Prestige Telephone Company free essay sample

Bradley felt only more time was needed but Rowe felt action was necessary to reduce the drain on company resources. The subsidiary was originally established as a mechanism by which high and nonregulated returns could be used to boost the profits as well as to provide the computer services. Since the Public Service Commission had encouraged public utilities to seek new sources of revenue as a step toward deregulation and to reduce the need for rate increases which higher costs would bring, the PDS had begun selling computer time not needed by the parent company to other businesses. However, Public Service Commision restricted that the average monthly charge for service by the subsidiary to the parent not exceed $82,000, which was the estimated cost of equivalent services used by the parent company in 1994. By the end of 1996, income of Prestige Telephone Company was low enough giving the lowest return on investment. Rowe felt it was time to reassess Prestige Data Services. We will write a custom essay sample on Prestige Telephone Company or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Bradley on the other hand asked for more time as she felt the subsidiary would be profitable by the end of the first quarter of 1997. But when the quarterly reports came, the three months ended March 1997 all reported a loss. Rowe resolved to study the subsidiary’s operations and assess its performance first before deciding whether PDS be closed down or sold. II. Problem Statement Based on the subsidiary’s current performance and quarterly reports, should Prestige Telephone Company discontinue the operations of its subsidiary? If not, how can Ms. Bradley prove that Prestige Data Services is still profitable despite its losses and can contribute that much to the company, n order to avoid the top management from what other measures should the company take in order to lead the subsidiary into having profits in the near future. III. Methodology First, an analysis of the current reports have been made in order to understand the nature of the subsidiary’s expenses and revenue. Costs were identified and classified for decision-making. Then an incremental cost-benefit analysis was done to weigh whether it would be more beneficial for the company to discontinue the subsidiary’s operations . Also, various alternative courses of action and scenarios were laid down aside from shutting it down and effects of these courses of actions were also assessed whether it would contribute profits for the subsidiary. Lastly, recommendations were given on how to redesign the reporting system in order to have the most relevant presentation of figures needed in decision-making for the top management. IV. Analysis To discontinue or not? By using incremental cost analysis, it is determined that the company would be better off if they would continue operating its subsidiary rather than to sell or shut it down. Both alternatives would incur losses however shutting it down would result to larger amounts of losses which includes the costs needed to outsource the data services and the contribution margin forgone from the subsidiary. Based on the first quarter reports of PDS, space, equipment costs (not including power), and salaries and the fixed portion of expenses the subsidiary incur every month. On the other hand, power and operation wages vary according to the use of computers. The overall cost of running Prestige Data service is quite high as the expenses are more than the revenue thus incurring net losses for the first quarter of 1997. In analyzing the cost-benefit of discontinuing the subsidiary, only the variable costs are relevant and will be considered as well as the opportunity costs. -DISCUSS EXCEL- Also, the non-cancelable leases on computer equipment has still four more years to run. If the company would discontinue the subsidiary, they will still have to pay for the lease without earning revenues from them. In addition to, the bottomline for the month of March would happen to be a profit if the depreciation is added back, giving a hint that the subsidiary can give inflows to the company and that time may still be needed to prove its profitability. To conclude, there is no need for the company to discontinue the operations of its subsidiary. How can the subsidiary be more profitable? CVP analysis Variable costs include power, operations wages, materials and sales promotions. Needed hours per month to breakeven? Sensitivity analysis a. ncrease price, decrease demand b. decrease price, increase demand c. increase promotions, increase demand d. 2 shifts (16 hours) rather than operating at 24 hours V. Conclusion and Recommendations It is therefore concluded that there is no need for the Prestige Telephone Company to discontinue its subsidiary, the Prestige Data Services, as it is promising to bring the company profits and savings. With just the right changes in relevant factors such as price s and variable costs, the subsidiary can make it to have positive bottomlines. It is recommended for the management of PDS to prepare a statement of cashflows in order to assess the actual inflow or outflow of cash from the subsidiary. Also, the financial statements can also be presented with the contribution margin the subsidiary brings. It would also be helpful if both the balance sheets of the parent company and subsidiary are shown for better analysis. With the decision to continue the subsidiary, it is also recommended to assess again its profitability after four years or when the computer leases has already expired. Prestige Telephone Company free essay sample Prestige Telephone Company Scott Johnson, Nicole Phillips, Ashton