Week 10 EOC: My Plan

Throughout this quarter we’ve focused on the fundamentals of accounting and different aspects of running a hospitality centered business. Though I am an advertising major, I feel that many of the aspects of this class apply to all majors. My plan for the future is to graduate from this school and be hired from an intern position. I hope to get an intern at a bigger ad agency, SKG or R&R, however if that is not possible I will try to intern at a smaller agency. From that point I would work my way up the ladder gaining as much experience as possible. If a better opportunity arises from another company at any point in time I will probably apply myself to that. After a good amount of time and a good amount of experience I will create a business plan for a potential graphic design/media applications company. If I feel confident about the company I will seek opportunities with investors. While all of this is happening I will still be working, or at least hope to still be working. Running my company has never been a thought of mine because of the amount of sacrifices it takes, however from taking these classes I have learned about the benefits of owning a business. I am still lenient towards not owning a business, however my thoughts may change when I get experience in the workforce. Before I have taken these classes I thought owning a business was easy, my opinion has changed so much. Now I know how much it takes to own a successful business, however I have also learned that all that sacrifice makes it that much sweeter.  Throughout this quarter we’ve focused on the fundamentals of accounting and different aspects of running a hospitality centered business. Though I am an advertising major, I feel that many of the aspects of this class apply to all majors. My plan for the future is to graduate from this school and be hired from an intern position. I hope to get an intern at a bigger ad agency, SKG or R&R, however if that is not possible I will try to intern at a smaller agency. From that point I would work my way up the ladder gaining as much experience as possible. If a better opportunity arises from another company at any point in time I will probably apply myself to that. After a good amount of time and a good amount of experience I will create a business plan for a potential graphic design/media applications company. If I feel confident about the company I will seek opportunities with investors. While all of this is happening I will still be working, or at least hope to still be working. Running my company has never been a thought of mine because of the amount of sacrifices it takes, however from taking these classes I have learned about the benefits of owning a business. I am still lenient towards not owning a business, however my thoughts may change when I get experience in the workforce. Before I have taken these classes I thought owning a business was easy, my opinion has changed so much. Now I know how much it takes to own a successful business, however I have also learned that all that sacrifice makes it that much sweeter.  

Week 9 EOC: Book Question

With Dan and Lorelai creating a partnership with the Watershed restaurant there will be fixed costs. “Some fixed costs include items such as property and income taxes, insurance, occupation costs (rent or mortgage), interest, and depreciation.” (203). Along with fixed costs, there will be variable costs, “a cost that increases as sales volume increases and decreases as sales volume decreases.” (487). Some variable costs include: hourly wages, labor costs, credit card fees, supply costs and commissions. I believe that Dan and Lorelai can run the restaurant and make profit, however they won’t be blown out of the water with profit immediately. They will both have to commit to one plan, but I believe that plan is to combine their ideas. For example, buying the restaurant at a good price isn’t guaranteed. If they do buy at a good price, great but I still believe they should increase the sales as well as reduce the cost. If they can do that they will make a slow but sure amount of money to make a profit. If Dan and Lorelai were able to get investors that would help them out immensely. However, “All stakeholders who are affected by a business’s profitability will care greatly about the effective operation of a hospitality business.” (65). This could help the restaurant’s business and profitability, however at the same time they would risk damaging the business operations. I would say this is a good idea for them to make only is they weren’t too dependent on investors for the long run.

Week 8 EOC: Quiz 8 Question 4.

a.    The total revenues in Oct 2009 was $545,000 and the total revenue in Oct 2010 was $583,000.Food and beverage revenues typically make up the largest portion of a hotel’s non-room revenue. (300).

b.  The GOP in dollars in 2009 was $162,000.  The GOP in dollars in 2010 was $184,550. Flow-through was created by managerial accountants to measure the ability of a hotel to convert increases in revenue directly to increases in GOP. (296).

c.    The GOP in percentage in 2009 was 29.72%.  The GOP in percentage in 2010 was 31.66%. Gross operating profit (GOP) is total hotel revenue less those expenses that are considered directly controllable by management. (298).

d.  The Flow-through percentage is 59.34%. The Flow -through is higher than 50% so it reflects efficiency in making more profits from additional revenue. 

