Identify any principles of internal control that may be violated in this medical office situation. What is an internal audit? How it is different from the external audit. Explain in detail using academic sources. What procurement strategy has the case organisation adopted? Why have they adopted this strategy? Identify the geographical strategy, their supplier base, and centralised or decentralised

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Portfolio

Instructions:
• There are four tasks to complete. Please use the number of words and marks for each task to guide you in completing the assessment.
• The portfolio should be an independent work, have clear evidence on the understanding of the relevant concepts and clarity and conciseness of written work.
• Use a reasonable range of academic sources to support your ideas wherever possible in each task using Harvard reference Style and provide a complete reference list at the end of each task.
• The number of words for each task exclude the reference list.

Task 1 [1000 words]
Jim Howe has worked for Dr Pat Dorsey for several years. Jim demonstrates a loyalty that is rare among employees. He hasn’t taken a vacation in the last three years. One of Jim’s primary duties at the medical office is to open the mail and list the cheques received. He also takes cash from patients at the cashier window as patients leave. At times it is so hectic that Jim doesn’t bother with giving each patient a receipt for the cash paid on their accounts. Instead, he assures them he will see to it that they receive the proper credit. When the traffic is slow in the office, Jim offers to help Sue post the payments to the patients’ accounts receivable. She is always happy to receive his help because he is a very conscientious worker.

Questions
• Identify any principles of internal control that may be violated in this medical office situation. (10 marks)

• What is an internal audit? How it is different from the external audit. Explain in detail using academic sources. (15 marks)

Task 2 [1000 words]
Identify an organisation from the list of companies (attached document) provided on the canvas topic whose procurement strategy and processes interest you. Ensure that you can gather relevant information to complete this task.

Question
What procurement strategy has the case organisation adopted? Why have they adopted this strategy? (10 marks) Identify the geographical strategy, their supplier base, and centralised or decentralised

Procurement sourcing strategies that can be classified into the following categories:
 number of suppliers (single, dual, and multiple sourcing);
 geographical supplier distribution (local, national, international, and global sourcing);
 centralised and decentralised strategies
 Add information of procurement sourcing strategy you found about your case organisation. You can find direct information or infer this information by looking at :
 Need of different types of material for manufacturing business might require different suppliers.
 Whether company is purchasing from local, national or international supplier. Or doing business locally, nationally or internationally. Some organisation localised production in one country, but the distribution network is global.
 Is this a large organisation with subsidiaries, independent branches locally or internationally?

• What relationship does the case organisation facilitate with their suppliers? (8 marks)

• What organisation performance objective is achieved using their procurement strategy? (7 marks)

Task 3: [1000 words]
Part (one).
• Budgeting can be an essential management tool if appropriately implemented. Identify the positive results when budgets are used properly. Conversely, since budgets affect people, identify the negative aspects if budgets are not implemented properly. (12 marks)

Part (two).
The managing director of Business Magazine Ltd has recently introduced a budgetary control system. The accountant drew up budgets for the advertising and editorial departments based on the actual results for the last three years. At the end of the first month of the new financial period, the actual income was higher than planned, but the actual total advertising department costs were higher than budgeted. However, the actual costs for the editorial department were the same as those budgeted, and the actual profit for the period was higher. On receiving the first month’s results, the managing director threatened to dismiss the advertising manager for exceeding the budgeted costs. The advertising manager responded by saying that he would resign unless the budgetary control system was scrapped. The accountant left to join another company.

