Reading (Required)

• http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/statements/

• The Power Point (Financial Statements R-2.ppt) It is below

• The attached file 2016 week 2 Example Southwest Airlines

The Southwest example is included to show what can be learned from Financial statements. You will not use that format for your report in this assignment. Per the assignment guidelines, all calculations must be shown in an Excel file.. Your responses should show that you have read and understood the required readings, links and attached files – Provide appropriate citations and references.

Learning Goals of this assignment:

1. Communication: You can communicate clearly in writing.

2. Critical Thinking: You can apply logical processes to formulate clear, defensible ideas based on the analysis of facts and ethical considerations.

3. Quantitative Reasoning: You can use mathematical information, operations, and quantitative analyses to solve problems and inform decision-making

5 Ethical and strategic leadership. You can lead the organization ethically and strategically.

7. Legal acumen. You can identify key legal concepts in the business environment and apply them to enhance effective management decisions and organizational operations.

10. Strategic Management of Financial Capital. You can plan, evaluate and manage the financial implications of the organization’s (global) operations.

Individual Assignment (8%):

You are the head of marketing for a hedge fund that is researching a new company to assess whether it represents a good potential for investment. You start your research with an analysis of the firm’s financial statements, in order to understand how well its operations are managed. Your fund has recently been blindsided by discovering that one of its recommended investment targets has been accused of unethical practices in its accounting processes and a failure to comply with regulations in its industry. Therefore, in addition to assessing the firm’s financial and operational health, you want to be sensitive to any evidence that the firm might be taking regulatory/legal and/or ethical “shortcuts.”

Your assignment is to do the research described below, plus any additional research you deem necessary to meet your objectives. You will write a formal report to your management that describes what you found, how you evaluate the firm’s financial and operational health, and whether there are any potential “red flags” that may suggest potential for legal or ethical concerns. Supported by your analysis, make your recommendation to management about investing in this firm. Your report should be approximately 8 – 10 pages,, and your Excel file should contain the data that you use to support your analysis.

.

To guide your research, you should, at a minimum, answer all of the questions listed below as they relate to the financial statements of any U.S. public company of your choice in its latest annual report. These questions are guides to your research, and the data you gather are to be compiled into a final report, appropriately organized to support your recommendations.

Please use the Securities and Exchange Commission web site as your primary source for financial statements. All publicly traded U S companies have their annual reports called the 10-K available through the Securities and Exchange Commission web site. http://www.sec.gov/

Instructions for use of the site are as follows: About half way down the home page is a box titled Search EDGAR, free access to over 21 million filings. Enter the company name or ticker symbol. That brings up a page called EDGAR Search Results. In the line “filter results” enter “10-K” in filing type and hit search. That will bring up recent company annual reports. Note: You have a choice of “Documents” or “Interactive Data.” Both contain all the information. “Interactive Data” uses Excel and provides the best access to information for questions 1, 2, and 3. “Documents” provides information that is easy to read for questions 4 through 8. After you click on Documents, click on the red letters and numbers to the right of the “10-K” heading.

Also you can find the financial statements of any U.S. public company by visiting Morningstar, Yahoo Finance or MSN Money, and using the stock market symbol for your chosen company (which can be looked up on Morningstar, Yahoo Finance or MSN Money). Please be aware that sometimes these services omit some numbers in order to fit their preferred formats. Many companies have links to the Annual Report as filed with the SEC. It can be found on the Investor relations page of the company web site.

If you work for a U.S. public company, you may want to use the financial statements of your company – but the choice is up to you.

1. What 3 items of important information does the income statement reveal about the financial performance of the company over the last three years

2. What 3 items of important information does the balance sheet reveal about the financial position of the company over the last two years?

3. Can you identify the major sources of funding used by the company from the information presented in the company’s annual report? Please look at the Statement of Cash Flows, formerly called the Source and Uses of Funds Statement.

4. Who is responsible for:

a) the issuance, and

b) the content

of the company financial statements? (Note: this information may be difficult to find. Look for statements by management and the independent auditing firm.)

5. What assurance, if any, is there that the financial statements are in compliance with GAAP, and are free of material misstatements?

