Health issues are a concern of managers, especially as they evaluate the cost of medical insurance. A recent survey of 150 executives at a large insurance company reported the number of pounds (Lbs.) by which the executives were overweight is shown in the following Table 1: Table 1 Survey Result of Executives’ Overweight 1. Calculate the mean of executives’ overweight. 2. Calculate the variance and standard deviation of executives’ overweight. 3. Draw the histogram of the data and interpret the shape of the distribution of data. Develop the cumulative frequency distribution of the data and provide an estimate of the percentage of executives that are overweight by more than 18 pounds. Health issues are a concern of managers, especially as they evaluate the cost of medical insurance. A recent survey of 150 executives at a large insurance company reported the number of pounds (Lbs.) by which the executives were overweight is shown in the following Table 1: Table 1 Survey Result of Executives’ Overweight 1. Calculate the mean of executives’ overweight. 2. Calculate the variance and standard deviation of executives’ overweight. 3. Draw the histogram of the data and interpret the shape of the distribution of data. Develop the cumulative frequency distribution of the data and provide an estimate of the percentage of executives that are overweight by more than 18 pounds.

Please answer the following questions in detail, provide examples whenever applicable, provide in-text citations. 1. Please describe the real option inherent in each of the following cases and provide some real-life hypothetical cases. Also, explain in each case if the option seller is involved and who that seller might be. a. Moda di Milano postpones a major investment. The expansion has positive NPV on a discounted cash-flow basis, but top management wants to get a better fix on product demand before proceeding. b. Western Telecom commits to production of digital switching equipment specially designed for the European market. The project has a negative NPV, but it is justified on strategic grounds by the need for a strong market position in the rapidly growing, and potentially very profitable, market. c. Western Telecom vetoes a fully integrated, automated production line for the new digital switches. It relies on standard, less-expensive equipment. The automated production line is more efficient overall, according to a discounted cash-flow calculation. d. Mount Fuji Airways buys a jumbo jet with special equipment that allows the plane to be switched quickly from freight to passenger use or vice versa. 2. State if each of the following statements is true or false. Justify your answer. a. Decision trees can help identify and describe real options. b. The option to expand increases PV. c. High abandonment value decreases PV. d. If a project has a positive NPV, the firm should always invest immediately. 3. State if each of the following statements are true or false. Justify your answer. a. A firm that earns the opportunity cost of capital is earning economic rents. b. A firm that invests in positive NPV ventures expects to earn economic rents. c. Financial managers should try to identify areas where their firms can earn economic rents, because they think that positive NPV projects are likely to be found in projects that earn economic rent. d. Economic rent is the equivalent annual cost of operating capital equipment. Please answer the following questions in detail, provide examples whenever applicable, provide in-text citations. 1. Please describe the real option inherent in each of the following cases and provide some real-life hypothetical cases. Also, explain in each case if the option seller is involved and who that seller might be. a. Moda di Milano postpones a major investment. The expansion has positive NPV on a discounted cash-flow basis, but top management wants to get a better fix on product demand before proceeding. b. Western Telecom commits to production of digital switching equipment specially designed for the European market. The project has a negative NPV, but it is justified on strategic grounds by the need for a strong market position in the rapidly growing, and potentially very profitable, market. c. Western Telecom vetoes a fully integrated, automated production line for the new digital switches. It relies on standard, less-expensive equipment. The automated production line is more efficient overall, according to a discounted cash-flow calculation. d. Mount Fuji Airways buys a jumbo jet with special equipment that allows the plane to be switched quickly from freight to passenger use or vice versa. 2. State if each of the following statements is true or false. Justify your answer. a. Decision trees can help identify and describe real options. b. The option to expand increases PV. c. High abandonment value decreases PV. d. If a project has a positive NPV, the firm should always invest immediately. 3. State if each of the following statements are true or false. Justify your answer. a. A firm that earns the opportunity cost of capital is earning economic rents. b. A firm that invests in positive NPV ventures expects to earn economic rents. c. Financial managers should try to identify areas where their firms can earn economic rents, because they think that positive NPV projects are likely to be found in projects that earn economic rent. d. Economic rent is the equivalent annual cost of operating capital equipment.

