Instructions

Scenario (information repeated for deliverable 01, 03, and 04)

A major client of your company is interested in the salary distributions of jobs in the state of Minnesota that range from $30,000 to $200,000 per year. As a Business Analyst, your boss asks you to research and analyze the salary distributions. You are given a spreadsheet (see attached) that contains the following information:

• A listing of the jobs by title
• The salary (in dollars) for each job

In prior engagements, you have already explained to your client about the basic statistics and discussed the importance of constructing confidence intervals for the population mean. Your client says that he remembers a little bit about hypothesis testing, but he is a little fuzzy. He asks you to give him the full explanation of all steps in a hypothesis testing and wants your conclusion about a claim that the average salary for all jobs in the state of Minnesota is less than $75,000.

Background information on the Data

The data set in the spreadsheet consists of 364 records that you will be analyzing from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data set contains a listing of several jobs titles with yearly salaries ranging from approximately $30,000 to $200,000 for the state of Minnesota.

What to Submit

Your boss wants you to submit the spreadsheet with the completed calculations. Your research and analysis should be present within the answers provided on the worksheet. (see attached)

Requirement 1

Wyckam Manufacturing Inc. has provided the following information concerning its manufacturing costs:

	Fixed Cost per Month			Cost per Machine-Hour
Direct materials				$	5.40
Direct labor	$	42,100
Supplies				$	0.20
Utilities	$	1,300		$	0.15
Depreciation	$	15,400
Insurance	$	11,900

For example, utilities should be $1,300 per month plus $0.15 per machine-hour. The company expects to work 4,200 machine-hours in June. Note that the company’s direct labor is a fixed cost.

Required:

Prepare the company’s planning budget for June.

Requirement 2

Via Gelato is a popular neighborhood gelato shop. The company has provided the following cost formulas and actual results for the month of June:

	Fixed Element per Month			Variable Element per Liter			Actual Total for June
Revenue				$	18.00		$	110,530
Raw materials				$	5.25		$	33,730
Wages	$	6,200		$	2.00		$	18,900
Utilities	$	2,230		$	0.80		$	7,550
Rent	$	3,200					$	3,200
Insurance	$	1,950					$	1,950
Miscellaneous	$	710		$	0.95		$	6,670

While gelato is sold by the cone or cup, the shop measures its activity in terms of the total number of liters of gelato sold. For example, wages should be $6,200 plus $2.00 per liter of gelato sold and the actual wages for June were $18,900. Via Gelato expected to sell 6,200 liters in June, but actually sold 6,400 liters.

Required:

Calculate Via Gelato revenue and spending variances for June. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting “F” for favorable, “U” for unfavorable, and “None” for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

Requirement 3

You have just been hired by FAB Corporation, the manufacturer of a revolutionary new garage door opening device. The president has asked that you review the company’s costing system and “do what you can to help us get better control of our manufacturing overhead costs.” You find that the company has never used a flexible budget, and you suggest that preparing such a budget would be an excellent first step in overhead planning and control.

After much effort and analysis, you determined the following cost formulas and gathered the following actual cost data for March:

	Cost Formula	Actual Cost in March
Utilities	$16,500 plus $0.21 per machine-hour	$	22,710
Maintenance	$38,300 plus $1.90 per machine-hour	$	72,000
Supplies	$0.50 per machine-hour	$	10,300
Indirect labor	$94,100 plus $2.00 per machine-hour	$	137,000
Depreciation	$68,000	$	69,700

During March, the company worked 19,000 machine-hours and produced 13,000 units. The company had originally planned to work 21,000 machine-hours during March.

Required:

1. Calculate the activity variances for March.

2. Calculate the spending variances for March.

Calculate the activity variances for March. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting “F” for favorable, “U” for unfavorable, and “None” for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

Calculate the spending variances for March. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting “F” for favorable, “U” for unfavorable, and “None” for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

Question 4

Marvel Parts, Inc., manufactures auto accessories. One of the company’s products is a set of seat covers that can be adjusted to fit nearly any small car. The company has a standard cost system in use for all of its products. According to the standards that have been set for the seat covers, the factory should work 1,075 hours each month to produce 2,150 sets of covers. The standard costs associated with this level of production are:

	Total		Per Set of Covers
Direct materials	$	54,825	$	25.50
Direct labor	$	10,750		5.00
Variable manufacturing overhead (based on direct labor-hours)	$	5,375		2.50
			$	33.00

During August, the factory worked only 800 direct labor-hours and produced 2,500 sets of covers. The following actual costs were recorded during the month:

	Total		Per Set of Covers
Direct materials (12,500 yards)	$	58,750	$	23.50
Direct labor	$	13,000		5.20
Variable manufacturing overhead	$	7,000		2.80
			$	31.50

At standard, each set of covers should require 3.0 yards of material. All of the materials purchased during the month were used in production.

