insurance providing essentially the same amount of coverage as this year for only $600. For the first rodeo the Club ordered 10,000 tickets. Realizing the con- straints on available seating, the Club is ordering only 5,000 tickets for next year, and th erefore its costs are reduced 50%. The sand for the arena for next year will be $300, and miscellaneous fixed costs are to be budgeted at $100. 11. A few members in the Circular Club do not want to continue with the annual rodeo. However, Shelley is insistent that the Club must continue to conduct the rodeo as an annual fundraiser. Shelley argues that she has spent hundreds of dollars on western boots, hats, and other items of clothing to wear to the rodeo. Are the expenses re- lated to Shelley’s purchases of rodeo clothing relevant costs? Why or why not? 12. Rather than hire the local catering company to cater the Contestant Hospitality Tent, members of the Circular Club are considering asking Shady’s Bar-B-Q to cater the event in exchange for a $600 Major Sponsor spot. In addition, The Fun Shop, a local party supply business, will be asked to donate a tent to use for the event. The Fun Shop will also be given a $600 Major Sponsor spot. Several members of the Club are opposed to this consideration, arguing that the two Major Sponsor spots will take away from the money to be earned through other sponsors. Adrian Stein has explained to the members that the Major Sponsor signs for the arena cost only $48 each. In ad- dition, there is more than enough room to display two additional sponsor signs. What would you encourage the Club to do concerning the Contestant Hospitality Tent? Would your answer be different if the arena were limited in the number of additional signs that could be displayed? What kind of cost would we consider in this situation that would not be found on a financial statement? case 6 Sweats Galore Developed by Jessica Johnson Frazier, Eastern Kentucky University, and Patricia H. Mounce, University of Central Arkansas THE BUSINESS SITUATION After graduating with a degree in business from Eastern University in Campus Town, USA, Michael Woods realized that he wanted to remain in Campus Town. After a number of unsuccessful attempts at getting a job in his disci- pline, Michael decided to go into business for himself. In thinking about his business venture, Michael determined that he had four criteria for the new business: 1. He wanted to do something that he would enjoy. 2. He wanted a business that would give back to the community. 3. He wanted a business that would grow and be more successful every year. 4. Realizing that he was going to have to work very hard, Michael wanted a business that would generate a minimum net income of $25,000 annually. While reflecting on the criteria he had outlined, Michael, who had been president of his fraternity and served as an officer in several other student organizations, realized that there was no place in Campus Town to have cus- tom sweatshirts made using a silk-screen process. When student organiza- tions wanted sweatshirts for their members or to market on campus, the offi- cers had to make a trip to a city 100 miles away to visit â€Å"Shirts and More. ’’ Michael had worked as a part-time employee at Shirts and More while he was in high school and had envisioned owning such a shop. He realized that a sweatshirt shop in Campus Town had the potential to meet all four of his crite- ria. Michael set up an appointment with Jayne Stoll, the owner of Shirts and More, to obtain information useful in getting his shop started. Because Jayne liked Michael and was intrigued by his entrepreneurial spirit, she answered many of Michael’s questions. In addition, Jayne provided information concerning the type of equipment Michael would need for his business and its average useful life. Jayne knows a competitor who is retiring and would like to sell his equipment. Michael can purchase the equipment at the beginning of 2011, and the owner is willing to give him terms of 50% due upon purchase and 50% due the quarter following the purchase. Michael decided to purchase the following equipment as of January 1, 2011. CA-20 case 6 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-21 Hand-operated press that applies ink to the shirt Light-exposure table Dryer conveyer belt that makes ink dry on the shirts Computer with graphics software and color printer Display furniture Used cash register Cost $7,500 1,350 2,500 3,500 2,000 500 Useful Life yrs. 10 yrs. 10 yrs. 4 yrs. 10 yrs. 5 yrs. Michael has decided to use the sweatshirt supplier recommended by Jayne. He learned that a gross of good-quality sweatshirts to be silk-screened would cost $1,440. Jayne has encouraged Michael to ask the sweatshirt supplier for terms of 40% of a quarter’s purchases to be paid in the quarter of purchase, with the re- maining 60% of the quarter’s purchases to be paid in the quarter following the purchase. Michael also learned from talking with Jayne that the ink used in the silk- screen process costs approximately $0. 