How You Plan to Collect Data on Customers Essay Example for Free

How You Plan to Collect Data on Customers Essay How you plan to collect data on customers, competitors and the market environment and why you think this will be useful. How do you propose to use this market research to understand the behaviour of customers, competitors and the market environment? Market research is a crucial factor to do for any organisation in order to make their business successful. In the case of STUDENTAL, it is a new product from Sainsbury’s. Therefore, Sainsbury’s have to do all the market research on customers, competitors and on market environment in point of fact. For this task, I have to collect data on customers, competitors and the market environment. To collect data on customers I am going to prepare some questionnaires and ask Customers questions regarding STUDENTAL. This will help me to get the true analysis from customers straight away. This will be more accurate than information collecting from other sources like internet and magazine. I have included a variety of questions to the questionnaire and I am sure that this will help me in understanding behaviour of customers towards energy drinks. In addition, I am also going to observe customers by going in to Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets. I will observe their buying attitudes towards energy drinks. This will help me to make suggestions to the future developments of STUDENTAL. Through observing and asking questions to customers, we will be able to analyse their likes, dislikes and attitudes towards energy drinks. We will able to apply this information to the STUDENTAL. To collect data on competitors, I am going to do a research on internet. There are many competitors for STUDENTAL. This includes the bigger brands like, Lucozade, Red Bull, Boost and Power Ade. I will check for the price and product descriptions of the competing products. Through this, we will be able to understand the similarities and non-similarities of STUDENTAL and other products. Internet research will be useful to identify similar drinks sold by ASDA and Tesco. This will help Sainsbury’s to make any further changes to the product to compete effectively with other supermarkets. Another useful method of collecting information on competitors will be doing a SWOT analysis, Boston Matrix and Product Life Cycle. SWOT analysis will be able to find out STUDENTAL’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With the help of Boston Matrix, we will be able to understand and recognize the competing brands. To collect data on market environment, I am going to do a research on the packaging of STUDENTAL’s competitors. Using a PESTE-G will also help to find the necessary information on market environment. PESTE-G focuses on Political, Economical, Social, Technological and Green Issues. By doing a PESTE-G analysis, I will be able to understand all the external issues, which affects STUDENTAL and Sainsbury’s. The questionnaire used for collecting information from customers is attached and results obtained will be presented in the form of pie charts and bar charts as appropriate. Questionnaire STUDENTAL Please tick one box for each question. 1. Your GenderMale Female 2. Age groupUnder 16 16 19 20 – 25 20 – 25 25 – 40 40 over 3. Where did you first hear about STUDENTAL? In store From friends Advertisements On TV 4. How would you describe the taste of your favourite energy drink? Bitter Sweet Bitter Sweet Bland 5. Which of the following drink do you buy? LucozadeRed bull Powerade Other 6. From where do you buy energy drinks? Supermarkets Sports shop Gym/fitness club Other 7. What price (per litre) do you think would be right for STUDENTAL? Under  £1.00 £1.00  £1.30  £1.30 –  £2.00 £3.00 and over 8. What price do you usually pay for these. Lucozade ______Coca-cola _______ Redbull ______ Boost _______ Don’t know _______ 9. What kind of drink do you think the STUDENTAL is? Energy drink Health Drink Social drinkChildren’s drink 10. If you bought STUDENTAL, would the packaging be important to you? YesNo 11. Does it matter if the packaging is recyclable? YesNo 12. How often do you drink energy drinks? DailyTwice a week Once a weekmonthly 13. When do you drink energy drink? MorningWith Lunch When Excising When working Thank you for filling out this questionnaire Sebil To get the data on customers, I have asked customers 13 questions. To make it more effective, I asked questions to a both Males and Females. I also made sure to ask the questions to a mixture of people from different age groups. 