Dimensions of Culture

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QUESTION

Competency

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

  • Examine dimensions of culture to support effective intercultural interactions

Scenario

Quantigration Incorporated logo

You work for Quantigration, Inc., a semiconductor manufacturing plant headquartered in the United States. Quantigration’s main fabrication plant produces microchips used in mobile phones and laptops around the world. Capitalizing on advancements in its product, Quantigration has aggressively expanded and recently acquired two fabrication plants and workers from around the world.

Due to these acquisitions and partnerships, Quantigration must develop a plan to assist employees of different nationalities in understanding each other and working well together.

Interior view of a semiconductor plant featuring high-tech machinery and a complex ventilation system.

Yesterday, the plant supervisor, Gregory, called you into his office. He has some concerns about these cultural differences and is worried that the acquisitions might not go smoothly. The culture of a manufacturing plant in one country could be noticeably different from one in another part of the world. Gregory realizes that these differences could lead to conflict. To handle this issue, he has decided that Quantigration needs to update its company values to be more culturally inclusive.

Aerial view of a manufacturing complex, including buildings and parking areas.

Directions

Gregory would like you to begin by doing background research and analysis. He would like you to take stock of the current culture at Quantigration and then compare it to the national cultures of the two new acquisitions.

Part 1: Cultural Analysis

  1. First, examine your own national culture as a representative sample of the current Quantigration workforce. Think about how your own nationality relates to your culture. Consider the ways that your culture views interactions with others, workplace culture, teamwork, and communication.
  2. Then, select two countries different than your own. You may select two countries from the Understanding Global Cultures e-book, or, you may choose others that you have a particular interest in. You can find more information about some of the countries in the A to Z World Business resource and the Hofstede Insights Country Comparison Tool in the Supporting Materials section.
  3. Using what you have found, write a cultural analysis containing 250- to 500-word summaries of each of your selected cultures. Also include a summary of your own culture in this document. In these summaries, pay particular attention to how members of each culture interact with others, what values they consider important, and how they view work, family, and obligation.

Once you have completed your summaries of your selected countries, write a 500-word summary comparison to help Gregory understand the major difference and similarities between the cultures. In your comparison, identify three major cultural differences and three similarities between the cultures you’ve analyzed. As you write, consider common cultural dimensions that these cultures share, and the ways that they differ most.

Part 2: Cultural Value Reaction

Now that you have finished your analyses, Gregory would like you to examine Quantigration’s company values. (Read the article “How to Write a Company Value Statement That Will Achieve Strategic Impact” in the Supporting Materials section for more information on how company value statements can motivate employees and reflect company objectives.)

Review the three company values Gregory has given you:

  • Family: Everyone who works here is part of the Quantigration family.
  • Process: Following processes will result in quality products.
  • Numbers: Precision engineering requires precision thinking.
Two factory workers enjoying their coffee break.

Consider each company value from the viewpoint of each selected culture from your cultural analysis. Think about how these values relate to the cultural values you have uncovered in each of the countries you analyzed. Then, write a brief reaction for Gregory that examines the values.

For each company value, write a 200-word summary explaining whether it does or does not represent the values of the three cultures you have examined, providing specific reasons why or why not. In particular, ask yourself the following:

  • Which company values align closely with the values of the cultures?
  • Are there any values that seem directly opposed to any of your selected cultures?
  • Would any of the company’s values cause tension for an employee coming from one of your selected countries?

You should also include recommended changes to the values to better align them to your own culture and the cultures you have selected to examine, and to encourage better intercultural interaction.

Business Value and You Excel Exercises

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QUESTION

Overview

Use Same Company For All Exercises:

Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool that is used in business and for personal use.  This semester you will have the opportunity to either develop or to test your Excel spreadsheet skills. You will have to complete weekly Excel exercises (12) designed to help you develop your skills in data collection, cleaning, and sorting data, formatting data, manipulating data, and interpreting data.  You will use stock market data for a publicly-traded company to develop your Excel assignments.