Questions
• You work for the consultant firm that has been asked to advise the company. Prepare a preliminary report covering the guidelines for the operation of a successful and effective budgetary control system, including the recommendations as to what action the managing director of the client company should take. (13 marks)

A summary of the budgetary control process is as follows:
• Set budget at beginning of year. Either divide annual figures into 12 to give monthly budget amounts for every line of income and expense where costs or income are evenly spread or assess on a monthly basis.
• Record the controlling profit centre along with each of the actual financial transactions, both income and expenses by cost element
• Report actual results to profit centre managers on a monthly basis in a format that enables them to compare the actual figures to the monthly budget figures
• Identify “variances” by deducting the budget figure from the actual figure for each line of the monthly progress report (i.e. actual – budget)
• The cost centre/department manager has the responsibility to investigate the variances on his/her report to find out why they occurred, and to report the findings to senior managers/finance director/board of directors
• Act on findings – if there is an issue such as poor-quality materials or a need for staff training this needs to be taken forward. However, it may be that either the budget was set at an unrealistic level or circumstances have changed significantly since the budget was set (e.g. a hike in the price of raw materials), and it may be more appropriate to change the budget to a more accurate figure for future months
• The monthly budget report with its variances is an example of “management by exception” – management can concentrate its efforts on the problem areas highlighted, so this is an efficient use of management time.
• Fixed budget shows the planned result for a single planned level of activity
• Flexible budget shows planned results for a number of different levels of activity

Task 4 [1000 words]
Question part (a) (approx. 400-450 words  10 marks

• In part (a) of task 4 it is expected from the students to show an understanding of the ratio analysis and its interpretation plus an understanding of the financial statements elements that are profit and cash and how these are different from each other by using difference examples.

• Discuss both scenarios of profitability ratio and difference between cash and profit with relation to the case study

Using throughput accounting, what is the return per factory hour? What is the target cost gap for product Beta? What is the throughput accounting ratio for Paddington plc’s factory?

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Managing Organisational Performance

Answer ALL 20 questions in this section.
You must choose an answer for each MCQ. There is only ONE correct answer to each question. If you choose more than one answer to a question, you will receive no marks for your choice. You must choose an answer for each MCQ and provide a short written justification, including calculations, as needed, for your answer.
The recommended word limit for Section A is approximately 700 words.

All questions carry equal marks – two marks per question: one mark for the answer and one mark for the justification (40 marks in total).
1. The following statements have been made about life cycle costing.
1. Life cycle costing can be applied to products with a short life cycle.
2. Product life cycle costing is not well-suited for use within budgetary control systems. Which of the following statements is/are true?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Neither 1 nor 2
d. Both 1 and 2

2. Product Alpha is made in a process where machine time is a bottleneck resource. Each unit requires 0.1 machine hours. The costs and selling price of product Alpha are as follows:

  • Materials £6
  • Labour £3
  • Other factory costs £5
  • Selling Price £15

Using throughput accounting, what is the return per factory hour?
a. £60
b. £90
c. £10
d. £4

3. Given the following data has been established for product Beta, a new product in its design phase.
Product Beta target selling price £10 per unit
Target Profit 25% on cost
Current cost £8.40 per unit
What is the target cost gap for product Beta?
a. £0.40
b. £0.60
c. £0.90
d. £1.60

4. Paddington plc manufactures advanced cordless saws in a single factory. Each saw sells for £200 and the material costs £80 per unit. There is no limit to sales demand. Other production costs are £1,100,000 per year. Each saw requires the use of multiple machines of which, one machine is old and often breaks down. This means only 15,000 saws can be produced per year. The factory is open for 50 weeks of the year and operates 40 hours a week.
What is the throughput accounting ratio for Paddington plc’s factory?
a. 1.32
b. 1.53
c. 1.64
d. 2.19

5. Which of the following reasons would the choice of penetration pricing be suitable when establishing the price of a new product?
a. To discourage new entrants to the market
b. To increase the length of the initial stage of life cycle
c. To ensure the product is as profitable as possible
d. To set a price for the product to ensure it has a low elasticity of demand

6. A company is budgeting to sell 230,000 units of its product next year at a price of £15 per unit. Fixed costs will be £1,400,000 with variable costs of £8. What is the break-
even revenue and margin of safety in the budget?
a. Break even £2,700,000, margin of safety 13%
b. Break even £2,700,000, margin of safety 15%
c. Break even £3,000,000, margin of safety 13%
d. Break even £3,000,000, margin of safety 15%

