Discussion 1)
Decentralized Activities
This week, we covered Chapter 9, Evaluating Decentralized Operations, and Chapter 10, Differential Analysis and Product Pricing. Decentralized Operations is when decision-making and authority is transferred to subunits of the company. This is the difference in revenue and expenses between different products. Please choose a company that produces more than one product. Take at least two of these products and discuss the different costs between these two products which may make one more profitable than the other. It is not allowed to use the same company as a student from a previous post in Week 5.
Please make an initial post and two replies to either your classmates or your professor. The initial post must be at least 75-150 words with one external reference in APA format, while your replies must be at least 100 words.
ASSIGNMENT 1) ACC226 Week 5 Assignment
Decentralized Operations
For this week’s assignment, address the following problems. Be sure to complete all steps and sections of the problem and show all your work.
1. Assume you have been hired by Hilton Hotels and Resorts. As part of your new role in the accounting department, you have been tasked to set up a responsible accounting structure for the company. As your first task, your supervisor has asked you to give an example of a cost center, profit center, and investment center within the Hilton organization. Your supervisor is a little unsure of the difference between a profit center and an investment center and would like you to explain the difference.
2. Assume you are the regional manager of a hotel chain. You receive the quarterly financial reports and notice one particular hotel had drastically lower revenue and a corresponding high occupancy rate. Upon further investigation, you discover the manager for the hotel provided lodging for a neighboring town that was hit by a tornado. As the manager, how do you respond to this?
3. Use Netflix’s 2017 annual report (https://openstax.org/l/50Netflix2017) to answer the following questions.
• Using the revenue and contribution profit information, calculate the contribution profit (loss) percentage for each of the divisions. Comment on how your analysis has changed compared to your analysis of the dollar amounts for each division.
• Since companies typically do not publicly provide more than macro levels of asset values, let’s assume the following level of assets (investment):
Assets (fictitious) | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
Domestic Streaming | $15,000.000 | $14,000.000 | $10,000.000 |
International Streaming | 6,000.000 | 4,000.000 | 2,000.000 |
Domestic DVD | 1,500.000 | 2,000.000 | 3,000.000 |
Calculate the return on investment (ROI) for each division. Comment on the results.
Assume that Netflix uses a cost of capital of 7%. Calculate the residual income (RI) for each of the divisions. Comment on the results.
DISCUSSION 2)
Communication and Interviews
Please respond to one of the following:
Question A
Keeping in mind all of our course material to date, describe the communication skills you feel are needed to be an effective interviewer and also an effective interviewee.
Question B
How might an awareness of the communication process, as discussed in Lesson 1, help an individual have success in an employment interviews?
ASSIGNMENT 2)
Resume and Commonly Asked Questions
Please answer both parts.
Part 1
Create a cover letter and resume for yourself for a job you would like to have. Please do not include personal information (such as current salary or social security number). Tailor the resume to fit the career position you are trying to secure. Both the cover letter and resume should be one page each and formatted as if they were going to a potential employer. Submit your work in the form of a WORD Document, placing the cover letter and the resume in the same document with a page break inserted between them. Once you have completed Part 1, complete Part 2 targeting the same career position.
Part 2
Activity prepared by Private Industry Council of Lehigh Valley, Inc., Allentown, PA.
Research has indicated that some questions are commonly asked during employment interviews. Fifteen of the most common questions are listed here. Read the question and write notes you might use in giving answers to the interviewer. Pay attention to the tips, which are intended to guide your answers. This activity will help prepare you for formal and informal job interviews.
- What are your short-range goals? (Tip: What kind of job are you looking for?)
- Where do you want to be five years from now? (Tip: Talk about how you would prepare yourself for future jobs in the company.)
- What special skills do you have? (Tip: Talk about skills you would use in this job.)
- What kind of job are you most interested in? (Tip: Explain how your interests will help you do a good job.)
- What characteristics do you feel are most important for this job? (Tip: Talk about the two or three positive characteristics you would use most often in this job: leadership, work under pressure, and so forth.)
- What is your greatest strength? Why do you think you can do this job better than anyone else? (Tip: Pick a strength that best fits the job.)
- What is your major weakness? (Tip: It’s all right to admit a weakness, but also talk about how you’re going to turn it into a strength.)
- What were your most important achievements in your last position? (Tip: Review your
- Tell me about yourself. (Tip: Don’t get trapped! Ask specifically what the interviewer would like to know about you.)
- Why do you want to work for this company? (Tip: Compliment the company. Also explain how the company can benefit by your abilities.)
- What kind of recommendation do you think you’ll get from your previous employer? (Tip: Excellent, good—tell why. If you know for sure that you’d get a poor recommendation, don’t be afraid to tell why, but follow up with a positive comment. Don’t ever badmouth a previous employer.)
- How do you feel about overtime? (Tip: If this question is asked, you know that there probably are overtime requirements. If you can and want to work overtime, answer enthusiastically. Don’t answer, “Well, if I have to.”)
- How long would you stay with us? (Tip: Be positive. Say something such as, “I look at this opportunity as the beginning of a permanent relationship.”)
- Why should we hire you? (Tip: Give a summary of your most important qualifications and interests. Be enthusiastic.)
Define the following:
- Cooperation (Tip: harmony, common goal)
- Responsibility (Tip: being accountable)
- Challenging (Tip: desire to explore new ways)