There will be several elements to this assignment:

First, you select a company to study, from the list below, 

You will collect monthly stock trading data for the 12 months from January 1 to December 31, 2023 for the company,

You will build a basic spreadsheet with some basic formatting and analysis,

You will then collect the same set of data for the previous 12 months (from January 1 to December 31, 2022 ), for comparison, 

You will graph data,

Print the spreadsheet to a .pdf file to share as a document,

You will do some more sophisticated data analysis using “VLOOKUP”, “IF” and “COUNT” functions,

You will then find the 2023 1st quarter financial statements filed with the SEC by the company, and do a simple analysis,

You will then listen to the last Quarterly Investor call by the company to shareholders and investors, and do a brief analysis, and then 

The final analysis will ask you to look at your Excel spreadsheet analysis, the SEC filing, and the quarterly conference call and interpret the financial performance of the company. 

  1. Detailed Weekly Instructions
  2. Each week you will get the instructions for the assignment in a short 3-7 minute long video.  The videos are a step-by-step guide for the assignment. Please note that the examples in the video use January – December 2022 data from American Express Company and you will be using data from a different 12-month period and a different company.
  3. There are 3 sets of videos:
  4. A set for users of Excel in the Windows operating system,
  5. A set for users in the Mac operating system, and 
  6. We are working on a set for Excel users in the browser.  If you use Excel in a browser, please use the MAC version until the browser version is complete. 
  7. Use Same Company For All Exercises:
  8. In order to develop your spreadsheet skills as well as your analytical skills in the context of a real world company, you will work with your chosen company for the duration of your Excel assignments this semester. 
  9. Finding the Data for Your Company 
  10. For your initial assignment, you will be asked to retrieve data for your selected company for the 12 months from January 1 to December 31, 2023  (not the same as the period mentioned in the videos).  You will get the data at Yahoo Finance. The video for the first assignment will walk you through this step-by-step. 

Please Note: Yahoo Finance will sometimes display the data in what appears to be improper format (with some months missing data, some months with multiple data points, dividend data added, etc). Please follow the instructions in the videos closely. It is typically the case that even if the Yahoo website appears to display incorrect data, once you download the date, the Excel sheet will have the correct monthly data. 

Uploading Excel Exercise Assignments to iCollege

Many of us today do not use a Windows machine but rather a Mac, Linux or similar operating system.  However, it is a best practice to share spreadsheet files in .xls or .xlsx format.  You also need to be prepared to share data in a format specified by a company, a client, a regulator, or the government even if you use different tools. 

Once you are done with your assignment for the week, you need to upload each Excel Exercise Assignments in either .xls or .xlsx format.  We ask that you do not submit your Excel assignments in another other format (jpeg, screenshot, pdf, numbers, pages, etc.).   

Company List for Excel Assignments (this is the company chosen and first two excel assignment’s done already).

Apple

AAPL

  1. Assignment outcomes
  2. At the completion of your Excel assignments, you will be able to:
  3. Identify appropriate data to accomplish assigned tasks

Create formulas to solve and simplify Excel tasks

Demonstrate an understanding of using Excel functions

Create charts using Excel tools

Interpret tables, charts, and graphs 

A5: Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership (Chap 8)

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Question

Explain Kouzes and Posner’s (2002) Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership (Transformational Leadership, Chapter 8, page 199) that enable leaders to get extraordinary things accomplished.

Discuss one international (cannot be domestic) leader that has demonstrated the leadership characteristics in this model. Give specific examples.

  1. You should submit….
  2. A word document (no more than 2 pages) containing the above two items. You should format your paper according to APA 7th edition style. Use an appropriate title page, headings, in-text citations, paragraphs, references page, etc. Not sure how? Review the information on the APA style format in this course. Not sure how? Review the information on the APA style format in the Writing Resources area of the course (in the course menu on the left)

Page 199

Kouzes and Posner

Kouzes and Posner (2002, 2017a) developed their model by interviewing leaders about leadership. They interviewed more than 1,300 middle- and senior-level managers in private and public sector organizations and asked them to describe their “personal best” experiences as leaders. Based on a content analysis of these Questions, Kouzes and Posner constructed a model of leadership.

  • The Kouzes and Posner model consists of five fundamental practices that enable leaders to get extraordinary things accomplished: model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. For each of the five practices of exemplary leadership, Kouzes and Posner also have identified two commitments that serve as strategies for practicing exemplary leadership.

Model the Way.

To model the way, leaders need to be clear about their own values and philosophy. They need to find their own voice and express it to others. Exemplary leaders set a personal example for others by their own behaviors. They also follow through on their promises and commitments and affirm the common values they share with others.