7. The following budget data has been prepared for a company that manufactures four products
Alpha Beta Gamma Delta
Sales price per unit £9.00 £6.00 £4.00 £8.00
Variable cost per unit £5.50 £4.00 £2.20 £4.00
Budget sales units 20,000 25,000 50,000 12,500
Direct labour hours per unit
0.5 hr 0.25 hr 0.30 hr 0.8 hr

The total number of direct labour hours available is 24,000 hours. Which products should it make and sell in the period?
a. Alpha, Beta and Gamma
b. Alpha, Beta and Delta
c. Alpha and Beta only
d. Alpha and Delta only

8. The main purpose of sensitivity analysis is to:
a. predict the outcome of future events in an uncertain situation
b. determine the worst possible outcome in a set situation
c. understand how different assumptions and variables impact each other
d. gain insight into how critical certain assumptions or variables are

9. Dig Ltd has been requested by a customer to help with some garden landscaping. The material which needs to be used and available information is as follows:
Amount required
Amount in stock
Historic price per kg
Current Price per kg
Scrap Value per kg
Cotswold stone 500 300 £12 £15 £5
Green slate 200 200 £24 £20 £8

The Cotswold stone is regularly used in projects by the company but the green slate is no longer used and has no alternative use. What is the relevant cost of material for this job?
a. £5,200
b. £8,400
c. £9,100
d. £10,800

10. A company is deciding which project to go ahead with from the following four mutually exclusive projects. The profit output depends on the strength of the economy.
Strong economy
Moderate economy
Weak economy
Project A £70,000 £10,000 (£7,000)
Project B £40,000 £21,000 £5,000
Project C £50,000 £20,000 (£6,000)
Project D £25,000 £12,000 £5,000
Probability of outlook 10% 40% 50%

Which project offers the highest expected value?
a. Project A
b. Project B
c. Project C
d. Project D

11. Extracts from the flexible budgets of a manufacturing company are as follows.
Quantity to produce 5,000 units 9,000 units
Materials costs £50,000 £90,000
Labour costs £55,000 £79,000
Production costs £80,000 £80,000

What would be the total expenditure incurred when 6,000 units are produced?
a. £259,000
b. £248,000
c. £230,000
d. £233,000

12. The following statements have been made about zero based budgeting.
(1) The zero-based budgeting process seeks to identify long term benefits and improvements, even if they are sometimes made at the expense of short-term profitability.
(2) A restriction on the use of zero-based budgeting is that management do not always have the skills to apply it. Which of the above statements is/are true?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Neither 1 nor 2
d. Both 1 and 2

13. The following statements have been made about planning and operational variances.
(1) No one may accept responsibility for planning variances.
(2) It is usually easy to identify in retrospect what prices and quantities were, but not nearly so easy to identify what they should have been. Which of the above statements is/are true?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Neither 1 nor 2
d. Both 1 and 2

14. ‘Beyond Budgeting’ is considered an alternative to traditional budgeting as a result of criticisms of traditional budgeting. Which of the following is NOT a criticism of traditional budgeting?
a. Budgets protect rather than reduce costs
b. Budgets focus on sales targets rather than customer satisfaction
c. Managers do not give budgeting enough of their time
d. Budgets discourage innovation and initiative

Given the case information about Virgin Galactic, the company is making a strong commitment to this business venture so-called “Spaceflight for Tourism” in the US consumer market. Draw your group’s conclusion to critically comment whether or not the idea of space travel would be popular and worth the investment in the US consumer market.

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Analysis

 The purpose of this group assignment is to explore how the chapters/PPTs you have read can be used to analyze a real-life case in the context of strategic management.

 Consolidate each member’s pages into a single complete paper. Individual pages/incomplete paper to me CANNOT be marked. Invite a group leader to do the consolidation and make sure the individual pieces flow well in your final product. Ask the group leader (just one representative) to submit the paper via Blackboard (please see the tab: PAPER Info and Submission).

