Tuesday, June 30, 2020

QNT561 Week 1 Statistics Concepts and Descriptive Measures

Statistics Concepts and Descriptive Measures

Purpose of Assignment 

The purpose of this assignment to orient students to the key concepts in statistics. This assignment will introduce students to the language of statistics. Students will also get a chance to warm-up on evaluating some basic descriptive statistics using Excel® prior to the course start. 

Assignment Steps

This assignment has an Excel® dataset spreadsheet attached.  You will be required to only do one of the three datasets. 

Resource: Microsoft Excel®, Statistics Concepts and Descriptive Measures Data Set

Download the Statistics Concepts and Descriptive Measures Data Set. 

Choose one of the following datasets to complete this assignment:

·         Consumer Food

·         Financial

·         Hospital

Answer each of the following in a total of 90 words:

·         For each column, identify whether the data is qualitative or quantitative.

·         Identify the level of measurement for the data in each column.

·         For each column containing quantitative data:

o    Evaluate the mean and median

o    Interpret the mean and median in plain non-technical terms

o    Use the Excel =AVERAGE function to find the mean

o    Use the Excel =MEDIAN function to find the median

·         For each column containing quantitative data:

o    Evaluate the standard deviation and range

o    Interpret the standard deviation and range in plain non-technical terms

o    Use the Excel =STDEV.S function to find the standard deviation

o    For range (maximum value minus the minimum value), find the maximum value using the Excel =MAX function and find the minimum value using the Excel's =MIN function



 

 

 

Friday, June 26, 2020

ECO561 Week 4 Inflation and Analyses of Monetary Policies

Purpose of Assignment 

This assignment will introduce students to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data and provide students with the skills to calculate inflation and interpret the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Note: The BLS is the primary source of information on inflation, but their data is re-posted in other sources, such as the St. Louis Federal Reserve FRED site, among others. 

Assignment Steps 

Resources: Tutorial help on Excel® and Word functions can be found on the Microsoft® Office website. There are also additional tutorials via the web offering support for Office products. 

Use an internet search or the University Library to locate information on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Internet sites you might find useful include the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Federal Reserve of St. Louis FRED web site although you are allowed to use other sources. 

Develop a minimum 700-word analysis of inflation by including the following:

  • Choose a product or service you currently consume/use, such as apparel or educational services, that is included in the CPI's "market basket."  Find the annual CPI index numbers for your chosen good or service for the years 1995, 2005, 2010, and 2015.  Enter those index numbers in an Excel® file and calculate the percent change (inflation rates) in those index numbers from 1995 to 2005, from 1995 to 2010, and from 1995 to 2015.   
  • Analyze the trends in overall inflation over the last five years and whether your income has kept pace with inflation.  How has inflation over the last five years affected you and/or your family?
  • Discuss how a business manager, such as a human resources manager, might use CPI statistics. 

Cite a minimum of three scholarly, peer-reviewed references.



ECO561 Week 3 Research Analysis for Business

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is the creation of a research analysis. Every day, consumers make millions of decisions that impact the marketplace and influence firms' decisions. Firms use economic concepts, models, and other "tools" of economics to help determine pricing, output, and profit maximization. As an MBA student of economics, you can apply the "tools" of economics to microeconomic and macroeconomic data to create recommendations for how firms can maximize revenue, profit and market share.

Assignment Steps 

Resources: Tutorial help on Excel® and Word functions can be found on the Microsoft® Office website. There are also additional tutorials via the web offering support for Office products. 

Scenario: Imagine you are a business consultant to a firm of your choice. You have been asked to analyze, advise, and create recommendations on how the firm can ensure its future success in its current market. 

Work with your instructor to choose a firm that matches the following criteria: a publicly-traded company operating in the U.S. market. Note: A publicly-traded company is a private-sector firm owned by its shareholders/stock holders. 

Prepare a minimum 1,050-word analysis of economic data and business data to explain how the core economic principles impact the sustainability of the firm and what actions the firm can take to ensure success. 

