Assignment 1, Activity-based Costing (ABC) in Service Industries
Research a U.S. company in the service industry with e-commerce activities.
Write a five to six page paper in which you:
1. Describe the company you researched in one to two paragraphs.
2. Discuss how a time driven ABC cost system can be implemented in the company you researched and the benefits that the use will yield to the business performance.
3. Assess how using an ABC system can provide a competitive advantage to the company in the market space it operates and the resulting impact to the business performance.
4. Examine the potential impact of time-driven ABC costing on services provided online with those provided through traditional channels, considering how this knowledge will impact decisions made by management about these services.
Assignment 2, Johnson Controls Capital Investments
Visit the Website of Johnson Controls Inc., located at https://www.johnsoncontrols.com, and review its 2012 financial forecasts. According to the forecasts, Johnson Controls will increase Capital Investment to approximately $1.7 billion. More than 70% of the company's capital expenditures in 2012 are associated with growth and margin expansion opportunities.
Write a five to six page paper in which you:
1. Suggest a methodology to supplement the traditional methods for evaluating the Capital Investment of Johnson Controls in the emerging markets reduce risk providing a rationale of how risk will be reduced.
2. Assess the potential impact of inflation on planned capital investments in China and examine approaches for an accurate evaluation of the investments. Suggest how this knowledge may impact management's decisions.
3. Contrast the modifications you would make in evaluating the projects to increase internal capacity in North America to evaluating expansion projects in the global market and how this information will impact the decisions made related to expansion.
4. Examine the benefits of using sensitivity analysis in evaluating the projects for Johnson Controls and how this approach can provide a competitive advantage for the company.