1 a. PROBLEM 1 Millar Company has the following cost records for May 2016 Indirect factory labor $ 10,000 Advertising Expense $   8,000 Direct materials used 13,000 Depreciation, factory equipment 4,200 Work in process, 5/1/15 5,000 Direct labor 11,000 Work in process, 5/31/15 6,500 Maintenance, office equipment 2,000 Depreciation, office equipment 1,000 Indirect materials 1,200 Sales Commission 10,000 Office Manager Salary 4,000 Instructions Prepare a cost of goods manufactured schedule for May 2016 MILLAR COMPANY Cost of Goods Manufactured Schedule For the Year Ended May 31, 2016 PROBLEM 2 Mottle Inc. fixed costs are expected to be $80,000 and variable costs are expected to be $20 per product. Sales price is $40 per product and targeted net income is $300,000 . Instructions a. Determine the required sales in units and dollars to break even. b. Determine the required sales in units to achieve targeted net income of $300,000. PROBLEM 3 Marvin Company estimates that annual manufacturing overhead costs will be $900,000. Estimated annual operating activity bases are: direct labor cost $450,000, direct labor hours 300,000, and machine hours 150,000. a. Compute the predetermined overhead rate using (i) direct labor cost as the activity base (ii) direct labor hours as the activity base and (iii) machine hours as the activity base. b. If Job 101 has 60,000 direct labor hours, compute the manufacturing overhead that it should be assigned using the predetermined overhead rate computed in question a. above. c. If Job 102 has 20,000 machine hours, compute the manufacturing overhead that it should be assigned using the predetermined overhead rate computed in question a. above. PROBLEM 4 Blake Johnson has the following cost and production data for the Mixing Department for December 2013 Cost data: Beginning work in process inventory, December 1 Direct Materials $30,000 Conversion Cost $ 6,000 $36,000 Cost incurred during production in December Direct Materials $390,000 Conversion costs $122,000 $512,000 Total Costs $548,000 Production data Completed and transferred out 52,000 Ending work in process 8,000 Ending work in process was 100% complete as to materials and 25% complete as to conversion costs. Instructions (a) Compute the equivalent units for materials and conversion costs. (b) Determine the unit cost for materials and conversion Note: Can complete solutions in Excel and then paste in spaces below, or can type directly in spaces below. Running head: BUSINESS DECISION-MAKING PROJECT 2 1 BUSINESS DECISION MAKING PROJECT 2 6 Business Decision-Making Project 2 Trisha Shetler QNT/ 275 Negussie Nega December 12,2016 Identify the types of descriptive statistics that might be best for summarizing the data, if you were to collect a sample. Cross-tabulations and contingen ...

1. 1
a.
PROBLEM 1
Millar Company has the following cost records for May 2016
Indirect factory labor
$ 10,000
Advertising Expense
$ 8,000
Direct materials used
13,000
Depreciation, factory equipment
4,200
Work in process, 5/1/15
5,000
Direct labor
11,000
Work in process, 5/31/15
6,500
Maintenance, office equipment
2,000
Depreciation, office equipment
1,000
Indirect materials

2. 1,200
Sales Commission
10,000
Office Manager Salary
4,000
Instructions
Prepare a cost of goods manufactured schedule for May 2016
MILLAR COMPANY
Cost of Goods Manufactured
Schedule For the Year Ended May 31, 2016

4. PROBLEM 2
Mottle Inc. fixed costs are expected to be $80,000 and variable
costs are expected to be $20 per product. Sales price is $40 per
product and targeted net income is $300,000
.
Instructions
a. Determine the required sales in units and dollars to break
even.
b. Determine the required sales in units to achieve targeted net
income of $300,000.
PROBLEM 3
Marvin Company estimates that annual manufacturing overhead
costs will be $900,000. Estimated annual operating activity
bases are: direct labor cost $450,000, direct labor hours
300,000, and machine hours 150,000.
a. Compute the predetermined overhead rate using (i) direct
labor cost as the activity base (ii) direct labor hours as the
activity base and (iii) machine hours as the activity base.
b. If Job 101 has 60,000 direct labor hours, compute the