Address the following:

  • Identify the market structure your chosen firm operates in, analyze your chosen firm's current market share, and identify the firm's local/global competitors. Analyze the barriers to entry in this market to illustrate the potential for new competition and its impact on your firm's future in the market. Hints: Be sure you review the barriers to entry discussed in the course text.  You might consider presenting the data graphically.
  • Identify and explain trends in current macroeconomic indicators for last three years including:
    • Current stage of the business cycle.
    • Real gross domestic product (GDP).
    • Inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI).
    • Unemployment rate.
    • Federal funds rate.
    • Current rate for borrowing funds such as the so-called "prime rate."  Note: A requirement of the Week 1 Influence of Economics on Household Decision Making report was to gather data on the CPI, GDP, and interest rates, so you should consider reviewing the feedback you received on the Week 1 report.
  • Evaluate trends in demand over last three years and explain their impact on the industry and the firm. Include quarterly (last two quarters) and annual sales (last three years) figures for the product your firm sells. Create business strategies by analyzing information and data related to the demand for and supply of your firm's product(s) to support your recommendation for the firm's actions. Remember to include a graphical representation of the data and information used in your analysis.
  • Examine available, current data and information, such as pricing and the availability of substitutes, and explain how you could determine the price elasticity of demand for your firm's product. Assess how the price elasticity of demand impacts the firm's pricing decisions and revenue growth.
  • Apply the concepts of variable and fixed costs to your firm for informing its output decisions. For instance, analyze how different kinds of costs (labor, research and development, raw materials) affect the firm's level of output.
  • Based on the data gathered and analysis performed for this report write a conclusion in which you:
    • Create business strategies, including price and non-price strategies, based on your market structure to ensure the market share and potential market expansions and explore global opportunities for your business in a dynamic business environment and provide recommendations.
    • Develop a recommendation for how the firm can manage its future production by synthesizing the macroeconomic and microeconomic data presented.
    • Propose how the firm's position within the market and among its competitors will allow it to take your recommended action.
    • Recommend strategies for the firm to sustain its success going forward by evaluating the findings from demand trends, price elasticity, current stage of the business cycle, and government policies. 

Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed references and a minimum of two government economic data sources/references. 

 

 

 

ECO561 Week 1 Influence of Economics on Household Decision Making

Purpose of Assignment 

To locate, retrieve, and evaluate the effects of macroeconomic indicators on your own decision making. 

Assignment Steps 

Resources: Tutorial help on Excel® and Word functions can be found on the Microsoft® Office website. There are also additional tutorials via the web offering support for Office products. 

Scenario: Consider your last big purchase such as a car, appliances, home repairs, home purchase, computer equipment, college tuition, or another "big-ticket" item, which are often purchased using loans/financing (by borrowing money). Also consider your decision-making process that led you to choose a particular make, model, or brand of the product (or service) you purchased and whether it was the right time to make the purchase given economic conditions at the time of your purchase. While analyzing your decision, keep in mind everything from interest rates to the prices of complementary and substitute goods are driven by human economic behavior. 

Develop a minimum 1,050-word analysis of your decision-making process in which you include the following:

  • Retrieve statistics on Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and on Real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) by year for the last ten years. You can retrieve those statistics from internet sources including, but not limited to, the Federal Reserve of St. Louis's FRED web site, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) web site, or another credible source of your choice. Post these statistics in a single worksheet of an Excel® workbook and submit your Excel® file with your report. In your report, discuss the latest 10-year trends in both GDP and PCE. Also discuss how the trends in GDP compare with trends in PCE. You are encouraged to include graphs of these statistics in your report; you could create the graphs in Excel® and copy them into your report.
  • Retrieve statistics on the Effective Federal Funds Rate and on the Consumer Price Index: All Items Less Food and Energy by year for the last 30 years. You can retrieve those statistics from internet sources including, but not limited to, the Federal Reserve of St. Louis's FRED web site, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) web site, or other credible sources of your choice. Post these statistics in a single worksheet of an Excel® workbook and submit your Excel® file with your report. In your report, discuss how the trends in the Effective Federal Funds Rate compare with trends in inflation. If you took out a loan to pay for your "big-ticket" purchase, what was the interest rate on your loan? Were interest rates rising or falling at that time?  Were interest rates relatively high or low at that time? You are also encouraged to include graphs of these statistics in your report.
  • Discuss the influence of any Federal government or state government programs, such as tax credits or tax deductions for energy-saving/efficiency purchases, on your decision to make your last big purchase; or if government incentives did not factor into your decision, explain why not.
  • Develop conclusions about the economy's influence on personal and business decision-making relative to purchases of big-ticket items, investments, or other major purchases. 

Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources. Note: The Federal Reserve of St. Louis, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics can be cited to fulfill this requirement.



