Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Friday, January 11, 2019
Typical MBA Curriculum
Instructor: Rachel Diamond
Learn about the typical curriculum for a Master of
Business Administration (MBA) program, including online availability, program
length and course descriptions.
Overview of a Common MBA Program
An MBA, or Master of Business Administration program,
provides a combination of required core classes and electives. MBA programs
usually take two years to complete. Online MBA programs are also widely
available and take between 18 months and 3 years.
Descriptions of Common Core Courses
Accounting
Accounting classes teach students to control and
manage costs. Students might learn how to use cost information for future
planning or measure a business's performance. Advanced accounting courses might
teach about the accounting impacts of mergers and acquisitions. As a helpful
supplement to your MBA program, Study.com offers lessons in the following
topics:
- Accounting basics can get you
familiar with common accounting tools and their uses in business.
- Lessons on financial
management in business explain the role of financial
managers, business financing and financial planning.
- Money and financial institutions lessons
cover the influences of finance on the global economy and introduce you to
world banking services and organizations that commonly affect business.
Finance
Managers and executives must be able to read and
understand corporate financial statements. A course in finance teaches students
how businesses produce and use financial accounting information. In addition to
these skills, students might learn standard analysis techniques, such as
capital budgeting and discounted cash flow valuation. Study.com offers the
following lessons on financial principles so you can get a handle on the
subject:
- Financial statement basics will
familiarize you with key terms and concepts.
- Introduction to valuation methods lessons
teach you different formulas for placing a current and future value on an
investment.
Marketing
Marketing is an art and a science. In marketing
courses, students learn about analyzing buyer behavior and figure out how to
fulfill customers' needs. Students learn the four Ps: product strategy,
pricing, promotion and placement. You can complement your marketing classes
with these lessons:
- Marketing philosophies and ethics lessons
offer an introduction to marketing, define important terms and explain how
advertising reaches your customers.
- Lessons on understanding
the consumer decision-making process explain how consumers
choose products and services.
- Find out how businesses set prices with lessons
on selling
and pricing strategy.
Human Resources
Human resources classes teach you how to manage your
business's personnel. These classes might pull together a number of other
disciplines, like psychology and organizational sociology, and show you methods
for hiring, promoting and disciplining employees. These Study.com lessons can
increase your understanding of important topics in human resources:
- Lessons on staffing
in organizations walk you through the hiring process,
including recruiting and interviewing potential hires.
- Employment law and employee rights lessons
introduce you to laws that apply to human resources decisions, such as the
Equal Pay Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Operations
Any business that creates or distributes a product
will need managers well-versed in operations. These courses might discuss
common problems that operations managers deal with and teach analytical
techniques to confront those problems. Students may also learn about inventory
management and control, quality management and product design. Study.com offers
lessons that delve into operations, like:
- Introduction to operations and supply chain
management lessons cover some of the processes and
decision-making tools used to manage production and distribution.
- Instruction on lean
systems can help you take your operations know-how to the
next level by understanding Kaizen methods and Just In Time inventory
management.
Microeconomics
Microeconomics is the study of how the decisions of
individuals and companies affect supply and demand. In this class, you might
learn how to analyze market conditions to set a price for the product your
company makes or the services it provides. Study.com has lessons on:
- Introductory microeconomics lessons
explain the difference between microeconomics and macroeconomics and
define essential terms.
- Lessons covering government
issues in microeconomics discuss how government
regulation, such as taxes and anti-trust legislation, affects the economy.
Leadership and Ethics
Leadership and ethics are two courses that might be
taught separately, even though the two topics often overlap. A stand-alone
leadership class might focus on managing the performance of subordinates,
communicating effectively and creating a vision for the company. A student can
also learn to hone his or her management style. Ethics courses teach students
to analyze whether different courses of action a business might take are
responsible and ethical. Classes that combine these two subjects might cover the
ways in which a manager can use his or her position at a company to spread
personal values. To help you learn more about either of these subjects,
Study.com offers the following:
- For an overview of leadership theory, workplace
communication and diversity issues, check out the leadership
study guide.
- Corporate social responsibility and citizenship lessons
cover the history and nature of corporate social responsibility and the
five stages of corporate citizenship.
- Lessons on ethics
in advertising discuss unethical target marketing and the
abuses of advertising.
Electives
Electives can cover a multitude of subject areas. They
might include international business courses, courses that crossover with a
school's law or health care curriculum and advanced classes in any of the
subjects above.
