Fun with Words: Does Rightsizing Make You Feel Better Than Being Fired?

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As the language of layoffs continues to evolve, David Gillen and Will Storey question whether or not you can really sugar-coat being fired.

Questions:
1. According to Geoffrey Nunberg from U.C. Berkley, where does the term “you’re fired” really come from?
2. What are the three categories that Nunberg says are associated with the language of layoffs?
3. Which of the terms mentioned do you think is the worst grammatical disaster in the language of layoffs and why?

Source:
Gillen, D. and W. Storey. (2013) ‘You’re Fired,’ in Terms Only a Boss Could Love. The New York Times, Oct. 24 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/business/youre-fired-in-terms-only-a-boss-could-love.html)

The Costs of Becoming an Entrepreneur

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Fifteen years ago, Becky O’Neil of Arlington, Va. decided that she wanted more flexability in her life, so she started a dog-walking service and planned to spend more time with her 7-month old son. Unfortunately, what she found was that a start-up new business required long hours, hard work and unwavering commitment, even on Christmas Day!

Questions:
1. How did Ms. O’Neil’s original plan of walking dogs with her infant son turn out? What was her first holiday like as a solo entrepreneur?
2. How long was it before Ms. O’Neil earned a salary from her business?
3. What is the size of her business now?

Source:
DeBaise, C. (2013). Recalling a Christmas Spent With a Start-up. The New York Times, Dec. 19 (Retrievable online at http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/recalling-a-christmas-spent-with-a-start-up/ )
New York Times Video. (2013). Unleashing A Dog-Walking Empire. The New York Times, Dec. 19.

Catch 22: Money from Legalized Marijuana

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Banks, including state-chartered ones, are reluctant to provide traditional services to legal marijuana businesses in Washington state and Colorado. Since the marijuana businesses are conducted almost entirely in cash, it is exceedingly difficult for these shop owners to open and maintain bank accounts, and ultimately accept credit cards.

Questions:
1. Why won’t the banks open up the system to these merchants? What assurances are they waiting for?
2. What are some of the ways in which marijuana merchants have obtained a bank account? Even if a marijuana merchant somehow gets a bank account, why is it common for a legitimate marijuana business to go through a half-dozen bank accounts in a few years?
3. What is the ATM loophole that some merchants have been effective in using?

Source:
Kovaleski, S. (2014). Banks Say No to Marijuana Money, Legal or Not. The New York Times, Jan. 11(Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/us/banks-say-no-to-marijuana-money-legal-or-not.html?hpw&rref=us)
KONG News Video. (2013) WA Pot industry struggles to find banks to do business, April 6 (Retrievable online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36UEAPW1neA)

Nothing’s sacred!

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Over the past decade, the number of “hospice survivors” in the United States has risen dramatically. According to the Washington Post, this is, in part, because hospice companies earn more by recruiting patients who aren’t actually dying. Healthier patients are more profitable because they require fewer visits and stay enrolled longer.

Questions:
1. How large is the Hospice industry and what percent of their revenue comes from Medicare?
2. Discuss the differences between the nonprofit and for-profit hospices as presented in the article.
3. What are the bases of the whistleblower lawsuits, with respect to the hospice industry? Describe the financial incentives involved.

Source:
Whoriskey, P. and D. Keating. (2013) Hospice firms draining billions from Medicare. The Washington Post, December 26 (Retrievable online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/medicare-rules-create-a-booming-business-in-hospice-care-for-people-who-arent-dying/2013/12/26/4ff75bbe-68c9-11e3-ae56-22de072140a2_story.html?hpid=z1)

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Just the Tip of the Iceberg?

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During the summer of 2011, Professor Julius Nyang’oro, an internationally respected scholar and longtime chairman of the African and Afro-American studies department at the University of North Carolina offered a lecture course called AFAM 280: Blacks in North Carolina. Nineteen undergraduates signed up. The problem was that the course never met and the all of the students received good grades.

Questions:
1. Why is the Professor being indicted criminally? Is anyone suspected of the same behavior? Discuss.
2. Who were 18 of the 19 students? Relate the ethics of this in terms of “substance over form” that is referred to accounting.
3. Based on the article, would you say that collusion was involved? Discuss.
4. Explain the term “balkanized” in the context of this story.

Source:
Lyall, S. (2014). A’s for Athletes, but Charges of Fraud at North Carolina. The New York Times, Jan. 1 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/sports/as-for-athletes-but-charges-of-tar-heel-fraud.html?hp&_r=0)

Not a good argument

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In a ruling on December 23, 2013, the U.S. Tax Court denied a Florida MBA student, with little work experience the claim for deduction of his tuition costs as a business expense.

Questions:
1. What was the concentration (major area of study) of the student’s MBA degree?
2. What was the amount of the bill that the IRS levied on the tuition claimed? What percent was that amount of tuition? Is this the student’s effective tax rate?
3. According to the article by CNN, what changes are coming to the tuition tax break in 2014?