75 per shirt. Knowing that the silk-screen process is somewhat labor-intensive, Michael plans to hire six college students to help with the process. Each one will work an average of 20 hours per week for 50 weeks during the year. Michael estimates to- tal annual wages for the workers to be $72,000. In addition, Michael will need one person to take orders, bill customers, and operate the cash register. Cary Sue Smith, who is currently Director of Student Development at Eastern University, has approached Michael about a job in sales. Cary Sue knows the officers of all of the student organizations on campus. In ad- dition, she is very active in the community. Michael thinks Cary Sue can bring in a lot of business. In addition she also has the clerical skills needed for the posi- tion. Because of her contacts, Michael is willing to pay Cary Sue $1,200 per month plus a commission of 10% of sales. Michael estimates Cary Sue will spend 50% of the workday focusing on sales, and the remaining 50% will be spent on clerical and administrative duties. Michael realizes that he will have difficulty finding a person skilled in com- puter graphics to generate the designs to be printed on the shirts. Jayne recently hired a graphics designer in that position for Shirts and More at a rate of $500 per month plus $0. 10 for each shirt printed. Michael believes he can find a uni- versity graphics design student to work for the same rate Jayne is paying her designer. Michael was fortunate to find a commercial building for rent near the uni- versity and the downtown area. The landlord requires a one-year lease. Although the monthly rent of $1,000 is more than Michael had anticipated paying, the building is nice, has adequate parking, and there is room for expansion. Michael anticipates that 75% of the building will be used in the silk-screen process and 25% will be used for sales. Michael’s fraternity brothers have encouraged him to advertise weekly in the Eastern University student newspaper. Upon inquiring, Michael found that a 3 3 ad would cost $25 per week. Michael also plans to run a weekly ad in the local newspaper that will cost him $75 per week. Michael wants to sell a large number of quality shirts at a reasonable price. He estimates the selling price of each customized shirt to be $16. Jayne has sug- gested that he should ask customers to pay for 70% of their purchases in the quarter purchased and pay the additional 30% in the quarter following the purchases. After talking with the insurance agent and the property valuation adminis- trator in his municipality, Michael estimates that the property taxes and insur- ance on the machinery will cost $2,240 annually; property tax and insurance on display furniture and cash register will total $380 annually. CA-22 case 6 Cases for Management Decision Making Jayne reminded Michael that maintenance of the machines is required for the silk-screen process. In addition, Michael realizes that he must consider the cost of utilities. The building Michael wants to rent is roughly the same size as the building occupied by Shirts and More. In addition, Shirts and More sells ap- proximately the same number of shirts Michael plans to sell in his store. Therefore, Michael is confident that the maintenance and utility costs for his shop will be comparable to the maintenance and utility costs for Shirts and More, which are as follows within the relevant range of zero to 8,000 shirts. Shirts Sold January 2,000 February 2,110 March 2,630 April 3,150 May 5,000 June 5,300 July 3,920 August 2,080 September 8,000 October 6,810 November 6,000 December 3,000 Maintenance Costs $1,716 1,720 1,740 1,740 1,758 1,818 1,825 1,780 1,914 1,860 1,855 1,749 Utility Costs $1,100 1,158 1,171 1,198 1,268 1,274 1,205 1,117 1,400 1,362 1,347 1,193 Michael estimates the number of shirts to be sold in the first five quarters, beginning January 2011, to be: First quarter, year 1 Second quarter, year 1 Third quarter, year 1 Fourth quarter, year 1 First quarter, year 2 8,000 10,000 20,000 12,000 18,000 Seeing how determined his son was to become an entrepreneur, Michael’s fa- ther offered to co-sign a note for an amount up to $20,000 to help Michael open his sweatshirt shop, Sweats Galore. However, when Michael and his father ap- proached the loan officer at First Guarantee Bank, the loan officer asked Michael to produce the following budgets for 2011. Sales budget Schedule of expected collections from customers Shirt purchases budget Schedule of expected payments for purchases Silk-screen labor budget Selling and administrative expenses budget Silk-screen overhead expenses budget Budgeted income statement Cash budget Budgeted balance sheet The loan officer advised Michael that the interest rate on a 12-month loan would be 8%. Michael expects the loan to be taken out as of January 1, 2011. Michael has estimated that his income tax rate will be 20%. He expects to pay the total tax due when his returns are filed in 2012. Instructions Answer the following questions. 