Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your classmates as early in the week as possible. Respond to at least two of your classmates. Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a relationship between one or more lines of reasoning in the discussion.
Do you agree with their position? Why or why not?
STUDENT 1:
Amanda Dennis
A project cash flow forecast includes cost estimates for a project, as well as a schedule of when you will incur those costs. This forecast also displays the project’s revenue and a schedule of when you will receive that revenue (Marker, 2024).
One way to ensure a project’s cash flow forecast is accurate is to utilize a forecast calendar, which will include payment due dates based on the supplier or vendor’s payment terms, and show the true cost of the project. A forecast calendar can help organize the various phases of the project, with each phase showing a breakdown of the work to be completed. Including payment due dates will ensure there are no missed or late payments made to vendors. Reviewing the vendors’ contracts will ensure the payment terms are correct. The forecast calendar should also include all costs associated with the project, such as direct and indirect costs. In addition to the outgoing cash flow side of the project, the calendar should also include incoming cash flow. This will include payments that are due from customers.
In addition to utilizing a forecast calendar, one can ensure there are open lines of communication between the various departments involved in the project. Each department provides important figures for the forecast. Maintaining open lines of communication will ensure any updates that are needed to the forecast are made.
One last way to ensure the accuracy of a cash flow forecast is to create multiple scenarios. This can include the best-case scenario, worst-case scenario, and the most likely to occur. An example of a possible scenario could include possible tariffs that could occur on purchased materials from overseas.
Capital Structure
Debt is one of the two main ways a company can raise money in the capital markets. Companies benefit from debt because of its tax advantages; interest payments made as a result of borrowing funds may be tax-deductible (Tuovila, 2024). Using equity in a company’s capital structure can be more expensive, but the benefit is a capital structure based on equity does not need to be paid back.
While both types of capital structures have their advantages and disadvantages, I would have to lean towards using a debt-based capital structure. Companies that have a high leverage ratio and an aggressive capital structure tend to have higher growth rates than those that utilize an equity-based capital structure.
To continue to monitor how much debt the company has leveraged, it’s important to conduct a debt-to-equity (D/E) analysis and compare it to the industry’s averages. If the company is seen as having too much debt financing, future investors can view it as a credit risk. The key is to find a good balance of both debt and equity in the capital structure.
References
Marker, A. (2024, March 20). Project-based cash flow analysis guide. Smartsheet. Retrieved May 6, 2024, from https://www.smartsheet.com/content/project-cash-flow
Tuovila, A. (2024, February 25). Capital structure definition, types, importance, and examples. Investopedia. Retrieved April 4, 2024, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalstructure.asp
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STUDENT 2:
Kassandra Coleman
As an analyst forecasting a project’s cash flow can be difficult and you can encounter many risks. To be as accurate as possible there are a variety of techniques you can use to include a multitude of formulas such as the net present value (NPV) and the Weighted Average Cost of Capital Calculations (WACC). This can present you with a better picture of your project’s outcomes. In important part of forecasting cash flow is that it provides a more complete picture to investors as “published profits can be manipulated, whereas cash generated by a company cannot” (Fight, 2006).
In addition to formulas, you can use historical analysis which is the “starting point for projecting a firm’s future performance under future conditions” (Fight, 2006). Looking at how a company or is similar project has done in the past is a good predictor on how it will progress. Another way to project is by using forecasting models such as the Monte Carlo Simulation which is “used to predict the probability of a variety of outcomes when the potential for random variables is present” (Kenton, 2023). There is no absolute way to alleviate risk however a study found that when “companies use financial analysts to provide cash flow forecasts, the accuracy of earnings forecasts improves, while understanding of cash flow persistence and accruals also increases” (Oh et al., 2020).
In some cases, firms use more debt in their capital structure to enhance the owners’ return on their investments. This would be considered the trade-off theory verse the pecking-order theory. The trade-off theory there is an “optimal amount of debt for any individual firm” (Ross, 2021) verse the pecking order theory where there is no level of debt. An example of the trade-off theory was employed by Coca-Cola whereas the pecking order theory was utilized by Intel.
