Jones, CPA, entered into a signed contract with Foster Corp. to perform accounting and review services. If Jones repudiates the contract prior to the date performance is due to begin, which of the following is false? A.
Josh and Mike met each other as roommates during freshmen year at MacAlister College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite a rocky start they became best friends. They are planning on going on a two-week adventure together to celebrate their graduation in June. Josh has never been to Europe and wants to visit France or Spain. Mike spent a semester abroad in Aarhus, Denmark, and traveled extensively in northern Europe. Even though he never went to France or Spain, Mike wants to go to some place more exotic like South Africa or Vietnam. For the past week they have been arguing back and forth over where they should go. Josh argues that it will cost too much to fly to South Africa or Vietnam, while Mike counters that it will be much cheaper to travel in Vietnam or South Africa once they are there. Each of them agreed that they can spend no more than $3,500 each on the trip and could be gone for only two weeks. One evening when they were arguing with each other over beers with friends, Sara said, “Why don’t you use what you learned in your project management class to decide what to do?” Josh and Mike looked at each other and agreed that made perfect sense.
1. Assume you are either Mike or Josh, how would you go about making a decision using project management methodology?
2. Looking first at only cost, what decision would you make?
3. After cost, what other factors should be considered before making a decision?
Josey has the opportunity to purchase a unit in the Highlife Condos. Highlife Condos is a 10 floor, 3 unit condo project. The Unit Josey would like to purchase is Unit 2 which is comprised of the 3rd floor of Highlife and according to the relevant condo documents, office space. Unit 2 was previously owned by Gremlin, Inc., whose offices occupied the entire 3rd floor. Josey would like to acquire Unit 2 for the purposes of dividing Unit 2 into individual offices which would then be sold as separate office units. Josey has retained your firm to advise her on this project. Your supervising attorney has asked you to provide your opinion on whether Josey can accomplish her objectives. If so, describe what additional information, if any, you would need to know about Highlife and Josey’s best path to bring her project to fruition. Assume that there are no restrictions in the jurisdiction.
Joseph McCarthy’s investigative tactics found support among many Americans because
(A) evidence substantiated his charges against the army
(B) there was widespread fear of communist infiltration of the United States
(C) both Truman and Eisenhower supported him
(D) he worked closely with the FBI
(E) he correctly identified numerous communists working in the State Department
Joseph Galson has reached his 70th birthday and is set to retire. He has saved his money and owns his home with zero mortgage. He does not want to move. He plans to eventually bequeath the house and any remaining assets to his daughter.
He has accumulated an investment portfolio of $180,000, which is currently yielding 9% interest — $16,200 per year or $1,350 per month. He plans to draw down on this portfolio to pay for retirement expenses.
He also has $12,000 in a savings account, which is currently paying 5% interest. He wants to keep the principal of the savings account unchanged.
Mr Galston is entitled to receive $750 per month in Social Security for the rest of his life. These payments automatically increase in proportion to changes in the Consumer Price Index.
Mr Galston’s basic living expenses currently average $1,500 per month. When he retires, he plans to spend an additional $500 per month on travel and other pleasures.
Mr. Galson is concerned about inflation. The annual inflation rate has been below 3%, but he is concerned that inflation could rise after he retires.
Please advice Mr Galston in following:
Can he safely spend all the interest from his investment portfolio of $180,000? How much can he withdraw every year-end from that portfolio and still keep its real value intact?
Now, suppose Mr Galston can expect to live 20 years and is willing to draw down his investment portfolio to zero by the time he dies. He also wants his monthly spending to increase along with inflation. In other words, he wants his monthly spending in real (inflation-adjusted) terms to stay constant. Assume that the investment portfolio continues to yield 9% and the savings account 5%, and that inflation will be 4%. (Note that he wants to keep the principal of the savings account unchanged.)
Joseph Freberg had been with Alcon for 18 months. He had begun his career right out of college with a firm in the Southeast called Cala Industrial, which specialized in air compressors. Because of his work with Cala, he had been lured away to Alcon, in Omaha, as a sales manager. Joseph’s first six months had been hard. Working with salespeople older than he, trying to get a handle on his people’s sales territories, and settling into the corporate culture of a new firm took 16-hour days, six days a week. During those six months, he also bought a house, and his fiance’, Ellen, furnished it. Ellen had stepped right in and decided almost everything, from the color of the rugs to the style of the curtains.