6. Of what use, if any, are the notes to the financial statements? Give an example of something learned from the footnotes of your company.

7. What can you learn from the Business Section of the 10-K? Give two facts learned from reading this section.

8. What can you learn from the Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A)? Give two facts learned from reading this section.

9. Where might you identify any areas of potential ethical concerns? Give at least two examples of the kinds of ethical concerns that might arise from analysis of the company’s financial statements.

Once you have completed your research, including addressing the above questions, you will write a formal report to your management that details your research and supports your recommendations.

Formatting requirements for the written report:

• Meaningful report title
• Short Executive summary of no more than one page
• Introduction with report purpose
• Section headings helpful to the reader (ensuring that all 9 items of this assignment are addressed)
• Conclusion with key “take-away” points repeated from report body
• Reference list in APA format
• Page numbers on all pages

Post your written report and supporting Excel file in your individual assignment folder by the due date.

When you submit your paper, your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed below. You can use the list below to self-check your work before submission.

• 1.1 Organize document clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment
• 1.2 Develop coherent paragraphs or points so that each is internally unified and so that each functions as a part of the whole document
• 1.3: Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that substantiates the writer’s ideas.
• 1.4 Tailor communications to the audience.
• 2.1 Identify and clearly explain the issue, question or problem under critical consideration.
• 2.2 Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.
• 2.3. Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance to the problem
• 2.4 Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.
• 2.5. Develop well reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks.
• 3.1 Identify numerical or mathematical information that is relevant in a problem or situation.
• 3.4. Employ software applications and analytical tools to analyze, visualize and present data to inform decision-making.
• 5.1. Develop constructive resolutions for ethical dilemmas based on application of ethical theories, principles and models.
• 7.3. Analyze the implications of civil or criminal wrongs and of product or service liability laws, and make recommendations to support business decisions.
• 10.2. Analyze financial statements to evaluate and optimize organizational performance.
• 10.3. Determine optimal financial decisions in pursuit of an organization’s goals.

So far in this course, we have explored popular culture through the lenses of history, the humanities, and the natural and applied sciences. In this module, you will wrap up your draft of Final Project Part One with Milestone Four, and the social sciences lens is the last piece of the puzzle. Look back over the topics you chose to discuss in previous discussions, select one, and reexamine it now through the social sciences. In your initial post, address the following:

• Describe or summarize your previous topic.
• How has your understanding been affected by the social sciences lens?
• How does the social sciences lens support the lens you previously used?

Topic: For this module’s discussion, research a recent science news event that has occurred in the last six months. The event should come from a well-known news source, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, NPR, PBS, BBC, National Geographic, The New York Times, and so on. Post a link to the news story, and in your initial post, identify the following:

In responding to your peers, provide feedback on their topic analysis and describe the value of the social sciences lens for understanding popular culture.

Reply 1: G’niquah Armstrong

The previous post I would like to use is discussion 5, when I reviewed how the 9/11 lights interfere with birds migration pattern. In the article, it dived into the affects the lights have on the birds like starvation and exhaustion. The study showed that over 160,000 birds are endangered during their migration path during this ceremony. The article also discussed they have created groups and volunteers to look for birds and capture them, then giving a 20 minute break once 1,000 birds are caught to have the birds continue their migration path.

My understanding of the social sciences lens helped me become aware of the affects people have on global issues. The social sciences lens showed me how humans can affect the environment and we can raise awareness to current issues. The social science lens supports the previously used humanities lens by both displaying the effects we have on the environment.

Reply 2:

Greetings Class,

In week 4 I discussed Cosplaying through the humanities lens. It was an area of popular culture that I had some basic knowledge. Thankfully, after spending that week with one of my co-workers who happens to be engulfed in the cosplay world that I learned quite about the art of cosplay. For those who are unfamiliar with this subculture, cosplay means to costume playcharacters from either fictional characters or even real-life people. The short version of describing cosplay is that it is a type of performance art in which participants wear costumes and accessories that were hand made by the participants to represent a specific character or idea. From what I have learned, people participate in cosplaying for many reasons. It can be because they are expressing their interest in that particular character they are recreating to resemble. Some do it because of the challenge of creating the costumes, and some do it as a way of earning income. However, for this week’s discussion, I will dive into cosplaying through the social sciences lens.

