Managerial Accounting
What benefits and drawbacks are there for a business that uses a Standard/Traditional Costing model?
What benefits and drawback are there for a business that uses an Activity Based Costing (ABC) model?
If you owned a small manufacturing business with relatively high volume and multiple product lines, would you implement an ABC model? Why?
As you get ready to reflect on these questions, don’t forget that the best answers are attempts to apply the concept to a small business and explore how a standard/traditional costing or activity-based costing system would/could be used. What are the benefits and the risks – or how could you adapt it to get the best of both?
Don’t forget that, when you draw a blank on a question (or any part of it), take a quick look at the concept on the internet or in the Post Online Library. There will be some great inspiration there that will help you out AND lend some different perspective on the matter! (Don’t forget to cite anything that you use!)
*Unit 2 DB: Musical Thread in Rock and Roll (MUS121 Rhythm, Blues & Hip Hop)
As we listen to and learn about the musical examples in this unit, you will read about and hear some musical “threads” among certain musical artists. Choose one of the following two groups of musicians:
Group 1: Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles
Group 2: Bill Haley, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly
Identify what you believe are the common musical threads among the artists in your groups. Use the musical vocabulary that you are learning through your reading and share mashups of musical examples to support your views.
*Unit 2 Discussion: Marketing Research (MKT200 Principles of Marketing)
Overview
Companies who want to grow their markets rely on market research to help determine consumer behavior and the most likely new potential marketplaces. Some companies design and conduct their own market research (primary research) while others choose to utilize data from existing market research conducted by other firms (secondary research).
Simulated Business Scenario
Vanessa is the owner of a well-known brand of handmade decorative items such as dream catchers and candle holders. The brand, Sirrah, has a reputation for designing and selling high-quality items at premium prices. Considering current economic conditions and the increasing influx of similar but inferior products from foreign suppliers, Vanessa is interested in expanding Sirrah into new markets.
Vanessa knows she needs to research various aspects of new potential marketplaces to determine customer insights and if a new market will tolerate new competition from her Sirrah brand. She is on a limited budget so, she is faced with two choices:
Design and conduct first-hand market research which is tailored to her specific marketing needs (primary research). Much more costly to implement but much more exacting to Vanessa’s brand expansion.
Purchase or license existing research that is available from government agencies, trade associations, and marketing research firms that sell research reports (secondary research). Less specific but much less costly.
Questions
What are a few examples and pros and cons of primary and secondary research?
Which research would you advise Vanessa to utilize to support her market expansion?
*Unit 2.1 DB: Continuous Operations (CRJ102 Introduction to Law Enforcement)
Discuss the special problems that must be dealt with in organizing a police department that operates 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. How would you handle these problems? How would you suggest changing them? Be specific and support your opinions.
*Unit 2.2 DB: Interview Question (CRJ102 Introduction to Law Enforcement)
You are asked in your oral interview if you would report your field training officer, a 20-year veteran, for taking a candy bar from the local mini-mart during a late-night security check. The mini-mart clerk said nothing to the officer when he left. What would you do? Explain why and support your actions.
*Unit 2 DB: Objective (ACC215 Spreadsheet & General Ledger Software)
Please discuss what the primary objective of accounting is and how QBO assists in achieving this objective?
Sample Solution
Managerial Accounting
Activity based costing (ABC) is a method of assigning overhead and indirect costs, such as salaries and utilities, to products and services. ABC brings accuracy and reliability in product cost determination by focusing on cause and effect relationship in the cost incurrence. It recognizes that it is activities which cause costs, not products and it is product which consume activities. In advanced manufacturing environment and technology where support functions overhead constitute a large share of total costs, ABC provides more realistic product costs. However, ABC has numerous cost pools and multiple cost drivers and therefore can-be more complex than traditional product costing systems. It can prove costly to manage ABC system. Some difficulties emerge in the implementation of ABC system, such as selection of cost drivers, assignment of common costs, varying cost driver rates etc.
