Discuss the various limitations of the simple payback period method and the
ARR in the context of overall capital investment appraisal. Explain what you believe
the advantages and disadvantages may be of using discounted cash flow methods
for capital investment appraisal. (Maximum 600 words).
(14 marks)
The IT Manager of Moriarty Marketing company is considering purchasing
some new audio visual equipment. Initial research has identified two possible
suppliers that can provide different equipment that will satisfy the requirements and
has given the following budget outlines on a cash basis:
The equipment will cost £50,000 to purchase and at the end of the period will have
zero residual value.
If the project geos ahead, it is predicted that the company will gain increased
revenue that has been projected as that shown in Table Q3a.
Year Revenue generated –
Supplier A (£)
Revenue generated –
Supplier B (£)
1 5,000 20,000
2 17,000 30,000
3 42,000 20,000
4 30,000 20,000
5 10,000 20,000
Table Q3a
You are required to determine for each supplier option:
The Payback Period.
The ARR (Average rate of Return)
Produce tables showing the relative cash flows that are relevant to each year that
can be used to determine these answers. It is assumed that the annual cash flows
shown in the table arise evenly throughout the year and that there are no tax,
depreciation or interest aspects to be considered.
Analyse your findings and make recommendations as to which supplier Moriarty
Marketing should choose from a financial perspective, using the answers from above
to support your argument (Maximum 150 words).
(6 marks)
Critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of activity-based costing
and suggest the characteristics of a scenario that would in your opinion suggest it
may be a preferable approach to using absorption costing. (maximum 400 words).
(5 marks)
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using an absorption costing
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using an absorption costing
system for calculating the total cost of a product or service. Highlight separately at the
end of your discussion any deficiencies you may feel that this system may have in
terms of application to an organisation that takes this approach to costing of their
products. (maximum 600 words).
(13 marks)
Mycroft Pumps Limited is a small manufacturing company producing a variety
of pumps for the oil industry. It operates from one factory which is geographically
separated from its head office. The components for the pumps are assembled in the
Assembly Department, and they are then passed through to the Finishing
Department where they are painted and packed. These two production departments
are then supported by three service departments – Administration, Stores, and Work
Study.
The following costs were collected for the year to 30 June 2020
Allocated cost centre overhead costs £000
Administration 70
Assembly 25
Finishing 9
Stores 8
Work Study 18
Additional information:
1 The allocated overhead costs are considered to be indirect and not linked to
specific numbers of units.
2 During the year to 30 June 2020, 35,000 machine hours were worked in the
Assembly Department, and 60,000 direct labour hours in the Finishing Department.
3 The number of employees working in each department was as follows:
Administration = 15 Assembly = 25
Finishing = 40 Stores = 2
Work Study = 3 Total Employees = 85
4 During the year to 30 June 2020, the stores received 15,000 requisitions from
the Assembly Department, and 10,000 requisitions form the Finishing Department.
The Stores Department did not provide a service for any other department.
5 The Work Study Department carried out 2,000 chargeable hours for the
Assembly Department, and 1,000 chargeable hours for the Finishing Department.
6 One special pump (code named PBM 8) was produced during the year to 30
June 2020 – it took 10 machining hours of Assembly Department time, and 15 direct
labour hours were worked on it in the Finishing Department. Its total direct costs
(material and labour) amounted to £100.
Using the above information:
(i) Calculate an appropriate overhead absorption rate for both the
Assembly Department and the Finishing Department.
(ii) Calculate the Total factory cost of the special pump.
(7 marks)
Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering
Learning and Teaching
24-Hour Timed Assessment Cover Sheet
MCE | Department Education Board Version 1.0 | Page 6
Please apportion overheads on the following basis:
Allocated costs – by direct allocation.
Administration Overheads – by number of employees (neglect Administration
employees in any apportionment).
Stores overheads – by number of requisitions.
Work Study overheads – by number of chargeable hours.
Please reproduce the following table Q2a to demonstrate the derivation of your
answers:
Production Department Service Department
Cost Centre Assembly Finishing Administration Stores Work Study
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Allocated costs
Apportion
Administration
Apportion Stores
Apportion Work Study
Total Overhead
Table Q2a
Clearly explain your workings and give a brief explanation as to how your values in
the table have been calculated (maximum 150 words).
An unexpected incident just occurred in a project
An unexpected incident just occurred in a project, which could result in project
failure if not addressed professionally. With clear explanations, identify five key
Project Management roles and associated skills required to address the situation
and put the project back on track? (Maximum 500 words).
(10 marks)
(Total 25 marks)
As the project manager of a New Product Development project
As the project manager of a New Product Development project, you are to
develop a gaming device for children ages 9-12. The objective of this product
development project is to increase the revenue of the organisation. Develop a work
breakdown schedule for the project showing the connections/dependencies between
tasks? (Maximum 700 words).
(15 marks)
Personal Leadership Portrait assignment
• Assignment Overview
You will submit your Personal Leadership Portrait assignment this week. In this assignment, you will evaluate your own leadership
characteristics and your personal approach to health care leadership, bringing together all of the aspects of leadership discussed in this course
and creating a portrait of the health care professional and leader you aspire to be.