1. Firstly, the question was about surveyed people’s gender. I asked the questions to 25 people. It included 15 Males and 10 Females. This indicates that people from both gender groups have been engaged in this survey. The above charts shows that 40% of total participants were Females and 60% of them were Males. 2. The second question was about the surveyed people’s Age Group. There was a mixture of people from different age groups. However, a large percentage of people were from the 16-19 age group. I think this will help Sainsbury’s, as STUDENTAL’s direct target market is peoples from 16-19. The above chart represents the age group of the people who participated in the survey. 16% of total participants were under 16. There were 54% of people from 16-19 age group. 22% of total participants were between 20-35 age. 8% of them were above 40 years old. This indicates that a mixture of people from all age groups participated in this survey. This will definitely help Sainsbury’s in the case of market research. 3. I asked the people about STUDENTAL after the second question. I asked them, where did you first hear about STUDENTAL? This question was to check whether they know about the product already or not. 80% of surveyed people said that they heard about the product from their friends. 20% of them said, from store. 4. How would you the taste of your favourite energy drink? This question was to understand people’s favourite taste. From the chart above, we can we clearly see that about 30% of people like bitter taste, 40% of them like sweet, 20% of them like bitter and sweet and finally, 10% of them like bland taste. Sainsbury’s may make STUDENTAL’s taste bitter or sweet as from the chart we can understand that most of the people like sweet and bitter taste 5. Which of the following drink do you buy? This question asked to find out the popular brand among the public. In addition, when STUDENTAL will be launched that popular brand will be the main competitor with STUDENTAL. The chart above represents the participators’ favourite energy drink. 30% of total participants like Red Bull Energy Drinks while 40% of th`em said that they like Lucozade. 6. From where do you buy energy drinks? This question was asked to know the place from customers buy energy drinks. About half of the people are buying their energy drinks from supermarkets. This is a very good signal for Sainsbury’s as they are going to sell STUDNTAL at their stores. 7. What price (per litre) do you think would be right for STUDENTAL? This question was asked to find out how much money people would spend on STUDENTAL when it is available in supermarkets. 40% of total participants thinks that STUDENTAL’s price will well be right if it is under  £1.00. Another 40% thinks that the price will be right if it is between  £1.00 and  £1.30. This indicates that the current price of STUDENTAL is high and there will be only very few customers who are willing to buy STUDENTAL at a cost of  £13.9/litre. 8. What price do you usually pay for energy drinks? This question will help to find out the people’s buying behaviour. The above chart shows that how much money they are spending on energy drinks. 44% of them are spending  £1.00 to  £1.50 for energy drinks. 36% of them are only prepared to spend less than  £1.00. As the chart indicates, people are not willing to buy energy drinks for higher prices. Therefore, Sainsbury’s must have to adjust the price accordingly. 9. What kind of drink do you think the STUDENTAL is? The above chart shows the answers for the question, what kind of drink do you think the STUDENTAL is? Most of the people do not know that STUDENTAL is an energy drink. I think this is due to the name STUDENTAL. It does not have the power to represent an energy drink. 10. If you bought STUDENTAL, would the packaging be important to you? This was one of the important questions asked to the participants. 90% of them said that they do care about the packaging of STUDENTAL. 11. Does it matter if the packaging is recyclable? This was another important question included in the questionnaire. 70% of participants said that they do care about the packaging and they want it to be recyclable. 12. How often do you drink energy drinks? The above chart shows that 10% of total participants consume energy drinks daily, 30% of them consume it twice in a week, 40% of them consume it weekly and 20% of them consume energy drinks monthly.