Equilibrium price – CLO 1, CLO 3, CLO 4, CLO 6, CLO 8 The company “World Airline System” is composed of the routes X and Y, and each route requires 10 aircrafts. These routes can be serviced by three types of aircrafts — A, B, and C. There are (five) 5 type A aircraft available, 10 type B, and 10 type C. These aircrafts are identical except for their operating costs, which are as follows: Annual operating cost ($ millions) Aircraft type Route X Route Y A 1.5 1.5 B 2.5 2.0 C 4.5 3.5 The aircrafts have a useful life of five years and a salvage value of $1 million. The aircrafts owners do not operate the aircrafts themselves but rent them to the operators. Owners act competitively to maximize their rental income, and operators attempt to minimize their operating costs. Airfares are also competitively determined. Assume the cost of capital is 10%. a. Which aircraft would be used on which route, and how much would each aircraft be worth? b. What would happen to usage and prices of each aircraft if the number of type A aircrafts increased to 10. 15, or 20? State any additional assumptions you need to make. Equilibrium price – CLO 1, CLO 3, CLO 4, CLO 6, CLO 8 The company “World Airline System” is composed of the routes X and Y, and each route requires 10 aircrafts. These routes can be serviced by three types of aircrafts — A, B, and C. There are (five) 5 type A aircraft available, 10 type B, and 10 type C. These aircrafts are identical except for their operating costs, which are as follows: Annual operating cost ($ millions) Aircraft type Route X Route Y A 1.5 1.5 B 2.5 2.0 C 4.5 3.5 The aircrafts have a useful life of five years and a salvage value of $1 million. The aircrafts owners do not operate the aircrafts themselves but rent them to the operators. Owners act competitively to maximize their rental income, and operators attempt to minimize their operating costs. Airfares are also competitively determined. Assume the cost of capital is 10%. a. Which aircraft would be used on which route, and how much would each aircraft be worth? b. What would happen to usage and prices of each aircraft if the number of type A aircrafts increased to 10. 15, or 20? State any additional assumptions you need to make.

CLO 2 Use the problem-definition process outlined in Chapter 6 of the Zikmund textbook, then respond to the following question: • Describe the steps involved in the problem-definition process. • Evaluate the following statement of business research problems. For each, provide a decision statement and corresponding research purpose: o An employees’ credit union: Our problem is to determine the reasons why employees join the credit union, determine members’ awareness of credit union services, and measure attitudes and beliefs about how effectively the credit union is operated. o The producer of a television show: We have a marketing problem. The program’s ratings are low. We need to learn how we can improve our ratings. o A soft-drink manufacturer: The marketing problem is that we do not know if our bottlers are more satisfied with us than our competitors’ bottlers are with them. CLO 2 Use the problem-definition process outlined in Chapter 6 of the Zikmund textbook, then respond to the following question: • Describe the steps involved in the problem-definition process. • Evaluate the following statement of business research problems. For each, provide a decision statement and corresponding research purpose: o An employees’ credit union: Our problem is to determine the reasons why employees join the credit union, determine members’ awareness of credit union services, and measure attitudes and beliefs about how effectively the credit union is operated. o The producer of a television show: We have a marketing problem. The program’s ratings are low. We need to learn how we can improve our ratings. o A soft-drink manufacturer: The marketing problem is that we do not know if our bottlers are more satisfied with us than our competitors’ bottlers are with them.

Activity 3 - CLO 2, CLO 3, CLO 4 “The U.S. Congress passed a law setting up a National Do Not Call Registry. By law, salespeople may not call numbers listed on this registry, but charities and researchers can still call these numbers. However, a recent Internet survey showed that less than 25% of respondents knew that researchers “are allowed to call,” and over half (63%) weren’t sure about researchers’ rights under the law”. Use your recent knowledge from Chapter 9 and provide the answer to the followings: ? Was an online survey the best medium for a poll on this subject? ? What were some pros and cons of conducting this poll online? ? How might the results have differed if this poll had been conducted by telephone? ? As a researcher, how would you address people’s doubts about whether pollsters may contact households listed on the Do Not Call Registry? Activity 3 - CLO 2, CLO 3, CLO 4 “The U.S. Congress passed a law setting up a National Do Not Call Registry. By law, salespeople may not call numbers listed on this registry, but charities and researchers can still call these numbers. However, a recent Internet survey showed that less than 25% of respondents knew that researchers “are allowed to call,” and over half (63%) weren’t sure about researchers’ rights under the law”. Use your recent knowledge from Chapter 9 and provide the answer to the followings: ? Was an online survey the best medium for a poll on this subject? ? What were some pros and cons of conducting this poll online? ? How might the results have differed if this poll had been conducted by telephone? ? As a researcher, how would you address people’s doubts about whether pollsters may contact households listed on the Do Not Call Registry?

