Ms. K. is an assistant manager for an AutoServe service center in Boomtown, Colorado. Boomtown sits in the middle of a huge, newly developed coal field and a great deal of oil and gas exploration is going on as well. Boomtown has grown from 30,000 to 60,000 in three years and the unemployment rate in town is less than 3%. Those not working simply would rather not. Ms. K.’s AutoServe store is normally staffed with three mechanics, two “grease monkeys” who do the less skilled work, and three tire changer/clean-up persons. The wages paid for these job titles are dictated from corporate headquarters in an effort to maintain common rates between all stores nationwide. Unfortunately, the wages offered (although very competitive elsewhere) are well below what people can make in either the coal mines or with the oil exploration companies. The last mechanic (who made $35,000 a year) quit on Wednesday to go to work repairing diesel earth-moving equipment at $48,000 a year plus overtime. The store had also been unable to replace the grease monkeys and tire changer/clean-up persons. The last one quit a $9.00/hour job two weeks ago to work in the mines at $17.25/hour. Ms. K’s boss, the store manager, has just given her the assignment of recruiting and filling the vacant positions. The store is losing business without employees and the manager would like the problem fixed quickly. Respond to ONE of the following by 11:59 PM EST/EDT Thursday: How does this case illustrate the lack of HR planning? What strategic approaches could be used to recruit for the store? 

6-1. Explain how a net present value (NPV) profile is used to compare projects. How does this profile compare to that of internal rate of return (IRR)? How does reinvestment affect both NPV and IRR? Provide support for your assertions. 6-2. Capital budgeting can be affected by exchange rate risk, political risk, transfer pricing, and strategic risk. Select a sector and specific company in the mid- large size range, and explain how each of these factors can affect capital budgeting. Which of these factors provides the greatest impact to your selected organization? What measure might one take to reduce adverse impacts of any or all of these factors? 7-1. Research publicly traded companies, selecting two companies in different sectors to provide a written comparison of the capital structure for each. Explain your conclusions on the similarities and differences. What factors can you suggest for why each company adheres to their chosen structuring mechanism? 7-2. Why is understanding the relationship between the cash conversion cycle (CCC) and net working capital important to the contemporary business executive? Explain ways in which executive decisions regarding CCC and net working capital can affect a company, both adverse and beneficial. Support your response with a specific example from the business world.