Shuler, Brandy Watts February 25th, 2014 Group Contributions Responded to all texts, discussion boards, and emails Participated in online chat and conference call Answered question 3 Provided the framework of how the case would be set up Suggested new ideas for later projects on how to discuss our topic Responded to all texts, discussion boards, and emails Participated in online chat and conference call Answered question 2 Set up a conference call, but we could not all attend, so we decided on a later time Came up with the idea we all should write a short conclusion for each question to make it easier to write a bigger one at the end of the case Responded to all texts, discussion boards, and emails Participated in online chat and conference call Answered question 4 Formatted the case into the format needed Set up the FaceBook message we used to check in with each other and share ideas Responded to all texts, discussion boards, and emails Participated in online chat and conference call Answered question 1 Set up a conference call where we confirmed what question each person would answer Made sure everyone was up to speed on what the individual expectations of the group would be QUESTIONS 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Prestige Telephone Company or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page ) Appraise the results of operations of Prestige Data Services. Is the subsidiary really a problem to Prestige Telephone Company? Consider carefully the differences between reported costs and costs relevant for decisions that Daniel Rowe is considering. In deciding whether Prestige Data Services is a problem to Prestige Telephone Company, we must look at the benefits and costs that are associated with both the company as a whole and as separate functioning parts. While the subsidiary looks to show a loss while standing on its own, it was initially created to provide services to the parent company. The benefits that it provides to the parent company allow them to operate at a lower cost of service. When we look at the shared costs that the data company and the telephone company have (accounting, payroll, etc) we have to remember that if the data company was not there, the costs of the shared services would be completely associated to the telephone company. Also, the services that the data company provides are at a much lower cost to the telephone company. It is hard to look at the activities in the two companies separately because they are dependent upon one another for services and that is why the subsidiary was created initially. Prestige Data Services allows Prestige Telephone Services to reduce their costs in two ways – shared expenses and reduced supply chain costs. From this point of view, the subsidiary is not a problem for the parent company; it is a benefit to them. 2. ) Assuming the company demand for service will average 205 hours per month, what level of commercial sales of computer use would be necessary to break even each month? In order to determine the level of commercial sales of computer use needed to break even each month, we had to start by determining and separating the companies fixed and variable costs in order to apply the break even calculation: Contribution margin 🙠 800-4. 53-80. 13) = $715. 34 Since the Prestige Telephone Company has an agreement with the Prestige Service Commission (PSC) to cover $82,000 of the total costs, we had to consider their contribution when calculating the breakeven point: (total FC) – [(PSC contribution) – (average monthly hours of demand*VC / unit)] / Contribution Margin FC = (9240+95000+5400+25500+680+12000+9000+11200+7677+15340) = 191,037 191,037–[(82,000–(205*84. 66)] = 176. 69 hour By taking the 176. 69 hours times the $800 per hour for commercial sales would = $141,532 in sales needed each month in order for the company to break even. 3. ) Estimate the effect on income of each of the options Rowe has suggested if Bradley estimates as follows: a. Increasing the price to commercial customers to $1,000 per hour would reduce demand by 30%. In March 2003, demand was for 138 hours, and a 30% reduction would put demand at 97 hours (138 hours x . 70 = 96. 6 hours). $5 Variable Op. wages + $25 Fixed Op. Wages = $30 (Power) Demand x Contribution per hour = Contribution 97 hours x ($1,000 $30) = $94,090 Compared to present 138 hours x ($800 $30) = $106,260 The monthly contribution to fixed costs and income at $800 is greater by $12,170 than the contribution expected at $1,000. Therefore, income will be greater if we retain the $800/hour price to commercial customers. b. Reducing the price to commercial customers to $600 per hour would increase demand by 30%. In March 2003, demand was 138 hours for commercial customers, so a 30% increase would put demand at: 179 hours (138 hours x 1. 30 = 179. 4 hours). 179 hours x ($600 $30) = $102,030 Compared to present contribution of $106,260, a price reduction would reduce income by $4,230 per month. c. Increased promotion would increase sales by up to 30%. Bradley is unsure how much promotion this would take. (How much could be spend and still leave Prestige Data Services with no reported loss each month if commercial hours were increased 30%? ) This increase would also move the hours up to 179 hours per month. At $800 per hour, the total contribution would be: 179 hours x ($800 $30) = $137,830 An amount up to the difference between this new contribution and the present contribution of $106,260 or $31,570 could be spent without reducing income. d. Reducing operations to 16 hours on weekdays and eight hours on Saturdays would result in a loss of 20 of commercial revenue hours. Reducing hours would reduce demand for commercial revenue hours by 20%, from 138 hours to 110 hours. At that level, the total contribution would be: 110 hours x ($800 $30) = $84,700 or $21,560 less than current costs. A loss of $21,560 would not offset the savings of variable costs each month. 