Advantages and disadvantages of using credit cards

Advantages and disadvantages of using credit cards In this modern era with the rising of e-commerce in the world, the usage of credit card is getting popular among the world nowadays. The usage of credit card has actually spread towards the college student and has increasing visibility (Hayhoe, 2002). Meanwhile, this is the best chance for the credit card companies to put on target at college students because college students are expected to have higher of earning power and this makes the credit card companies believe that as a desirable market (Warwick Mansfield, 2000). Credit card can be best defined as a small plastic card issued by the bank to the consumers to purchase goods and services in advance with a credit limit on the spending (eHow, n.d). With a credit card, the users are able to purchase goods without using cash. Users will have the ability to use it as online payment in internet and uses it as monthly installment for large volume goods and services (eHow, n.d). However, interest charges are applied to the credit cards. There are many different types of credit card associations nowadays. For example, American Express, Dinner Club, MasterCard, Visa and many more. Each month, the credit card user is sent a statement by bank that indicated their purchases for previous month. After the cardholder received the statement, he or she must pay the amount of their purchases otherwise may choose to pay a higher amount when the credit issuer charges interest on the amount owed. Even credit cards have higher interest rates than most consumer loans; many people still prefer to use it yet. This is because almost every store that we can see allows for payment of goods and services through credit cards today. The increasing number of banks that provides credit card has eventually increases the competition between banks in attracting the customers. Every bank has tried their own way to persuade the customers to apply the credit customers. The worst part is, they even attract college students by having promotion in the college. Historically, the bank actually started to bump into student credit card market in the late of 1980-an (Manning, 2000). In the long run, this will cause many problems to the college students. This is because most of the college students does not how to plan their money effectively. According to Henry, Weber, and Yarbrough (2001), most of the students will have the credit problems is because college students do not practice to have a written budget. The researchers also expected college students are vulnerable to financial crisis (Henry, Weber Yarbrough, 2001). The incredible increase of the usage of credit card actually has demonstrated the crisis among the college students. The increased number of credit cards among college has seen a major growth since the past decade (So, Grable Bagwell, 2003). Based on a research, 70% of all undergraduates at four-year colleges have at least one credit card today (So, Grable Bagwell, 2003). Advantages and Disadvantages of using a Credit Card Credit Card is an Automatic advanced card which people can use it to get the goods without paying the cash. Credit cards are widely use by people all around the world as a source of convenient to get what their needs. But, there are many advantages and disadvantages of using it. One of the advantages of credit card is that with credit card can eliminate the need to carry large sums of cash wherever we go. For example, if we are away from home for vocation, we dont need to take large amount of cash in pocket. Besides, credit cards may also offer us additional protection if goods that we bought is lost, damaged, or stolen. This is where the credit card company can know that the fact that we have made a purchase. In addition, we can also see that some credit card companies offer insurance for the customers on large purchases. By this way, the companies can protect their customers and give their customers the security of using the card. With a credit card can also assist us build a credit line. By having a good credit history is very vital, which meant that making payments on time and in full month, it help us not only applying a credit card, but also when applying for the loans, rental, or even some jobs will more easily. In conjunction to that, credit cards can also be useful in times of emergency as well. For example, students with a credit card can take the necessary actions by helping parents when they falls ill, a car is damaged, or trying to buy a higher cost books in the university. Some credit cards also offer some extra benefits for their customers, such as discounts from particular stores or companies, bonuses such free airline miles or travel discounts. All of these benefits is helpful for us as long as we bear in mind that out spending limits. On the other hand, the disadvantage of credit cards is that they encourage people to spend money that they dont have. The customers can spend any time as they want even they have less money. Indirectly, the customers cannot pay for the bill statements that what they had spent. By this way, the more money the customers owe the credit card companies, and yet they will charge the customers on interest each month on their spending. The other disadvantages of credit card is that the credit card companies will charge the customers on high amount of interest on each balance that the customers dont pay off at the end of the month. This is how the credit card companies make their money and this is how many of credit card users will get into big troubles. And, credit card fraud also is one of the disadvantages. This is where the credit card also same as a cash, it also can be stolen sometimes. They maybe be physically stolen from customers wallet or credit card number and use as to swap the mo ney. The good news is that, when we realize our credit card is stolen, quickly we can report to the credit card companies. This is to avoid us by not being charged for any purchases that someone else has made. As conclusion, credit cards can make life easier and convenient to the users as they utilize it wisely. But, if we use it wrongly, it will become huge financial burden for us. If we decide to use the credit cards, we must know some simple rules such as limit our purchases, dont spend outside our budget, pay off the balance at the end of each month, and most importantly is dont give credit card information to anyone else as the safety methods. 