 Make sure you read the Syllabus for additional information. Your Group Paper 2 should provide in-depth discussion and analysis of the following case context. You are specially required to read:

(1) A news release from Virgin Galactic (it is provided on following pages).
(2) Relevant background information about Virgin Galactic.
(3) Relevant concepts you should apply from the textbook.
(4) Internet/Other articles. Be selective as our world is overloaded with information. Data dumping will potentially carry a negative impact for your work. Provide a list of references. Use the following questions to guide your analytical work. They help you focus! Please be reminded that you need to apply the concepts from the textbook and/or PPTs to develop your rationale, NOT merely discussion based on common sense:

1. Given the case information about Virgin Galactic, the company is making a strong commitment to this business venture so-called “Spaceflight for Tourism” in the US consumer market. If you are a consulting group to help investigate the launch and potential trend of space travel for consumers in the United States, discuss how you would do your
complete analysis (the steps) and what strategies/actions should be considered by different business stakeholders (those potentially involved) to reach a higher chance of success for this business opportunity.

2. Draw your group’s conclusion to critically comment whether or not the idea of space travel would be popular and worth the investment in the US consumer market (and the world), and why.

Identify key features of both roles and compare the skills, the skills required for each role, and demonstration of the importance of Quality Management for each role.

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Introduction to Project and Operations Management A3

Identify key features of both roles and compare the skills, the skills required for each role, and demonstration of the importance of Quality Management for each role.

The presentation should include:
• A comparison of the key features of Operations and Project Management
• The skills needed for each role
• The importance of Quality Management for both roles and how it is delivered and monitored in both OM and PM.

Using the three parameters of volume, velocity, and variability examine the advantages of implementing Big data based decision making in an organisation that you are familiar with.

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Big Data

Using the three parameters of volume, velocity, and variability examine the advantages of implementing Big data based decision making in an organisation that you are familiar with. feel free to use content of lecture slides on Big data to develop your post. Also feel free to cite from the papers uploaded.

Note, it is a blog post of 500 words. refrences to be cited. .

Conduct an external analysis of an industry. Includes gathering current, up-to-date information on political/legal environment and the technological environment.

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External Analysis of Podcast as a service

The goal of this project to conduct an external analysis of an industry (Podcasts). This includes gathering current, up-to-date information on political/legal environment and the technological environment. Do not solely get the information on the internet. Atleast 50% of the information should be researched from academic publishings and other library resources.

NOTE: The external analysis should be only on the Political/Legal and Technological environment. There is no need of an introduction. Just externally analyzing the Political and technological environment of the Podcast industry.

Political factors include government policies, leadership, and change; foreign trade policies; internal political issues and trends; tax policy; regulation and de-regulation trends in relation to the podcast industry

Legal factors include health and safety; equal opportunities; advertising standards; consumer rights and laws; product labeling and product safety in relation to the podcast industry

Technological factors affect marketing in (1) new ways of producing goods and services; (2) new ways of distributing goods and services; (3) new ways of communicating with target markets in relation to the podcast industry

 

Discuss a case study of a business/industry which has tackled a similar issue. Explain what their problem was. Explain what their solution(s) was. State what you can take from this to create your own solution.

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Managed Learning

PART C: 4,500 word coursework (60% of the mark for the module) In the report, you are expected to cover the following points:

1. Background: discuss the problem or opportunity for change you have identified.
Patients in deprived area not attending GP appointments

2. Literature review: provide a review of academic theory which discusses potential solutions for your identified problem or opportunity and evaluate them. 1,300 words

3. Case study: Discuss a case study of a business/industry which has tackled a similar issue. 400 words
• Explain what their problem was.
• Explain what their solution(s) was.
• State what you can take from this to create your own solution.

Reducing missed appointments in general practice: evaluation of a quality improvement programme in East London – PubMed (nih.gov)

4. Evaluation: identify the most relevant solutions and critically evaluate their potential application based on the situation you identified in the background. Outline the process of evaluation (e.g. action research, feedback, or similar) 1,000 words

5. Recommendations: Give recommendations which are applicable to your context and perhaps the wider industry, if applicable. 400 words
• How could your solution benefit your company?
• How could they carry it out?
• How could the broader industry (i.e. other companies) benefit from your solution?