In 2014 The Coca-Cola Company (Coke) had a long-term debt of $19,063 million and a net income of $45,998 million. The debt ratio at Coke is optimal and is maximizing its market capitalization value at their debt levels. The company has a long-term debt of less than one year’s current net earnings. Consequently, a single year earnings can pay the debt. Intel is a company that follows the pecking order theory, particularly because of its high-risk industry. Although the company is large, considering the technology industry is forever changing at a rapid pace, the company struggles to remain relevant, which creates the industry to be high risk. Because of the large market and competition, the company has to create innovative products and quickly get them to market. This causes a problem by not allowing revenue to fund the company’s growth, and the firm has to rely on debt to satisfy the market. (Business, 2019)
Based off the examples alone the trade-off theory would seem to be superior. In addition, the trade-off theory appears to the more ethical and less risky. However, ultimately it appears to be up to the circumstances in which each firm finds themselves in on how to pursue investments.
References:
Business, D. (2019). Trade-off and Pecking-order Theories. Elijah Clark & Associates. https://elijahclark.com/trade-off-and-pecking-order-theories/
Fight, A. (2006). Cash flow forecasting. Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Fight A. Cash Flow Forecasting. Butterworth-Heinemanhttps://search-ebscohost-com.su.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e900xww&AN=130272&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Kenton, W. (2023, March 26). Monte Carlo Simulation. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/montecarlosimulation.asp
Oh, H. M., Park, S. B., & Kim, J. H. (2020). Do Analysts’ Cash Flow Forecasts Improve Firm Value? International Journal of Financial Studies, 8(4), 60. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs8040060
Ross, S. (2021). Corporate Finance (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US). https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/books/9781264112180
Author: admin
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“Ensuring Accuracy in Project Cash Flow Forecasts and Capital Structure Decisions: A Discussion” “Forecasting Cash Flow: The Trade-Off Theory vs. the Pecking-Order Theory”
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Title: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Free-Market and Command Economic Systems in Achieving Economic Growth: A Case Study of China and Russia’s Transition Introduction: Economic growth is a crucial indicator of a country’s economic performance,
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both free-market and command economic systems regarding the achievement of economic growth. You should use examples of countries in your answer. Use academically approved sources to research the ways that countries in transition, such as China and Russia, are managing any changes in their economies towards a different type of economy, and provide up-to-date economic data to support your findings.
You should also consider the reasons why countries such as China or Russia want to change their economic systems and how such a change is being managed.
Important issues for you to consider when building your argument:
• The definitions and characteristics of free market and command economies – compare and contrast • Economic growth as a major macroeconomic indicator of the performance of an economy
• Major factors influencing economic growth and their behaviour under different economic systems
• Interactions of major economic variables with economic growth under each economic system, such as unemployment, inflation, interest rates and balance of trade.
• Consider the reasons for any country (e.g. China and Russia) to want to change to a different economic system and what steps are being taken to achieve a successful transition.
Introduction: descriiption of issues/problems identified with the topic under discussion.
b. Discussion and Analysis: your analysis and answers to the questions raised in your discussion. These should be put into a coherent argument (you should try to break up this section using a few key subtitles where appropriate).
c. Conclusion: a short summary and your final evaluation that flows from your findings and analysis.
• References and Bibliography (apply the Harvard method of referencing). -
“Promoting Equity and Excellence: A Critique of a Policy/Initiative/Program in K-12 Education” “Reflecting on Educational Equity and Excellence: A Journey of Growth and Understanding”
Module 12 Final Critique
You will select and evaluate a policy/initiative/program of a specific school, district or education organization (K-12).
The policy should address an at least two foci from module 2 through 11.
Equity Foci
Module 3 – Curriculum (e.g. stratified curriculum/programming – AIG; vocational; AP/IB
Module 4 – Race/Ethnicity (e.g. diversity enrollment initiatives; cultural competency training; culturally responsive teaching; asset-based pedagogy; anti-racism curriculum; DEI
Module 5 – Socioeconomics (e.g. Title I programming; federal student aid; whole child school-based services – health, dental, counseling, etc.; school meal programs; early childhood education; school transportation; school choice)
Module 6 – Language (e.g. dual language immersion programs; ESL)
Module 7 – Gender/Sex (e.g. Title IX)
Module 8 – Ability (g. IDEA; individualized learning plans)
Module 9/10/11 – Excellence driven market-oriented initiatives (e.g. standards-based assessment policy; school choice [magnets; charters; intra-district; inter-district; private school; homeschool]; voucher programs;
Your analysis will include:
Overview of the school, district or education organization
Overview of the policy/initiative/program selected
Outcomes
Effectiveness of distinct practices intended to promote equity and excellence
Recommendations
Three recommendations (evidenced-based) for further implementation to promote equitable learning opportunities and academic excellence
Estimated Time for Completion: 7 hours
Course Objectives
Analyze the philosophical perspectives, major historical developments, and landmark cases that underpin approaches to education in the United States.