Inspire a Shared Vision.

Effective leaders create compelling visions that can guide people’s behavior. They are able to visualize positive outcomes in the future and communicate them to others. Leaders also listen to the dreams of others and show them how their dreams can be realized. Through inspiring visions, leaders challenge others to transcend the status quo to do something for others.

Challenge the Process.

Challenging the process means being willing to change the status quo and step into the unknown. It includes being willing to innovate, grow, and improve. Exemplary leaders are like pioneers: They want to experiment and try new things. They are willing to take risks to make things better. When exemplary leaders take risks, they do it one step at a time, learning from their mistakes as they go.

Enable Others to Act.

Outstanding leaders are effective at working with people. They build trust with others and promote collaboration. Teamwork and cooperation are highly valued by these leaders. They listen closely to diverse points of view and treat others with dignity and respect. They also allow others to make choices, and they support the decisions that others make. In short, they create environments where people can feel good about their work and how it contributes to the greater community.

Interestingly, research indicates that women tend to display transformational leadership through more enabling behaviors whereas men tend to enact more challenging behavior (Brandt & Laiho, 2013).

Encourage the Heart.

Leaders encourage the heart by rewarding others for their accomplishments. It is natural for people to want support and recognition. Effective leaders are attentive to this need and are willing to give praise to workers for jobs well done. They use authentic celebrations and rituals to show appreciation and encouragement to others. The outcome of this kind of support is greater collective identity and community spirit.

A later study by Caza and Posner (2019) found that the characteristic of “grit,” or perseverance, was related to some aspects of transformational leadership. High-grit leaders engaged in more frequent role modeling and innovating behaviors, but less inspiring behavior.

Overall, the Kouzes and Posner model emphasizes behaviors and has a prescriptive quality: It recommends what people need to do to become effective leaders. Kouzes and Posner (2002, p. 13) stressed that the five practices of exemplary leadership are available to everyone and are not reserved for those with “special” ability. The model is not about personality: It is about practice.

For this reason, Kouzes and Posner (2017b) fundamentally dis

Accounting Question

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QUESTION

Problem 1

The following information is available for Angelica Corporation for 2023:1. Depreciation reported on the tax return exceeded depreciation reported on the income statement by $207,000. The differences will reverse as follows:2024     138,0002025       34,5002026       34,5002. Annual interest received on municipal bonds was $18,000 in 2023 and $20,000 in 2024.3. Rent collected in advance on November 1, 2023, totaled $117,000 for a 3-year period. Rent was recognized monthly, starting on November 1, 2023 for book purposes.4. During 2023 and 2024, Angelica paid $25,000 (each year) for a life insurance policy on its executives, with Angelica as the beneficiary. In 2024, Angelica received $280,000 due to the untimely passing of its CFO.5. The tax rates are 20% for 2023 and 2024, and 30% for 2025 and beyond.6. A contingent loss due to litigation was accrued in 2023 for $295,000. The company expects to pay the loss in 2025.7. Pretax financial income for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $6,125,000, and $6,595,000 for the year ended December 31, 2024.8. The company has a $5,800 credit balance in the Valuation Allowance and a beginning balance of $17,000 in the DTA account due to a temporary difference of $85,000 caused by a deferred revenues for GAAP purposes. The difference was realized for tax purposes in 2023.9. Of the ending balance of the DTA account, the company believes that it is “more likely than not” that 9% will not be realized.10. On 1/1/2024, a surprise tax cut was implemented, causing the 2024 tax rate to increase by 2%, and the 2025 and beyond tax rates to decrease by 2%. What is the journal entry to record the adjustment to the DTA/DTL balances, and the valuation allowance.Instructions

Assuming no other differences between book and taxable incomes existed, except for those mentioned above, prepare the 2024 tax rate change journal entry, and the year end income tax journal entries to record Income Tax Expense, Deferred Tax Asset/Liability, Income Taxes Payable and Valuation Allowance for 2024 (separate the valuation allowance journal entry from the income tax expense journal entry).

Question 1 related to problem1: 

Assuming no other differences between book and taxable incomes existed, except for those mentioned above, prepare the year end income tax journal entries to record Income Tax Expense, Deferred Tax Asset/Liability, Income Taxes Payable.