Ellen had taken a brokerage job with Trout Brothers and seemed to be working even more hours than Joseph. But the long days were paying off. Ellen was now starting to handle some large accounts and was being noticed by the “right” crowd in the wealthier Omaha areas.
Costs for the new home had exceeded their anticipated spending limit, and the plans for their wedding seemed to be getting larger and larger. In addition, Ellen was commuting from her apartment to the new home and then to her job, and the commute killed her car. As a result, she decided to lease something that exuded success.
“Ellen, don’t you think a Mercedes is a little out of our price range? What are the payments?” inquired Joseph.
“Don’t worry, Darling. When my clients see me in this–as well as when we start entertaining at the new house once we’re married–the payments on the car will seem small compared with the money I’ll be making,” Ellen mused as she ran her fingers through Joseph’s hair and gave him a peck on the cheek.
By the time of the wedding and honeymoon, Joseph and Ellen’s bank statement looked like a bullfighter’s cape–red. “Don’t worry, Joseph, everything will turn out okay. You’ve got a good job. I’ve got a good job. We’re young and have drive. Things will straighten out after a while,” said Ellen as she eyed a Rolex in a store window.
After the wedding, things did settle down–to a hectic pace, given their two careers and their two sets of parents 2,000 miles in either direction. Joseph had realized that Alcon was a paternal type of organization, with good benefits and tremendous growth potential. He had identified whom to be friends with and whom to stay away from in the company. His salespeople seemed to tolerate him, sometimes calling him “Little Joe” or “Joey” because of his age, and his salespeople were producing–slowly climbing up the sales ladder to the number one spot in the company.
While doing some regular checkup work on sales personnel, Joseph found out that Carl had been giving kickbacks to some of his buyers. Carl’s sales volume accounted for a substantial amount of the company’s existing clientele sales, and he had been a trainer for the company for several years. Carl also happened to be the vice president’s son-in-law. Joseph started to check on the other reps more closely and discovered that, although Carl seemed to be the biggest offender, three of his ten people were doing the same thing. The next day, Joseph looked up Alcon’s policy handbook and found this statement: “Our company stands for doing the right thing at all times and giving our customers the best product for the best prices.” There was no specific mention of kickbacks, but everyone knew that kickbacks ultimately reduce fair competition, which eventually leads to reduced quality and increased prices for customers.
By talking to a few of the old-timers at Alcon, Joseph learned that there had been sporadic enforcement of the “no kickback” policy. It seemed that when times were good it became unacceptable and when times were bad it slipped into the acceptable range. And then there was his boss, Kathryn, the vice president. Joseph knew that Kathryn had a tendency to shoot the bearer of bad news. He remembered a story that he had heard about a sales manager coming in to see Kathryn to explain an error in a bid that one of his salespeople had made. Kathryn called in the entire sales staff and fired the salesman on the spot. Then, smiling, she told the sales manager, “This was your second mistake, so I hope that you can get a good recommendation from personnel. You have two weeks to find employment elsewhere.” From then on, the office staff had a nickname for Kathryn–Jaws.
Trying to solve the problem that he was facing, Joseph broached the subject of kickbacks at his monthly meeting with Carl. Carl responded, “You’ve been in this business long enough to know that this happens all the time. I see nothing wrong with this practice if it increases sales. Besides, I take the money out of my commission. You know that right now I’m trying to pay off some big medical bills. I’ve also gotten tacit clearance from above, but I wouldn’t mention that if I were you.” Joseph knew that the chain-of-command structure in the company made it very dangerous to go directly to a vice president with this type of information.
As Joseph was pondering whether to do nothing, bring the matter into the open and state that it was wrong and that such practices were against policy, or talk to Kathryn about the situation, his cell phone rang. It was Ellen. “Honey, guess what just happened. Kathryn, your boss, has decided to use me as her new broker. Isn’t that fantastic!”