1.1.2 Development of credit card in Malaysia In old days, there was no such thing as money. Each person would provide for his own food and clothing and also shelter. As time goes by, a system of barter by exchange of needs began. Barter trade however, was not that simple. Sometimes, it was difficult to find those who had exactly the item that was needed. Some goods were used for barter trade because they could easily be carried, have a common value and be easily divided. This commodity money became a medium of exchange soon. Common goods such salt, bread, grain, tobacco were among the item that had served as money. The first money appeared when the ruler or king issued a constant value. For example, in historical times in Malaysia, blocks and tin were kind of commodity money. As businesses developed, it became inconvenient to move large sums of coins around the country. In the middle ages, people preferred to deposit their coins with trustworthy goldsmiths, in exchange for paper receipts. Whenever a depositor wanted to make payments, he would exchange these receipt back for coins. As long as the goldsmith was trustworthy, the paper receipt was as good as coins. Thus, the first paper money and first banks were developed. In Malaysia, only the Bank Negara Malaysia is allowed to issue coins and paper currency notes. The value of ringgit is legal tender and is backed by gold and foreign exchange held by Bank Negara. In nowadays, there are now 3 forms of money we can see in Malaysia. They are coins, paper currency, and transaction account which are cheques and credit cards. While coins and paper currency are used to transfer money at the present time, cheques and credit cards commit money that will be earned in the future. Cheques is the most common instruments used to transfer funds. And then, cheques and credit cards become more popular as they provide their holders with the power to purchase without having carried around large amount of cash. Research Background Credit card among college students has become a hot topic of growing nowadays. This is because college students are experiencing unique transition period in their lives. Financially, they are going through the process from financial dependence to independence. They may have learned some consumer skills in cash management at home before coming to college. At this moment, students just want to start to learn on how to use credit wisely and just matured enough to be able to sign legal contracts include credit card contracts. There are also some other studies that show that students are greatly involved with credit cards. Yet, the use of credit cards among students has received much attention in recent year from members of the financial community and policy makers. Credit card companies grab this golden chance to target students because they are expected to have higher average earning power and are seen by the credit card companies as a desirable market (Warwick Manfield, 2000). Besides, we can see that mixed practices among students credit use will make them have a low knowledge about credit because they do not fully understand the financial implications of having a large number of credit card debt. By this way, this will make them to spend more. (McNeal and Yeh, 1993) A research also showed that at average age of eight years children, making their first independent purchase as socialization as a consumer begins in their early years. Nowadays, as we know that a service tax of RM50 will be charges on each principal credit card in Malaysia start from 20l0. And, for every supplementary card, a service with RM25 will be charged yearly. The governments impose this tax is because the users of credit card is increasing day to day. 1.3 Problem Statement This study analyzes the factors that influence the usage of credit card among IPTA and IPTS students. The research will give the opportunity to collect accurate data from the designed questionnaire in order to analyze the relationship of the variables. The following problem statement is supporting the research background of this study: To what extent do demographic, knowledge, kind of purchases, credit attitude, and family background influence the usage of credit card among IPTA and IPTS students? 1.4 Research Objectives Students attitudes towards credit card could play a vital role in determining its distribution. After figuring out the problem statement of this research, let go to the objectives of this research. The objective of this research is to distribute a proper framework and to analyze the factors that influence the usage of credit card among IPTA and IPTS students. From the research study also, it could assist to provide some suggestion to solve this problem. The three main objectives of this research study are: To investigate the role knowledge of credit card use plays in compulsive buying among the students. To test demographic. To compare the monthly usage of credit card among IPTA and IPTS students. To determine which factors is most significant effect towards usage of credit card among IPTA and IPTS students. 