FORMAT YOUR ANSWER AS FOLLOWS:

DR ACCOUNT NAME $AMOUNT

CR ACCOUNT NAME $AMOUNT

Question 2 related to problem 1:

Assuming no other differences between book and taxable incomes existed, except for those mentioned above, prepare the year end Valuation Allowance journal entry for 12/31/2023.

Problem 2

Presented below is information related to NewCo Corp shareholder transactions during 2023:1. On January 1, the company was formed, and was authorized to issue 500,000 shares of $10 par value common stock.2. On January 2, 225,000 shares were issued for $45 per share.3. On March 31, NewCo issued a 3:2 stock split, in the form of a 50% stock dividend, when the shares were valued at $48 per share.4. On April 15, NewCo issued and distributed a 3% stock dividend, when the shares were valued at $10 per share. Shareholders with fractional shares were paid cash (totaling 1,350 equivalent whole shares).5. On June 30, NewCo declared a cash dividend of $0.35, payable to the shareholders of record on July 15, to be paid on July 25.6. On August 2, the company purchases 5,625 shares of the common stock outstanding at $8 per share and retired the shares.7. On August 15, the company purchases 6,188 shares of the common stock outstanding at $11 per share and retired the shares.8. On December 1, the board of directors declared a property dividend consisting of corporate bonds of Lopez Corporation that NewCo Corp was holding as an investment. The bonds were originally purchased for $1.9 million were classified as held-to-maturity investments. The bonds currently have a fair value of $1.75 million. The property dividend was payable to shareholders of record December 15, and distributed on December 31.Instructions(a) Prepare the general journal entries necessary to record these transactions. Identify each transaction by the date, and if no entry is required, write “No Entry.”(b) How many shares were outstanding as of December 31, 2023.

Module 4, Discussion: Geely Goes Global

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Question

Module 4, Discussion: Geely Goes Global

Discussions are designed to help you critically analyze an international business problem, at times using the theories and frameworks described in your textbook.Introduction

Instructions

Read the closing case ‘Geely Goes Global’ at the end of the chapter on Foreign Direct Investment and answer the following: Following the Volvo acquisition, Geely built a new, wholly-owned factory to product Volve cards in the US.  Why was a direct investment strategy preferred to other ways of growing the US market, such as through exporting or licensing the Volvo brand and designs to another producer? 

Directions

Students are advised to post at least two responses to each discussion question, one of which should be a reply to someone else’s post. Students who post only one response will earn a maximum score of only 25/35 (71%) regardless of the quality of the post.

Discussions need to be professional. Please make proper use of capitalization to begin sentences; also make sure that there are no misspellings, incomplete sentences, or other violations of grammatical rules.

The basic criterion for a discussion post to be considered effective is that your message must be original and intelligible. You must communicate concisely and effectively. In addition, you must meet the weekly requirements for full credit on discussion assignments (additional criteria in the discussion rubric).

You should keep each response within a word limit of 300 words.

Evaluation Criteria

All discussions together make up 35% of the total course score. This discussion is worth 35 points. Here is the rubric Download rubricfor this discussion.

Write a comment for the each responses below: (keep each comment within a word limit of 300 words.)

  • Response 1:  Geely may have preferred to engage in an FDI project due to several factors. Freight costs might make it more cost-effective to build the vehicles in the USA. It’s also a very feasible project to undertake. The United States possesses the human capital, technological, and transportation infrastructure necessary to operate a vehicle manufacturing plant efficiently. However, one of the major deciding factors may have been the risks involved with licensing production to another firm. For example, if Geely were to license their Volvo production to a US manufacturer such as Ford, this licensee may gain a tremendous amount of insight into Volvo’s design and manufacturing process. This could erode Geely’s competitive advantage. This could happen even in a country such as the USA with strong patent laws and without any patent violations occurring. For example, assume that instead of an FDI project, Geely decided to license the production of Volvos to Ford. The process of building Volvos according to Geely/Volvo specifications (and presumably using machinery and tooling supplied by Volvo) might erode Greely’s competitive advantage by giving Ford insight into sensitive production techniques and processes that Ford may later incorporate into their own manufacturing processes.

It’s also possible that having the vehicles produced in the USA helps the Volvo brand to disassociate from the negative connotation sometimes attached to Chinese-made products.