4.  ) Can you suggest changes in the accounting and reporting system now used for operations of Prestige Data Services which would result in more useful information for Rowe and Bradley? Clearly seen in the case, Prestige Data Services has chosen to use the absorption costing method. The variable costs and the fixed costs are all mixed in through the different categories of costs. When you use absorption costi ng, you do not get the true value of your expenses when it comes to an internal point of view. The operations and power costs need to be set apart from the rest of the costs. As of right now, there is an excess of power and operations costs that are not being used. This excess of expenses takes away from the revenues, but really nothing is being used. The best option for Prestige Data Services is to switch to a simple allocation based costing model. By switching to the ABC method, Prestige Data services will be able to allocate the variable costs accordingly. They will not be reporting costs that are not even being used. The switch will also help set a proper price to clients and to their parent company Prestige Telephone Company. Prestige Telephone Company free essay sample They provide data services, data processing and computer services to commercial companies as well as to Prestige Telephone Company. The data services company was supposed to be profitable by March of 2003. They have been unable to do so. It is up to Mr. Rowe to convince Ms. Bradley to allow Prestige Data Services to stay in business. In order to assist with the preparation of this meeting, we have reviewed several scenarios to decide about the future of the subsidiary. Assessment of Strategies The subsidiary has failed to show a positive net income for the first quarter of 2003. It has also failed to keep the monthly computer usage billed to the telephone company under the promised $82,000 per month. Granted, February did show fewer revenues, however, it is a shorter month and therefore fewer billable hours available. In light of the continued net losses, we feel that the subsidiary is a problem to the telephone company and they will continue to be so unless significant changes are made. We will write a custom essay sample on Prestige Telephone Company or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If we assume that the telephone service demand will continue to average 205 hours per month, the level of commercial sales of computer use necessary to break even each month will need to increase 27. 5 hours to 170 hours per month. This will increase the computer use revenue to $136,000. Assuming everything stayed the same as in March, this would allow them to break-even but not profit. He outlined four possible scenarios that might possibly make the subsidiary an asset to the company. The first scenario was increasing the price to commercial customer from $800 to $1000 per hour. The increased cost would reduce demand by 30%; from 132 average hours to 92. 4 hours per month. The monetary effect this would have would drop revenues to $92,400. This creates an elastic demand of 1. 2, which is unadvisable. Ed = . 3 / . 25 = 1. 2 An elastic demand shows that customers are more willing to leave and take their business elsewhere. Next, he looked at reducing the price to commercial customers from $800 per hour to $600 per hour. This reduction would increase demand by 30%; from 132 average hours per month to 171. 6 hours per month. The increased hours at $800 per month would only bring in $102,960. Even though this creates an inelastic demand (. 05) and increases customers, it is still below the revenue that is currently brought in. Ed = . 3 / -. 25 = . 05 This inelastic demand shows that customers are still willing to stay with the company at this reduced cost and it will attract new customers. Rowe determined that increased promotion would increase sales by up to 30%. We determined that increased sales of 30% would equal revenue of $137,280. The difference between the current revenue of 105,600 and forecasted revenue is $31,680 which, if added to the net loss in March, would give $10,242 net profit that could be spend on promotion and advertising (assuming all things stayed the same). Reducing operations from 24 hours to 16 hours on weekdays would result in a loss of 20% of commercial revenue hours. The current hours of 512 hours reduced by 20% would drop to about 410 hours. If we were to assume that a drop of 20% in hours would also mean a drop in variable costs it would still not be enough of a reduction in expenses to cover their net loss. (See Exhibit 1 for calculations). The changes to the accounting and reporting systems that are now used that we think should be made are accounting for the activities of the subsidiary separate from the parent company. We think that a more accurate picture of the revenues would be shown by showing the fees paid to the parent company as opposed to combining the payments to the parent company within the body of the financial statement. Conclusion After careful consideration of all the data and different scenarios proposed by Mr. Rowe, we have concluded that Prestige Data Services should not remain in business. It is apparent that they are unable to stay within the forecasted budget to charge to Prestige Telephone Company of $82,000. As well, they continue to show a considerable net loss month to month. Each scenario proposed did not show a sustainable formula for ongoing success and profitability.