5. manufacturing overhead that it should be assigned using the
predetermined overhead rate computed in question a. above.
c. If Job 102 has 20,000 machine hours, compute the
manufacturing overhead that it should be assigned using the
predetermined overhead rate computed in question a. above.
PROBLEM 4
Blake Johnson has the following cost and production data for
the Mixing Department for December 2013
Cost data:
Beginning work in process inventory, December 1
Direct Materials $30,000
Conversion Cost $ 6,000
$36,000
Cost incurred during production in December
Direct Materials $390,000
Conversion costs $122,000
$512,000
Total Costs $548,000
Production data
Completed and transferred out 52,000
Ending work in process 8,000

6. Ending work in process was 100% complete as to materials
and 25% complete as to conversion costs.
Instructions
(a) Compute the equivalent units for materials and
conversion costs.
(b) Determine the unit cost for materials and conversion
Note: Can complete solutions in Excel and then paste in spaces
below, or can type directly in spaces below.
Running head: BUSINESS DECISION-MAKING PROJECT 2 1
BUSINESS DECISION MAKING PROJECT 2 6
Business Decision-Making Project 2
Trisha Shetler
QNT/ 275
Negussie Nega
December 12,2016

7. Identify the types of descriptive statistics that might be best for
summarizing the data, if you were to collect a sample.
Cross-tabulations and contingency tables
Cross tabulations and contingency tables provide an excellent
platform to compare data taken from different samples. By
looking at the data that has been taken from different
organizations, it will not be difficult to spot the performance of
the organization as far as motivation of employees is concerned
on the table. Exposing such data to the interested parties is one
of the most effective methods of informing the audience. The
method will go a long way in summarizing the collected data.
Graphical representation
The use of scatter plots will go a long way in showing how data
that would be of use to the entire process was attained.
Scatterplots give an overview of the concentration of the
population in a specific parameter (Weis & Weis, 2012). The
data about the employees who are workers of organizations
which have been doing well due to motivation will be recorded
on the graphs. From there it will be easy it identify if the
employees from Apple are well motivated or not.
For example, when a sample of some of the employees in a
different organization is taken, it is more likely that the
employees are scattered on a plot. The research team might use
a different color for employees who are motivated and use a
different color for the ones who are not motivated. By so doing,
the interested parties or the audience will just need to know
what color that represent employees from a particular
organization? By using the method, it will be easy to
communicate with the audience on the matter. If the data would
have been displayed without being summarized on the graph, it
is more likely that it would have been difficult for the entire

8. audience to understand.
Descriptions of conditional distributions
In each and every given research, the processing of disclosing
the information about data collected by the relevant parties as
well as researchers must be carried out. Descriptions about how
the data is contributed go a long way in informing the research
team of the progress and the results of the entire process. The
method is bound to go a long way in helping to summarize the
data collected.
Analyze the types of inferential statistics that might be best for
analyzing the data, if you were to collect a sample.
i) Confidence interval
To ensure that the claims about the organization in failing to
motivate the employees are backed, there must be processes that
should be followed (Weis & Weis, 2012). The processes will
help in the summarization of data that will contribute to support
the problem that has been associated with the organization. In
confidence interval, the same process is used to test different
population with the aim of coming to a conclusion. The method
uses the same process as well as the same population but uses
separate experiments.
By employing the method in the course of summarizing the
data, it will be easy to know if employees at the organization
are motivated or not. Putting into consideration that the same
only the experiment will be separate, it’s hard to rule out if the
process will reach to goals that will be of benefit to the research
process. However, the experiments that will be used will be
categorized in a way that one experiment tests on the
availability of motivation in the employees while the other will
be testing of the unavailability of motivation among the
employees.
i) One sample test of difference
One sample test of difference compares the average of a
specific sample. The method is used to summarize data and
offer results concerning the specific research carried out. The
method would be suitable to be used in this test for some