  • Response 2: Geely agreed to purchase Volvo for $1.8 billion in 2010. Although people had low expectations of the acquisition, the combination of Volvo’s innovative design and Geely’s manufacturing prowess proved great success. By Geely acquiring Volvo, they gained access to the entire line of new technology, distribution channels, and new markets. The direct investment strategy gave Geely more control over the development and export of their products. There are a lot of costs associated with exporting products that were mitigated by direct investment and selling domestically. For instance, it avoids all transportation costs, import tariffs, and any currency exchange risks associated with foreign trade. Exporting or licensing the brand to other manufacturers would result in limited control over their quality and could constrain their marketing capabilities. All too often firms spread themselves thin by outsourcing work and cutting any cost deemed a non-necessity. They expand quicker than they can maintain for the prospects of more money. However, just like in personal finances, spending beyond your means will always result in less return. Geely’s strategy avoided this while maintaining their high-quality standards of safety and elegance.

Interview a Strategist

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Question

This interview aims to converse with a present-day leader who includes strategy creation as a part of their job responsibilities. While you may not have extensive knowledge of the theories underpinning modern strategy, listening to the practitioner’s approach will add an extra layer of analysis.

You will interview a leader within an organization with at least 10 years of professional experience in the relevant industry and whose job responsibility includes developing and implementing strategies. It will be ideal to observe your interviewee in what he/she does, while also being “close with” your interviewee so that you can best represent their worldviews and experiences. (Please read textbook chapter 25 “Researching strategies and their identity in practice: building ‘close-with’ relationships” before scheduling your interview.)

The interview should be recorded and transcribed (you will provide a transcript in the Appendix of your paper, deleting names or using pseudonyms). If your leader has concerns about being recorded, reassure them that you will delete the recording as soon as the transcription is complete and that the contents of the interview will be shared only within the confines of this class. Be prepared to type quickly and take detailed notes if they refuse to be recorded.

Appendix I

An Interview Guideline

The objective of this interview is for me to learn from you (i.e., interviewee) and understand your everyday processes, practices, and activities involved in the making and implementation of strategy. Please don’t share any confidential or financial information about your organization. All information will be kept confidential. I will debrief my project with you and discuss with you my learning about strategizing and implementing in your organization seven weeks later.

Personal Background

Years of working experience in this organization________________

Years of working experience in the area of strategy and implementation _____________

Interview Questions

General questions about strategy and strategist

When you hear the word “strategy,” what does it mean to you?

What are your experiences with the strategy process? What lessons have you learned?

Are you the only strategist in your organization? How long have you been in this position?

Describe significant workplace changes you went through to become a strategist in your organization.

What do you do when you are strategizing at the middle level or top level of your organization?

What does a typical decision-making process look like for you?

Specific questions about making and implementing strategies in your current organization

  • How does your organization make strategies?

Describe your personal experiences relating to major strategic changes faced by your organization and the industry. (Pay special attention to the strategic change your interviewee is experiencing when he/she recounts his/her professional experience).

  • What tools and technologies do you create/and or employ when you plan and implement strategy? (e.g., five force analysis, Post-it notes, specialized planning and analysis, software or workshops and awaydays…etc).

Have you been in strategy workshops and meetings in your organization? In what strategy workshops or meetings have participated? What is your role?

  • Describe the best and/or worst strategy workshops and meetings you have practiced for your organization.

What activities or events are meaningful to you and guide your strategizing practices in your organization?

  • What are the challenges of implementing strategies in your organization?

How would you create a successful environment for the strategic management process?

  • Reflections and recommendations

In your industry, how does one become a strategist?

  • When and how do people in many organizations claim to be doing strategy work? What are the contradictions, inconsistencies and ambiguities involved in this?

Do you have a sense that other executives engage with and prioritize strategy in a specific and well-though-out manner, or do you have a sense that other executives sometimes masquerade their involvement in strategic management with their impression management? In other words, have you observed any dishonest strategizing?

In summary, what are the characteristics of a good strategy process?

Thank you for your support! I would like to schedule an interview again for seven weeks from now to discuss my philosophy of strategizing and implementing in your organization with you. Would it be okay to schedule that now or should I reach out again in a few weeks?

Lastly, is it possible for me to join you in one or two of your meetings to observe you strategizing?