1.5 Significant of study It is important to study that how the credit card as a key of contribution to everyone no matter to bankers, users, society or among college students. Every companies and banks will benefit with owning a credit card. Mostly are those banks making money from the credit card companies? This is how it goes. If a bank agrees to take their customers deposit, they dont keep it all in the back. This is because there are only a small percentage of the bank customers will demand their money at any given time, a percentage of all deposits( vault cash), is kept on hand. Some of this cash will loan out to credit card companies so that they can finance the purchases their customers make, until the customer pays the credit card company back. Actually, most credit card companies are organized as banks, so that they are regulated in a different way than regular companies. As a result, the more money that is owed by bank or company, the more that bank or company is worth. This is because of the way the American accounting system works. Meanwhile, the main benefit to each customer is convenience. A credit card allows small short-term loans to be quickly made to customer who need not calculate a balance remaining before every transaction, provided the total charges do not exceed the maximum credit line for the card. Credit card also provides more fraud protection than the debit card for the users. Many credit cards offer rewards and benefits packages, such as offering enhanced product warranties at no cost, points which may be redeemed for cash, products, and also for the airline tickets. This makes the users feel more satisfaction about their services of owning a credit card. Additionally, carrying a credit card is more comfortable to some users either than carrying a bucket of cash in their pocket. On the other hand, owning a credit card also benefited to community. This is how they permit people around to make a large purchase, such as expensive materials or those for cars. This make the people can buy those things easier. Yet, with credit card be useful for emergencies use like medical bills. Also, credit card offer additional protection of purchases. Example, if the goods that already bought by people is lost or had been stolen, the credit card company can prove for the fact that people have made a purchase with original receipts. So that people do not need to worry too much because some credit card companies are offering insurance on credit card. With a credit card too, it can help to create entrepreneurs. Many entrepreneurs who were unable to get the bank loan will have to use credit card as a way to finance their projects. Although by this way it is extremely risky, there is no choice to help some entrepreneurs become more wealthy and successful in future. Nowadays, we might see many credit companies also set up target in campus areas to encourage college students for sign up their card. They might give free gift such as t-shits, umbrella, water bottles for those who signing up the card. Some research shows that students are valuable customers because they are loyal for their first card and will continue to make their purchases in future. With the credit card, students can make large purchases easily such as expensive text books, airline ticket, hotel room booking, garments, and etc. 1.6 Organization of study This research focus mainly on how credit card use by students of IPTA and also IPTS. This research project compromises of 3 main chapters. It consists of introduction and background, literature review, and also research methodology. The first chapter introduces the area of the study that mainly on the overview and background of the research and the concept of credit card, its advantages and disadvantages, and overview of the previous and current issues related to the topic, and followed by problem statement of this study. Problem statement is referred to a clear statement of the question or issues that to be investigated with the goal of finding and answer solutions. The second chapter is provides a review on the related literature on credit card and the factors that can affect its usage. Literature review is review of facts from past researchers who conducted theirs studies on the same field (usage of credit card) in order to support this research study. The effort to form literature review was done by the information gathering from the internet, journals article and other sources such as past researches journals and articles that is vital to form the literature review. The purpose is to find out all the facts, data and information required to support the topic selected. Besides that, this chapter also includes the review of literature that explains the relationship between each independent variables and dependent variable. The third chapter presents the organized research methodology by explaining the research techniques used in the collection and analysis of the survey data. It includes designation framework, area of study, population sample size, data collection methods are also included, and identifying the variables that consist of dependent variables and independent variables.

Family Values and The Status of The Traditional American Family Essay

When one thinks of the term family values, many different ideas can come to mind. Morals, religion, beliefs, tradition, expectation, controversy, and misuse are some things that may come to mind when the term â€Å"family values† is mentioned. The true definition and meaning of family values can most likely never be directly pinpointed, but it is always going to be a known fact that family values are always going to have different meanings to different people. It is the common misunderstanding that family values are just simply the things that shape a growing persons values and morals. From a the beginning of a child’s life, they are instilled with values to go by in the life that lies ahead of them by either their own family or the people that are going to be in charge of raising them. A child is corrected on the mistakes that they make, and taught what is right and wrong. Following this tough process of teaching a child what is right and wrong, moreover how to tell the difference on there own. Family values are not necessarily always taught within the limits of the family. For those families that hold strong religious beliefs, values can also be taught in church through lectures, Sunday school, and other religious gatherings. In this situation, it is usually told to the child that the values learned in church are directly related to the values taught and practiced within the family and that the two should both be taken with the same token and used the same in real-world situations. It is always a true test of the strength of an individual’s values when situations are presented to them that go against their values but also