For approximately a decade, IBM has been giving fired employees information detailing a severance package that asks them to waive age-discrimination claims. This package also included a page listing the job titles and ages of workers being let go, until recently. Now IBM is withholding the information and instead offering the workers with the option… Read more »
Posts Tagged: qualitative issues in cost decision making
Questions about Sales Tax
Is a Twix bar food or candy? In 24 states, a Hershey’s bar is candy but a Twix isn’t. That’s because Twix contains flour, and in those states — which all share a sales tax code — candy is defined as being flour free. And since groceries aren’t taxed, you’ll pay taxes for the Hershey’s,… Read more »
Brave New World: The Interpretation of Liking a Product on Facebook
In an April 16 New York Times article, Stephanie Strom reported that ” General Mills, the maker of cereals like Cheerios and Chex as well as brands like Bisquick and Betty Crocker, has quietly added language to its website to alert consumers that they give up their right to sue the company if they download… Read more »
Will your digital brain let you slow down?
What are the consequences of reading with the interactivity of the Internet? Researchers warn that people seem to be developing digital brains with new circuits for skimming through the torrent of information online and this is actually competing with our traditional deep reading circuitry. Questions: 1. How do you think that this could impact auditors… Read more »
Here’s a Warning for Dog Lovers!
Over approximately the last seven years (or 2,643 days), at least 600 dogs have died and thousands of others have been sickened by jerky treats. However, while the FDA has warned against this apparent link, the culprit has remained largely a mystery. Questions: 1. Have the illnesses only affected dogs? Why is the FDA limited… Read more »
Chiquita’s Big Deal
Chiquita Brands International that it had agreed to acquire Fyffes, an Irish fruit and produce distributor, in an all-stock deal that valued Fyffes at about $526 million. The new firm will be called ChiquitaFyffes and will be the world’s largest producer and distributor of bananas. It is expected that the firm will have about $4.6… Read more »
Easy Come, Easy Go… It’s only Money (and Stock)
Facebook’s largest acquisition ever was announced this week. The company said it would pay at least $16 billion for WhatsApp, a text messaging application with 450 million users around the world who pay little or no money for it. The purchase price dwarfs the $1 billion Facebook paid for Instagram, the photo-sharing service. Questions: 1…. Read more »
Federal Financial Aid Fraud
A federal lawsuit was filed by seven former employees against Harris School of Business and its for-profit parent education company, Premier Education Group, which owns more than two dozen trade schools and community colleges operating under several names in 10 states. The suit alleges that school officials routinely misled students about their career prospects and… Read more »
Think before you Speak
AOL recently altered its 401(k) program, by switching matching payments to one lump sum at year-end instead of throughout the year. The change was implemented, according to CEO, Tim Armstrong, because of soaring medical costs that arose in part from two families with “distressed babies.” Questions: 1. What is a 401(k)? 2. What was Armstrong’s… Read more »
FDA Cracks Down on Scary Imports That Impact Public Safety
India is the second largest exporter of over-the-counter and prescription drugs to the U.S. However, the FDA has recently increased their inspections of these manufacturers due to falsified drug test results, safety lapses, and the sale of fake medicines. Questions: 1. What percentage of U.S. over-the-counter and generic prescription drugs are supplied by India manufacturers?… Read more »