Tag: Business Finance

I’m working on a communications writing question and need support to help me learn.

You are familiar with the concept of writing online personal ads to meet prospective romantic partners, but what would you write if you were looking for a friend?

Write a personal ad geared toward attracting a platonic friend rather than a romantic partner. Structure the ad similarly to those seen for romantic partners, wherein writers describe themselves (demographics, interests, personalities) as well as what they’re looking for.

Assignment Content

1. 
   
   To learn how to apply SPCM to a process, continue the flow chart from Week 1 and identify variances within a process. You can find variances from the data identified in Week 1.

   
   Complete the Week 2 Statistical Process Control Methods Worksheet.
   

   Submit your assignment.Resources

   • Center for Writing Excellence
   • Reference and Citation Generator
   • Grammar Assistance

Discuss the different variables of CAPM. What are the benefits and limitations of the CAPM? How would you (as a manager) use it in decision making?

Instructions

Contract Scenario

Calvin had been an avid coin collector for many years, and the most valuable coin in his collection was an uncirculated, mint condition, 1943 Lincoln penny made of copper (most pennies made during World War II were made of zinc because copper was needed in the war effort). That penny had a value of between $60,000 and $95,000.

In August of 2017, Calvin had a serious stroke that left him unable to speak or walk, but his doctor assured his family that Calvin would recover over time with intensive therapy.

Calvin was a widower and did not have any children, but he had several nephews who visited him from time to time as he recovered. None of the nephews had any real interest in Calvin’s coin collection. One of Calvin’s nephews, Billy, who visited Calvin more often than the other nephews, sometimes listened to Calvin talk (talking was a part of Calvin’s therapy) about his mounting medical bills and his coin collection, but Billy never showed much interest in the medical bills or the coin collection.

In October, as Calvin’s recovery progressed slowly, Billy visited Calvin and told Calvin that he had been reading about coin collecting, and he realized that Calvin’s collection, especially the 1943 Lincoln copper penny, was valuable, and Billy suggested that Calvin should consider selling the 1943 Lincoln copper penny and use the proceeds to pay his medical bills. Calvin resisted the idea at first, but Billy continued to urge Calvin to sell the penny so that he would not have to worry about the medical bills. Finally, when Billy told Calvin that he would arrange the sale of the penny for a commission of just 5% of the sale price of the penny, Calvin began to think that selling the coin might be a good idea. He was still a little confused about how the sale would work and what Billy would do to make sure that the penny would be sold for the best price. Calvin told Billy that he thought that the penny was worth almost $100,000, but Billy assured Calvin that the market had changed recently, and that the penny was now worth $40,000 to $45,000. Eventually, Calvin allowed Billy to sell the penny for the best price he could get and to take a 5% commission for arranging the sale of the penny. Billy then sold the penny to a friend for $40,000, took his 5% commission, and paid the remainder of the sale price to Calvin.

A few months later, as Calvin continued to recover, he read a story in a coin collecting magazine about how an uncirculated, mint condition, 1943 Lincoln penny made of copper had just sold at auction for more than $100,000, and Calvin began to wonder if Billy had taken advantage of him. Calvin consulted a lawyer and asked the two questions below.

• Did he (Calvin) have the mental capacity to enter into the contract when he agreed to let Billy sell the penny? What would he (Calvin) have to prove to show a court that he did not have the necessary mental capacity when he authorized Billy to sell the penny?
• Did Billy exert undue influence over Calvin to cause Calvin to enter into the contract that allowed Billy to sell the penny?

What do you think? Does Calvin have a case to set aside the contract with Billy on either of these theories?

Your case study should be at least two pages in length and include at least two outside sources. Be sure to use APA formatting for all citations and references.

only answer ONE QUESTION

Go to your eBook (pp. 489-491) and select Case 6: How JCPenney Sailed into a Red Ocean. For this discussion you will read and then answer ONE the following three questions for the case by Friday at 11:59 PM MST. Your discussion post to the one question should not exceed 200 words. Then please reply to two of your classmates’ answers in order to get full credit for the discussion. These responses need to be more than “I agree with you” and are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM MST.

The initial post is worth 25 points. The two replies are worth 5 points each. Total points possible for the case is 35 points total. *Students must post to the question before they will be able to review other submissions.

Questions:

1. While all brick-and-mortar retailers face the threat of Amazon and online shopping in general, why did JCPenney perform so poorly while other retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy, or Target fare better?

1. Ron Johnson was hailed as a star executive at Apple, where he led the company’s highly successful retail arm. As CEO of JCPenney, he applied the “Apple playbook,” for example, moving JCPenney toward the higher end of the market or going with hunches (“we didn’t test at Apple”), rather than applying more traditional decision making. Why did his attempt to change JCPenney’s strategic position from cost-leadership to a blue ocean strategy fail so spectacularly? What are some of the lessons?