9. reasons. The performance of a given number of motivated
employees is different from the performance of non-motivated
employees. The use of the data will need another data that
might have been taken from a different population.
It is more probably that employees who are motivated are likely
to produce good results. Therefore, by taking a mean of
employees who are motivated and taking a mean of employees
who are not motivated, the research team will identify the level
of motivation that lacks in the organization (Lowry, 2014). The
method only concentrates on one sample. Therefore, there needs
to be borrowed samples from a previous research or research
that might have been done in a different organization for
comparison. The mean on just the sample that might be
collected in this case might not be of importance to the research
since the results needed must be compared with others. The
method is allowed to borrow for data from another study as long
as the data is credible and complete.
ii) Contingency tables
A contingency table is a method that is more effective in
comparing data from different populations. The table included
data from various researches. The data is then compared. By so
doing, it becomes easy to different between which data is more
variable than the other. For example, if the performance of the
motivated employees was recorded on one side of the table and
the performance of the employees who are not motivated on the
other side, it is easier to notice the difference. The method is
the easiest and more accurate compared to the rest.
Analyze the role probability or trend analysis might play in
helping address the business problem
Trend analysis plays a major role in influencing the process of
comparing different business data and information. Research
information and presentation of results relies heavily on the
results as well as the consistency of the trends in information
gathered. Strategies are developed to correspond to the trends in
line with the basic organization goals. Trend and probability
analysis facilitates more understanding on how the organization

10. has performed. At the same time, it helps in prediction of
whether the current business operations will make the
organization prosper or lead to its downfall.
Trend analysis can be used to improve the organization through;
a) Identification of areas where the organization registers high
performance
b) Identification of areas where the business is underperforming
c) Provision of evidence for the sake of infirming decision
making.
Probability, on the other hand, assists in assessments through
the inclusion of organization data from different departments
and comparing the data with other research results. This way, it
is easier to form conclusions, make comparisons and more so,
determine areas of improvement. The entire market research
effort is a necessary path, and very beneficial for most
organizations. Apple company should emulate other prospering
and coming up organizations in trying to mitigate the problem
of lack of employee efficiency and find ways to motivate its
personnel, to increase overall productivity.
References
Lowry, R. (2014). Concepts and applications of inferential
statistics.
Weiss, N. A., & Weiss, C. A. (2012). Introductory statistics.
London: Pearson Education.
Bickel, P. J., & Lehmann, E. L. (2012). Descriptive statistics
for nonparametric models I. Introduction. In Selected Works

11. of EL Lehmann (pp. 465-471). Springer US.
Bickel, P. J., & Lehmann, E. L. (2012). Descriptive statistics
for nonparametric models II. Location. In Selected Works of
EL Lehmann (pp. 473-497). Springer US.
Running head: BUSINESS DECISION MAKING 1
BUSINESS DECISION MAKING 6
Business Decision Making Project Part 1
Trisha Shetler
QNT/ 275
Negussie Nega
December 9, 2016
BUSINESS DECISION MAKING PROJECT PART 1
Name and description of the selected company

12. Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. was incorporated in 1977. The organization deals
with the design, manufacturing, and marketing of
telecommunication devices such as mobile phones, personal
computers and numerous digital music players to the vast
number of consumers it serves. The organization is globally
recognized for selling a wide range of software commodities, as
well as providing network solutions as well as digital content
applications (Need, 2006). The products offered by the
organization, include; iPhone, iPod’s, watches and a wide range
of digital accessories as well as support offerings.
Apple sells to a broad consumer base, in particular through the
iTunes store, and the Mac app store. The organization has
employees all over the world, with many chains of distributions
stores. Effectiveness is highly emphasized on in the
organization. The applications which have been unveiled by the
organization include; iLife, iWork, and many other software
products, which are available for download. The organization,
through these aspects, has managed to create a contact with its
consumers totally. The customers feel valued, acknowledged
and of high value to the organization.
Apple pay is another organization’s service, which facilitates
payment systems. This system allows users to make payments in
the Apple stores that accept contactless payments. The main aim
is to take part in purchase and sale without necessarily having
to participate in applications on devices. The organization has
remained profitable for quite an extended period now and
continued with the spirit of innovation. Employees are also
encouraged to remain operationally efficient for the sake of
organization success.
Description of the problem at that company
Workplace motivation plays a significant role in any
organization. Motivation in the workplace influences
performance and determines whether the employees will
perform more efficiently or not. Motivation may come from the
internal aspect of the personnel and may be affected by the