I had the luxury of learning a great deal about cosplaying thanks to a co-worker who has been involved in cosplaying for the past 15 years. After learning about the history about cosplay (as I mentioned in my initial post) and what drives people to do it, I decided to go in a little deeper. My co-worker who goes by Miss K. gave me some more insight about cosplaying and I was very intrigued for the most part. You see when I first saw people in cosplay back in the 1990s, I thought it was a fad or a way for young people to be childish. After all most of the characters were from video games, comic books, and nerdy characters in general. I was somewhat confused when I saw that women where dressing as men and vice versa. So, I thought, “ok, is cosplaying another form of cross-dressing?!” That was then and now I have a more respectful understanding of cosplaying. When I told Miss K. about that story, she slapped me in the back of the head for laughing. This is where I learned more about cosplaying through the social sciences lens, firsthand.

Miss K. started off by saying, “Tae, for most cosplayers, the object is self-expression through interpretation. Here lets take it one step further. A cosplayer will make numerous attempts to become a character just like a film actor tries to be the character they are playing in their film. Cosplayers work tireless to make their costumes perfect. I mean perfect as in the wig, the make-up, the props, the fabric, and every little detail in between to look flawless like the character they are trying to become. It is a costly and very time consuming when it comes to cosplaying so you will see many cosplayers spend endless hours, days, weeks, even months educating themselves in fine-tuning their craft. Their craft can be in many areas other than just sewing or cutting fabrics. Many take up other crafts such as sculpture, painting, metal work, fashion design and many other art forms to make their costumes as exactly as the character is portrayed in the comic books, video games, tv shows and etc.” She added that, “Please do not think that cosplaying is a way to show off your costume making skills. It is much more than just make-up, crazy hairstyles, and all the other aesthetics. Keep in mind that once a cosplayers puts on their costume that they become that character. You see Tae, making the character is only half the battle, cosplayers have to adopt the mannerisms, body language, even the voice of the characters they portray. That is the challenge and the beauty of cosplaying. Take me for example, when I put anyone of my costumes on, I instantly feel and act like the character who wears this costume from the comic books, video games or wherever I got the character. Act as if. Many cosplayers enjoy that part the most because it’s a way to escape reality and go into another reality even if it’s a fantasy. I love slapping on my costumes, get into character, meet up with my fellow cosplayers at conventions and we always pose for photos with other cosplayers and our endearing fans. A lot of us cosplayers gather to conventions to view all the other costumes so we can give each other the well-deserved compliments for all of our hard work. We always share some tips, participate in some contests, have all sorts of fun and of course show off my own costumes/creations. Its like Planet Fitness, its a judgement free zone. I hardly hear other cosplayers talk bad about other cosplayers. Its a very tight knit community of cosplayers. There is a lot of camaraderie. That is why I always meet new cosplayers at these conventions and learn a wealth of additional knowledge. I maintain these friendships with other cosplayers through online forums, social media accounts, and just play text and calls almost every day.”

I spent probably two different days this week talking to Miss K. about cosplaying but you can see that I learned a great wealth of knowledge about cosplaying. My first post I learned some areas of social sciences such as the history and geography of cosplaying but this week I learned even more areas of the social sciences especially in the psychological and sociological areas of cosplaying. I pretty much something new about cosplaying almost every time I run into Miss K now. It was something I never cared for when I first met Miss K 5 years ago but its growing on me. I plan on going to the next convention with Miss K. sometime next month but no, I will never go as far as creating or wearing a costume at that convention. Thanks for reading.

Tae Chin Hong Peters

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Describe the critical tools used to draw conclusions about the physical world
2. Explain how Earth’s major components evolved over geologic time
3. Identify the factors and processes that cause Earth’s weather and climate patterns
4. Explain how Earth’s place in the solar system impacts planetary processes
5. Analyze the role that access to earth’s resources plays in the world economy

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

For the project, you will need to complete four main tasks:

1. Choose a debated earth science issue of social or economic consequence

•  Atmospheric patterns or constituents (e.g. Santa Ana winds, Chinook winds, ozone, ultraviolet radiation)
•  Climatic or weather consequences of greenhouse gases
•  Effect of comet, asteroid, or meteoroid impacts on earth
•  Global warming (melting of the polar ice caps and views on how to slow or stopglobal warming)
•  Ground and surface water resources (e.g. fresh water access, flooding,desertification)© 2014. Any unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this material is prohibited without express written permission. Students are expected to maintain the integrity of the assignment by refraining from reproducing or posting the assignment or their completed work where it can be viewed by current or future students.

