Graduate Level Accounting

Research Paper

Course Research Paper (Due ASAP)

In order to understand activity-based costing and how it differs from a traditional costing system, you will review and analyze JetBlue airways Form 10-K report. In an 8-10 page paper, analyze JetBlue’s strategy. The following concepts should be covered in your paper:

1. What is JetBlue’s strategy for success in the marketplace? Does the company rely on customer intimacy, operational excellence, or product leadership customer value proposition? Use evidence to support your conclusion.

2. What business risks does JetBlue face that may threaten the company’s ability to satisfy stockholder expectations? What are some examples of control activities that the company could use to reduce these risks? (Hint: Focus on pages 17-23 of the 10-k.)

3. How can the concept of unit-level activities be applied to an airline? More specifically, what are two examples of unit-level activities for JetBlue? What steps has JetBlue taken to manage these unit-level activities more efficiently?

4. How can the concept of batch-level activities be applied to an airline? What are two examples of batch-level activities for JetBlue? What steps has JetBlue taken to manage these batch-level activities more efficiently?

5. What is one example of a customer-level activity and an organization-sustaining activity for JetBlue?

6. Give an example of a transactions driver and a duration driver that could be used to assign fuel costs to a particular flight departure. Which of the two activity measures would be more accurate and why?

This paper requires that students use the APA format in writing course papers. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. Make sure you include a title page and reference page in addition to your 8-10 pages of text. Your paper must contain at least five current references and may include Internet sources, books, your text book, and professional journals or similar resources. Note: your sources must be considered scholarly sources.

Other information:

2004 Form 10-K report in the link or weblink

http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/13/131/131045/items/211507/200410k.pdf

Course Textbook

Zimmerman, J. L. (2009). Accounting for decision making and control (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.