The following business courses can supplement your MBA
electives, depending on your program focus:
- Principles of Management: management
theory, motivating people and managerial decision making
- Introductory Business Law: legal issues,
contract law, securities and antitrust law
- Intro to Computing: computer hardware,
software and the internet
- Organizational Behavior: human behavior
and employee performance
- Principles of Supervision: management
planning and leadership
- Business Math: math principles
common to business
- Labor Relations: union
organization, collective bargaining and dispute resolution
- Business Communication: written and
verbal group, interpersonal, manager-employee and other business
communications
- Quantitative Analysis: data uses for
inventory, project scheduling and more
- Information Systems and Computer Applications: common business
technologies, including hardware, software and networking
Thursday, January 10, 2019
The New 2019 Federal
Income Tax Brackets And Rates
We’re
just about to enter 2018 tax filing season. But already the IRS has issued new
federal income tax brackets for 2019.
Confused?
That's completely understandable. But while you're preparing your 2018 tax
return in the spring of 2019, you should completely ignore the information in
this article. It'll only serve to confuse you.
Unfortunately,
it will be 100% relevant from January 1, 2019, forward, despite the
fact that no one will have filed their 2018 return yet. But the 2019
information is necessary to be prepared to file your taxes when 2019 ends. You
may need to make adjustments in your withholding taxes, or your tax estimates
if you're self- employed.
tax brackets 2019GETTY
Why Tax Brackets and Other Tax Numbers Are
Changing
It
all has to do with a provision in the tax code known as indexing. Each
year, the IRS adjusts tax brackets to account for inflation. For example, if
the inflation rate for the past year is 2%, the IRS will adjust all income
brackets up by roughly 2%.
For
example, if a particular tax bracket begins at a taxable income of $40,000 one
year, that number will be increased to $40,800 for the following year. The IRS
also likes round numbers. Percentages will be no better than approximate, since
numbers will be rounded up in increments of $25, $50, or even $100.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Oracle BRANDVOICE
When’s A Car Not A Car?
When It’s An App
Civic Nation BRANDVOICE
There Are 300+ College
Promise Programs In 44 States And More To Come In 2019
The
purpose of indexing is to eliminate what's known as bracket creep.That’s
where you get pushed into a higher tax bracket due to pay raises that do little
more than match the rate of inflation. Indexing allows you to stay in the same
tax bracket, despite a slightly higher income level.
Until
2017, indexing was based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). But
beginning in the 2019 tax year, indexing will be based on the Chained Consumer
Price Index (C-CPI). The change is part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act of 2017.
Indexing
applies not only to tax brackets, but also to other relevant tax numbers, like
the standard deduction and the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
The New 2019 Federal Income Tax Brackets
& Rates
Federal
income tax brackets and rates for 2019 are shown below. Indexing has increased
the income brackets by roughly 2% across the board.
|
Tax
Bracket / Filing Status
|
Single
|
Married
Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow
|
Married
Filing Separately
|
Head
of Household
|
|
10%
|
$0
to $9,700
|
$0
to $19,400
|
$0
to $9,700
|
$0
to $13,850
|
|
12%
|
$9,701
to $39,475
|
$19,401
to $78,950
|
$9,701
to $39,475
|
$13,851
to $52,850
|
|
22%
|
$39,476
to $84,200
|
$78,951
to $168,400
|
$39,476
to $84,200
|
$52,851
to $84,200
|
|
24%
|
$84,201
to $160,725
|
$168,401
to $321,450
|
$84,201
to $160,725
|
$84,201
to $160,700
|
|
32%
|
$160,726
to $204,100
|
$321,451
to $408,200
|
$160,726
to $204,100
|
$160,701
to $204,100
|
|
35%
|
$204,101
to $510,300
|
$408,201
to $612,350
|
$204,101
to $306,175
|
$204,101
to $510,300
|
|
37%
|
$510,301
or more
|
$612,351
or more
|
$306,176
or more
|
$510,301
or more
|
The New 2019 Federal Income Tax Brackets and
Rates for Capital Gains
Capital
gains are taxed at different rates from ordinary income. For example, while
there are seven tax brackets for ordinary income, ranging from 10% to 37%,
there are just three for capital gains, ranging from 0% to 20%.
This
is a major advantage for anyone who has substantial capital gains income. The
capital gains tax rate is substantially lower than the tax rate on a comparable
amount of ordinary income.
Just
as is the case with the income brackets for ordinary income, the income
brackets for capital gains have also been increased slightly from 2018.
|
Tax
Rate
|
Single
|
Married
Filing Jointly
|
Heads
of Households
|
|
0%
|
$0
to $39,375
|
$0
to $78,750
|
$0
to $52,750
|
|
15%
|
$39,376
to $434,550
|
$78,751
to $488,850
|
$52,751
to $461,700
|
|
20%
|
$434,551
or more
|
$488,851
or more
|
$461,701
or more
|
The Standard Deduction for 2019
As
you probably know – or you'll find out when you file your 2018 tax return –
personal exemptions have been eliminated under the new tax law. The $4,050 you
could claim up until 2017 for yourself, your spouse and any eligible dependents
is now history.