In this project, you will have the chance to study a highly discussed or controversial topic in the

field of earth science. Using what you have learned in the course as a foundation, you will

conduct research, thoughtfully construct your own position on the issue, and propose a realistic,

scientifically-based solution to the issue.

Your deliverable for this project will be a research paper about a highly discussed topic in earth

science (suggested length 6-8 pages). You must cite your sources using in-text citations and

format the paper according to APA style guidelines. You must also include a references page.

The references page does not count toward the suggested length.

To begin, choose one of the topics related to earth science below. You may wish to do some

brief initial research on several of the listed topics to learn more about them and find out which

is most interesting to you.

Final Project

Earth Science

•  Impact of plastic waste in the ocean (e.g. animal/food chain consequences, human consequences)
•  Non-renewable resources (e.g. petroleum, coal, natural gas)
•  Ocean circulation patterns and resources (e.g. El Niño or La Niña, tidal energy)
•  Renewable or nonrenewable resources (e.g. fossil fuels, mining, rare earthelements)
•  Seepage of chemicals into the water supply (e.g. endocrine disruptors, fertilizers)
•  Seismology or volcanism
•  Waste disposal (e.g. nuclear, industrial, and/or consumer waste)
•  Weathering, wasting, or erosion (e.g. landslides, coastal erosion, runoff, farmlanderosion)2. Research various sides of the topic and prepare a report on the science and economics related to the topicIf the topic does not have conflicting arguments, you should discuss why it is an alarming topic or a developing topic that has a critical impact on communities, states, countries, or the world.While researching and writing, you should address the following points:

1. Definethemajorissueorissues—whatisatstake?
2. Whoorwhatdoestheissueimpact?Towhatextent?
3. Providescientificbackgroundontheissue.Discussanypointsofcontroversyordisagreement related to the scientific research regarding the issue. If there is no disagreement around the issue, discuss why the topic is alarming and how it has a critical impact on communities or on a global scale.
4. Discuss any points of controversy related to the economic or social impact of the issue. Do people outside of the scientific community view the issue in a particular way?
5. Is the issue you chose closely related to any other earth science issues? How so?
6. Are there proposed solutions to the issue? What are they?

In your paper, you should identify and cite a minimum of five credible sources integral to understanding your issue. To get started, you can try using some of the following research tools, or you can find your own:

•  The university library (accessed through your university homepage)
•  Public libraries
•  http://scholar.google.com/
•  http://www.usgs.gov/science/© 2014. Any unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this material is prohibited without express written permission. Students are expected to maintain the integrity of the assignment by refraining from reproducing or posting the assignment or their completed work where it can be viewed by current or future students.

Prepare a report on the scientific and economic issues surrounding the topic you chose. You

should research conflicting sides of the issue and fairly discuss the various viewpoints in your

report.

Final Project

Earth Science

 http://nasascience.nasa.gov/earth-science/focus-areas/ http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/
 http://www.eurekalert.org/bysubject/earthscience.p…
 http://phys.org/space-news/earth-sciences/

 http://www.sciencenews.org/view/interest/id/2362/t…

NOTE: You may NOT cite or reference Wikipedia in your final project. Wikipedia is not considered a credible academic source. For more information, please visit this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia.

3. Develop your own position

For example, decide whether you are “for” or “against” the issue related to your topic. Or, fortopics that do not have a clear “for” or “against” stance, explain what you think about theseverity of the issue and the level of its impact. In your own words, indicate which position you hold and develop at least three science-based arguments that support your position.

A science-based argument is one that uses scientific data and thought processes to make a logical claim. Be sure to use the data you researched to support your position.

