...What is budget variance analysis? What is a flexible budget? A variance (difference between actual and forecast figures) is a signal to management that revenues or spending did not go according to plan. If the variance represents overspending, moreover, it is an indicator that there may be problems paying future expenses. Variance analysis attempts to find the reasons that actual figures were over or under forecast so that either Corrective action can be taken to reduce variances in the future, (an exercise in static budgeting) or Figures for future spending can be adjusted as necessary (the practice of flexible budgeting). Confusion sometimes arises in variance analysis because two different conventions for calculations commonly used. Convention 1: Incoming revenue variance = Actual – Forecast Expense spending variance = Actual – Forecast This convention is used in this encyclopedia and in many organizations. Under this approach, a positive variance always means the actual result was greater than the budgeted amount. Convention 2: Some organizations (such as the Project Management Institute), however, recommend using the above convention for revenue, but reversing the order for expense items: Incoming revenue variance = Actual – Forecast Expense spending variance = Forecast – Actual Under this convention, positive variances are always "good things" (more revenue or less spending than expected), and negative variances are always "bad things...
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...RTT1 Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership Task 1 WGU ALLEN SMITH A. Understanding Nursing Sensitive Indicators Nursing sensitive indicators include the configuration, process and outcomes of nursing care. The configuration of nursing care concludes the nursing staff, their nursing skills, and the level of education that each nurse holds. The process of nursing care concludes the nursing assessments, intervention and implimentation. The outcome of nursing care either positive or negative depends on the quantity and quality of the care provided to the patients by the nursing staff ("Nursing world," 2013) Each nurse should hold proper information and knowledge of nursing care such as knowledge of pressure ulcers. In this scenario every nursing personnel should provide the ultimate nursing care in dealing with pressure ulcers. In order to prevent any pressure ulcer each nursing personnel should be aware of the pressure ulcer concept, their prevention and the correct technique of reducing any other complication related to pressure ulcers. In this case the nurse and the CNA should use their knowledge of preventing any pressure ulcer. The first action is to assess completely the patient for any sign of pressure ulcer such as any erythema or bruising. It is essential that the nursing staff know to reposition the patient and reasses the out of sight sites parts of the body for any sign and symptoms of...
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...EGT 1 Task 2 A. Define the following three terms: 1. Elasticity of demand The responsiveness or sensitivity of consumers to changes in pricing of products is measured with elasticity of demand. The more reactive consumers are to a price change, the more elastic or simply elastic a product is considered. The less reactive consumers are the less elastic or inelastic the product is (McConnnell,Brue 2011). 2. Cross-price elasticity (include substitutes and complements) The change in demand in one product caused by a price change in another good is called cross price elasticity. The change in the price of one product or goods that causes a change in the demand for another product is measured on the x axis of the demand curve with the cross price elasticity (McConnnell,Brue 2011). Goods can be complimentary; such as a dvd movie (complementary good) that must be viewed with a dvd player (base good) or substitute; such as one brand of soup for another. When goods are complementary that means they work together, so the relationship in their use reflects in the elasticity of price in relation to each other by moving in opposite directions. When goods work in conjunction with each other, cross price elasticity is negative- meaning an increase in the price of one product causes the demand for the other to decrease and a decrease in the price of one causes demand for the other to increase. For example if the price of dvd players decreases the demand increases and the price...
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...NVT2 Task 2 Daniel Kramer Student ID: 000257902 Western Governors University NVT2 September 24, 2012 First Interview Western Governors University Nursing Program Interview Form This interview is to be conducted in person or over the phone. Persons being interviewed are not expected to respond in writing. Candidate name: Daniel S Kramer Candidate ID number: Student ID: 000257902 Name and title of the interviewee: Kimberly J Stults RN, MSN Describe the specialty area of the interviewee: Director of Education and Health Information Technology The interviewee belongs to the following category: Educator Educator Administrator Clinical Specialist Staff Nurse Nurse Researcher Date of interview: September 13, 2012 In person: X Via phone: 1. How would you describe your role in your current position and your educational preparation for this role? I am responsible for the initial creation, continuous education, and competency for whole house. I have my MSN in Nursing Education. This has prepared me and shown me the need for education services and the need to maintain competency for the staff. Provides the necessary tools to deliver current and competent care to our patients. My education has shown not only the need for education, but has provided insight into how to provide the educational programs/training to the staff. 2. How would you explain...