(Source: Business Ethics by Ferrell, Fraedrich, and Ferrell; 7th ed)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2014/01/16/making-people-behave-more-ethically-an-mbas-view/
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v10n2/peopleatwork.html
Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS Business EthicsName:Institution:Tutor:Date: As a sales manager, Joseph should be able to handle his sales team and make the best outof them, however, he seems to…
Name:
JOSEPH E. DWORAK
BUS 80
SPRING 2019
Student ID:
SECOND MID TERM EXAMINATION
Instructions
This examination is a fillin examination. You are required to read the Factual Pattern. After you read the Factual Pattern, proceed to the second section of the Examination. The second section of the Examination contains a report. You will note that there are numbers throughout the report. A word or phrase has to be associated with each number to make the sentence substantively or meaningfully correct. Utilizing the words listed on the Answer Sheet at the end of the Examination, choose the word or phrase that best fits. Write the number next to the corresponding word or phrase on the list at the end of the Examination. YOU MUST PRINT THE ANSWERS CLEARLY. THE BLANKS CORRESPOND TO THE NUMBER IN THE NARRATIVE.
Factual Pattern
You are the Vice President of Risk Management at Donald Development (“DD”). Each quarter you are required to report on claims made against DD, and provide your analysis for DD’s Chief Executive Officer. The CEO has asked you to render a report because you are the only one in the company who has taken a business law course. The CEO wants your assessment and recommendations about issues he needs to be aware of before doing anything further.
REPORT
This Report addresses the legal issues and claims against DD for the first quarter ending March 31, 2019. In this report I will address the claims made. On most of the claims we are covered by insurance. The policy is generally referred to as a (1) policy. I will address the procedures we need to follow to preserve the (2) of these claims by our insurance company. There are other claims which dealt with areas which DD decided not buy insurance to cover and for these claims DD will be (3).
The protection of coverage DD has is determined by the (4) which is a dollar amount. If a claim exceeds this dollar amount the (5) will be the responsibility of DD subject to caveats discussed below. I have looked at some of the claims made, and in a couple of the lawsuits multiple theories of recovery are included. In other words, in one case the plaintiff has sued DD for the unintentional tort of (6), which is a (7), but has also included an intentional tort claim. The later claim typically is not covered by our insurance because of the (8) of not wanting to directly or indirectly encourage the commission of intentional wrongful act.
I will quickly review what we should expect once we present or (9) to our insurance company a lawsuit which has both covered and uncovered claims or legal theories of recovery which in California are referred to as (10). One presented the insurance company will review the policy and first examine the (11) of the policy to determine the scope of coverage. However, that provision is not dispositive and the section of the policy which outlines (12) will also be reviewed. Those sections need to be reviewed in conjunction with each other to determine if (13) will be extended. Sometimes the insurance company is not prepared to make a definitive statement on whether the protection DD paid for by making its annual (14) will be granted. It is unlikely that coverage will be denied simply because the insurance company is uncertain of coverage because typically insurance companies do not want to be sued for (15). Denial of claims can render the insurance company liable to its insured which in our case is DD not only for damages to make the insured whole or (16), but also for additional damages to deter such conduct which damages are typically called (17) damages.
Therefore, rather the receiving a denial of coverage, DD should expect to receive a (18). The significance of this missive is that the insurance company is not prepared to extend full coverage and is not yet prepared to recognize its (19), but will recognize its (20). If this happens then the insurance company will find DD a lawyer who typically is referred to as (21), and will be paid by the insurance company in an amount generally referred to as (22). The insurance company will handle the litigation, but we should monitor what is occurring because the claim may or may not be covered. The interest of DD is to have the claim covered. However, it is in the insurance company’s pecuniary interest not to have the claim covered. Although the lawyer hired for DD by the insurance company has a (23) to DD, sometimes the lawyer may have a conflict and DD may become concerned that DD’s interests are not being protected. If this occurs, DD should be prepared to make an application to the California court where the action is pending for the appointment of (24).
Now that I have covered insurance issue I will address each of the claims. The first claim deals with a hotel DD built in San Francisco which needed to be demolished. The industry standard is to locate explosive in the abandoned building and ignite them in a predetermined sequence. The result is that the building falls onto itself or “pancakes,” and the ruble is then removed. DD has done this many times before and has always followed industry standard. Unfortunately, after the explosives where ignited the building fell to the side causing considerable property damage and personal injury. DD did everything possible and all the experts and governmental regulators can find no fault with what DD did. Since we followed the requisite standard of care, I thought that no (25) claim could be successfully be brought, and I still believe that to be true. However, that unintentional tort is not the standard which will be applied. Instead the claim will be under the theory of (26) because DD was completing an (27) activity.