4. Suggest at least one science-based solution to the issue

Given your position and the data you researched, what solution would you recommend to alleviate or solve the issue you chose? Again, you should be sure to thoroughly support your solution with the scientific facts and data that you discovered in your research as well as what you learned in the course. In your discussion of your solution, be sure to also address what you think the impact of your solution will be.

Your solution should be logical and realistic – in other words, it should be feasible to implement in the real world. For example, if you chose to discuss non-renewable resources, you could propose that companies pay an additional tax to use these resources and that the government impose fines on non-payers. This would encourage companies to find alternative solutions and to be more efficient with their use of resources.

NOTE: Please remember, all borrowed material (including credible sources and the textbook) must be cited and referenced properly in accordance with APA guidelines throughout your project. You should also compile a references page and include it as part of your report. The references page does not count toward the suggested page length of the report.

© 2014. Any unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this material is prohibited without express written permission. Students are expected to maintain the integrity of the assignment by refraining from reproducing or posting the assignment or their completed work where it can be viewed by current or future students.

Final Project

Earth Science

PROJECT SUBMISSION

1. A title page is not required for project submissions. Because evaluators do not see student names when reviewing student work, it is important that students not include any personal identifiers in their project submissions.
2. Save your document as a PDF file. In Microsoft Word, you can use the Save As option to select PDF as your file format.
3. If your project requires a video, you should post the video to a free video hosting site likewww.youtube.com, www.photobucket.com, or one of the other free webhosting websites. The following website maintains a list of video hosting sites; http://www.videohostings.com/. In the written materials that you submit as part of the assignment, you should include the title of the video and a link for the faculty member to use to grade your submission. Upload the PDF file in your course.
4. Your assignment will not be returned to you, so keep a copy for your files.

Please check the attachment for questions. I am also pasting the questions below,(there are seven questions) which needs to be solve on time

Thanks.

M3- Application Problem

E4-5 Which economic events are relevant and objectively measurable?

The Brown Corporation experienced the following financial events on October 10, 2017:

1. The company entered into a new contract with the employees’ union that calls for a $2.00 per hour increase in wages, a longer lunch break, and cost-of-living adjustments, effective January 1, 2018.
2. The company issued $200,000 in bonds that mature on October 10, 2027. The terms of the bond issuance stipulate that interest is to be paid semi-annually at an annual rate of 10 percent.
3. The company president retired and was replaced by the vice president of finance.
4. The company received $10,000 from a customer in settlement of an open account receivable.
5. The company paid $1,000 interest on an outstanding loan. The interest is applicable to September 2017 and is included on the books as a liability, “Interest Payable.”
6. The market value of all the company’s long-lived assets is $275,000. They are currently reported on the balance sheet at $250,000.
7. The company purchased a fire insurance policy for $1,500 that will pay the Brown Corporation $1 million if its primary production plant is destroyed. The policy insures the company from November 1, 2017, through October 31, 2018.
8. The company placed an order to have $10,000 of inventory shipped on October 17, 2017.

Indicate whether each of these economic events has accounting significance (i.e., whether the company would prepare a journal entry for the event). In each case, explain why or why not.

E4-9 Preparing a statement of cash flows from journal entries.

Small and Associates, a small manufacturing firm, entered into the following cash transactions during January 2017:

1. Issued 600 shares of stock for $25 each.
2. Sold services for $4,000 cash.
3. Paid salaries and wages of $1,600.
4. Purchased land as a long-term investment for $9,000 cash.
5. Paid a $2,000 dividend.
6. Sold land with a book value of $3,000 for $3,500 cash.
7. Paid $1,500 to the bank: $900 to reduce the principal on an outstanding loan and $600 as an interest payment.
8. Paid miscellaneous expenses of $1,800.

E4-14 Recognizing accrued wages.

The Hurst Corporation pays its employees every Friday for the five-day week just ended. On January 2, 2018, the company paid its employees $70,000 for the week beginning Monday, December 29.

• Assuming that the employees earned salaries and wages evenly throughout the week, prepare any adjusting journal entries that were necessary on the closing date of December 31, 2017.
• Prepare the journal entry that would be recorded on Friday, January 2, when the wages are paid.
• Complete a chart like the following.
  • Prepare a journal entry for each transaction. Indicate the classification and the effect on the accounting equation.
  • Prepare a cash T-account and compute the company’s cash balance as of the end of January. Assume a beginning balance of $4,000.