Reply to Addressing Absenteeism In The Workplace Discussion 1

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QUESTION – QUESTION

Reply to Addressing Absenteeism In The Workplace Discussion 1

Q – Please read the discussion below and prepare a Reply to this discussion post with comments that further and advance the discussion topic.

Discussion

Addressing Absenteeism In The Workplace

           Organizations continuously identify, measure, and develop the performance of their employees to align with their objectives and vision in a process called performance management (Aguinis, 2023). In performance management, organizations identify incidences of excellent or poor employee performance. In my previous workplace, I observed a situation where most employees were either absent or late for work. Absenteeism had become a serious problem in this organization to the point that half of the employees in every department were absent at least twice a week. Even those who came to work were also getting late on some days. I was also absent from work at least twice a month because it had become a habit. I realized that employees missed work because they were demotivated. The pay was relatively low, and the management did not reward employees based on their performance. I consider this an example of common poor employee performace.

           Managers can address absenteeism problems like the one witnessed in my previous workplace by introducing performance management strategies. One of the strategies is to monitor employees’ behaviors. This behavioral approach focuses on how employees do the job (Aguinis, 2023). When the managers monitor how employees work, they will be able to identify the pattern of absenteeism or lateness. Then, they can discipline or reprimand the absent employees to discourage this poor workplace behavior. Employees who understand that they will be punished for unjustified absenteeism will rarely be absent from work (Gupta, 2020). The other strategy is to measure employee performance results and compare them with the set targets. This result-based performance management strategy focuses on what employees produce (Aguinis, 2023). The managers understand that absenteeism leads to underperformance because employees spend less time working than anticipated. Therefore, results will indicate whether the employees are performing as expected. When they monitor and measure the outcomes of what employees do, they will identify the poor-performing employees and take the appropriate action. These two performance management strategies are meant to measure how and what employees do and then take corrective measures.

           In performance management, managers use different tools and models to measure the success of their approaches. In this case, after implementing the two strategies to solve absenteeism in the organization, managers need to evaluate their success by checking the key performance indicators (KPIs) and performance standards. KPIs indicate how well the employees perform in relation to the organization’s strategic goals and vision (Domínguez et al., 2019). Then, performance standards will show how well the employees have achieved the objectives set by the organization. The other tool that I would use to determine the success or failure of the recommended strategies would be Artificial Intelligence systems. AI is now an integral part of performance management, and it would help identify performance trends (Khaled et al., 2022). AI would help track and keep records of employee attendance and performance automatically. Once I employ these tools and models, I would know whether the recommended strategies for solving absenteeism problem have succeeded or failed.

References

Aguinis, H. (2023). Performance management. Chicago Business Press.

Domínguez, E., Pérez, B., Rubio, Á. L., & Zapata, M. A. (2019). A taxonomy for key performance indicators management. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 64, 24-40.

Gupta, R. (2020). Impact of Absenteeism on Employee Productivity with Special Reference to Manufacturing Companies of Nagpur Region. Our Heritage, 68(1).

Khaled, A. S., Sharma, D. K., Yashwanth, T., Reddy, V. M. K., doewes, R. I., & Naved, M. (2022, June). Evaluating the Role of Robotics, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Performance Management. In Proceedings of Second International Conference in Mechanical and Energy Technology: ICMET 2021, India (pp. 285-293). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

i need help with my excel analyzing

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QUESTION

i have provided a excel file, where there are my results, i am missing some things in the project

Frequency analysis. Your first task is to analyze claim frequency by the rating variables available
for your data. Analyze each variable separately, looking at frequency = claim counts / exposure.
a) What are the frequency relativities for each variable?
b) How does the outer product of these relativities compare to the empirical relativities for
these variables? You can obtain the empirical frequencies by creating a cross tabulation
of the variables.
c) Are there any low-volume cells that are candidates for being combined? What criteria
could you use to select these candidates?
2. Severity analysis. In this section, you will look at the severity (Tot_Inc/Counts) for the rating
variables. The format and questions are similar to the frequency analysis:
a) Create tables of total loss, claim counts and severity for each variable.
b) Convert both severity tables to relativities to their respective base classes. What
stands out here

c)Create a cross tabulation of total loss, claim counts and severity by territory and rating class. What stands out here? Are there any combinations of the variables that are rare?