 

Thursday, June 25, 2020

ECO561 Final Exam Score 97 PERCENT (2018)

Question 1
The fact that international specialization and trade based on comparative advantage can increase world output is demonstrated by the reality that:
    the production possibilities curves of any two nations are identical
    a nation's production possibilities line lies to the right of its trading possibilities line
        a nation's trading possibilities line lies to the right of its production possibilities line
        a nation's production possibilities and trading possibilities lines coincide

Question 2
The business cycle depicts:

    the phases a business goes through from when it first opens to when it finally closes
    the evolution of technology over time
    short-run fluctuations in output and employment(Probably wrong, not sure. Either answer of question 1 is wrong or question2 is wrong)
    fluctuations in the general price level

3.Which of the following have substantially equivalent effects on a nation's volume of exports and imports?

Exchange rate depreciation and domestic inflation

Exchange rate depreciation and domestic deflation

Exchange rate appreciation and domestic deflation

Exchange rate appreciation and a decrease in the domestic supply of money


4If an unintended increase in business inventories occurs at some level of GDP, then GDP:

may be either above or below the equilibrium output

is too high for equilibrium

is too low for equilibrium

entails a rate of aggregate expenditures in excess of the rate of aggregate production


5Why are economists concerned about inflation?

Inflation lowers the standard of living for people whose income does not increase as fast as the price level

Inflation increases the value of peoples' saving and encourages overspending on goods and services

Inflation generally causes unemployment rates to rise

Real GDP is necessarily falling when there is inflation


6Contractionary fiscal policy is so named because it:

involves a contraction of the nation's money supply

is aimed at reducing aggregate demand and thus achieving price stability

necessarily reduces the size of government

is expressly designed to expand real GDP
7The term "recession" describes a situation where:

government takes a less active role in economic matters

output and living standards decline

inflation rates exceed normal levels

an economy's ability to produce is destroyed


8Which of the following statements best describes the 12 Federal Reserve Banks?

They are privately owned and publicly controlled central banks whose basic goal is to earn profits for their owners.

They are privately owned and publicly controlled central banks whose basic goal is to control the money supply and interest rates in promoting the general economic welfare.

They are privately owned and publicly controlled central banks whose basic function is to minimize the risks in commercial banking in order to make it a reasonably profitable industry.

They are privately owned and privately controlled central banks whose basic goal is to provide an ample and orderly market for U.S. Treasury securities.


9The primary gain from international trade is:

tariff revenue

more goods than would be attainable through domestic production alone

increased employment in the domestic import sector

increased employment in the domestic export sector


10If the prices of all goods and services rose, but the quantity produced remained unchanged, what would happen to nominal and real GDP?

Nominal and real GDP would both rise

Real GDP would rise, but nominal GDP would be unchanged

Nominal GDP would rise, but real GDP would be unchanged

Nominal and real GDP would both be unchanged


11Pure monopolists may obtain economic profits in the long run because:

of rising average fixed costs

of barriers to entry

of advertising

marginal revenue is constant as sales increase


12Mrs. Arnold is spending all her money income by buying bottles of soda and bags of pretzels in such amounts that the marginal utility of the last bottle is 60 utils and the marginal utility of the last bag is 30 utils. The prices of soda and pretzels are $.60 per bottle and $.40 per bag respectively. It can be concluded that:

the two commodities are substitute goods

Mrs. Arnold should spend more on soda and less on pretzels

Mrs. Arnold should spend more on pretzels and less on soda

Mrs. Arnold is buying soda and pretzels in the utility-maximizing amounts


13Suppose you have a limited money income and you are purchasing products A and B, whose prices happen to be the same. To maximize your utility, you should purchase A and B in such amounts that:

their marginal and total utilities are proportionate

their marginal utilities are the same

the income and substitution effects associated with each are equal

their total utilities are the same


14Two major virtues of the market system are that it:

eliminates discrimination and minimizes environmental pollution

allocates resources efficiently and allows economic freedom

results in price level stability and a fair personal distribution of income

results in an equitable personal distribution of income and always maintains full employment


15Macroeconomics approaches the study of economics from the viewpoint of:

the entire economy

governmental units

individual firms

the operation of specific product and resource markets


16Which of the following will generate a demand for country X's currency in the foreign exchange market?

The imports of country X

Travel by citizens of country X in other countries

The desire of foreigners to buy stocks and bonds of firms in country X

Charitable contributions by country X's citizens to citizens of developing nations


17The simple circular flow model shows that:

households are on the buying side of both product and resource markets.

businesses are on the selling side of both product and resource markets.

businesses are on the buying side of the product market and on the selling side of the resource market.

households are on the selling side of the resource market and on the buying side of the product market.