Analyze the impact of federal and state-level educational reform on equity and excellence in education while considering the influence of social, political, and economic contexts.
Evaluate dispositional and professional norms within an educational organization setting and make recommendations for improvement.
Analyze a school in New Orleans using an equity perspective to develop evidence-based recommendations that promote excellence, equity, inclusivity, and cultural responsiveness.
Instructions
Final Critique Overview
Final Critique Graphic OrganizerDownload Final Critique Graphic Organizer
Your analysis should include the following:
Introduction
Overview of school/district/ education organization
Demographics of student population/community and leadership/faculty/teachers/staff, etc.
Overview of the initiative/policy/reform
Initiative/policy/reform’s intended purpose/goal
Implementation and Outcomes
How is the policy/program/initiative implemented?
Effectiveness (or not)/ outcome of the initiative/policy/reform to promote equity, inclusivity, and cultural responsiveness
Recommendations
Three recommendations (evidenced-based) for further implementation to promote equitable learning opportunities and academic excellence
Critique Specifications:
Written option
Length: 5 pages (not including the reference pages)
Format: Double-spaced, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, 1″ margins
Number of sources required: minimum of 7
Academic Style Guide Requirements: APA
Include a Reference page
Video
Video record your responses. 10-minute recording limit. Vlog must address each critique prompt and include references in APA format. Minimum of 7 sources
Presentation
Poster/Illustration (e.g., Canva product, comic strip, Prezi; PowerPoint). Poster presentation/illustration must address each critique prompt. Include references in APA format. Minimum of 7 sources.
Submit this assignment by December 10 at 11:59 pm Central.
Module 12 Assignment: Final Course Reflection
Due: Sun May 5, 2024 11:59pmDue: Sun May 5, 2024 11:59pm
Ungraded, 100 Possible Points100 Points Possible
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Available: Jan 9, 2024 12:00am until May 11, 2024 11:59pmAvailable: Jan 9, 2024 12:00am until May 11, 2024 11:59pm
Details
Final Course Reflection
Background and Overview
Reflection is an important part of the learning process. There may have been topics in this course you learned very easily and can already make connections to how the information will be valuable to you in your career. There may also be topics that were more difficult to grasp. Reflect on your learning in this course.
Estimated Time for Completion: 2 hours
Target Course Objectives
Analyze the philosophical perspectives, major historical developments, and landmark cases that underpin approaches to education in the United States.
Analyze the impact of federal and state-level educational reform on equity and excellence in education while considering the influence of social, political, and economic contexts.
Evaluate dispositional and professional norms within an educational organization setting and make recommendations for improvement.
Analyze a school in New Orleans using an equity perspective to develop evidence-based recommendations that promote excellence, equity, inclusivity, and cultural responsiveness.
Instructions
Drawing on your readings and content from the course, reflect on how the course has influenced your understanding of your work in education as it relates to educational equity and excellence. What were “aha” learnings for you? What was your perspective on the purpose of education at the beginning of the course? How has your understanding of the historical and philosophical underpinnings connected to formalized education influenced your approach to your specific work? How has your thinking expanded, shifted, and/or deepened? What are the implications for your work moving forward? Your reflection should reference at least four readings or concepts from the course.
Submission format: Select a format to submit your final course reflection.
Essay format – 2 pages; Double-spaced; 12 pt font; Times New Roman; 1″ margins
Video – video record your responses. 5-minute recording limit.
Poster/Illustration (e.g., Canva product, comic strip, Prezi)
Each format must adequately address all reflection prompts.
Specification Summary:
Number of sources required: minimum of 4
Submit this assignment by Sunday at 11:59 pm Central.
