...MODULE 2, ASSIGNMENT 4 October 22, 2013 Topic: Standard Costing, Variance Analysis and Budgets Overview The main topics for Assignment 4 are standard costing, variance analysis, and budget creation. Accountants of all management levels often have to analyze variance reports in order to help in the decision-making process. Through the differentiation of costs into fixed and variable classifications, managers are better able to construct break-even charts and other decision-making and control tools. Understanding cost breakdown can better determine where the inefficiencies of the operations lie, and determine the first step towards enhancing the efficiency of an operation. In addition, cost analysis helps toward the creation of budgets and forecasts. An effective budget or forecast is necessary for an organization to make optimal use of the resources available to it. Variance analysis reports are very predominant in manufacturing organizations. When variance analysis is conducted properly (e.g., on time and at the proper level), it can be an effective control against further cost and schedule problems that may jeopardize the successful completion of a product. In this assignment, candidates will learn why standard cost systems are used, how standards for material and labour are set, how material, labour and overhead variances are calculated, and how desired levels of attainability affect standard settings. Learning Outcome The candidates will interpret the results...
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...MODULE 2, ASSIGNMENT 4 December 12, 2011 Topic: Standard Costing, Variance Analysis and Budgets Overview The main topics for Assignment 4 are standard costing, variance analysis, and budget creation. Accountants of all management levels often have to analyze variance reports in order to help in the decision-making process. Through the differentiation of costs into fixed and variable classifications, managers are better able to construct break-even charts and other decision-making and control tools. Understanding cost breakdown can better determine where the inefficiencies of the operations lie, and determine the first step towards enhancing the efficiency of an operation. In addition, cost analysis helps toward the creation of budgets and forecasts. An effective budget or forecast is necessary for an organization to make optimal use of the resources available to it. Variance analysis reports are very predominant in manufacturing organizations. When variance analysis is conducted properly (e.g., on time and at the proper level), it can be an effective control against further cost and schedule problems that may jeopardize the successful completion of a product. In this assignment, candidates will learn why standard cost systems are used, how standards for material and labour are set, how material, labour and overhead variances are calculated, and how desired levels of attainability affect standard settings. Learning Outcome The candidates will interpret the results of a variance...
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...Report – Canada Goose Canada Goose Inc. is number 125 of the Profit 500 list. Canada Goose is a company that had started in a small warehouse in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1957 by a guy named Sam Tick, who was a cutter at other factories. When Sam Tick started the company, it was originally called Metro Sportswear LTD. In 1970, Sam Tick’s son-in-law, David Reiss, had joined the company and had invented a down filling machine for the jacket. Originally, they renamed the company to Snow Goose, because of the white downs, but eventually somewhere in the 70’s it was renamed to Canada Goose. In 1982 Laurie Skreslet became the first Canadian to climb Mount Everest and he was wearing the Big Mountain Jacket create by Canada Goose (Canada Goose, 2013). Then in 1997 an man named Dani Reiss, son of David Reiss, joined the company as a salesman, selling the brand to stores to sell the product. In 2001 he had succeed his father and had become president and Chief Executive of the company. He had brought a new strategy to the way things are done on the advertising and production side of the product. The Strategy was; “by focusing on the made-in-Canada, used-in-Canada story behind the coats, people would clamour for them” (O’Kane J. 2013). The strategy worked and the company fiscal year grew 40% and had sales close to $150 million US Dollars. In addition, Canada Goose jackets had been popping up in movies. The one movie in particular that the jacket appeared in was “The Day After Tomorrow”...
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...7:48 AM "I need some vodka." My coworker, Marisol, groans as we walk into work together. I laugh, knowing exactly what she means. "I've been in your shoes before boo." "Antonio won't leave me the hell alone. I told him to go fuck himself several times and he won't take the hint," she huffs, folding her arms across her chest. I take off my jacket, folding it neatly so I can put it in my desk drawer. I work the front desk at Magnus's Inc. It's not an ideal job but it pays extremely well, especially since New York is an expensive city to live in. "That's what happens when you give a man too many chances. He thinks you will take him back every time he fucks up." I sit down, booting up the Mac desktop. Marisol leans on the large black desk, very likely...