seem like a good idea at the time. It is then that a person has to make a decision to either d... ...mily. For example, families could drop their young off at Sunday school every week expecting them to absorb proper values from people that may not even be that familiar. Media such as movies and television can also be overly relied on to teach good values and morals to young. Parents will sometimes stick their children in front of what they consider an â€Å"educational† program and expect that they will be instilled with positive traits which they themselves may not even possess. Family values are definitely things commonly misunderstood by American culture today. The true definition of family values are the morals passed through generations of a particular family that are considered to be correct. The true meaning of the term may differ from family to family but the root idea is always going to be the same: family values are the things that make us who we are.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer :: Television TV Show Essays

Buffy the Vampire Slayer In the fickle world of TV the complexity and richness of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (US, UPN) the mysterious fable turns on fantastic depiction of the supernatural. Vampire extermination and demon pursuit by teenagers has kept it alive for six seasons. Our allegiance to BUFFY depends on a remarkable emotional involvement with very young but very strong characters. So its meaning, the rhythm of the BUFFYmyth, the speed with which its world turns are a product of our involvement in its characters, people presumably like us. The ground rules of this continuing fable are variations on those of movies, especially of the Horror Picture. But BUFFY finds ways to change or make exception to the rules. There is something else new: the variation of length of story elements in narrative design: the flexibility of story rhythm. BUFFY is firmly based in time determined installments (as is all TV narrative. But characters change, develop, are dynamic. And this is a complicated narrative: the central line of vampire destruction depends on metaphors that hang together to make up an allegory. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER first showed up as a little noticed B film (1991) written by Joss Whedon. He is a third generation comedy writer who had written for ROSEANNE and the movies. Whedon sold the WB network the idea of BUFFY as a TV series and he became executive producer (he was frequently the writer and director as well). He put together the team of writers, producers, and directors, and a solid cast to do BUFFY. The auteur of the series is surely Whedon. It is now in its seventh season on TV (I 1997, II 1998~, III l999~ IV 2000, V 2001, VI 2002, VII 2003), a cult classic. Buffy is a beautiful high school student (in the movie a cheerleader but by the opening of the TV series, an ex-cheerleader who tries out for the Sunnydale High School squad but gets too busy and leaves it behind). What distracts her from high school is the need to insure the well being of Sunnydale, California, a community confused by undead neighbors who come up through an untended Hellmouth. For many BUFFY is more of an addiction than a series, but an addiction unlike Beverly Hills 90210 in its early years (which it resembles only the way it straddles high school and college years). Yes, as in 90210, groups of viewers may gather to watch BUFFY together this is a similar continuing enthusiasm.

Team Behavior Essays -- Business, Organizational Structure

Team Behavior The organizational structure is compromised of groups and teams. Organizational behavior theory examines individual and group behavior types in relation to performance, organizational structure, ethics, and conflict resolution. Extensive research has been done in the field of development and application of team behavior and the positive or negative impact it has on accomplishing organizational objectives. Tuckman’s team development theory, Mintzberg’s study of organizational politics, and The Ringelmann effect will be examined. These theories provide insight into the complexities inherent in group structure and the mechanisms organizations need to minimize dysfunctional activities. The term group and team are used interchangeably for this discussion although they do not have the same meaning. A team consists of a number of people committed to common goals. Teams help organizations enhance performance, reduce costs, and provide employees with a sense of dignity and self-fulfillment. A team’s composition is formal or informal, its effectiveness is predicated, in part, on an organizations’ culture and the personalities and roles of the team members. . Group Development 1. There are critics of the five†stage group development model. Their main point is that this presentation of a group’s development is too static. Do you agree with this criticism? Why? The Tuckman stages of team development focuses on building and developing teams by analyzing team behavior. The first stage is forming. Group members get to know each other. Tuckman calls this the â€Å"ice breaking† stage. The second stage is storming. In this stage conflicts and power struggles occur as individuals compare views. The third stage is nor... ...for their outputs. Conflict among teams exists in organizations. Conflict aligned with business objectives and fosters positive employee performance (functional conflict), should be encouraged by management. However, conflict between groups that impede business objectives (dysfunctional conflict), must be confronted immediately and eliminated by management. Another form of conflict in organizations is resistance to authority. Mintzberg (1983) describes these tendencies as political games. The whistleblower game attempts to bring about organizational change by exposing practices or behaviors an individual perceives as unethical and in violation of the law. Organizations with sound ethical standards embrace valid whistle-blowing, however, most organizations view whistle-blowing negatively and impose various methods of retaliation against the individual.