Required:

1. Compute the materials price and quantity variances for August.

2. Compute the labor rate and efficiency variances for August.

3. Compute the variable overhead rate and efficiency variances for August.

(Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting “F” for favorable, “U” for unfavorable, and “None” for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

	1. Materials price variance Materials quantity variance 2. Labor rate variance Labor efficiency variance 3. Variable overhead rate variance Variable overhead efficiency variance

Question 5

Becton Labs, Inc., produces various chemical compounds for industrial use. One compound, called Fludex, is prepared using an elaborate distilling process. The company has developed standard costs for one unit of Fludex, as follows:

	Standard Quantity or Hours		Standard Price or Rate			Standard Cost
Direct materials	2.50	ounces	$	19.00	per ounce	$	47.50
Direct labor	0.70	hours	$	15.00	per hour		10.50
Variable manufacturing overhead	0.70	hours	$	4.00	per hour		2.80
Total standard cost per unit						$	60.80

During November, the following activity was recorded related to the production of Fludex:

• Materials purchased, 12,500 ounces at a cost of $223,125.
• There was no beginning inventory of materials; however, at the end of the month, 3,250 ounces of material remained in ending inventory.
• The company employs 21 lab technicians to work on the production of Fludex. During November, they each worked an average of 150 hours at an average pay rate of $12.50 per hour.
• Variable manufacturing overhead is assigned to Fludex on the basis of direct labor-hours. Variable manufacturing overhead costs during November totaled $5,100.
• During November, the company produced 3,500 units of Fludex.

Required:

1. For direct materials:

a. Compute the price and quantity variances.

b. The materials were purchased from a new supplier who is anxious to enter into a long-term purchase contract. Would you recommend that the company sign the contract?

2. For direct labor:

a. Compute the rate and efficiency variances.

b. In the past, the 21 technicians employed in the production of Fludex consisted of 4 senior technicians and 17 assistants. During November, the company experimented with fewer senior technicians and more assistants in order to reduce labor costs. Would you recommend that the new labor mix be continued?

3. Compute the variable overhead rate and efficiency variances.

For direct materials, compute the price and quantity variances. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting “F” for favorable, “U” for unfavorable, and “None” for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

	Materials price variance Materials quantity variance

For direct materials, the materials were purchased from a new supplier who is anxious to enter into a long-term purchase contract. Would you recommend that the company sign the contract?

	Yes No

For direct labor, compute the rate and efficiency variances. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting “F” for favorable, “U” for unfavorable, and “None” for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

	Labor rate variance Labor efficiency variance

In the past, the 21 technicians employed in the production of Fludex consisted of 4 senior technicians and 17 assistants. During November, the company experimented with fewer senior technicians and more assistants in order to reduce labor costs. Would you recommend that the new labor mix be continued?

	Yes No

Compute the variable overhead rate and efficiency variances. (Indicate the effect of each variance by selecting “F” for favorable, “U” for unfavorable, and “None” for no effect (i.e., zero variance). Input all amounts as positive values.)

	Variable overhead rate variance Variable overhead efficiency variance

Write 3 pages in which you explain what grieving is, describe the grieving process for two populations and analyze the differences, and determine a theory of development or model of grief that explains how each population grieves.

Preparation

For this assessment, you will choose one of two topics on the topic of grief and loss to examine. Your research efforts should focus either on how children and adults grieve, or on the cultural differences in grieving. Locate at least 3 scholarly or professional research articles to use.

Requirements

Choose one of the two topics listed below to examine:

• A comparison of the bereavement and grieving processes of children and adults.
• A comparison of the grieving processes of two different cultures.