Activity 2 – CLO 1, CLO 2, CLO 4, CLO 5, CLO 8 Prepare income statements in both job order costing and activity-based costing formats for a hypothetical case. Your example should include at least three activities and at least two products. If you do both correctly the operating income in both statements should be identical. Explain the initial assumptions and the calculations in detail. Provide in-text citations. Activity 2 – CLO 1, CLO 2, CLO 4, CLO 5, CLO 8 Prepare income statements in both job order costing and activity-based costing formats for a hypothetical case. Your example should include at least three activities and at least two products. If you do both correctly the operating income in both statements should be identical. Explain the initial assumptions and the calculations in detail. Provide in-text citations.

In the transformational leadership model, we learn how important it is for a leader to articulate his or her vision to others. One way of doing that is through personal stories. This video post should be 3-5 minutes. The stories should involve lessons you have learned about yourself, about other people, about leadership, or about life in general. Some questions to prompt reflection and recognition: • What people have had a significant impact on your life and why? • What hardships have you faced and overcome? • What are the greatest blessings in your life? • What do you really, really believe? • What ideas make your heart skip a beat? • What do you know about life now that you wish you had known in high school? • What is the one best piece of advice you could give to a person? • What life lesson would you like to pass on to your children some day? • If you only had one year left to live, how would you spend it? Think beyond clichés (e.g., Love makes the world go round) to insights that are unique to you. How might others benefit from hearing your stories? How do the stories point to your vision as a leader? Responders should include the following remarks for evaluation: 1. What's the most genuine moment in the story? 2. What details have the most impact? 3. How well does the point of the story relate to you? In the transformational leadership model, we learn how important it is for a leader to articulate his or her vision to others. One way of doing that is through personal stories. This video post should be 3-5 minutes. The stories should involve lessons you have learned about yourself, about other people, about leadership, or about life in general. Some questions to prompt reflection and recognition: • What people have had a significant impact on your life and why? • What hardships have you faced and overcome? • What are the greatest blessings in your life? • What do you really, really believe? • What ideas make your heart skip a beat? • What do you know about life now that you wish you had known in high school? • What is the one best piece of advice you could give to a person? • What life lesson would you like to pass on to your children some day? • If you only had one year left to live, how would you spend it? Think beyond clichés (e.g., Love makes the world go round) to insights that are unique to you. How might others benefit from hearing your stories? How do the stories point to your vision as a leader? Responders should include the following remarks for evaluation: 1. What's the most genuine moment in the story? 2. What details have the most impact? 3. How well does the point of the story relate to you?

The whole purpose of statistical testing is to better understand the population. In this workshop, you will learn how to develop confidence limits. These confidence limits will give you the range within which the true value of your variable lies in the population. The higher the desired confidence (i.e. lower the chance of being wrong), the broader the range. The lower the desired confidence level, the broader the range. Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to: • Develop confidence limits from actual data. The whole purpose of statistical testing is to better understand the population. In this workshop, you will learn how to develop confidence limits. These confidence limits will give you the range within which the true value of your variable lies in the population. The higher the desired confidence (i.e. lower the chance of being wrong), the broader the range. The lower the desired confidence level, the broader the range. Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to: • Develop confidence limits from actual data.