Mendez v. Westminster School District. (1946). National Archives. Retrieved from
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/mendez-case
Kober, N. (2020). History and Evolution of Public Education in the US. Center on Education Policy. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606970.pdf
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy – Educator Excellence (CA Dept of Education). (2017). Ca.gov. https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/culturallysustainingped.asp
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). Oyez. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483
History – Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment. (2023). United States Courts. https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment
Black, D. W. (2020, September 22). America’s Founders Recognized the Need for Public Education. Democracy Requires Maintaining That Commitment. Time; Time. https://time.com/5891261/early-american-education-history/
Asset-Based Pedagogies – Educator Excellence (CA Dept of Education). (2022). Ca.gov. https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/assetbasedpedagogies.asp
Horace Mann, “The Necessity of Education in a Republican Government,” Speech Text – Voices of Democracy. (2016, July 5). Voices of Democracy. https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/horace-mann-the-necessity-of-education-in-a-republican-government-speech-text/
A completely incomplete History of Education in the United States. (2023). Padlet. https://padlet.com/molly1alex/a-completely-incomplete-history-of-education-in-the-united-s-hbpat1yqpi6mo24m -
“The Controlling Nature of Mother-Daughter Relationships in James Joyce’s Dubliners: A Reassessment of “The Boarding House” and “A Mother””
Use James Joyce’s Dubliners to revise an essay about the mother-daughter relationship in his stories “The Boarding House” and “A Mother.” Go into detail about how and why the mothers controlled their daughters in these ways and use specific examples from the text. Use the notes given by the professor to make changes to the original “English Final Draft” and revise the document. Make sure to go into extensive detail and really analyze the text to explore a deeper meaning. Source is given and already cited, just make the change that the professor has given.
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Title: Leadership and Communication Issues at Fameit Inc.
Fameit Inc. (FI) is a manufacturing company that produces customized frames using all sorts of materials to create frames for certificates, pictures, paintings, etc., all over the world. There are 100 employees divided between manufacturing and sales representatives, with about 20 staff assigned to managerial/administrative positions in the various departments. About 2 months ago, the head of production, James (in his position for the last 3 years), was in a meeting with his staff when the following conversation occurred:
Production manager James says at the end of a half-hour meeting to review the production schedule results: “Does anyone have anything to add concerning operations today?”
Production employee Maria: “Well, we are having some problems in production because some of our vendor acrylics are changing composition and are not resulting in the best quality of product when they come off the line. Someone needs to speak with our vendor.”
Production manager James: “Anyone else have that problem?” (He waits for 3 seconds for any response and then continues.) “Thanks everyone, I guess that wraps up this meeting. Now back to work!”
After a week, the production manager began to receive reports from the database system that quality control was rejecting some of the final products off the assembly line. In addition, customer complaints and returns now had gotten to the critical point, and executive management had been alerted.
The production manager had a special meeting of his department that same day and admonished the production team, saying:
“It is your responsibility to see that these products pass quality control. If there is a problem, you are to contact me. I hold you all responsible for this lapse in reporting this problem. I will decide shortly who will be working with me to resolve this issue.”
Production employee Maria just looked at her colleagues and said: “But boss, I did bring this up at the last meeting.”
Production manager James responded: “Well, if there was a problem as important as this one, you should have sent a follow-up memo to everyone.” Looking at Maria, he continued, “Someone may be losing their job over this!” Then he adjourned the meeting.
Production employee Maria, speaking to another employee after the meeting: “I absolutely should not lose my job over this; I told him there was a problem. I am going to lodge a complaint with the human resources department right away.”
Checklist: Respond to the following items regarding the scenario and the leadership and communication processes you learned about through your reading and learning activities.
Analyze the problems at this company as portrayed in the scenario.
Describe the leadership style demonstrated by the manager:
Name the leadership style.
Define the leadership style.
Explain why you chose this leadership style.
Explain the aspects of the leadership process that were neglected by the manager.
Describe the steps in the communication process.
Describe the steps in the communication process that were not addressed or completed.
Explain how the communication steps were not completed or addressed.
Examine and explain how the manager could have used the communication and leadership process to (1) build a better relationship with the employees in his department and (2) make employees more effective on the job. -
Title: “The Power of Positive Thinking: A Personal Reflection”
I have this essay and I want rewrite it. Please add some sentancess. If it posssible plese change the name.
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Title: “Exploring the Health Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation: A Literature Review”
4 references:
-1 must be a peer-reviewed scientific paper
-3 must be Medline,Harvard publications etc. -
“The Evolution of Democracy in Costa Rica: Examining Voting Behavior and Key Factors in its Development”
This will be a research paper on Costa Rica and the voting behavior that has occurred. It should highlight the main components in how Costa Rica became the democracy it is today. The professor is very strict on follwing directions so writer should thoroughly review the rubric before drafting the paper. I will attach six sources, as well as the instructions, and my first draft which the writer can go off of.