d) Convert the severity table you created in d) to a relativity table based on territory 4
and rating class A. Create an alternative relativity table using the outer product of
relativities from the tables in part c). The latter implicitly assumes that these
variables are independent. How do these two tables compare? Does it appear
appropriate to assume that these variables are independent?
e) Comment on the differences between your conclusions on claim frequency and
severity. Is there justification for considering frequency and severity separately, or
does one dimension appear to capture most of the differences in these classification
variables?
3. Pure premium analysis. In this section, you will analyze pure premium (Inc_loss/expos). Since
you have already looked at the components separately, you can go directly to the pure premium
tables.
a) Create a table of pure premium for each rating variable. Convert them to a relativity
table. How do these relativities compare to the frequency and severity relativities for
the same variable?
b) Create the cross tabulation of pure premium by territory and rating class. Convert this to
a relativity table. How do these relativities compare to the frequency and severity
relativities?
c) Create a pure premium relativity table from the product of the relativities in part 4a).
What can you conclude about using separate multiplicative factors to predict pure
premium?
4. Minimum Bias Method. Since we don’t know the relativities currently used in the rating plan,
the adjusted pure premium method cannot be applied directly. However, you could try using
the estimated relativities for territory to compute the adjusted relativities for rating class, and
vice versa.
a) Try this method. Does it improve the results (in the sense of moving the estimates closer
to the “true” values?)
b) Chapter 9 of the Werner & Modlin text describes a “minimum bias” method for
estimating relativities. Your answer to part a) is the first step in this minimum bias
method. You can compute additional steps using the relativities from the previous step
to compute the adjusted relativities in the current step. Do this and run additional
iterations until there is no difference in the result for the first 3 decimal places.
c) Check to see if the outer product of the relativities produced by this method produce a
result closer to the actual relativities that you produced in step 3
d) Prepare a rate table. You may convert pure premiums to rates using the “all variable”
method with a permissible loss ratio of .73.

5. Credibility Adjustment. Prepare an alternative rate table using credibility to compute the
classification pure premiums. Use the traditional method (“square root rule”) based on claim
counts with 1,082 claims as the standard for full credibility. The complement of credibility
should be the pure premium for the entire state (country). Covert these estimates to rates,
adjusted for any off-balance introduced by the credibility process. How do these rates compare
with the minimum bias rates? Comment on differences? Which do you think best meets
ratemaking objectives?

Analyze business obligations

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QUESTION – QUESTION

Purpose: In  this project, you will discuss and analyze the arguments for and  against Milton Friedman’s thesis that the only purpose of business is to  make money. You will apply the arguments for and against to a specific  ethical issue that you have previously discussed in a weekly discussion.Identify  ethical issues that arise in domestic and global business environments  using an understanding of ethical concepts and of legal and business  principles.Create a  Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point  font. The format should be in memo form. The final product will be  between 8-10 pages in length excluding the title page and reference  page. Write clearly and concisely.

You  serve as the assistant to the very recently appointed CEO of a prominent  start-up that is beginning to grow rapidly. The new CEO, Tara Richmond,  is a former general who gained visibility in the military for her  outstanding leadership qualities. Since her arrival, the Board of  Directors has had spirited debates on several proposals that would  increase corporate profits but would work to the disadvantage of some  members of the public as well as other stakeholders. Some members of the  board are arguing that the only obligation the company has is to make  profits for the stockholders. Other members of the board are arguing  that the company has an obligation to the community and to stakeholders  other than just the stockholders.  

Your  boss is baffled by the debate. “When I was in the military, my duties to  others were clearly laid out. Here, I am unsure to whom the company  owes a duty.” She turns to you for advice, requesting that you draft a  memo that explains what the company’s ethical obligations are in  situations like these. She asks you to start with Milton Friedman’s  opinion piece in 1970, arguing that a company’s only ethical  responsibility is to make profits. 

She also  asks you to review a much more recent memo from the Business Roundtable  that takes a more expansive view of the responsibilities of a company.  The Business Roundtable consists of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, many  of whom are familiar names to her. 

You  should do additional research on arguments for and against Friedman’s  proposition. Using your classroom materials as well as external sources,  respond to the following prompts:   Explain Milton Friedman’s arguments supporting that a company’s only obligation is to make money.