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...Vulnerability Assessment for Jacket-X Corporation University of Maryland University College Abstract The Jacket-X Corporation is a manufacturer of industrial-grade gloves, jackets, and other safety-related clothing applications. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Jacket-X is concerned with the current Information Technology (IT) security implementations and procedures. He has valid concerns due to reports from Human Resources (HR) stating financial issues with last year’s payrolls. There are also concerns with external network vulnerabilities that possibly can give hackers unauthorized access to company data and information. The CIO has internal IT security concerns due to a recent incident with an executive employee infecting the company’s network with malicious software from a company issued laptop. To help stay current with technology and compliant with federal laws Jacket-X decided to install a new Identity Management (IdM) system with Single Sign On (SSO) features. Several employees and customers do not like the new IdM system due to having privacy and data access concerns. This paper will analyze and discuss potential threats and vulnerabilities within the Jacket-X Corporation enterprise network. The paper will identify various IT security measures that will address the known threats and vulnerabilities. There will be discussions and recommendations made for choosing the best IdM system for Jacket-X. These discussions will also consist of the company addressing...
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...Jason Schmied Mr. T Introduction to Business 20 November 2013 Ralph Lauren Polo Ralph Lauren was born on October 14, 1939 as Ralph Lifshitz, in Bronx, New York City. He was born into a Jewish family, originally from Belarus, as one of three boys. When he turned sixteen, he and his brother Jerry changed his last name legally to Lauren, after being made fun of in school. However, his brother Lenny kept the original last name. Lauren began his study of business at Baruch College in Manhattan for two years, then served in the Army for a short time, and later became a salesman at Brooks Brothers (Ralph Lauren Bio). In 1967, finally fed up with selling other people’s neckties, Lauren began making his own neckwear. With no experience in fashion besides selling men’s clothing, Lauren was still able to convince Beau Brummel to manufacture his Polo line of neckwear, and began selling his Polo brand in large department stores, such as Bloomingdales. In 1968, he created his own company – Polo Fashion – with the help of his brother Jerry and a $50,000 loan. Along with the neckwear, Polo expanded into men suits, shirts, and sportswear. Lauren received the Coty Award for menswear in 1970, and following this achievement, designed a line of women’s tailored shirt in a classic men’s style. Within three years from the start of Polo Fashion, sales were already reaching $10 million (Polo History). In 1971, the company began offering franchises to allow the entire store to focus...
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...With added sales we should be able to improve our product line to offer an even wider range of coats and accessories. Our major issue with dealing with these types of retailers is there is no guarantee of our coat not being used as a loss-leader, which will highly decrease brand prestige. We will also face the possibility of losing a few key independent retailers when they fail to keep up with the upper scale larger stores such as Levine’s Menswear and Asmuns place. Ultimately, our company faces little risk, as higher-income people will always be willing to spend, to them, a small chunk of money on a coat that is of highest quality and extremely fashionable. Problem Statement How can Dani Reiss, the president and owner of Canada Goose Inc., move forward and expand the company while still maintaining the brand value? Analysis Objectives and Goals Dani Reiss, president and owner of Canada Goose has seen recent growth in the European market and the Canadian market. He is now at the point where he believes that with the right strategy, the company can grow to the point where it will become one of the market...