The next claim deals with our construction development site of our new commercial project in San Diego. A pit was dug and rebar installed to allow for the pouring of a concrete foundation. Typically, the pit is fenced off, but the night before the pour the construction supervisor followed the practice of not reinstalling the fence to save time in pouring the concrete. If the fence had to be taken down the morning of the pour sometimes the concrete will dry in the concrete trucks while the trucks wait. Unfortunately, several intruders entered the construction site during the night to steal copper for DD’s storage. One of the persons fell into the pit and was impaled on the steel rods or rebar. The question raised is whether DD has liability to this person. Looking at the issue from a negligence perspective the question is whether we can defend the case because the injured person was a criminal (28). In many jurisdictions a person who has been injured on another’s real property and brings a personal injury claim typically referred to as a (29) claim has to establish their lawful presence on the property either as one who has a contractual right to be there as a (30) or one who is legally on the property without a contractual right and is considered to be an (31). However, California does follow this approach and the (32) of the injured person is not determinative. Rather, the courts examine the reasonableness of our conduct and the condition of the property. If the property is found to have an (33) dangerous condition then DD will be liable to the injured person even though at the time of the injury they had no legal right to be on the property.
No doubt you will want to know what formula or written guidelines we can provide to the employees of DD regarding how to protect against liability for negligence. Unfortunately, there is no “magic” procedure, but we can insist that DD’s employees be vigilant and diligent, and constantly assess risk. The assessment they should always be aware of is the (34) that any condition may cause an injury and the (35) if the injury occurs. If both of these factors are at a high level, then the preventative actions DD must follow are greater. However, DD can take solace in knowing that even in California, DD is not the (36) of anyone’s safety. Rather DD’s liability for a negligence claim requires the plaintiff to show that DD (37) to that person because it was (38) that DD’s conduct would impact that person, and that DD (39) which as a proximate result (40) damages in the nature of (41). Unlike a claim for intentional tort, if as a result of DD’s negligence the only injury is for (42) no recovery will be allowed.
Even though DD can be sued by the criminal because the injury occurred on DD’s property, it does not mean that DD will necessarily be liable. DD might be able to assert defenses. If it can be shown that the plaintiff knew of the risk posed by the open foundation pit, and nevertheless decided to climb through it DD can assert the defense of (43). This defense differs for another common defense of (44) which requires DD to establish that the injury suffered by the plaintiff was, in part, caused by plaintiff’s failure to exercise due care. If this later defense is applicable, it will not be a complete defense because California adopts a standard of (45).
The most unusual case we have is the one involving our Sacramento hotel. A person entered the hotel and for reasons not one can detect including all experts and governmental official the chandelier simply fell from the ceiling. Since no one knows why, and I thought that DD could escape liability because one of the elements necessary for a negligence claim is absent. Simply put, DD did nothing wrong. The chandelier was properly installed at the time, and was not meant to be touched, and was not touched. However, although the plaintiff would have an impossible task in establishing any breach of due care on the part of DD, the plaintiff does not have to under the doctrine of (46). Since this happened and could happen again, DD should be more vigilant in doing inspections. In particular, DD should confirm it is in compliance with all local and state ordinances and statutes which are for public safety. The reason DD should is because if an injury occurs as a result of failing to comply with these statutes or ordinances DD may have liability under the doctrine of (47) even if DD has otherwise acted reasonably.
The last claim deals with alcohol. We have two claims. One of these involves a patron of one of DD’s restaurants. An adult who was obviously intoxicated was served by our bartender. She then left, and tried to drive home. She did not make it. She hit a telephone pole and a pedestrian who was seriously injured. The driver has no substantial assets, and the injured party is suing DD claiming that DD as the server of alcohol has liability to the injured person. This civil liability is referred to as (48) liability in California, and differs from (49) administrative law liability DD may have to California’s Alcohol Beverage and Control Board (“ABC”), or possible criminal liability.