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...JFT2 Task 2 A1) Financial strengths and weaknesses of the symphony Financial weaknesses of the symphony are cash flow due to low fund raising, and high expenses resulting from artist compensation. Financial strengths of the symphony consist of high ticket sales and a large amount of concerts performed during the year resulting in high gross revenue. Leadership strengths of the symphony would be in part to Keith Lockhart's report with the musicians, and his artistic vision. Leadership weaknesses of the symphony would entail the vacant CEO position and the changing of the chairman of the board during the merge. A1a) Key steps Anne should address financial weaknesses of the symphony by implementing higher fund raising goals and by meeting with the musicians to renegotiate contract for compensation to lower expenses. Anne should address the leadership weaknesses of the symphony by empowering Keith Lockhart to have additional decision making authority over the symphony. A2) Financial strengths of the opera are positive cash flow, cash reserves and assets as well as fund raising. Financial weaknesses of the opera would include net loss on rental income and expense, and slipping ticket revenue. Leadership strengths of the opera would include Anne's leadership, experience, and management practices. Leadership weaknesses of the opera would include the resignation of Leslie Peterson, the daughter of the founder. A2a) Anne can address the financial...
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...WGU EST1 Task 2 Company X Ethics Program Standards and Procedures: Company X expects all employees to conduct themselves with integrity, professional and responsible actions at all times. An employee’s actions in both personal life and professional life should avoid any situations that (A) could be construed as harmful to the company or its employees or (B) cause negative public reactions that could impact Company X customers or customer relations in adverse ways. You are a Company X representative during work hours and during off work hours. Violations of Company X rules of acceptable behavior will be viewed as misconduct, which upon review can constitute immediate suspension. Pending further review and investigation some violations may result in termination. The following section is not an all- inclusive list of violations but a snapshot of some that could result in immediate termination. * Falsification of Company documents and or records such as, but not limited to, time cards, company financial reports and travel expenses for reimbursement. * Failure to report an accident involving a company issued vehicle. * Insubordination or refusal to follow instructions or carry out work task without proper justification. * Misuse of company resources such as but not limited to, the internet, computer and phone usage. Ethics Training Common Ethical Values: The following will provide employees and potential employees with a clear understanding of what...
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...Situation A Concerning the inquiry regarding Employee A’s qualification to obtain wages while on leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 are succinctly clarified in the below paragraphs. Employee A requested time off due to the unexpected early delivery of his twins. Due to the unexpected circumstance Employee A was awarded leave of his job in order to assist his wife with the care of the newborns. Under the FMLA act an Employee is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave while the company holds the position for the return of the employee (see below). Justification of Situation A “The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides an entitlement of up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period to eligible, covered employees for the following reasons: 1) birth and care of the eligible employee's child, or placement for adoption or foster care of a child with the employee; 2) care of an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent) who has a serious health condition; or 3) care of the employee's own serious health condition. It also requires that employee's group health benefits be maintained during the leave. The FMLA is administered by the Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division within the U.S. Department of Labor.” (http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-fmla.htm) Employee A did return to work after 11 weeks of approved FMLA which is within the time frame of acceptance and according to the family medical leave...
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...ENTERPRISE CONTINUITY PLANNING Responding to Attacks and Special Circumstances Continued Assessments During a Disaster By Charles Paddock FXT2 – Task 2 November 5th, 2012 A. Perform a post event evaluation of how the organization’s IT staff responded to the attack described in the scenario by doing the following: 1. Describe the nature of the incident. The nature of the incident was that an internal employee successfully hacked into the human resources, payroll and electronic mail systems. The employee was then able to manipulate payroll data, intercept emails and impersonate staff through electronic means. There were a number of techniques used in this attack such as network eavesdropping, IP spoofing, social engineering, man in the middle, and escalation of access privileges. All of these types of attacks are consistent with an experienced hacker who knew what he was after. The incident was only discover because of an auditor reviewing the records and noticed the changes. When the auditor notified management of the discrepancies via email his emails were intercepted and the hacker negotiated higher access privileges by posing as management and IT Staff. 2. Identify who needs to be notified based on the type and severity of the incident. The first call should be to the Security and IT teams to secretly verify the attack and prevent further escalation. In the case where you believe we have been hacked and you do not know the extent of the...
