Pick a United States publicly traded company from the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq that is not one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial list-see listing provided. YOU MAY ALSO NOT SELECT AMAZON, STARBUCKS, NVIDIA, or TESLA!
Through research on the Internet write a 1000 word paper (not to
exceed 1500 words) on this company’s history, products, accounting
practices, and financial health. Make sure to clearly label each section: HISTORY, PRODUCTS, ACCOUNTING PRACTICES, and FINANCIAL HEALTH.
The sections are self-explanatory with the exception of ACCOUNTING PRACTICES and FINANCIAL HEALTH. In the ACCOUNTING PRACTICES section
I want you to take various accounting concepts we have covered in the
course and write about how these concepts relate to your company-pick
concepts that interest YOU. In essence with
“accounting practices” what I am looking for is for you to take any
concept we have covered in this course and apply it to your company.
The sky is the limit. Talk about dark words/key terms as they pertain
to your company. Perhaps discuss your company’s depreciation methods,
whether they have goodwill, what type of debt they have, do they issue
bonds, do they have any contingent liabilities, how do they age their
account receivables, what type of internal controls do they have in
place, etc. Their annual report which you can download will be
extremely helpful as a source.
In the FINANCIAL HEALTH section you need to include a
general overall picture of the company’s financial situation, ACTUAL
calculations (formula and numbers) and discussion of at least two
financial ratios that we covered in this course, and a specific
recommendation/state your opinion as to whether it would be a wise
company to invest in and why.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
Download a copy of your company’s annual report to review as a
starting point for your analysis. Make sure to list the annual report in
your bibliography (points will be deducted if you do not). Make sure to
use the annual report and two additional sources.
The 1000 word minimum must be comprised of entirely your own original writing/thoughts (no quoted or footnoted material is allowed).
Students
may NOT use ChatGPT or any other automated writing tool for this
assignment. ChatGPT, and any other Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool,
are forms of PLAGIARISM and it’s considered CHEATING to use them; it
will not be tolerated. You are not allowed to plagiarize from an outside
source. If you are caught using ChatGPT or any other automated writing
tool/outside source you will receive an F on the assignment and be
referred to the Dean of Discipline with a permanent notation made on
your official transcript. TRUST ME YOU DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN!
Title your post with the name of your company followed by its ticker
symbol, its most recent closing price, the words “BUY” or “DON’T BUY”
to convey your stock purchase recommendation, and the word count;
Here is an example of the heading each of you should have:
Pfizer
Ticker Symbol: PFE
Most Recent Closing Price: $48.13
Stock Purchase Recommendation: BUY
Word Count: 1418
Do not use MLA format for any portion of your submission other than
the citing of references where it is optional (you need to include a
bibliography/works cited page in your Discussion Board submission but
not in your turnitin.com submission);
Use your original thoughts, opinions, and words to formulate the analysis-DO NOT PLAGIARIZE;
Copy and paste your document into the WebQuest Project Discussion Board directly;
Do not attach your project as a document into the Discussion Board;
Feel free to add images to your submission to make it visually appealing (think extra credit);
Submit your research paper (minus the Works Cited page) to
turnitin.com (through the WebQuest Research Project Module located
beneath the Week 5 Module under MODULES in the left side bar of this
page); and
Thoroughly read the assignment instructions TWICE to ensure you are following the specific criteria.
Dow Jones Industrial list – see attachement below
Grading:
This assignment is worth 200 points (150 points for your initial analysis and 25 points for each reply, up to two replies).
I
am very liberal in the grading of this project as long as you follow
the detailed directions and say something about each subsection topic.
Please keep in mind that typos and grammar matter too.
You will be graded on clarity, grammar, organization, and content.
No plagiarism.
Ideally your plagiarism match should be ZERO since the project
is to be written entirely in your OWN words. Plagiarized papers
(plagiarism match and/or AI match greater than or equal to 30%) will
receive a grade of zero (and students will be subject to disciplinary
action through the college). Ideally your plagiarism match and AI match
should be ZERO since the project is to be written entirely in your OWN
words. It’s highly recommended that students utilize a free plagiarism
checker before submitting their work to turnitin.com. Turnitin.com
provides instructors with the percentage of the submission that was
plagiarized from another source in addition to the percentage of the
submission that was generated by AI.
Reusing
your own work without citation is considered self-plagiarism. This can
range from re-submitting an entire assignment to reusing passages or
data from something you’ve turned in previously. Self-plagiarism has the
same consequences as other types of plagiarism.
If you are unfamiliar with plagiarism please self enroll and complete the free one hour Canvas online workshop entitled “AVOIDING PLAGIARISM” offered by the LRC here at Saddleback.
Papers not submitted to BOTH the Discussion Board and turnitin.com will receive a grade of zero.
This assignment is supposed to be fun and low stress! It’s a great way to boost your grade and enjoy yourself in the process!
Good luck! Have fun!
Feel free to be creative!