The Cid

The Cid The Infants of CarriÂÆ' ³n and many other noble of all the kingdoms of Spain arrived at Valencia. The Cid did much honor to them. In individual it distinguished to his futures to sons-in-laws, the Infants. He sent that Pedro Bermudez and Muno Gustioz took care of and took care of the Infants personally.The weddings were celebrated in the great room of the palace. Throughout carpets, silk and purple were seen. The hour arrived and the horsemen of the Cid joined themselves there with great haste. The Infants inclined before the Cid and Do6na Jimena. Pondering the Cid said " Since we must do it, why we are it taking?" It ordered to Alvar Fanez that began the rite and that it gave to its daughters with its own hand. All to the church went later of Santa Maria where Don JerÂÆ' ³nimo, the bishop, gave its blessing.The Cid and his, to celebrate the event, made a great sample of their skill with the arms.Espaà ±ol: El Cid. Franà §ais : El Cid.Matches were made in a near sandy ground and, on the following day before eating, the horsemen broke seven wooden castles in the field.At the end of the fifteen days of celebration, the Cid gave rich gifts to all the present horsemen and these returned to their rich kingdoms and contentments. The Infants of CarriÂÆ' ³n remained to live in Valencia with their women and the Cid.

Alcohol a nectar of the Gods

Alcohol a nectar of the Gods The taste is pure satisfaction. It is advertised everywhere and sooner or later you are bound to try it. Just the smell of it can cause some lucky alcoholics to begin salivating at the mouth. Alcohol can lead to the wonderful world of addiction. If you are one of the selected few, you could become an alcoholic very quickly. Upon becoming an alcoholic, your life is bound to fall into place. Everyday will be packed with free time. Free time to drink all day and do as you please because you have most likely been fired from your job by now. If you are still working, just keep going in half tanked and hung over. The supervisors tend to really love this. Alcoholism can possibly make for tight funds. So drink cheap beer and get some rich, alcoholic friends to support your habit with. If you want to experience something totally euphoric, try driving under the influence. Driving gets much more interesting with blurred vision. If the cops catch you drinking and driving, they will haul you off to jail and lock you up in a cell for the remainder of the night. Its kind of like staying in a hotel if you think about it. If you have a chance to escape the law, put the pedal to the metal because they usually end up confiscating all your stash and a lot of beer money. My only tip is drive after each night out because you know what they say, practice makes perfect. Also, if you are a person who likes to change cars frequently, drinking and driving provides the perfect opportunity, because you bound to hit a telephone pole or two. Being an alcoholic is one sure way to get the women and be proud of yourself. Girls really get into the staggering and bad breath. Girls think it is really great when you need them to lean on, preventing you from falling to the floor. And if a girl smells alcohol on your breath you can bet they will be standing in line to make out with you that night. The glossy, red eyes from being drunk let girls know that you are really into them and think they are the most beautiful thing on the earth. Being drunk often brings words of wisdom and the best out of everyone. It is almost guaranteed that you will wake up in the morning and be so proud and pleased with everything you said and did the night before. Another great thing about drinking is when you fall asleep you will sleep better than when you were a baby. You know you ve reached the ultimate goal of any alcoholic when you like to drink alone just as much as with others. Drinking alone makes you so independent. Drunks set many good examples and hold moralistic values. It could be said that your typical drunk could be any model American. With so many great results from drinking, I can’t understand while anyone would hesitate to start. Drinking stimulates physical implications on the body. Waking up the next morning after a long night of drinking with a hangover is the perfect re ason to start drinking again. That pounding headache and nauseated feeling is enough to drive anyone to tip back a bottle of booze. Without another beer, it could be hours before you walk straight again. Repeated drinking episodes with hangovers will eventually lead to interesting internal defects. Topping the list would have to be dead brain cells, and a liver that refuses to work. You will know you fit into this category when you cant spell your name you are scheduling your dialysis. Alcohols effects over life are constant. From immediate results amplified through hangovers to lifetime disorders, it makes visiting the doctor a guessing game.When you feel your life is coming to end due to the effects of alcohol, do not fret, because you will have known you lived life to its fullest. The biggest legend of all would have to be the man that died of alcohol poisoning when he got up to see who was at his door. It was the Alcohol Anonymous group. He sure showed them. I hope that you now understand all the benefits tha t come from being an alcoholic. Please drink for the well-being of yourself, because beer isnt just for breakfast anymore.