Your submitted assessment should include the following:

• Explain what grieving is. Does it always involve the physical death of a loved one?
• Describe the grieving processes for the two populations you have selected (children and adults, or two different cultures).
• Analyze the differences in the way the two groups grieve.
• What theories of development or models of grief might be applied to explain how each group grieves?

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Your writing should be free of errors that detract from the overall message and is consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.
• APA formatting: Format resources and citations according to APA style.
• Resources: Minimum of two scholarly or professional resources. Note: Popular resources such as Wikipedia or About.com are not considered to be appropriate.
• Length: Approximately three typed, double-spaced pages not including title page and reference page.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point font.

Below are three paragraphs that I need help writing at least 100 word response to. I need at least 100 word response to each separate paragraph. Each paragraph was to answer this following question: “How does the attempt to control and codify plants and animals lead to eugenics? How are both of these views optimistic? Pessimistic?“

1. The attempt to control and codify plants and animals is already happening. Most of the plants and animals we eat today have been bred from the best plants and animals. The plants and animals that look healthy are bred, we, as humans, want only the best and healthiest plants and animals meats in our diet. In the United States the majority of the food we eat comes from controlled “farms.” The plants we eat have been bred and rebred to grow the largest, juiciest, most radiant colored plants. For instance, grapes found in the grocery stores are much larger than what’s found in a vineyard that doesn’t use chemicals. (my uncle owns a vineyard that doesn’t use chemicals. My sister had no idea the little things hanging from the vines were actually grapes. She thought the ones in the grocery store were normal size). By controlling what we eat, the human population has increased, life spans are longer, people are living healthier, even with disease. Those that are able to afford the healthy, organic, well controlled foods are living healthy, full lives, and those that can not afford the healthy foods are becoming malnourished and are becoming disease stricken due to the lack of an important nutrient. The optimistic standpoint is, all of this science behind nutrition is helping us live longer, healthier lives. However, the pessimistic side is what are we losing by controlling and codifying the plants and animals? By controlling the plants and animals we are also seeing higher quantities of plants and animals but is the quality any better?

2. We first need to understand what eugenics before trying to link it to something greater than it is. Eugenics refers to “the selection of desired heritable characteristics in a bid to improve future generations.” Typically the term is used when referring to human genomes, but it doesn’t always have to be human genomes. To codify simply means to put things in an orderly manner. Science has enabled humans to dissect plants, persons or animals and get rid of undesired traits and replace them with superior ones (“Science as Salvation: Weimar Eugenics, 1919–1933”, 2017). From an optimistic side eliminating factors of bug infestation and drought or poor soil issues enables us to grow better quality crops. This will consequently help in reducing world hunger and other avoidable social issues worldwide. Human genes responsible for diseases such as cancer, blindness, cerebral palsy or deafness can also be removed and these problems reduced. This is a good idea, but the problem arises when scientists take this power to far. Like many other wonderful scientific breakthroughs, people attempt to monetize eugenics for their benefit. For example, Jack and Jane a couple get pregnant and are so happy about the possibility of getting a baby boy. The doctor tells them that he can make sure they get a baby boy by codifying their genes. He can also ensure the baby has blonde hair, blue eyes or even grow to seven feet. This, however, can only be done at a set price. A question, therefore, arises on where to draw the line in such cases. I don’t think eugenic is a bad practice, its utilization, however, is the problem.

3. The genetic modification and cultivation of plants and animals was directly leveraged as the scientific foundation for eugenics. Eugenics was conceptualized in 1863 by Sir Francis Galton as an optimistic theory that desirable traits, such as superior intelligence, were hereditary and advocated for selective breeding to target passing on desirable traits. The concept was correlated to the ability to” obtain by careful selection a permanent breed of dogs or horses gifted with peculiar powers.” The United States led the eugenics movement in the early 1900’s with the founding of the Eugenics Record Office (ERO) and other organizations and societies.This movement led to a more pessimistic view than Galton’s original efforts because the efforts were no longer seeking to increase the reproduction of desirable traits and instead focused on the elimination of negative traits.Sadly, the movement gained momentum and government support which resulted in the forced sterilization of over 64,000 people and the horrors of Nazi Germany (Bouche & Rivard, 2014).Interestingly, today’s scientific endeavors include concepts such as human cloning and gene therapy which, if allowed to get reach the same level as eugenics did, could have similarly devastating consequences.