6. Skills Development Framework: 400 words
identify 4 skills you have developed throughout the module adopting a reflective process while giving concrete examples of the development. Include relevant sources.

Teamwork
Leadership
Problem solving
Planning and organisation

7. Reference list (excluded from the word count)

8. Appendices (excluded from the word count) You must critically research and apply in your coursework relevant academic theory and sources, course concepts and frameworks and industry material. Your work must be fully referenced using the Harvard system.

Identify and review three key articles on the topic; what have they demonstrated and what are their strengths and weaknesses? State the three key articles that are most connected to your topic.

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Effects that cause employee turnover?

Question 3: Identify and review three key articles on the topic; what have they demonstrated and what are their strengths and weaknesses? In this answer you need to:

a) first state the three key articles that are most connected to your topic (Give the references in full using the Harvard style.)

b) second, then briefly outline how each connects to your topic and why you have selected them as the key articles.

c) c) third, write a critical review of each of the three key articles, first outlining its main points and then assessing its strengths and weaknesses concluding with an overall evaluation of it. Consideration must be given to its research design and data collection methods.

Find studies that specifically talk about the effects causing employee turnover.

How are you going to judge the way the subject operates? What have you learnt about entrepreneurship and innovation from the module and elsewhere that you can use to make the assessment?

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Assignment 2

You are required to produce an individual report analysing the performance and manner of operations of an organisation / individual in terms their entrepreneurial and / or innovative capability. You will need to choose an entrepreneur / innovator or an organisation that fits those categories. You do not have to choose a famous person or organisation – but you would be wise to choose one where there is a significant quantity of information about their performance and means of operating available to you. This could be someone you know who is willing to help you or it could be that there is a lot of media coverage about that person / organisation available to you – possibly through FAME & FACTIVA. Finding, and justifying, a suitable target will be an important part of the assignment – it carries 20% of the assignment mark – start looking early! If you have any doubts about the suitability of the person you select – check with your Team Coach – you should aim to do this not later than week three.

Decide how you are going to measure performance – it will not ‘just’ be financial ratio analysis. If you only use financial analysis and ratios you will score very badly for his component of the assessment.

How are you going to judge the way the subject operates? What have you learnt about entrepreneurship and innovation from the module and elsewhere that you can use to make the assessment? There are many ways to assess performance read widely and find ones that suit the nature of your chosen individual / organisation.

Are they doing well? Could they do better? How? This is where you make, and justify, recommendations for improvements or changes that the subject could sensibly make.

As you are making recommendations for improvements it is not a good idea to select an historical individual / organisation. So, do not chose Steve Jobs! Bearing in mind that you will make recommendations for their next steps it would be unwise to choose someone who is dead. If you must choose Apple then you need to be considering the performance of the company and the current leadership team.

Remember that this is a report and should be structured as such. The executive summary is part of the word count and the only appendices allowed are the references – no other appendices will be read or considered in marking your work.

Define theories, models and concepts relating to the study of human behaviour in the workplace. Demonstrate an understanding of how these theories can explain the way that people behave and interact at work at individual, group and organisational levels.

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Organisational behaviour

Practitioners of OBM focus on identifying problematic situations in the workplace, analysing the factors in the environment that could be causing or maintaining the performance problems (e.g. lack of: task clarity, goal-setting, resources), then changing behaviours by using ‘re-enforcers’ (such as feedback, praise, monetary and non-monetary incentives), with the goal of improving performance at the individual, group, or organisational, systems/process level. A critical success factor, therefore, for an organisation is the contribution made by employees and the factors that can, and often do, influence this contribution.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:
LO 1: Define theories, models and concepts relating to the study of human behaviour in the workplace.
LO 2: Demonstrate an understanding of how these theories can explain the way that people behave and interact at work at individual, group and organisational levels.
LO 3: Demonstrate an understanding of the impact that organisational culture can have on the success of that organisation.