DNA Practical Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DNA Practical - Lab Report Example One purine pair with one Pyrimidine with hydrogen bond to make the double stranded DNA. Adenine (A) pairs with Thymine (T) with double H-bond and Guanine (G) pairs with Cytosine (C) through triple H-bond. Isolation procedure requires disruption of cells so that the cell content comes out, followed by sedimentation of the cellular debris on application of centrifugal force and to collect the DNA from the supernatant. These DNA fragments are separated using gel electrophoresis. The process encompasses separation, based on their size, the pore size of the gel, the voltage gradient applied and the salt concentration of the buffer. Larger pore size is for the separation of fragments larger than 500- 1000 bp and smaller pore of agarose gels are used to resolve fragments smaller than 1000 bps and can be visualized. The technique of electrophoresis is based on the fact that since DNA contains phosphate group, it is negatively charged at the neutral pH. When electric potential is applied, it moves towards the positive terminal. The solidified agarose gel is inserted into the electrophoresis chamber and is just covered with buffer. The DNA sample is mixed with the loading buffer and then pipette in the sample wells. On application of the current DNA migrates towards positive (red colored) electrode. The distance DNA has migrated in the gel can be judged by visually monitoring migration of the tracking dyes. After adequate migration, DNA fragments are visualized by ethidium bromide. This is a fluorescent dye and it intercalates between the bases of DNA and RNA. It is incorporated in the gel so that staining occurs during electrophoresis. Bands appear on the gel and can be visualized. Results: Part 1 A fluffy white layer was formed at the boundary between the green and the purple liquids when the ethanol was added. It was made up of fine filaments. Part 2 After putting the electrical current, strands of the DNA become visible to the naked eye. It becomes like stains, or bands, on the gel. Discussion NaCl removes protein and carbohydrate in DNA and also act as lysing buffer. NaCl contains Na+ which binds with the negatively charged phosphate molecule of the DNA. It also stabilizes the pH and process the density of DNA. Washing liquid reduces the acidity of solution and remove CO2. Detergents remove the interfering cells and are used as a substitute for the chemical compound that is capable of damaging the cell wall and membrane. They act as emulsifying agents and can digest compound that causes stiffness of polymeric cells. Endiamin tetra ethyl acetate (EDTA) serves to remove the Mg+2 ion and proven enzymes which can damage cellular DNA, it protects the DNA from DNAse. It interrupts the interaction of polar cell membrane and unites as detergent. Gel electrophoresis is a powerful tool for the separation of macromolecules with different sizes and charges. DNA molecules have an essentially constant charge per unit mass thus they separate in agarose, based on the size, smaller the size more distance it can travel and larger the size of the DNA less it can travel. Increasing the concentration of a gel reduces the migration speed and enables separation of smaller DNA molecules. The