Absent other factors which may be present which I will discuss below, DD’s civil liability is limited to the injuries caused by DD’s sale of alcohol to an (50). If the facts show that the person who caused the injury was an employee who was (51) then DD would have liability. Also, if the drunk driver was a regular, and DD’s bartender would normally call her an UBER ride, but did not get around to it this time then DD would have liability not because DD served her alcohol but because a (52) was created. However, I have learned that a friend of the drunk driver took the drunk driver’s car keys, and gave them to our bartender who gave them back to the driver after the driver had been drinking. If this did occur then DD may have legal liability to the injured person because a (53) can be shown unless we can prove DD’s bartender acted reasonably when returning the keys.
The other claim deals with an office party attended by both employees and quests of DD’s employees. DD was not selling alcohol, but was providing it as a (54). One of the guests drank too much and hit another guest. The injured guest is suing DD. Both the victim and perpetrator are adults. Normally, under California’s statute we would have no liability. However, it seems that we hired bouncer to protect those attending the party, and for whatever reason he was not doing his job. Hence, it is likely that DD will have liability not as a (55), but as (56). In all alcohol related cases which go to trial DD should be concerned about the jury’s award of (57). To protect DD our lawyer should do the best she can in screening potential jurors during (58). If DD loses at trial an the claim is not covered by insurance, and a judgment is entered against DD, DD’s property which is not exempt is subject to be seized by an duly issued and served (59).
ANSWER SHEET
BUS 80, SPRING 2019, FIRST MIDTERM
Answers:
Action w/in the course and scope of her employment
Administrative law
Assumption of the risk
Breach of that duty
Cause of action
Caused
Comparative negligence
Compensatory damages
Contributory negligence
Coverage
Coverage
Covered claim
Cumis counsel
Dram shop
Duty to defend
Duty to indemnify
Emotional distress
Excess above the limits
Exclusions
Fiduciary duty
First party bad faith
Foreseeable
Insurance defense counsel
Insurer
Insuring clause
Invitee
Landowner
Liability
Licensee
Magnitude
Negligence
Negligence
Negligence per se
Obviously intoxicated minor
Owed a duty of care
Panel rates
Personal injury or property damage
Policy Limits
Premises liability
Premium payment
Probability that a condition
Public Policy
Punitive
Res ipsa loquitor
Reservation of rights
Self-Insured
Server
Social host
Special relationship
Status
Strict liability
Tender
Trespasser
Ultra- hazardous
Unreasonably
verdict
voir dire
writs of execution
Jose Sanchez owns and operates Western Gear, a small merchandiser in outdoor recreational equipment. You are hired to review the three most recent years of operations for Western Gear. Your financial statement analysis reveals the following results: 2006 2005 2004 Sales index- number trend . . . . . . . . . . . 137.0 125.0 100.0 Selling expenses to net sales . . . . . . . . 9.8% 13.7% 15.3% Sales to plant assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 to 1 3.3 to 1 3.0 to 1 Current ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6 to 1 2.4 to 1 2.1 to 1 Acid- test ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.8 to 1 1.1 to 1 1.2 to 1 Merchandise inventory turnover . . . . . . 7.5 times 8.7 times 9.9 times Accounts receivable turnover . . . . . . . . 6.7 times 7.4 times 8.2 times Total asset turnover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6 times 2.6 times 3.0 times Return on total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8% 9.4% 10.1% Return on owner’s equity . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.75% 11.50% 12.25% Net profit margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3% 3.5% 3.7% Required: Use these data to answer each of the following questions with explanations: a. Is it becoming easier for the company to meet its current debts on time and to take advantage of cash discounts? b. Is the company collecting its accounts receivable more rapidly over time? c. Is the company’s investment in accounts receivable decreasing? d. Are dollars invested in inventory increasing? e. Is the company’s investment in plant assets increasing? f. Is the owner’s investment becoming more profitable? g. Is the company using its assets efficiently? h. Did the dollar amount of selling expenses decrease during the three- year period?
Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant Case Study
In your Operations Management: Processes and Supply Chains text, read the “Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant” case study on page 94. Then respond to the case study’s questions 1 and 2 as your initial post for this discussion.
1. How should process outcomes and quality be defined at this restaurant?
2. What are the restaurant’s costs of process failures?
Response Guidelines
Please respond to at least two learners. Your responses should be substantive and do at least one of the following:
Jose purchase a house for $300,000 in 2011. he used the house as his personal residence. In march 2014, when the fair market value of the house was $400,000, he converted the house to rental property. What is Jose’s cost recovery for 2014
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