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...I. Introduction: a. Audience hook: Large portions of the population are affected by mood disorders. These mood disorders seem to be directly related to significant disruptions of both the circadian rhythm and the sleep/wake cycle (McClung, 2012). b. Thesis Statement: Research suggests the circadian rhythm is influenced by sunlight and regulates our mood. c. Preview of Main points: i. The circadian rhythm ii. The correlation between sunlight and mood swings. II. The location and function of the circadian rhythm. (See visual aids attached) a. The circadian rhythm is the name of the internal body clock of living organisms. i. The internal body clock helps the body to adapt to the daily cycle of day and night. ii. The daily cycles involve “clock gens” which control the cycles in rhythmic waves. iii. Location of the master circadian is in the hypothalamus iv. Light is transmitted to the master circadian through the retina of the eye. v. The registration of light isn’t through conscious vision, but through rods and cones in the retina (Borvin, 2013) III. The correlation between (sun) light and mood swings. a. The hormone melatonin is used as the circadian marker. It is produced during the night and under absolute condition of darkness b. Inadequate light will disrupt the circadian rhythm and cause change in the release of hormone controlling brain activity. c. Change in melatonin release can cause sleep deprivation. Lack...
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...Security Awareness Policy (statement 1) The Information Security (IS) team is responsible for promoting ongoing security awareness to all information system users. A Security Awareness program must exist to establish formal methods by which secure practices are communicated throughout the corporation. Security guidance must exist in the form of formal written policies and procedures that define the principles of secure information system use and the responsibility of users to follow them. Security awareness articles, posters, and bulletins should be periodically created and distributed throughout the corporation to educate employees about new and existing threats to security and how to cope with them. All employees are responsible for promptly reporting to their management and Information Systems (IS) management any suspected insecure conditions or security violations they encounter. All employees must be made aware of their security responsibilities on their first day of employment as part of the newhire orientation program. All employees must comply with IS security policies by signing a compliance agreement that is retained in their personnel file. IS Security policies and procedures must remain current and readily available (e.g., via the intranet site) for Information System users to review and understand them. Information Systems (IS) management must ensure that the terms and conditions of authorized system access are clearly communi...
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...Supply and Demand The laws of supply and demand will be used to show relationships between supply and demand in given situations. A discussion will be given on elasticity of demand, cross price elasticity, and income elasticity. Followed by an example to discuss why demand tends to be relatively elastic where available substitutes exist. Then the “Proportion of Income Devoted to a Good” concept will be discussed by contrasting two products purchased. It will be addressed how the same percentage change in price affects the percentage change in the quantity demanded. Next, the “Consumer’s Time Horizon” concept will be utilized in contrasting a person’s response to large price increase in the short run and the long run. The graphs will be used to identify price range areas on the demand curve where demand is elastic, inelastic, and unit. Finally, the corresponding impact on total revenue for each of the three price ranges will be explained. Elasticity of demand shows responsiveness of change in price for quantity demanded. Elasticity of demand can be characterized as elastic, unitary or inelastic. Elasticity of demand is said to be elastic when change in quantity demanded do to price change is large. Conversely, when the rate of quantity demanded is small compared to price change it is termed inelastic. Refer to elasticity of demand as unitary when price change and quantity demanded move at an equal rate. The two will move together at a ratio of one. Cross price...