Reaction response 6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reaction response 6 - Assignment Example Instagram encourages user engagement in the process. Compared with Facebook and twitter, Instagram allows the targeted audience to develop the necessary image because it employs the use of photos. People find reading boring, but the use of photos increase the rate of information transfer by allowing the audience to scheme through the photo provided. In addition, photos can be edited in Instagram thereby improving the quality. It can be used to offer better image of a product or service offered by the company, but target a smaller audience than Facebook. Sharing of photos and information on Facebook is challenging when restriction is required. In fact, Facebook shares the information with all the friends in the list. Instagram allows the user to identify the people to access thus limit access to the picture or information shared. Therefore, when targeting a small audience, Instagram will ensure fast information transfer while allowing the participants to offer their views on the idea presented. In conclusion, Instagram is highly effective when handling a smaller target group and is supported by

Thomas Hobbes’ conception Essay Example for Free

Thomas Hobbes’ conception Essay Thomas Hobbes’ conception of the natural state of man without the presence of a governing institution is primarily asocial; man is in constant war with other individuals, motivated by competition, self-preservation and reputation. These selfish desires remain present in man’s natural state that impedes the creation of a harmonious society. In Hobbes’ political treatise Leviathan, he mentions: â€Å"So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel; first, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory† (Hobbes 84). Every individual is motivated by personal gain without any just cause to give importance with other individuals other than oneself. Man’s natural state is in constant conflict and may be considered primitive since the chaotic context provides no absolute conception of laws or moral codes in which to govern behavior among individuals. From the natural state, man progresses from its primitive consciousness, governed by reason, to aspire for peace. Thus, the creation of society comes from the individual’s initiative to impose a right that would not allow man to do harm upon himself and other people as well. Hobbes’ natural condition of man implies the presence of subjectivity in the midst of its primitive environment wherefore laws and moral codes represent the need for objectivity in order for a governing body to be formed. Indeed, man’s natural state is primitive and asocial; individuals naturally act upon instinct such as self-preservation, personal glory and other tendencies that leads to extreme individualism rather than an objective social reality. Man’s nature is selfish in essence as rational animals; however, reason separates the instinctive consciousness of the individual into forming social systems that naturally perpetuate man’s desire of peace and a harmonious society. Work Cited Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Minneola, N. Y. Dover Publications, 2006.

Essay --

Over the years, scientists have wondered whether the Earth is the only space body that is capable of sustaining life. There is evidence to support both theories, but we still don't know for sure that we are not the only kind of life out there. There are different space bodies that are most important to have life in them; some of these places are Mars, Europa, Titan, Enceladus, and Ganymede and Calysto. One of the main reasons why scientists strongly believe that there is a good chance of life in Mars is because there is sufficient facts to imply that it had running water on its surface millions of years ago. There’s also evidence that ice and water existed on this planet. This evidence supports scientists who believe that life existed at some point on Mars. This data was discovered when the images taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured some characteristics of the planet's surface. Scientists believe it was created by the melting ice. Also in May 2009, images of an unmanned spaceship showed what it seemed to look like drops on the surface that appeared to be built during the time of the mission of the spacecraft on Mars. Another place that has scientists believes life is a moon of Jupiter, Europa. Some o f them believe that there is a giant, active salty ocean beneath its surface. This indicates that there is significant activity underneath that frozen surface. Another sign of life in Europe includes formations that looked like icebergs emerging from its surface, suggesting that oceans once covered the planet before it froze. The third space body where scientists think there is life is on one of Saturn's moons, called Enceladus. There are images taken by the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn, proved that there are ice ... ...anisms found on Earth, there too. While there are many reasons to believethat there islife on other planets, however, there are some reasons that explain how extraterrestrial lifewould not be even possible. One of these arguments holds that extraterrestrial life should be very rare due to the time it takes for life to evolve is much longer than that of the existence of a star. Other reasons are that some planets in our solar system are eitherwaytoo hot orway too cold for life, and in some of them rains different kind chemicals, therefore, is potentially unlikely to life to exist on these space bodies. From my own point of view, I believe that there might be life on other planets. It may or may not be intelligent life, but life nonetheless. With evidence of water ice in the space bodies mentioned above there is a good chance that there could be life in those places.