Week 7 EOC: Trump and Small Business

“Business owners are divided about which candidate will provide the most beneficial support…”(INC). This quote explains a lot about the decisions America has made on the presidential election. Many business owners were and still are skeptical about both Clinton and Trump’s impact on their businesses. As the president elect, Trump brings a business aspect to the white house, which is one of the most appealing things that business owners see in Trump. “Many business owners feel like the country needs the fresh, non-political perspective of Trump, given the state of the current economy.” (INC). I agree that Trump can do well for businesses, however, it is still too early to form an opinion on Trump’s future actions because he is so unpredictable. Small business owner Brian Smith says that Hilary is more suited for the job. “He told CNBC that he believes Clinton's proposals will make it easier to allow business owners like himself to secure capital for expansions.” (INC). This view is very important because the small business industry’s main issue is lack of cash flow. The lack of cash flow is the number one reason a lot of small business are not successful. Along with their political views I find that Hilary focuses on the small business of America which are the minority of revenue just like she focuses on the ethnic minorities of America. As for Trump, I find he focuses on big successful business that bring in a majority of revenue. Since Trump has been elected, I predict that he will have a negative impact on the small minority businesses and positively affect the big majoritarian businesses, just like his racial views

Week 6 EOC: Weed in the Work Place

In my opinion recreational marijuana use should not be tolerated by an employer, however the use of medical marijuana should be tolerated but only with a legitimate document that proves the need of medical marijuana. “If an employee tests positive for marijuana, the employer should ask the worker to verify that he is a participant in a recognized medical marijuana program. The employer conducts further evaluation of the employment situation.” (SHRM). If an employee does not need pot for a medical use, then he should not be hired for safety reasons due to the “under the influence” factor on the job. “Marijuana use has been linked to an increase in job accidents and injuries…” (ohsonline). There should be insurance forms and a scheduled time for the employee to smoke. The reason I say this is because I know people who qualify for medical marijuana cards even though they have no medical reasons that prove they need pot. There should be more documents that state they need pot besides a medical card. For the exact reason that they can just get a medical card so easily. As of now, a positive test can be vital. “The penalty for a positive test is often a refusal to hire or, for those who are already employees, discipline up to and including termination.” (ohsonline). A law should be legalized that can determine the necessity of the drug to the user. As an employer I would follow the law of not hiring anybody that tests positive for marijuana use, however if the law (determining the necessity and having legal documents to prove otherwise) was passed I would not refuse the opportunity for the employee.

Week 5 EOC: Quiz 5, Question 2

a. The change in Cash reflects a Use of funds. $14,000. Cash is an outflow of money therefore represents a use, where as inflows of money would represent a fund, for example

investors. "Sources represent inflows and uses represent outflows of funds for the hospitality business." 147.

b. The change in Net Receivables reflects a Use of funds. $30,000, because it is owed to the business. "Net receivables (the term net means that something has been subtracted out) are those monies owed to the business after subtracting any amounts that may not be collectible." 123. Because the Net receivables are owed to the business it is subtracted from any collectible income.

c. The change in Notes Payable reflects a Source of funds. $44,000. Notes payable are short term loans that can be payed back for a use funds, if not borrowed and payed back then it is a source. " Notes payable are short-term loans (less than a year). If you decrease notes payable by paying back money you borrowed, this is a use of funds for you." 151.

d. The change in Retained Earning reflects a Use of funds. $80,000. Retained earnings are the accumulated profits over a span of time, showing the profit that has not been distributed to dividends.

Week 4 EOC: Quiz 4, Answer 3.

a. Rachel's cash % is 4.5% and the chains % is 6.7%. It is higher.This may Rachel is spending more money on services to help the restaurant and has less Cash assets than the chain. It is important for Rachel to know the different percentages. "there are a variety of important reasons why managers must be able to read and analyze their own balance sheets to determine items such as the current financial balances of cash, accounts receivable etc." (117)

b. Rachel's Inventory percentage is 2.7% and the chain's is 1.3%, which is higher,  this goes along with the fact Rachel may be spending more money on things such on inventory for her restaurant. " In most hospitality industry situations, the value of an inventory item will equal the amount the business paid for it." 124.

c. Rachels accounts Payable percentage is 11.3% and the chains is 10.50%. This is higher. This could mean that Rachel is also buying more inventory (produce and ingredients) than the chain average, so she owes more money to her suppliers. "Accounts 

payable represents the amount of money owed by the business to others (such as suppliers), and as a result is considered to be one of that business’s liability accounts." 37.

d. Rachel's Notes Payable %  is 2.5%, the chain’s % is 1.5%. This is higher. This means that Rachel has more company liabilities than the chain average.