Explain the  arguments contrary to Friedman’s position including where the Business  Roundtable stands as well as other arguments you find in your research.

Using one  of the ethical issues that you posted in classroom discussions,  illustrate for the CEO, how that issue would be resolved using  Friedman’s perspective and how it would be resolved using the  perspective of the Business Roundtable.

Which of these positions do you find most compelling and why?

Your memo should begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion where you make recommendations to the CEO.

This project requires you to do research on UMGC Library Databases or on the Internet.  You are expected to use course material going beyond defining terms.  You are expected to explain the ‘why and how’ of a situation. Avoid  merely making statements but close the loop of the discussion by  explaining how something happens or why something happens,  which focuses on importance and impact. In closing the loop, you will  demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally showing an  understanding of the logical connections between the course material and  the question(s) being asked. Using one or two in-text citations from  the course material throughout the entire paper will not earn many  points on the assignment. The support must be relevant and applicable to  the topic being discussed. Points are not earned for mentioning a term  or concept but by clearly and thoroughly explaining or discussing the  question at hand.

Lab 1: How to Make a Histogram in Excel

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QUESTION

Make sure the Analysis ToolPak Add-in is active (follow the directions above if needed).

  1. You must choose an appropriate bin size for your data set. The bin size refers to the range of values that fall into a specific class. For example, if your data set is ages of people in the United States, set your bin size to 10 years. This makes the bins correspond to ages 0-10, 11-20, 21-30 and so on, with a maximum bin of 101-110. Select a bin width that creates five to 20 groups of data.  For the earthquakes data, we will use 10 years.

Type the bin widths (from step 3) in column K. In row one (cell K1) add the label Decades.  Starting with K2 enter the years begin with 1909 then 1919, up to 2019.

  1. At the top of the page click the Data tab

Under Analysis click Data Analysis

  1. Under Analysis Tools select Histogram and click OK.
  2. First select the data to create the histogram from. To the right of the box labeled Input Range click on the icon that looks like a little spreadsheet.  A small window pops up.  From the Earthquakes worksheet select the entire D column by clicking on the D at the top of the column and then hit Return.  The Input Range should read $D:$D

Repeat the process for Bin Range only this time, after the small window pops up, change to the Bins worksheet. Select all of the rows in you bin column.  If your data starts in cell K1 and ends in cell K13 with the mouse, left click on K1 and while holding the left mouse button down drag the selection box to cell K13 then release the mouse button. Hit Enter. The Bin Range should look like $K$1:$K$13

Make sure the Labels box is checked, your data has labels in Row 1.

Under Output Options, select the radio button New Worksheet Ply

Select “Chart Output” in the output options section to generate a histogram graph.

  1. Click “OK.”

A new worksheet (Sheet1) will be created that has the histogram data labeled Decades and Frequency. If you attempt the histogram creation multiple times, the sheet name will be incremented; Sheet2, Sheet3, etc.)

Delete the More line (line 14) by selecting the entire row (click directly on the row label, the number 14) right click and select Delete.

On the graph, click on the word Frequency.  A box will appear around the word.  Right click on the box and select Delete.  Alternatively, you can just use the Delete key on the keyboard.

  1. Next we want to modify the Decades column. This will change the labeling of the x-axis on the graph.  For the first line of information replace 1909 with ‘1900-1909 (be sure to include the single apostrophe at the start, it indicates characters and not math operations follow).

In the remaining rows replace 1919 with ‘1910-1919, 1929 with ‘1920-1929, etc. on down to ‘2010-2019. This indicates that the histogram is showing he number of earthquakes in the years 1900-1909, 1910-1919, and so on.

You will need to enlarge the graph. Left click on any white-space in the graph.  You will see small boxes surrounding the graph.  Drag the middle, bottom box down enlarging the graph until the numbers 1910-1919, etc. are clearly visible.

  1. Next, modify the appearance of the plot by selecting any of the histogram bars, pressing the right mouse button, and clicking on “Format Data Series…” A pane will open to the right.

Under Series Options set the Gap Width to 0%.

Close the pane by clicking on the x in the upper right corner of the pane (not the x in the upper right corner of the window).

When completed, upload your completed Excel spreadsheet here.  Your spreadsheet must have all the work you did to create the chart and the final chart. Your chart should look like the one below. 

  1. Histrogram.png