• What You Need to Know
Servant leadership requires a significant paradigm shift from the traditional leader-centric approaches, which seem outdated for the realities of
health care today, when interprofessional communication, collaboration, and teamwork are essential. Supporting, developing, and empowering
others to growth and self-actualization improves the organization, the leader, and the communities and patients served. Hanse, Harlin,
Jarebrant, Ulin, and Winkel (2017) discuss servant leaders as working in sustainable organizations that evoke the best in their staff, optimizing
collaboration, quality of care and outcomes for those served (patients and communities).
Leadership means different things to different people, and different areas of practice may have some differing views on leadership.
Nevertheless, there are many commonalities as well. To hear how real leaders in health care and other public services define leadership, listen
to:
• How Do You Define Leadership? (Suggested speakers are Jan Vinita White, Tyler Zerwekh, and Shelly Boyum-Breen.)
Read the following articles on servant leadership to better understand this style of leadership and how it might align with your development as a
health care leader with a focus on empowerment and service to others.
• Belton, L., & Anderson, P. (2017). Servant leadership: A journey, not a race. Health Management, 17(4), 268–270. Retrieved from
https://healthmanagement.org/c/healthmanagement/issuearticle/servant-leadership-a-journey-not-a-race
• Jit, R., Sharma, C. S., & Kawatra, M. (2017). Healing a broken spirit: Role of servant leadership. Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers,
42(2), 80–94.
• Savel, R. H., & Munro, C. L. (2017). Servant leadership: The primacy of service. American Journal of Critical Care, 26(2), 97–99. Retrieved
from http://ajcc.aacnjournals.org/content/26/2/97
Reference
Hanse, J. J., Harlin, U., Jarebrant, C., Ulin, K., & Winkel, J. (2017). The impact of servant leadership dimensions on leader-member exchange
among health care professionals. The Journal of Nursing Management, 24(2), 228–234.
Write Your Paper
Write a 6- to 8-page personal leadership portrait in which you address the following:
• Evaluate your personal approach to health care leadership.
o Identify the leadership characteristics you already possess.
o Analyze your strengths and limitations (areas for development).
o Compare your leadership characteristics with a predominant leadership style and its application to professional practice.
o Assess other leadership styles you might integrate into your skills repertoire to enhance your effectiveness as a leader and manage change in
health care.
• Explain how your personal approach to health care leadership facilitates interprofessional relationships, community engagement, and change
management.
o Consider interprofessional relationships with staff, community agencies, organizations, and other stakeholders.
o Identify your strengths and weaknesses related to interprofessional relationships, community engagement, and change management.
o Evaluate best practices for interprofessional communications, and compare your communication skills and attributes to those best practices.
• Explain how ethical leadership principles can be applied to professional practice.
o Identify the relevant ethical leadership principles for your discipline (public health, health administration, or nursing).
o Evaluate best practices for developing an ethical culture in the workplace.
• Explain how health care leaders can address diversity and inclusion.
o What do diversity and inclusion mean to you within the context of population health?
o Explain the importance of diversity and inclusion to effective leadership.
o For example, cultivating good employee and community relations.
o How does an effective leader develop a diverse and inclusive workplace (strategies, best practices)?
o How do diversity and inclusion contribute to health care quality and service to the community?
o What best practices would you recommend to address issues of diversity and inclusion?
• Explain how scholar-practitioners contribute to leadership and professional development in the field of health care.
o Define scholar-practitioner, in your own words.
o Explain the importance of critical thinking to scholar-practitioners.
o Evaluate the influence of scholar-practitioners on health care leadership and professional development.
o Explain the importance of scholar-practitioners to professional practice. Consider their value in:
o Expanding the knowledge base.
o Applying new and existing knowledge, research, and scholarship to solve real-world problems.
o Improving health care quality and safety.
Note: You may use the Week 9 Assignment Example [PDF] to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would
look like. Writing in the third person is customary in academic writing; however, for this assignment, you should write in the first person.
Academic Requirements
Your academic writing is expected to conform to the following requirements:
• Writing: Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
o Proofread your writing to avoid errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your
evaluation.
• Formatting: Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing. Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX].
o Apply correct APA formatting to your document, including headers, headings, spacing, and margins. (An abstract is not required.)
o Apply correct APA formatting to all source citations.
o An APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your leadership portrait.
• Length: Your leadership portrait should be 6–8 double-spaced pages in length, not including the title page and references page.
• References: Cite at least four credible sources from peer-reviewed journals, other scholarly sources, professional industry publications, and
assigned readings to support your assessment and analysis.
• Academic Honesty: Submit a draft of your assignment to SafeAssign and make any necessary changes before you submit it to your instructor
for grading.
Submit your paper as an attached Word document.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies:
• Competency 1: Apply interprofessional collaboration, communication, and leadership best practices to advance population health.
o Evaluate one’s personal approach to health care leadership.
o Explain how a personal approach to health care leadership facilitates interprofessional relationships, community engagement, and change
management.
