Hazardous Chemicals (8)

Find the Bugs
// This pseudocode segment is intended to describe
// computing the cost per (for one) day of your rent in a 30-day month
start
   output rent
   costPerDay = rent + 30
   input cost
stop
2 – Write pseudocode to represent the logic of a program that allows the user to enter a value. The program divides the value by 2 and outputs the result.

3 – Write pseudocode to represent the logic of a program that allows the user to enter two values. The program outputs the product of the two values.

The purpose of a corporate annual report is to communicate to stockholders and other interested parties its financial statements. The annual report is a summary of the corporation’s operations over the previous 12 month time period and states the corporation’s plans for the future. Many annual reports are created to resemble a corporate brochure, using lots of pictures, color, charts and graphs. Despite the fancy look, the main purpose of the report is to provide the year’s financial data, which comes from the corporation’s accounting system. 

Instructions:
Obtain a current Annual Report for any U.S. company you are interested in analyzing. You may download it from its Website or from the LRC database called Mergent Online.  Each student must choose a different company to analyze; therefore students must receive approval of your selected company from your professor by Week 2 of the class. 

Write a 2-3 page paper in which you:

• Identify and explain the main sections of the annual report.
• Discuss the key factors that influenced the company’s financial performance during the year.
• Discuss the primary assets held by the company.
• Explain how management characterizes the internal control environment of the company.

Your assignment must:

• Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the tile of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. State the company name and reporting period on which you will be reporting on the cover page, such as “Coca-Cola, Fiscal Year 2010” The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Identify and explain the fundamental concepts and principles in accounting, the components of the accounting equation, the primary financial accounting equation and financial statements and reports.
• Analyze the basic concepts related to accounting information systems.
• Use technology and information resources to research issue in financial accounting.
• Write clearly and concisely about financial accounting using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills.

Read the BUSINESSWEEK CASE: A COMEBACK FOR THE UAW (POSTED BELOW) Answer the three questions at the end of the case in a 2 page paper. Follow the project guidelines below. Project Requirements: 1.Use the Case Study Template. 2.Complete a 2 page paper not including the title page and reference page BUSINESSWEEK CASE A Comeback for the UAW? As strikes go, Chrysler’s wasn’t all that impressive. When Chrysler’s unionized workers nationwide left their assembly line positions in early October 2007 to protest the holdup in securing a new four-year labor contract, the media reported “the second major UAW walkout in a month”—but it seemed more like a long lunch with picketing during dessert. By nightfall the parties had come to an agreement, and the next morning the newspapers chorused such headlines as “It’s a New Day in Detroit” and “Detroit’s 3 Finally on Track.” CHAPTER 14 Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations 429 430 PART 5 Meeting Other HR Goals Really? It seems to me we’ve read those headlines a hundred times in the past 25 years. And each time they’re wrong. Many observers seem to believe that the Big Three’s woes are all tied to union wages and the benefits its bluecollar workforce receives. But those are not their biggest problems. While the new agreements with the UAW could help, cutting labor costs won’t cure what ails Detroit. In fact, just the opposite could happen. General Motors has cried loudest about the “unfair” wage advantage the Japanese automakers enjoy. It has bemoaned what it sees as a $1,500 to $1,900 price disadvantage (owing to active and retiree health care costs) on every product it sells. Detroit spends approximately $78 an hour in blue-collar wages and benefits, while Toyota Motor spends less than $50. But a plant’s productivity may be more important than actual wages paid there. Auto executives know real labor costs aren’t framed just by the per-hour pay but are measured by how many vehicles the fewest workers can build in one shift. And consider Ford’s last minivan attempt. No matter what Ford spent to develop or build a new minivan, it was DOA at Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealerships. When a new vehicle comes to market and fails, the manufacturer loses hundreds of millions—if not billions—no matter what its labor costs are. Much has been made of the fact that Detroit already spent much more than Japanese automakers in the United States for health insurance. Yet GM admitted something important after the union contracts were signed: Fully 56,000 of its remaining 74,500 blue-collar workers will be eligible for retirement by 2011. So the average age of GM’s factory workers will be coming down rapidly in the near future. Theoretically this would lower costs associated with health care per employee. At first glance, this looks to be a huge financial win for General Motors, and in the near term it is. However, it could all too easily bring the United Auto Workers roaring back to life. Here’s how it is likely to backfire. First, retired autoworkers don’t get to vote on new contracts. Second, up to 56,000 of GM’s 74,500 workers might be replaced either by the time of the next union negotiations or by the 2015 negotiations at the latest. Do you think the new and younger workers, paid less and getting fewer benefits, will fight to keep the retirees’ benefits? A younger worker might well feel cheated and resentful. This time around, the UAW could sign up the American workforce of foreign car companies for the same reason. The Detroit News reported that a secret internal Toyota report written by Seiichi Sudo, president of Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing for America, suggests that Toyota needs to get its labor costs down to whatever the prevailing wages are in the region where the factories are located. If Toyota can move more quickly to cut its labor costs because its $25 hourly wage is high compared to GM’s possible $14 in some positions, then GM is putting downward pressure on Japanese wages. So the Japanese could use GM’s lower wages to put downward pressure on some of their employees—and those earning Japanese wages might start to think that union representation isn’t a bad idea. SOURCE : Excerpted from Ed Wallace, “A Comeback for the UAW?” BusinessWeek, November 6, 2007, downloaded from General Reference Center Gold, http://find.galegroup.com . Question 1. Why does this business writer believe union membership might become more attractive to workers at auto companies in the future? Do you agree? Why or why not? 2. Besides compensation costs, what HRM challenges do auto companies face? Which of these challenges involve labor relations? 3. Suppose GM or Toyota (choose one) hired you to advise the company about its strategy for working with or fighting the UAW. What issues would you advise the company to emphasize? What tactics would you recommend?