1. You are part of the McKinsey strategy consulting team that the new CEO, Jill Soltau, retained to help turn around JCPenney. What recommendations would you give her? In particular, what type of business strategy would you want JCPenney to pursue, and how would you make the changes necessary? Be specific.

Only answer one question

Go to your eBook (pp. 475-479) and select Case 2: Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson: “I’m not Howard Schultz.” For this discussion you will read and then answer ONE the following five questions for the case by Friday at 11:59 PM MST. Your discussion post to one question below should not exceed 200 words.

Questions:

1. How did Starbucks create its uniqueness in the first place? Why was it so successful?

1. To be a source of competitive advantage over time, core competencies need to be honed and upgraded continuously. Why and how did Starbucks lose its uniqueness and struggle in the mid-2000s? What strategic initiatives did Howard Schultz, following his return as CEO in 2008, put in place to re-create Starbucks’ uniqueness?

1. What is your assessment of Howard Schultz as a strategic leader? Where on the Level-5 pyramid of strategic leadership (see Exhibit 2.2) would you place Schultz? Why? Explain.

1. Howard Schultz, as the creator of the Starbucks brand that we know today, is a larger-than-life figure in the company and business community. Do you think it is difficult to follow such an iconic leader? Why or why not?

1. How is Kevin Johnson as CEO different from Howard Schultz? What leadership style is Johnson pursuing? Do you think he will be successful? Why or why not?

ONLY ANSWER ONE QUESTION

Go to your eBook (pp. 475-479) and select Case 5: Business Model Innovation: How Dollar Shave Club Disrupted Gillette. For this discussion you will read and then answer ONE the following five questions for the case. Your discussion post (ONE) should not exceed 200 words.

Questions:

1. If you buy shaving equipment, do you purchase it in a retail store or online? Explain your choice.

1. How was Gillette initially able to gain a competitive advantage? Was Gillette able to sustain its competitive advantage? If so, how?

1. What market opening did entrepreneurs, such as Michael Dubin of Dollar Shave Club, use to enter the industry? How did they enter the industry? What type of innovation did they use, and why were they successful?

1. Why did Unilever offer $1 billion (in cash!) for Dollar Shave Club?

1. Do you think online startups such as Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s will continue to steal market share from Gillette? Why or why not?

ONLY ANSWER ONE QUESTION

Go to your eBook (pp. 499-502) and select Case 9: Disney: Building Billion-Dollar Franchises. For this discussion you will read and then answer ONE the following four questions for the case. Your discussion post (ONE) should not exceed 200 words.

Questions:

1. What type of corporate strategy is Disney pursuing? Which core competencies are shared across its activities and how?

1. Why do you think Disney acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm were so successful, while others such as Sony’s acquisition of Columbia Pictures or News Corp’s acquisition of MySpace were much less successful?

1. Given the build-borrow-or-buy framework, do you think Disney should pursue alternatives to acquisitions? Why or why not? Explain.

1. Do you think focusing on billion-dollar franchises is a good corporate strategy for Disney? What are pros and cons of this strategy?

Question 1 (25% of final exam)

In our first online class, we discussed the following statement:

The conventional view is that theories win because they are better at explaining behaviour [but] theories win because they better affect behaviour, becoming true as a result of their own influence irrespective of their empirical validity.

Prof Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford Graduate Business School

Discuss your understanding of the above statement. Demonstrate your understanding of the above statement by drawing on examples used during the class.

Question 2 (25% of final exam)

Mintzberg indicates that organisations have a natural lifespan – that the structures that enable organisations to thrive will also inevitably constrict their ability to adapt to the external environment, therefore bringing about their inevitable decline and death. Do you believe this statement is still applicable for contemporary organisations, or have contemporary organisations overcome this inevitable decline? Draw on evidence presented throughout the course to illustrate your arguments.

Question 3 (25% of final exam)

In Lorsch and McTague’s (2016) article “culture is not the culprit,” they argue that:

When organizations get into big trouble, fixing the culture is usually the prescription. That’s what most everyone said GM needed to do after its 2014 recall crisis. Cultural reform has likewise been proposed as the solution to the corrosive bureaucracy at the Veterans’ Administration, unethical behavior in banks, and the excessive use of force by police. But interviews with successful change makers … suggest that culture isn’t something you “fix.” Rather, cultural change is what you get when you put new processes or structures in place to tackle tough business challenges.

Given your readings and analysis of organisational culture throughout the course, to what extent should organisational culture be the target of organisational interventions? Draw on a recent contemporary example in detailing your response.

Question 4 (25% of final exam)

According to Henri Fayol, one of the primary purposes of management is to engage in control. To what extent is this still reflected in contemporary management practice in knowledge and service economies? Draw on examples and perspectives presented throughout the course in justifying your perspectives.