As outsourcing has become more common, even the World Bank is seeing its share of employee discontent about contract employees. Roughly half of those that work for the World Bank are consultants, brought on for fixed contracts that often end up being renewed over and over again. Across the bank’s offices worldwide, there are currently… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Accounting Principles
Oh The Times They Are A-Changing!
Month after month, McDonald’s has shared that once again same-store sales have dropped in the United States. The routine has become so consistently depressing that the company decided to quit sharing monthly performance data altogether this past March. Questions: 1. How many stores will McDonald’s close this year and what percentage more was that than… Read more »
A Poor Recordkeeping System
The department’s inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that a total overhaul of the record-keeping system at the VA could take years. Questions: 1. In the scathing report, what was the estimate of the number of veterans that had already died waiting for treatment and why weren’t they removed from the… Read more »
Pace Yourself
Facebook announced on Thursday that it wants to transform education, similar to the way it transformed communication with its social networking service. Questions: 1. What does Facebook see as the benefit to the new software? 2. Why are critics skeptical of Facebook’s adherence to privacy issues? Give examples. 3. How much have Mr. Zuckerberg and… Read more »
Buffett’s New Move
Warren Buffett is paying a hefty price for the biggest bet of his career as his Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) has agreed to buy Precision Castparts Corp (PCP.N), valuing the maker of aerospace and other parts at $32.3 billion. Questions: 1. According to the article, Berkshire’s new deal joins a foray of companies within other… Read more »
A Model of Innovation or Intimidation?
According to the New York Times, white-collar workers at Amazon are encouraged to tear apart one another’s ideas in meetings, toil long and late (emails arrive past midnight, followed by text messages asking why they were not answered), and held to standards that the company boasts are “unreasonably high.” The internal phone directory instructs colleagues… Read more »
What you are doing and how fast you are doing it?
A new generation of workplace technology is allowing white-collar jobs to be tracked, tweaked and managed in ways that were difficult even a few years ago. While the programs are meant to foster connections and sometimes increase productivity among employees who are geographically dispersed and often working from home, questions are piling up about the… Read more »
Hard Times in TeslaLand? A New Type of Company, for Sure!
The Silicon Valley automaker is losing more than $4,000 on every Model S electric sedan it sells, using its reckoning of operating losses, and it burned $359 million in cash last quarter in a bull market for luxury vehicles. The company on Wednesday cut its production targets for this year and next. (As an aside:… Read more »
Morbid Thought, but Necessary Resolution
When a young person dies unexpectedly, his or her family could end up with the burden of paying off student loans. How can that be avoided? Questions: 1. According to the article, which loans are forgiven after a student’s death and which ones are not? What is a rough estimate of the total amount of… Read more »
On the heels of Pacioli!
Jacob Fugger was a Renaissance-era banker and industrialist from the German city of Augsburg. At the time of his death in 1525, his fortune equaled nearly 2 percent of Europe’s total economy. Questions: 1. According to the article, there is much to learn about how Fugger built his riches. Why? 2. What were some of… Read more »