Graded Homework

MGMT
640 Essay

Essay
(20 % of course grade)

Students should select one of the topics from the list below (or an alternate topic
preapproved by the instructor. The essay is due in the individual’s Assignments Folder as indicated in the
Course Guide/Schedule.

The essay should
demonstrate a student’s ability to integrate and synthesize course concepts
with selected readings to communicate his/her understanding of financial
management concepts their application in organizations. The essay should also demonstrate a student’s
ability to communicate as a manager. This includes proper writing style,
organization, grammar, and spelling, as well as integration of course-related
material. The writing style must follow the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association, 5^thedition. Citations for online sources
should include the online address (URL) and access date as well as the citation
for the specific reference.

Research for the paper may be conducted
online using the online library as the primary source. Do not use
abstracts, use full-text articles. Publications that may be relevant for the
topics listed below include: Strategic Finance, The Journal of Business Finance
and Accounting, CFO Magazine, Nonprofit World, Harvard Business Review, or
other accounting and financial journals.

The
paper should:

Be based on your reading and research relevant to the topic.

Be 5 to 6 double-spaced pages, plus appendices, exhibits, and
references.

Include a one-page Executive Summary
immediately following the title page that includes a statement of the major
issue(s) and your conclusions and specific recommendations. The content of an
Executive Summary is similar to an abstract.

Properly cite reference sources: these may include course material,
information from magazines, journals, and online sources. All reference sources
must have a publication date within the last three years. Students who wish to
use an older source publication should contact the instructor with the request
and reason.

Essay
Topic List

Ratio
and Financial Statement Analysis – Your essay
should critically analyze the benefits and limitations of ratio analysis,
explaining what factors impact the meaningfulness of such measures and what new
practices or theories may be emerging regarding the application of ratio and
financial statement analysis. Emphasize
practical applications and real-world use of ratios synthesizing your readings
in published research or survey articles (Relevant Text Material: Parrino –
Chapters 3 & 4).

Capital
Budgeting, Net Present Value, and other Decision Tools – Write an essay that analyzes the pros and cons of the commonly
used measures ( NPV, IRR, PI, MIRR, DPB) and come to a conclusion based on the
literature that you surveyed as to which methods are theoretically correct and
those popular. Emphasize real-world practices of capital budgeting methods,
including project approval processes. Synthesize the discussions in published
research or survey articles (Text Material: Parrino – Chapter 10).

1.Financial
Management in Multinational Organizations – Write an essay that describes
how multinational organizations use the financial management practices, for
example use of debt, dividend policy, managerial ownership, corporate
governance, etc. Topics in (1) and (2) above can be included, but the essay and
references should focus on international differences and practices in
corporations/organizations outside U.S.

2.Financial
Management in Nonprofit Organizations – Discuss financial management in
nonprofit organizations and write an essay that compares and contrasts the
application of financial management techniques in nonprofit and for-profit
organizations. Sources of funds, use of debt, performance evaluation (efficiency
in use of contributions and meeting the organization’s objectives), governance
mechanisms in non-profits, etc. would be good topics/issues for discussion in
the essay.

3.
Supply Chain Management (SCM)and
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems – Write an essay comparing
the traditional management systems to the above two systems – in terms of
differences in approaches, achieving efficiencies, cost savings, and firm
profitability. Include in your essay the findings from different studies that
have analyzed/examined alternative approaches to SCM and CRM (Text Material:
Jiambalvo – Chapter 1).

4.
Cost Allocations & Activity Based
Costing (ABC) – Describe the cost allocation and ABC approaches in
for-profit firms (corporations) and the different ways of implementation in
real-world business enterprises. Analyze ABC’s potential strengths and
weaknesses within a company. Include a discussion of steps needed to ensure a
successful implementation of ABC, the associated costs & benefits, efficiency
gains, profitability implications, etc. (Text Material: Jiambalvo – Chapter 6).

5.
Costing & Pricing Decisions –
Write an essay on the practice of cost allocations (particularly joint costs,
sunk costs, and opportunity costs) and pricing decisions (e.g., cost-plus
pricing, target costing, and activity-based pricing) in corporations. Include
in your discussion the major differences in those various approaches and their
appropriateness in the context of the nature of costs, industry differences,
competitiveness, etc. Also relate the implications for firm’s profitability
(Text Material: Jiambalvo – Chapters 7 & 8).