• Competency 2: Apply professional ethics and the principles of diversity and inclusion to advance population health.
o Explain how ethical leadership principles can be applied to professional practice.
o Explain how health care leaders can address diversity and inclusion.
• Competency 3: Explain how scholar-practitioners function as leaders in the field of health care.
o Explain how scholar-practitioners contribute to leadership and professional development in the field of health care.
• Competency 4: Produce written work that demonstrates critical thinking and application of knowledge, in accordance with Capella’s writing
standards.
o Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
o Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
Makers Craft is facing strong competition in the retail craft chain-store market. Easy Crafts, a new discount craft-store chain, is opening stores in many of the same markets. Makers Craft has always been considered a leader in the market due to their high quality of products and their well trained and compensated staff that are experienced in crafts. Customers have enjoyed the opportunity to gain advice and ideas from the company’s talented workers over the years and customers are loyal to their staff. However, the new discount chain is drawing away customers by recruiting the experienced staff from Makers Craft. Adding experienced staff to the lower prices at Easy Crafts is quickly drawing business away from Makers Crafts and executives are concerned.
The sudden employee attrition at Makers Craft is a top priority for new Director of Human Resources Latonya Thomas. Her initial evaluation of the situation suggests the company needs to examine its benefits offerings. Makers Craft has done well at recruiting and training staff; however, little attention has been paid to the company benefits offerings to complement the competitive employee pay. While the company does pay its employees above average wages, it has slowly changed its benefits contributions in response to cost concerns. In the last 5 years, employee contributions to health care premiums have increased, and the company has scaled back its contributions to the employee retirement program. While these changes have helped stabilize Makers Crafts in an uncertain economy, the changes have led to frustration by employees.
Easy Crafts has capitalized on the employee dissatisfaction by offering a generous benefits package to draw Makers employees. The frustrated employees who have migrated to Easy Crafts have accepted minor pay cuts in exchange for a more rich benefits platform. For example, many of the employees are older and their concerns about retirement benefits are more pronounced as they know that retirement is not that far away. Part of Easy Crafts strategic planning process to grow its market share included determining the types of benefits that would be attractive to the Makers Craft workforce. The Easy Crafts retirement plan provides a more significant employer contribution. Given the success of recruiting the Makers Craft workforce, it appears the Easy Crafts planning was effective.
Latonya knows that the company needs to make some changes to the benefits plan; however, she also knows that it is important not to make any hasty decisions in response to this challenge. Latonya needs to begin collecting information in order to start the planning process needed to determine the appropriate changes to Makers Craft benefits plans.
1. What type of strategic planning approach is Latonya taking for Makers Craft? Is this an effective approach?
2. What type of information does Latonya need for the strategic benefits planning process for Makers Craft?
3. If the executives allow Latonya to provide a more rich benefits platform in exchange for freezing wagejvzs, should Latonya support that?
Benefits and Strategic Planning
Makers Craft is facing strong competition in the retail craft chain-store market. Easy Crafts, a new discount craft-store chain, is opening stores in many of the same markets. Makers Craft has always been considered a leader in the market due to their high quality of products and their well trained and compensated staff that are experienced in crafts. Customers have enjoyed the opportunity to gain advice and ideas from the company’s talented workers over the years and customers are loyal to their staff. However, the new discount chain is drawing away customers by recruiting the experienced staff from Makers Craft. Adding experienced staff to the lower prices at Easy Crafts is quickly drawing business away from Makers Crafts and executives are concerned.
The sudden employee attrition at Makers Craft is a top priority for new Director of Human Resources Latonya Thomas. Her initial evaluation of the situation suggests the company needs to examine its benefits offerings. Makers Craft has done well at recruiting and training staff; however, little attention has been paid to the company benefits offerings to complement the competitive employee pay. While the company does pay its employees above average wages, it has slowly changed its benefits contributions in response to cost concerns. In the last 5 years, employee contributions to health care premiums have increased, and the company has scaled back its contributions to the employee retirement program. While these changes have helped stabilize Makers Crafts in an uncertain economy, the changes have led to frustration by employees.
Easy Crafts has capitalized on the employee dissatisfaction by offering a generous benefits package to draw Makers employees. The frustrated employees who have migrated to Easy Crafts have accepted minor pay cuts in exchange for a more rich benefits platform. For example, many of the employees are older and their concerns about retirement benefits are more pronounced as they know that retirement is not that far away. Part of Easy Crafts strategic planning process to grow its market share included determining the types of benefits that would be attractive to the Makers Craft workforce. The Easy Crafts retirement plan provides a more significant employer contribution. Given the success of recruiting the Makers Craft workforce, it appears the Easy Crafts planning was effective.
Latonya knows that the company needs to make some changes to the benefits plan; however, she also knows that it is important not to make any hasty decisions in response to this challenge. Latonya needs to begin collecting information in order to start the planning process needed to determine the appropriate changes to Makers Craft benefits plans.
1. What type of strategic planning approach is Latonya taking for Makers Craft? Is this an effective approach?
2. What type of information does Latonya need for the strategic benefits planning process for Makers Craft?
3. If the executives allow Latonya to provide a more rich benefits platform in exchange for freezing wagejvzs, should Latonya support that?
