Complete 3 Short Doscussions (Sytayer)

1. Define “competitive nature of the Greeks which can be summed up by saying there is no second place winner”Therefore, since Greece is small compared to all her neighbors (like Persia and Egypt) why was being competitive a big advantage for Greece?

2. The Ancient Olympics vs The Modern Olympics In terms of uniforms, how did the Greek male athletes compete versus today? – How would this play out with modern television today? (Your opinion, not found in book) Are the Olympics today are more about ‘the athletes’ or the ‘nations’? (again your opinion, answer not found in book.)

3. Women in the Olympic Games

The artifact “running girl” reveals the restrictions woment had to endure.What were some of the restrictions for women in Greek athletics?What were women roles in Greek Society (Please do read book and do Internet research on “Greek Running Girl Artifact”)

DISCUSSION 2:

1. Watch the TED-Ed video How Does Caffeine Keep Us Awake? that explains the specific ways caffeine affects your mood, alertness, and performance, all through your nervous system.
2. Then, write a post offering your opinion: Free will, or brain chemistry? Or is there some way to reconcile the two?

DISCUSSION 3:

Balance Sheet Analysis

The discussion questions for Weeks 2 – 4 are designed to help teach you to derive meaning from financial statements. Each week you will select a line item and use Variance Trend Analysis to make some initial assessments about how the company is performing. Collectively, as a class we will seek to find the “story behind the numbers.”

Let’s start applying what you have learned to a real-life Balance Sheet.

1. Find and post a screen shot of a Balance Sheet from the investor relations section of the website from the latest fiscal year for one of the following companies:
   • FedEx
   • Target
2. Pick a Balance Sheet line item from the following list:
   • Accounts Receivable
   • Inventory
   • Property, Plant, and Equipment (PP&E)
   • Accounts Payable
   • Long-Term Debt
   • Total Equity
   • Retained Earnings
3. What does this line item measure and why is it important item for Management to understand this number?
4. From the Balance Sheet, identify the Current Year and the Previous Year closing amounts for your line item. Share these with the class using a data table similar to the below:

1. Answer the following questions:
   • Has the amount for the line item increased or decreased, and by how much (dollar and/or percentage)?
   • Is this a “good” thing or a “bad” thing for this company?
   • What might this mean for the organization?
   • What might management do to improve this line item?