Source:
Reuters Staff. (2013). U.S. Tax Court Rules Against MBA Student Seeking Tuition Tax Break. The New York Times, Dec. 26 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/12/26/us/26reuters-usa-tax-mba.html?hp&_r=0&gwh=2F2E6468A3DA8A23060925025688FFF8&gwt=pay)

CNN Staff. (2013). Tax season 2014: 8 disappearing tax breaks. ABC, Dec. 27 (Retrievable at http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/tax-season-2014-8-disappearing-tax-breaks)

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Tax breaks disappearing in 2014

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Unless Congress extends the tax deductions that are set to expire at the end of 2013, credits and deductions benefiting everyone from teachers and students to homeowners are scheduled to expire.

Questions:
1. Which of these eight deductions will affect you personally?
2. Which of these eight deductions will affect your parents and other family members?
3. Based on these eight deductions, which do you think will be the most harmful to the majority of the nation and why?

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Source:
CNN Staff. (2013). Tax season 2014: 8 disappearing tax breaks. ABC, Dec. 27 (Retrievable at http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/tax-season-2014-8-disappearing-tax-breaks)

A Christmas Miracle?

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A single father stumbles upon $50K in bonds in a discarded Christmas box and tries to return the money to the owner.

Questions:
1. What are bearer bonds? What types of journal entries are associated with them for the issuer? Give examples.
2. What had Mr. Tran done that made these bonds worthless? What do you think would have happened if Mr. Garofalo had tried to cash them in?
3. If you were advising a client who had this amount of bearer bonds, what would you tell them about storage?

Source:

Bleier, E. (2013). Florida man finds $50K worth of bonds in trashed Christmas tree box. UPI.com, Dec. 9 (Retrievable online at http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/Blog/2013/12/09/Florida-man-finds-50K-worth-of-bonds-in-trashed-Christmas-tree-box/9231386600046/)

CNN Video. (2013). Man finds 50K in bonds in Christmas box, Dec. 12 (Retrievable at http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/12/12/man-finds-50k-in-bonds-in-box-good-stuff-newday.cnn.html)

News 13 staff. (2013). Christmas “miracle” bonds prove worthless. HD Channel 13, Dec. 12 (Retrievable online at http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2013/12/12/anthony_garofalo_bon.html?cid=rss)

An Epidemic or A Disorder Proliferated by Marketing?

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The sales of prescription stimulants for A.D.H.D. have more than quadrupled since 2002. Is it an epidemic? According to Dr. Keith Conners, a psychologist and professor emeritus at Duke University, who has been fighting to legitimize A.D.H.D diagnoses for the past 50 years, the rise is probably due to successful marketing campaigns that feed on parental fears about normal childhood impatience and forgetfulness. In an interview, Conners said this overdiagnosis “is a concoction to justify the giving out of medication at unprecedented and unjustifiable levels,” which is very profitable and trails only to asthma in children, according to Centers for Disease Control (C.D.C.) data. criminal-justice-logo-md
Questions:

1. What companies stand to profit from this overdiagnosis? Discuss the ethics of this situation and whether you believe the companies are at fault.
2. Based on the data in the article, what percentage increase do you calculate in the number of children on medication for this disorder?
3. The article mentions that “the Food and Drug Administration has cited every major A.D.H.D. drug — stimulants like Adderall, Concerta, Focalin and Vyvanse, and nonstimulants like Intuniv and Strattera — for false and misleading advertising since 2000, some multiple times.” Research this statement and find at least 3 press releases mentioning these fines and their amounts. Based on this information, do you think that the fines are an effective deterrent?

Source:
Schwartz, A. (2013). The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder. The New York Times, Dec. 14 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/health/the-selling-of-attention-deficit-disorder.html?pagewanted=all&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB&_r=0)

The Airline Industry in Africa is Expected to Boom in the Coming Year(s)

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Africa is a continent with the 2nd largest population but only 3% of the global air traffic. The region’s economies are growing robustly and by all indications will continue to do so in the coming years. With a rise in GDP, a corresponding rise in demand for aviation services is to be expected.

Questions:
1. According to the video, what are some of the roadblocks against current air traffic?
2. According to the video, what industry associated with tourists is growing and changing in Africa? Explain why.
3. What are the obstacles to aircraft leasing in Africa?

Sources:
CNN Video, Business Traveller, Dec. 12 (Retrievable online at http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2013/12/12/spc-business-traveller-best-of-2013-c.cnn&iref=videosearch&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fsearch%2F%3Fquery%3Dbusiness%26primaryType%3Dvideo%26sortBy%3Ddate%26intl%3Dfalse)

Staff. (2013) Region’s airline industry poised to take off. The East African, Dec. 12 News (Retrievable online at http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Regions-airline-industry-poised-for-take-off/-/2558/1146002/-/view/printVersion/-/iftscv/-/index.html)