18Countercyclical discretionary fiscal policy calls for:

surpluses during both recessions and periods of demand-pull inflation

surpluses during recessions and deficits during periods of demand-pull inflation

deficits during recessions and surpluses during periods of demand-pull inflation

deficits during both recessions and periods of demand-pull inflation


19If the Federal Reserve System buys government securities from commercial banks and the public:

commercial bank reserves will decline

the money supply will contract

it will be easier to obtain loans at commercial banks

commercial bank reserves will be unaffected


20The two basic markets shown by the simple circular flow model are:

product and resource

free and controlled

capital goods and consumer goods

household and business


21All else equal, a large decline in the real interest rate will shift the:

investment demand curve rightward

investment demand curve leftward

investment schedule downward

investment schedule upward


22Normal profit is:

determined by subtracting implicit costs from total revenue

the return to the entrepreneur when economic profits are zero

the average profitability of an industry over the preceding 10 years

determined by subtracting explicit costs from total revenue


23In the theory of comparative advantage, a good should be produced in that nation where:

its absolute cost in terms of real resources used is least

its cost is least in terms of alternative goods that might otherwise be produced

the production possibilities line lies further to the right than the trading possibilities line

its absolute money cost of production is least


24As output increases, total variable cost:

increases continuously at a decreasing rate

increases at a constant rate

increases more rapidly than does total cost

increases at a decreasing rate and then at an increasing rate

25Assume the reserve ratio is 25 percent and Federal Reserve Banks buy $4 million of U.S. securities from the public, which deposits this amount into checking accounts. As a result of these transactions, the supply of money is:

directly increased by $4 million and the money-creating potential of the commercial banking system is increased by $12 million.

directly increased by $4 million and the money-creating potential of the commercial banking system is increased by an additional $16 million.

not directly affected, but the money-creating potential of the commercial banking system is increased by $12 million.

directly reduced by $4 million and the money-creating potential of the commercial banking system is decreased by an additional $12 million.



26Buyers will opt out of markets in which:

standardized products are being produced

there are only foreign sellers

there are significant negative externalities

there is inadequate information about sellers and their products


27In order for mutually beneficial trade to occur between two otherwise isolated nations:

each nation must be able to produce at least one good absolutely cheaper than the other

each nation must face constant costs in the production of the good it exports

each nation must be able to produce at least one good relatively cheaper than the other

one nation's production must be labor-intensive while the other nation's production is capital-intensive


28Research for industrially advanced countries indicates that:

the more independent the central bank, the higher the average annual rate of inflation

there is no relationship between the degree of independence of a country's central bank and its inflation rate.

the more independent the central bank, the higher the average annual rate of unemployment.

the more independent the central bank, the lower the average annual rate of inflation


29A monopolistically competitive industry combines elements of both competition and monopoly. The monopoly element results from:

the likelihood of collusion

mutual interdependence

high entry barriers

product differentiation


30Because the federal government typically provides disaster relief to farmers, many farmers do not buy crop insurance even through it is federally subsidized. This illustrates:

the moral hazard problem

logrolling

the adverse selection problem

the special interest effect





E02 Assignment 04

Assignment 04

E02 Child Development

Directions:  Be sure to make an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading.  Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English spelling and grammar.  Sources must be cited in APA format.  Your response should be four (4) pages in length; refer to the "Assignment Format" page for specific format requirements.

 

This assignment is comprised of two different parts that will show your learning of various course objectives from lessons 1, 2, 3, and 4.

 

Part 1

 

Describe the changes in family dynamics at the birth of a child as they affect each of the following: newborn, mother, father, siblings, and extended family of the new parents. Focus on the experiences that each may have or feel and the changes with which they may deal. You will want to refer back to Lesson 2.

 

Part 2

 

Describe perceptual, motor, and physical development, in infants and in children ages one through three. You will want to refer back to Lesson 3 and Lesson 4.



 

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

HW-361 McBridge Marketing Plan Paper

Prepare a 3-5 page paper describing a marketing plan for McBride Financial Services. The marketing plan should describe what elements McBride should focus on to increase market exposure and expand their market niche. • Include the following questions and incorporate your responses (sections) into the marketing plan: o What market research would you undertake? o What types of media would be used? o What are McBride's target market(s)? o What are the considerations for McBride to conduct a portion of their marketing on the Web (Internet)? • Explain your reasoning. The above questions should become the major sections in your paper, along with the discussion of the marketing plan itself. Attached is the all the information you need on the company.


H400 Thesis Revised

Requirement: Write a double-spaced, one-page outline that includes the thesis, major points, supporting points of evidence, and conclusio...