Ive of Collaborative Goal Setting

Unit 7 Handout 1: Worksheet Assignment Name: BMA 152 Bookkeeping Fundamentals I Worksheet Assignment Directions: Please complete the following problem: 1. Company A has the following unadjusted trial balance. Write out the following three adjusting journal entries and complete the Company A Worksheet below. Fill out the appropriate account name and transaction description for each chart. For the Debit and Credit columns, determine which data entry is to be Debit or Credit and fill out appropriately. Complete this assignment by the end of Unit Nine, 11:55 p. m. PST. a.Company A counts its supplies at the end of the month and finds that it only has $250 worth of supplies remaining on October 31, 2010. Date Account name & Transaction description Debit Credit b. Company A receives a payment from Customer XYZ on October 31, 2010 for $2,000 for Customer XYZ’s outstanding receivable. Date Account name & Transaction description Debit Credit c. Company A received an invoice from the el ectric company covering the month of October for $85 and an invoice related to shipping for $200, but Company A did not pay these invoices by October 31, 2010. DateAccount name & Transaction description Debit Credit Unit 7 Handout 1: Worksheet Assignment Company A Worksheet For Month Ended October 31, 2010 Unadjusted  Trial Balance Debit Cash Adjustments Credit Debit Adjusted  Trial  Balance Credit Debit Credit Income  Statement Debit Credit Balance  Sheet Debit Credit 2,800. 00 350. 00 4,310. 00 Accounts Payable 600. 00 Accrued Liabilities Product  Sales 5,500. 00 Supplies Accounts Receivable Utilities  Expense Supplies Expense Shipping Expense 40. 00 Equity (Capital) 1,400. 00 7,500. 00 7,500. 00 Net  Income Total Instructor’s  Feedback:

Deception Point Page 27

The gaping hole in the ice now looked like a small swimming pool in the middle of the habisphere. The surface of the two-hundred-foot-deep pool of melted water sloshed for a while against the icy walls of the shaft and then finally grew calm. The waterline in the shaft was a good four feet beneath the glacier's surface, the discrepancy caused by both the removal of the meteorite's mass and ice's property of shrinking as it melts. Norah Mangor immediately set up SHABA pylons all around the hole. Although the hole was clearly visible, any curious soul who ventured too close and accidentally slipped in would be in dire jeopardy. The walls of the shaft were solid ice, with no footholds, and climbing out unassisted would be impossible. Lawrence Ekstrom came padding across the ice toward them. He moved directly to Norah Mangor and shook her hand firmly. â€Å"Well done, Dr. Mangor.† â€Å"I'll expect lots of praise in print,† Norah replied. â€Å"You'll get it.† The administrator turned now to Rachel. He looked happier, relieved. â€Å"So, Ms. Sexton, is the professional skeptic convinced?† Rachel couldn't help but smile. â€Å"Stunned is more like it.† â€Å"Good. Then follow me.† Rachel followed the administrator across the habisphere to a large metal box that resembled an industrial shipping container. The box was painted with military camouflage patterns and stenciled letters: P-S-C. â€Å"You'll call the President from in here,† Ekstrom said. Portable Secure Comm, Rachel thought. These mobile communications booths were standard battlefield installations, although Rachel had never expected to see one used as part of a peacetime NASA mission. Then again, Administrator Ekstrom's background was the Pentagon, so he certainly had access to toys like this. From the stern faces on the two armed guards watching over the PSC, Rachel got the distinct impression that contact with the outside world was made only with express consent from Administrator Ekstrom. Looks like I'm not the only one who is off-the-grid. Ekstrom spoke briefly with one of the guards outside the trailer and then returned to Rachel. â€Å"Good luck,† he said. Then he left. A guard rapped on the trailer door, and it opened from within. A technician emerged and motioned for Rachel to enter. She followed him in. The inside of the PSC was dark and stuffy. In the bluish glow of the lone computer monitor, Rachel could make out racks of telephone gear, radios, and satellite telecommunications devices. She already felt claustrophobic. The air inside was bitter, like a basement in winter. â€Å"Sit here, please, Ms. Sexton.† The technician produced a rolling stool and positioned Rachel in front of a flat-screen monitor. He arranged a microphone in front of her and placed a bulky pair of AKG headphones on her head. Checking a logbook of encryption passwords, the technician typed a long series of keys on a nearby device. A timer materialized on the screen in front of Rachel. 00:60 SECONDS The technician gave a satisfied nod as the timer began to count down. â€Å"One minute until connection.