E4-18 (a, b) Preparing journal entries and the cash flow statement.

Rahal and Watson, a small manufacturing company, entered into the following cash transactions during January 2017:

1. Issued 800 shares of common stock for $30 each.
2. Collected $3,900 on outstanding accounts receivable.
3. Paid salaries and wages for the month of January of $1,530.
4. Purchased land as a long-term investment for $12,000 cash.
5. Paid a $6,000 dividend.
6. Sold a piece of equipment with a book value of $5,000 for $7,000 cash.
7. Paid $2,000 to the bank: $900 to reduce the principal on an outstanding loan and $1,100 as an interest payment.
8. Paid miscellaneous expenses of $5,000.

P4-3 (a, b, and on item c, only income statement and balance sheet)

Journal entries and preparing the four financial statements

1. Issued 1,000 shares of common stock at $95 per share.
2. Paid $2,600 for each of 12 months to rent office and warehouse space for 2017. The rent was paid on the last day of each month.
3. Made total sales for services of $190,000: $65,000 for cash and $125,000 on account.
4. Purchased land for $32,000.
5. Borrowed $75,000 on December 31. The note payable matures in two years.
6. Salaries and wages totalling $80,000 were paid during the year.
7. Miscellaneous expenses totalling $40,000 were paid during the year.
8. $56,000 was received from customers as payment on account.
9. Declared and paid a dividend of $26,000.

REQUIRED:

• Prepare journal entries for these transactions.
• Establish T-accounts for each account, and post the journal entries to these T-accounts.
• Prepare an income statement, statement of shareholders’ equity, a December 31, 2017 balance sheet, and statement of cash flows for 2017.

P4-5 Comprehensive problem.

The December 31, 2017, balance sheet of Tybee Corporation is provided below (in millions).

Transactions during January 2018:

• Paid $5 for employee salaries and wages.
• Collected $10 cash from customers for work previously performed and billed.
• Purchased equipment for $5 cash.
• Purchased $2 of supplies for cash.
• Paid $3 to a vendor for supplies previously purchased on credit in December 2017.
• Paid the interest owed as of December 31, 2017.
• Completed $18 in services for customers, receiving 50 percent payment in cash and billing the remainder.
• Paid $15 to reduce outstanding notes payable.
• Collected $5 for the issuance of common shares.

As of 1/31/18:

• Had performed 25 percent of the services for which it had been paid in advance.
• Owes $1 for interest that will be paid next month.
• Depreciated equipment in the amount of $4.
• Physical count of supplies reveals $3 on hand.
• Declared and paid a cash dividend in the amount of 50 percent of January’s net income.

REQUIRED:

• Prepare the journal entries to record transactions and to adjust and close accounts.

P4-9 Inferring adjusting journal entries from changes in T-account balances

The following information is available for Derrick Company:

REQUIRED:

Prepare the adjusting journal entries that gave rise to the changes indicated

Please answer this (3) Discussion – ONLY NEEDS TO BE COUPLE SENTENCES ONE PARAGRAPH

Responding to Discussions

judgments.

(1)

When planning a global video conferencing meeting, Binder (2007) suggests the following priorities that should be considered for the meeting:

• Understand your audience and their role in the project: Considering what needs to be discussed and with whom before a meeting can avoid gatherings that feel “useless” to the audience and ultimately do not benefit the project. It will also help you identify the purpose of the meeting, allowing the group not to waste time discussing tasks that the stakeholders present at the meeting do not directly impact.
• Begin the meeting with brief informal discussion: Allowing a short period for casual conversation is a quick, easy team-building exercise. Building trust between team members will only enhance the project’s quality.
• Consider various time zones and personal time of participants: This will increase participation as more members will likely attend if the meeting time fits their schedule.
• Respect and learn from cultural differences: In the meeting, there will be a wealth of knowledge and experience from different groups and personality types. Use this to the project’s advantage while assigning tasks and developing innovative techniques.
• Be direct: Staying on task is key, so be sure to redirect the conversation back to the point of the meeting when necessary.