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...MKTG-410: Advertising and Public Relations Komfort Kicks, Inc. Komfort Kicks, Inc. is a North American athletic shoe company that manufactures high-end, professional soccer shoes. They have been in existence for ten years in the United States. The main headquarters is just outside of Chicago, IL from where the shoes are distributed. The brand has been quite successful in the past, but losing significant market share to Nike and Adidas. Management has decided to complement its soccer shoes with a stylish training jacket, pants and jersey to completely outfit soccer players or workout enthusiasts. The outfit is lightweight in design; providing maximum comfort and air circulation for indoor workouts, outdoor practice and soccer games. While Nike and Adidas are battling for global soccer domination, Komfort Kicks would like to make a comeback under the radar and strengthen its brand and reputation while becoming a sponsor at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. With increased competition in the sports athletic market, management has hired DeVry University’s Creative Marketing firm to propose an IMC Campaign. This campaign is intended to strengthen the Komfort Kicks brand equity, promote its new training outfit and increase sales. According to IBIS World, the sports and athletic goods industry has grown at an annualized rate of 0.6% to $9.1 billion, including 2.2% revenue growth in 2014. Over this time, the average profit margin for industry operators has also contracted due...
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...Brand Name and the Quest for Success in the Luxury Sector All luxury designers strive to achieve long-term success. To put a label on a collection of products is to create a brand, but that label does not provide for definite staying power. Lucrative brands have gone beyond creating something pretty; an outstanding brand writes a story that the consumer believes and wants to buy into and the brand then becomes more than its product. Labels that grasp the importance of branding understand that they must be more than the watch or bag or scarf. The appeal of a brand must be in who the consumer becomes when he or she puts on or uses a certain product. Brand awareness widens when a high-end label creates and conveys a clear message or lifestyle that the consumer thinks he or she can attain through purchase. That is the art of branding. Branding convinces the consumer not to simply buy a product, but instead buy the brand as a whole. A stellar product does not stand alone—behind it must be something deeper, a message or a symbol which should represent or relate back to the identity of the brand. Within the luxury sector, where products are often an investment regardless of one’s socio-economic status, conveying an identity is crucial. If the consumer cannot see what he or she will gain from purchasing a $2,000 handbag or a $26,000 watch, there will be no sale, and the ship that is the brand will sink. John Goodchild and Clive Callow, authors of Brands: Visions and Values...
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...|Title: DUMP THE CASH, LOAD ON THE PRAISE , By: Nelson, Bob, Personnel Journal, 00315745, Jul96, Vol. 75, Issue 7 | |Database: Business Source Elite | | | |Rewards That Motivate | | | |DUMP THE CASH, LOAD ON THE PRAISE | | | | | | | |An employee does a top-notch job with a tricky project and you want to acknowledge her hard work. So what's it going to be? A cash | |bonus? Author of "1001 Ways to Reward Employees" explains why this actually may demotivate and reinforce the idea that no dollars...
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...appearance is crucial because it is used to make a first impression. A person is judged by what they wear and how they look. For example, it is probable that many people would perceive a person wearing ratty clothes as uneducated and irresponsible while a person looking pristine in a designer ensemble is assumed to be intelligent and successful. In every city, there are multiple fashion brands with different styles and ranges of apparel and accessories. Every season, new styles and designs are created which influence society. It appears as if more types of clothing exist than the actual number of people. With so many different alternatives of fashion, the fashion industry is trying to please too many customers with variety. There are currently various styles to choose from, and the clothes people wear categorize or label them long before they realize it. The three fashion brands that will be analyzed extensively are Chanel, Nike, and Hot Topic. These brands have apparel but are completely different in their target audience. Chanel is a prestigious high-fashion brand; Nike is a popular athletic line; Hot Topic is musically and artistically edgier with a smaller target audience between the three. With these apparel brands, a person wearing each would be labeled or even stereotyped. One wearing a Chanel’s 2012 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear designer outfit with a white jacket, lambskin dress with pearls, and a glass pearl belt would be labeled as rich, successful, and intelligent. Another...