13. workplace environment as well. Motivation, therefore, has an
impact on the different aspects of employee performance. The
biggest problem in Apple Inc. is the lack of employee
motivation in the workplace.
Leaders in the entity need to step forward and more so, realize
that personnel has to be steered ahead to produce useful results.
The staff is highly reluctant to any changes which may be
introduced within their respective functional units. Although
this might not be present and widely revealed, it is evident that
the production and quality of work in the entity has reduced.
Most companies do not recognize the factors which affect the
motivation of their personnel.
Management ends up looking at personnel as just any other tool
in the toolbox, which is necessarily required to complete the
product in the company and release it to the market (Need,
2006). As organizations continue to become diverse, problems
are bound to arise primarily as operations continue. The
underlying causes of most of the organization issues are; the
lack of proper communication, wrong organization structure,
and lack of a chain of command within the entity as well.
Employee issues might be the primary cause of organization
problems. If personnel is encountered with supervisor issues,
personal problems, traumas, company structure and poor
working conditions, these aspects are bound to demotivate them.
Organizations, just like Apple Company, for instance, need to
ensure that they are consistently relevant and more so, that
procedure within the entity are not affected by inconsistency in
managerial effectiveness within the entity.
One research variable from that problem.
Organization performance is the best study variable to be used
for the particular problem. Considering that motivation has a
direct effect on employee performance, the results are bound to
dictate just how much efficiency within the entity has been
affected by the lack of motivation among personnel at Apple
Inc.
The methods you would use for collecting a suitable sample

14. Organization data can be collected through different approaches
such as;
a) Interviews
Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured.
The researcher gets to interrogate some staff within the
organization. In this case, more quantitative information is
sought, about organization performance for instance, and
employee satisfaction among other factors.
b) Focus groups
The use of focus groups is highly preferred especially when
there is a need to obtain information in a more reliable manner
from a group, rather than from individuals. In such a scenario,
the use of focus groups is bound to remain inefficient.
Organization staff are prone to be intimidated by their
superiors, and might not be open about the problem in the
presence of other subjects. The use of focus groups does not
provide room for secrecy which compromises the validity of the
research data provided.
c) Observation
Observation is the most efficient means of collecting primary
research data (Pan, 2016). Observation involves the use of
natural settings. The researcher takes lengthy and a descriptive
note of whatever is happening around him. However, there are
restrictions to situations which can be observed in their natural
environment. This way, such method is prone to lack of research
validity in the long run. Observation has numerous advantages
since; it can offer a flavor for what is taking place, it gives
insight into the bigger picture within the organization, and more
so, it can be used to help in designing the rest of the research.
d) Self-study
Self-study takes the form of a systematic approach, and relies
on the following steps;
i. Determine the aim of research
ii. Determining the permission which might be needed
iii. How the observations will be recorded
iv. What will be recorded

15. v. What will be done with the findings
e) Acton research
Action research involves the performance of the actual research
process, and not just asking about the problem in the entity.
Action research in a collection of quantitative data relies on the
use of the following framework; collaborative, practical
intervention mode and the active involvement in the area of
action.
How you will know if the data collection method would be valid
and reliable.
Data testing for reliability and validity can be done through
content validity and criterion validity. At this stage research
results are compared and weighed against other variables and
control experiments to determine their accuracy and efficiency.
References
Need, W. C. D. H. P. (2006). Human Resource Management:
Gaining a competitive advantage.
Sahlman, W. A. (2010). The structure and governance of

16. venture capital organizations. Journal of financial
economics, 27(2), 473-521.
Pan, Y. C., & Tan, C. (2016). Three Dimensional Norm-Based
Knowledge Management for Knowledge Intensive Business
Service Organizations: An Organizational Semiotics
Perspective. International Journal of Knowledge
Engineering, 2(1), 50-55.