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...Situation A – Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 The Family Medical Leave Act, FMLA, requires that a covered employer must provide a qualified employee with twelve weeks of unpaid leave in any twelve-month period to care for oneself or a family member with a serious health condition. The FMLA requires twenty six weeks in any twelve month period for the care of a member of the armed forces. Within this act are a number of conditions and exceptions. A serious health condition that is covered by this act includes pregnancy, prenatal complications, birth of a child, adoption of a child, or fostering a child. The health conditions also include chronic condition, long-term conditions, hospitalization, and ongoing treatment conditions (FMLA). An employee may choose and an employer may require an employee to use any unused sick/medical leave, personal leave, family leave, and vacation for all of the twelve weeks or for however much time employee has in unused leave. The paid sick/medical leave can only be used if such conditions for would otherwise be accepted by the employer as provided in the employer’s handbook. The twelve weeks can be taken continuously, intermittently, or as reduced work schedule. An employer must continue to provide health insurance benefits during the twelve weeks as it would if employee was actively working. Upon returning to work the employer shall provide the employee with the same position or an equivalent position with equivalent pay as the employee...
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...Discuss budgetary items that raise concern in the budget planning A master budget is the central planning tool for a company; it should include the following areas: * Direct Labor Budget * Direct/Raw Materials Budget * Finished Goods Budget * Manufacturing Overhead Budget * Production Budget * Sales Budget * Selling and Administrative Expense Budget Competition Bikes’ budget is subdivided into smaller budgets. The objective of the master budget is to provide a forecast based on sales projections for the next budget period (quarter, semester or a year). The master budget should meet the company goals. After analyzing the master budget for Competition Bikes we found a few areas of concern: The first one was a disregard of previous years’ trends. When year eight was analyzed we discovered changes in the economy which negatively impacted the company because of a decrease in sponsorships affecting the company’s sales. Competition Bikes should have taken a more conservative approach and set the budget at the same level of sales of year eight or have a more conservative increase on sales projections at no more than 1.5%, to reduce the risk of creating over sales and as a consequence to trigger a ripple effect of over-budgeting the operational and production budgets. Another area of concern is that utilities expenses were double recorded, once under “utilities” and another under “utilities and services”. In the same area of utilities we identified...
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...EST1 Task 2: Ethical Situations in Business CODE OF ETHICS FOR COMPANY X Introduction The Code Of Ethics is a guide to be distributed to all of it's board members, management, employees, and suppliers when acting on behalf of Company X. The code contains standards of ethical conduct that all board members, management, employees, and suppliers must acknowledge and adhere to. The purpose is to provide a guideline for all employees of Company X to conduct themselves in a professional, honest, and respectful manner. Section I: Standards and Procedures A. Code of Ethics: Ethical conduct is of the highest priority and is an ongoing commitment to our employees and to our clients. Company X expects all of it's employees to treat each other with the respect, dignity, and moral aptitude which contributes to our ongoing business success. If any employee feels threatened, harassed or discriminated against they should report the incident immediately to their supervisor or to the human resource dept. The board members, management, employees, and suppliers should: 1. The U.S. Government and it's Agencies Comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding formal or informal investigations. Failure to cooperate with authorities may be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal. 2. Gifts, Loans, and Services Not accept cash, gifts, payments, loans, or anything of value that might imply a current or...
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...RJET2 Task 2 Budgeting for any company can be a challenge especially when the economy does not change in the companies favor. For Competition Bikes, Inc. (CB) budgeting is an area that is both of great need and seriously lacking. The company is setting high goals to make up for the 15% loss of revenue from year 8 over the next three years. What the company needs to look at is whether or not their goals versus reality are a possibility and not make their budget too high or too low. Budgeting is a science and yet a gamble all at the same time. If the company has a strong budget that is flexible and realistic the company can expect to see great success in the future. A1: Concerns CB currently is setting a goal of selling 3510 bikes in year 9. During year 8 the company only sold 3400, year 7 was 4000, and year 6 was 3000. By establishing a goal for units sold the company is able to make a budget based on those numbers. The first concern with the budget is the goal of increasing sales by 110 bikes during year 9. While the company may be trying to push its sales to make up for the previous years deficits, they also need to look at what is still happening with the economy. Typically it takes more than a year for the economy to turn around and such a high goal, if not met, could ruin the budget for a second year in a row. CB needs to make a high goal to push its sales personnel to sell more, however with the economy still being down, the goal needs to be more realistic, as meeting...
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