Product Development and Market Demand In the first section of the consultant’s report, you determined and discussed the total market demand and the market share of some of the current competitors, and you discussed current price points. You also identified where, in the positioning matrix, the JGJ, Inc. offering should fit based on an unsatisfied need in the market. After determining “where” in the market JGJ, Inc. will compete based on the positioning matrix, you will now determine “how” based on developing a specific offering that fits the selected segment as shown on the positioning matrix. In this section of the consultant’s report, you will identify and describe the characteristics of the proposed offering that will make it fit the previously identified preferred segment of the market You will be the creative genius in the project, coming up with what will be offered and designing the offering—all of the specifications and features necessary to make it different and successful. The offering you design must fit the parameters of the market segment as you defined it. In other words, if the target opening was in the high end, high personal touch part of the market, then you would need to design an offering that had those characteristics and not a low price option version with high levels of automation. You will also need to determine the market demand in the desired segment so JGJ Inc. can determine if it can make a reasonable return on investment. You will need to fully analyze the market for current competitors and their demand, and indicate why your projected demand is accurate. You only need to make an objective forecast of demand for the recommended part of the market, and you will provide significant quantitative data to support your projection. You also need to describe the method of your analysis to determine the forecasted demand. You do not need to determine or comment on the required capital investment or the cost of producing or delivering the offering. Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to: • Create product development strategies and market demand estimates. • Assess the market structure to determine the crucial factors influencing the marketing strategy. Product Development and Market Demand In the first section of the consultant’s report, you determined and discussed the total market demand and the market share of some of the current competitors, and you discussed current price points. You also identified where, in the positioning matrix, the JGJ, Inc. offering should fit based on an unsatisfied need in the market. After determining “where” in the market JGJ, Inc. will compete based on the positioning matrix, you will now determine “how” based on developing a specific offering that fits the selected segment as shown on the positioning matrix. In this section of the consultant’s report, you will identify and describe the characteristics of the proposed offering that will make it fit the previously identified preferred segment of the market You will be the creative genius in the project, coming up with what will be offered and designing the offering—all of the specifications and features necessary to make it different and successful. The offering you design must fit the parameters of the market segment as you defined it. In other words, if the target opening was in the high end, high personal touch part of the market, then you would need to design an offering that had those characteristics and not a low price option version with high levels of automation. You will also need to determine the market demand in the desired segment so JGJ Inc. can determine if it can make a reasonable return on investment. You will need to fully analyze the market for current competitors and their demand, and indicate why your projected demand is accurate. You only need to make an objective forecast of demand for the recommended part of the market, and you will provide significant quantitative data to support your projection. You also need to describe the method of your analysis to determine the forecasted demand. You do not need to determine or comment on the required capital investment or the cost of producing or delivering the offering. Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to: • Create product development strategies and market demand estimates. • Assess the market structure to determine the crucial factors influencing the marketing strategy.

You have been discussing the topics of compound interest and the time value of money. Now you have an opportunity to put the theory into practice. Understanding the effects of compound interest on an investment of $1 can be a very powerful tool. For example, if you need to save up for something over the next two years, you can determine what amount you need to deposit in an interest-bearing account in order to have that amount at a future date. On the flip side, if you have money today, you can determine what that will be worth 10 years from now if you leave it in an account. The applications used in the time value of money affect individuals with mortgages, car loans, investment opportunities, and more. Be empowered with these tools to take charge of personal and professional financial decisions. Upon successful completion of the course material, you will be able to: Perform calculations for future and present values of single-sum cash flows. Perform calculations for future and present values of multiple cash flows. Perform calculations for future and present values of annuities and perpetuities. Perform calculations for amortization schedules. You have been discussing the topics of compound interest and the time value of money. Now you have an opportunity to put the theory into practice. Understanding the effects of compound interest on an investment of $1 can be a very powerful tool. For example, if you need to save up for something over the next two years, you can determine what amount you need to deposit in an interest-bearing account in order to have that amount at a future date. On the flip side, if you have money today, you can determine what that will be worth 10 years from now if you leave it in an account. The applications used in the time value of money affect individuals with mortgages, car loans, investment opportunities, and more. Be empowered with these tools to take charge of personal and professional financial decisions. Upon successful completion of the course material, you will be able to: Perform calculations for future and present values of single-sum cash flows. Perform calculations for future and present values of multiple cash flows. Perform calculations for future and present values of annuities and perpetuities. Perform calculations for amortization schedules.