In
its place, the standard deduction has been roughly doubled. That will work out
well for singles and couples, but it will be a definite negative for anyone
with dependents.
And
like other numbers in the tax code, the standard deduction will be increasing slightly
for 2019. Here's how that will look:
|
Filing
Status
|
2018
|
2019
|
|
Single
|
$12,000
|
$12,200
|
|
Married
filing jointly
|
$24,000
|
$24,400
|
|
Head
of Household
|
$18,000
|
$18,350
|
Other Tax Numbers Changing in 2019
Qualified
Business Income Deduction. Beginning in the 2018 tax year, the new tax law
provides small business owners with a 20% deduction against business income.
It’s officially referred to as the Section 199A
deduction, and it applies to small businesses, other than “C”
corporations.
There
are income limits against which that deduction can be taken. The income
thresholds for both 2018 and 2019 are as follows:
|
Filing
Status
|
2018
|
2019
|
|
Single
|
$157,500
|
$160,700
|
|
Married
filing jointly
|
$315,000
|
$321,400
|
Alternative
Minimum Tax (AMT). The
AMT was created in the 1960s to impose taxes on taxpayers who claim an
excessive amount of tax breaks. It provides a second set of tax rates that will
be imposed if they exceed taxes as their taxable income is normally calculated.
The
tax code provides an income exemption to the AMT, below which the tax will not
apply. There is also in an income phase-out beyond which the exemption no
longer applies. Both are indexed for inflation. The figures for 2019 will be as
follows:
|
Filing
Status
|
Exemption
Amount
|
Exemption
Phaseout
|
|
Single
|
$71,700
|
$510,300
|
|
Married
filing jointly
|
$111,700
|
$1,020,600
|
Retirement
Contributions.
Base
retirement contributions are increasing by $500 in 2019. However, catch-up
contributions for taxpayers 50 and older have not been increased.
For
2019, retirement plan contributions will look like this:
·
IRAs
- $6,000 (up from $5,500 in 2018), plus a $1,000 catch-up contribution if
you’re 50 or older.
·
Employer
sponsored plans – 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP - $19,000 (up from $18,500 in 2018),
plus a $6,000 catch-up contribution if you’re 50 or older.
The
lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. This is scheduled to increase from
$11.18 million in 2018 to $11.4 million in 2019. The annual gift exclusion will
be $15,000, unchanged from 2018.
Other Major Changes Taking Place in 2019
Other
changes taking place in 2019, without being indexed for inflation, include:
The
elimination of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) penalty.
One
of the more controversial provisions of the ACA was the imposition of a penalty on
consumers with no health insurance coverage. The new tax law is
finally ending that penalty.
However,
in one of the lesser known provisions of the new tax law, the penalty will
continue to be in force for 2018. The final termination of the penalty doesn't
take place until the 2019 tax year.
The
medical expense deduction.
Due
to the large increases in standard deductions, fewer people will itemize their
deductions from 2018 on. But if you do, you'll be able to itemize unreimbursed
medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). For
2019, that threshold increases to 10% of AGI, further reducing that deduction.
Alimony.
A
major change will take place beginning in 2019. Through the end of 2018,
alimony payments have been deductible by the payor, and taxable to the
recipient. But for divorce decrees issued after December 31, 2018, alimony will
neither be deductible by the payor, nor taxable to the recipient.
However,
for divorce decrees issued before January 1, 2019, alimony will remain tax
deductible to the payor, and considered taxable income to the recipient.
Final Thoughts on The New 2019 Federal Income
Tax Brackets and Rates
If
you're very familiar with the tax code as it was through 2017, the changes
you'll see in 2019 may seem dramatic. But the real change is taking place in
the 2018 tax year, and that's what you need to focus on right now.
The
2019 changes are really just slight adjustments from the major changes that are
taking place in 2018. The main takeaway is to use this information to set your
withholding tax, tax estimates, and tax planning in the right direction at the
beginning of 2019.
All
the changes should make us especially thankful for tax preparation software.
I
am a certified financial planner, author, blogger, and Iraqi combat veteran.
I'm best known for my blogs GoodFinancialCents.com and LifeInsurancebyJeff.com and my book, Sold...
Jeff
Rose, CFP® is determined to make sure you don't have buyer's
remorse when buying an annuity.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