† He turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Rachel could hear the bolt lock outside. Great. As she waited in the dark, watching the sixty-second clock slowly count down, she realized that this was the first moment of privacy she'd had since early that morning. She'd woken up today without the slightest inkling of what lay ahead. Extraterrestrial life. As of today, the most popular modern myth of all time was no longer a myth. Rachel was just now starting to sense how truly devastating this meteorite would be to her father's campaign. Although NASA funding had no business being on a political par with abortion rights, welfare, and health care, her father had made it an issue. Now it was going to blow up in his face. Within hours, Americans would feel the thrill of a NASA triumph all over again. There would be teary-eyed dreamers. Slack-jawed scientists. Children's imaginations running free. Issues of dollars and cents would fade away as petty, overshadowed by this monumental moment. The President would emerge like a phoenix, transforming himself into a hero, while in the midst of the celebration, the businesslike senator would suddenly appear small-minded, a penny-pinching Scrooge with no American sense of adventure. The computer beeped, and Rachel glanced up. 00:05 SECONDS The screen in front of her flickered suddenly, and a blurry image of the White House seal materialized on-screen. After a moment, the image dissolved into the face of President Herney. â€Å"Hello, Rachel,† he said, a mischievous glint in his eye. â€Å"I trust you've had an interesting afternoon?† 29 The office of Senator Sedgewick Sexton was located in the Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building on C Street to the northeast of the Capitol. The building was a neo-modern grid of white rectangles that critics claimed looked more like a prison than an office building. Many who worked there felt the same. On the third floor, Gabrielle Ashe's long legs paced briskly back and forth in front of her computer terminal. On the screen was a new e-mail message. She was not sure what to make of it. The first two lines read: SEDGEWICK WAS IMPRESSIVE ON CNN. I HAVE MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU. Gabrielle had been receiving messages like this for the last couple of weeks. The return address was bogus, although she'd been able to track it to a â€Å"whitehouse.gov† domain. It seemed her mysterious informant was a White House insider, and whoever it was had become Gabrielle's source for all kinds of valuable political information recently, including the news of a covert meeting between the NASA administrator and the President. Gabrielle had been leery of the e-mails at first, but when she checked out the tips, she was amazed to find the information consistently accurate and helpful-classified information on NASA overexpenditures, costly upcoming missions, data showing that NASA's search for extraterrestrial life was grossly overfunded and pathetically unproductive, even internal opinion polls warning that NASA was the issue turning voters away from the President. To enhance her perceived value to the senator, Gabrielle had not informed him she was receiving unsolicited e-mail help from inside the White House. Instead, she simply passed the information to him as coming from â€Å"one of her sources.† Sexton was always appreciative and seemed to know better than to ask who her source was. She could tell he suspected Gabrielle was doing sexual favors. Troublingly, it didn't seem to bother him in the least. Gabrielle stopped pacing and looked again at the newly arrived message. The connotations of all the e-mails were clear: Someone inside the White House wanted Senator Sexton to win this election and was helping him do it by aiding his attack against NASA. But who? And why? A rat from a sinking ship, Gabrielle decided. In Washington it was not at all uncommon for a White House employee, fearing his President was about to be ousted from office, to offer quiet favors to the apparent successor in hopes of securing power or another position after the changeover. It seemed someone smelled Sexton victory and was buying stock early. The message currently on Gabrielle's screen made her nervous. It was like none other she had ever received. The first two lines didn't bother her so much. It was the last two: EAST APPOINTMENT GATE, 4:30 P.M. COME ALONE. Her informant had never before asked to meet in person. Even so, Gabrielle would have expected a more subtle location for a face-to-face meeting. East Appointment Gate? Only one East Appointment Gate existed in Washington, as far as she knew. Outside the White House? Is this some kind of joke? Gabrielle knew she could not respond via e-mail; her messages were always bounced back as undeliverable. Her correspondent's account was anonymous. Not surprising.