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“The Stroop Effect and Selective Attention: A Study on the Impact of Visual Interference on Cognitive Processing” “The Impact of Demographic Factors on Recruiting Success: A Study of Gender Differences”
Instructions
For this assignment, you will complete a research paper on The Stroop Effect and selective attention.
You will write the report as if you were the researcher conducting the experiment.
For this paper, your introduction should be 2-3 pages of double-spaced writing. you have completed the experiment you will need to analyze data (remember that I will give you data) and write a lab report (7- 10 pages – this page count does not include the title page or references)
This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin™.
Instructions
For this assignment, you will complete a research paper on The Stroop Effect and selective attention. The Stroop Effect is a phenomenon that occurs with the Stroop Task, a test that looks at what happens when we are asked to perform an ordinary task (such as reading or identifying a list of colors) when there is some sort of visual interference.
You are acting like you are the researcher who conducted this study! However, you do not have to actually collect the data – I already have that for you. In order to understand how the study works and how data was collected, you will need to participate in an online experiment on the Stroop Effect located within the “psychology learning tools”.
Once you have completed the experiment you will need to analyze data (remember that I will give you data) and write a lab report (7- 10 pages – this page count does not include the title page or references) in APA style consisting of the following sections:
Title Page
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References
(More information on each section is located below)
Just like the mini lab report, you will participate in the online experiment so you know what the experiment is like. You will be given the data to analyze.
Here is the data file: DATA
Remember that you were given additional details in the Week 4 Discussion topic: Research Project Topic/Hypothesis
You will write the report as if you were the researcher conducting the experiment. You have some options in your research question for this project. The data you are given includes the gender and age of the participants as well as two columns of results data (reading the words and saying the colors). If you have a particular interest and want to modify the data, you have that choice. We will talk about this as you work on your hypothesis. You should try to use as much of your data as possible. Do not discard data unless there is a really good reason to do so.
Careful attention must be paid to APA Style as it represents a significant portion of your grade for the paper and is an intended learning outcome for the course. At the end of the term, you will submit your completed paper to your assignment folder.
Research Report – Stroop Effect Rubric
Main components on your research paper
Title page – Make sure that the main points of a title page are included.
Abstract – This is a well written summary of your paper. A reader should be able to get a clear picture of your paper based on the abstract. Include everything from a quick introduction of the topic to a sentence that implies that you will discuss results and implications.
Introduction – This is so much more than a summary of your paper and should not be treated that way. For this paper, your introduction should be 2-3 pages of double spaced writing. Start by introducing your topic in general. Then you should discuss research from relevant published studies. Most, if not all, of your 8 references from peer reviewed sources will be cited in this section. Discussing these studies are important as they help provide a rationale for your study. Give that rationale next. Finish by clearly stating your hypothesis.
Here is an article to get you started. Remember that this website isn’t the source for this article. You need to locate and cite the original source!
Methods – Split this section into participants, materials and procedures subsections. You know the gender and age of all of your participants. You are welcome to include other demographic or recruiting information as it helps you with your study. Try the study here so you can adequately write about the procedures. Click on Run Experiment to get started.
Results – Use the data I provided to calculate your results. Remember that your hypothesis drives your statistics. Think about what statistics you need to include to test your hypothesis. Write out all of your numbers even if you are including them in a table. Don’t forget to include a chart or table!
Discussion – This is the best section because it is finally time to talk about what YOU think. After restating your results, talk about what they mean. What are the implications of your findings? Why are they important? For instance, why should we care that one gender is better at this than the other or that there aren’t gender differences for this study? After that, talk about the limitations to your study and give specific ideas for future research.
References – Don’t forget that your references (and all of your paper) need to be in APA format. You need at least 8 references from peer reviewed sources (e.g., journals). -
Title: “A Brief Analysis of ‘The Starry Night’ by Vincent van Gogh” Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” is a famous oil painting created in 1889 during the artist’s stay at an asylum
Pick a work of art that we DID NOT look at in class and provide a brief analysis of it. This should be two paragraphs of good factual information. Think about: color, perspective, tone, composition. Is there a message and if so, what is it? Is there anything in the artist’s background that would have influenced the artwork (like Caravaggio or Gentileschi)? Did government, society, or religion have any influence – essentially place it in historical context?