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...Cameron Walburg Evan Zamora Jeff Dean Juliet LaChappell Nicole Skubic Tyler Cramer Tyler Ford A Contents I. Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Columbia’s Past and Current Strategies..................................................................................... 2 Past Strategies.......................................................................................................................... 2 Current Mission and Vision Statement.................................................................................... 2 New Mission and Vision Statement ........................................................................................ 3 III. SWOT and Environmental Analysis......................................................................................... 3 Columbia SWOT Analysis ...................................................................................................... 3 Columbia SWOT Matrix ......................................................................................................... 4 Cabela's SWOT Matrix............................................................................................................ 4 Patagonia SWOT Matrix ......................................................................................................... 5 Lululemon SWOT Matrix ..........
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...be an iconic man in the 1990s for the music genre known as alternative rock/grunge. Kurt Cobain passed away on April 5th, 1994, in his home, when he was only 27 years old (“April 05”). He recently started a family with his wife Courtney Love, who was also a musician in a band called Hole (Kurt and Courtney). Kurt was in and out of rehabilitation centers for his drug addiction, and soon before his death had, what people considered at the time, an accidental overdose in Rome. The day his corpse was found an electrician reports his findings. The police and fire department arrive. Pictures are taken of the scene, and then handed to detectives to enhance the report of the incident that took place on the street of Lake Washington Boulevard. As news spreads of the musician’s tragedy fans gather at his house and a memorial service is performed in his honor (Kurt and Courtney). I now tell you the story of how and when Kurt Donald Cobain’s body was found. An electrician, Gary Smith, from the company Veca Electric arrives at the lavish home of Kurt Cobain, as previously scheduled on April 8th, 1994 (McNerthney). It’s an early Saturday morning in Seattle, Washington (McNerthney) when the married, middle aged electrician drives up the long, black top coated, pathway that leads to the properties garage (Electrician).With the rather large home to his right and beautiful green shrubbery to his left, he...
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...Introduction Over the past decade, online shopping has grown to new heights. Shoppers have the ability to do more research before making a purchase by using the internet. They can read reviews, compare prices, pre-shop, and purchase at any time. (Valerio, D. 2012). With mobile technology, shoppers are also able to shop with their phones, IPad, and tablets, with internet access. According to a study that was done by United Parcel Service Inc, seventy percent of more than 3.000 online shoppers said that they preferred to shop their favorite retailer online. So what does this mean for retail stores? Why do people shop online? Internet users were asked the main reasons why they shopped online by a poll taken by The Nielsen Company (www.nielsen.com), these are the results (Miller, R. K., & Washington, K. 2014). : • Able to shop 24 hours a day: 81% • Saves time: 76% • Able to comparison shop: 61% • Easy to find what I am looking for: 56% • Selection of items: 49% • Can search by brands I like: 46% • Available product information: 46% • Low prices: 45% • Items are in stock: 35% • Low shipping costs: 24% • Recommendations for items: 15% • Customer service and communication: 12% • Easy to return purchases: 11 % • Gift services such as cards, wrapping, or • Birthday/holiday reminders: 10% The disadvantages of online shopping Though online shopping is very convenient, it has its disadvantages. Shipping and handling costs can be a burden. Sometimes, when purchasing...
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...Joshua Files - Ice Shock 5/9/08 12:20 Page i Joshua Files - Ice Shock 5/9/08 12:20 Page ii Also by M.G. Harris The Joshua Files: Invisible City Joshua Files - Ice Shock 5/9/08 12:20 Page iii Ice Shock (((a/w lettering))) M. G. H A R R I S Joshua Files - Ice Shock 5/9/08 12:20 Page iv First published in the UK in 2009 by Scholastic Children’s Books An imprint of Scholastic Ltd Euston House, 24 Eversholt Street London, NW1 1DB, UK Registered office: Westfield Road, Southam, Warwickshire, CV47 0RA SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. Text copyright © M.G. Harris, 2009 The right of M.G. Harris to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her. ISBN 978 1407 10403 4 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Scholastic Limited. Printed in the UK by CPI Bookmarque, Croydon, Surrey Papers used by Scholastic Children’s Books are made from wood grown in sustainable forests...
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