By following these priorities, the project manager can ensure that the meeting is successful and that all parties leave with a more thorough understanding of the project and a closer connection to their team.

Which of the aforementioned suggestions should be the top priority? Why?

(2)

In organizing a video conference meeting that involve several countries with lots of characteristics, there are five key priorities that I will do during the planning process, during the meeting, and after the meeting to ensure the success of the meeting.

The first is that prior to the meeting date, all the participants from my company will go through training on multicultural meeting mannerisms – and to cover those from all countries that may be in attendance at this meeting. This will help staff be more aware of what might come off as potentially odd or unusual behavior and help minimize misunderstandings. While this is likely minimized doing a video conference, there are likely still behavior that may happen that people may not be used to.

The second is communicating a time that the meeting will convene, and then when the actual meeting will start. This will give some flexibility to the start time to take into account cultures that might be more relaxed, but also make those in cultures that adhere much more to a specific start time, more comfort.

Another key priority for me is communicating an agenda well ahead of the meeting and regularly leading up to the meeting so that participants know what their role is, where they fit in, and what they should bring with them to the online meeting to effectively participate in the meeting. Some cultures may want more time to think about this or get feedback and prepare with others in their home countries to feel comfortable sharing in a remote meeting.

The next priority is communicating alternative methods for communicating or participating in the meeting. Since it’s an online meeting, I want to make sure representatives from each country know the various ways they can communicate during the meeting such as vocally, via chat, or through the surveys that will be offered throughout the meeting. As some cultures may be more vocal, others may want to share their feedback in alternative ways – it’s important that everyone feel that their input is heard.

The last key priority is to ensure that the meanings of words or symbols used in the online meeting are known and understood – we will be sharing a deck that has check marks or other symbols as well as terminology that may mean different things during the meeting. The first slide of this deck will illustrate the meanings for these so that people grasp the topics and information the same way as those words or symbols could mean different things to different people.

Even with great preparation and communication, miscommunication can still happen. How do you give feedback to someone who still is not an effective meeting participant when you need them to be ?

(3)

You’re asked to organize a video conference meeting involving several international time zones, nationalities, age ranges, genders, and cultures. What are your top five priorities to ensure a successful meeting? Focus on the communications aspect in a multicultural environment. Invite comments on one of your priorities.

Hosting meetings can be a challenging experience, hosting an international meeting adds an extra layer of complexity to the mix with different cultural and gender norms that a manager needs to consider. I’ve found that keeping the following priorities in mind when setting up a meeting to be beneficial to help members stay on task and keep meeting attendees engaged:

Set meeting agenda – I think creating and sending a meeting agenda at least 24hrs prior to a meeting is helpful for those that can’t attend, but also helpful for those who will potentially have trouble speaking the predominant language of the people attending the meeting. I think by distributing the agenda with enough time allows people to formulate thoughts and questions allowing for a more productive meeting.

Introductions – Having attendees introduce themselves helps break the ice a little for first-timers and I also think it makes meetings more personal when people feel like they know each other at least on a basic level.

Good audio/video equipment – I’ve learned through experience that poor AV equipment can derail a meeting, especially when you have a large group of people in one room and remote employees calling in. Poor audio can make it hard for those remote employees to follow conversations which can lead to people disengaging.

Record meeting or take notes – Even if the manager was able to find a time that works for everyone attending the meeting, there are bound to be people that still can’t make meetings for various reasons (vacation, doctors visits, etc.) recording the meeting or having a person taking meeting minutes and action item can help those absent team member keep tabs on what was discussed and also know what action items are in their court to address.

Time of day – Rotating time of recurring meetings or finding a time that’s convenient for everyone will go a long way in making people feel included in the planning process. It is also important to be conscious of events and time that other cultures value, for example, people that are Muslim or predominantly Muslim countries pray five times a day. It would be challenging to try and accommodate a meeting around a team members prayer schedule needs but I think acknowledging it and bringing it up

Language – The person running the meeting should be aware of the potential language barries be thought when facilitating the meeting by making sure meeting attendees speak slow and in a concise manner so everyone can understand them.