1. Do you think it was important for Michael to stipulate his four criteria for the busi- ness (see page CA-21), including the goal of generating a net income of at least $25,000 annually? Why or why not? case 6 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-23 2. If Michael has sales of $12,000 during January of his first year of business, deter- mine the amount of variable and fixed costs associated with utilities and mainte- nance using the high-low method for each. 3. Using the format below, prepare a sales budget for the year ending 2011. SWEATS GALORE Sales Budget For the Year Ended December 31, 2011 Quarter 1 2 3 4 Year Expected unit sales Unit selling price x Budgeted sales revenue $ 4. Prepare a schedule of expected collections from customers. SWEATS GALORE Schedule of Expected Collections from Customers For the Year Ending December 31, 2011 Quarter 234 Accounts receivable 1/1/11 –0– First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Total collections 5. Michael learned from talking with Jayne that the supplier is so focused on making quality sweatshirts that many times the shirts are not available for several days. She encouraged Michael to maintain an ending inventory of shirts equal to 25% of the next quarter’s sales. Prepare a shirt purchases budget for shirts using the format provided. SWEATS GALORE Shirt Purchases Budget For the Year Ended December 31, 2011 Quarter 1 2 3 4 Year Shirts to be silk-screened Plus: Desired ending inventory Total shirts required Less: Beginning inventory Total shirts needed Cost per shirt Total cost of shirt purchases 6. Prepare a schedule of expected payments for purchases. SWEATS GALORE Schedule of Expected Payments for Purchases For the Year Ended December 31, 2011 Quarter 1234 Accounts payable 1/1/11 –0– First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Total payments CA-24 case 6 Cases for Management Decision Making 7. Prepare a silk-screen labor budget. SWEATS GALORE Silk-Screen Labor Budget For the Year Ended December 31, 2011 Quarter 2 3 4 Year Units to be produced Silk-screen labor hours per unit Total required silk-screen labor hours Silk-screen labor cost per hour Total silk-screen labor cost 8. Prepare a selling and administrative expenses budget for Sweats Galore for the year ending December 31, 2011. SWEATS GALORE Selling and Administrative Expenses Budget For the Year Ended December 31, 201 1 Quarter 1 2 3 4 Year Variable expenses: Sales commissions Total variable expenses Fixed expenses: Advertising Rent Sales salaries Office salaries Depreciation Property taxes and insurance Total fixed expenses Total selling and dministrative expenses 9. Prepare a silk-screen overhead expenses budget for Sweats Galore for the year end- ing December 31, 2011. SWEATS GALORE Silk-Screen Overhead Expenses Budget For the Year Ended December 31, 2011 Quarter 1 2 3 4 Year Variable expenses: Ink Maintenance Utilities Graphics design Total variable expenses Fixed expenses: Rent Maintenance Utilities Graphics design Property taxes and insurance Depreciation Total fixed expenses Total silk-screen overhead Direct silk-screen hours Overhead rate per silk-screen hour case 6 Cases for Management Decision Making CA-25 10. Using the information found in the case and the previous budgets, prepare a bud- geted income statement for Sweats Galore for the year ended December 31, 2011. SWEATS GALORE Budgeted Income Statement For the Year Ended December 31, 2011 Sales Cost of goods sold Gross profit Selling and administrative expenses Income from operations Interest expense Income before income taxes Income tax expense Net income 11. Using the information found in the case and the previous budgets, prepare a cash budget for Sweats Galore for the year ended December 31, 2011. SWEATS GALORE Cash Budget For the Year Ended December 31, 2011 Quarter 1234 Beginning cash balance Add: Receipts Collections from customers Total available cash Less: Disbursements Payments for shirt purchases Silk-screen labor Silk-screen overhead Selling and administrative expenses Payment for equipment purchase Total disbursements Excess (deficiency) of available cash over disbursements Financing Borrowings Ending cash balance 12. Using the information contained in the case and the previous budgets, prepare a bud- geted balance sheet for Sweats Galore for the year ended December 31, 2011. SWEATS GALORE Budgeted Balance Sheet December 31, 2011 Assets Cash Accounts receivable Sweatshirt inventory Equipment Less: Accumulated depreciation Total assets ? CA-26 case 6 Cases for Management Decision Making Liabilities and Owner’s Equity ? 13. (a) Accounts payable Notes payable Interest payable Taxes payable Total liabilities Michael Woods, Capital Total liabilities and owner’s equity Using the information contained in the case and the previous budgets, calculate the estimated contribution margin per unit for 2011. (Hint: Silk-screened labor and the taxes are both fixed costs. ) (b) Calculate the total estimated fixed costs for 2011 (including interest and taxes). c) Compute the break-even point in units and dollars for 2011. 14. (a) Michael is very disappointed that he did not have an income of $25,000 for his first year of budgeted operations as he had wanted. How many shirts would Michael have had to sell in order to have had a profit of $25