Day: April 26, 2018

Answer the questions…no right or wrong answers…
1.ETHICAL DILEMMA: When the boss says, “Change it,” and you have reservations, what should you do? You have just completed a proposal in which you promise to deliver a product to the customer by April 15. You selected this date after checking with the manufacturing department to see when they could guarantee delivery. However, when your boss reviews the proposal, she says, “We’ll never win this contract with an April 15 delivery date. Our competitors are promising to deliver by April 1. You’d better change the schedule. If we get the job, manufacturing will deliver on time. I know those guys. They’ve probably left themselves a good two-week cushion.” Your boss has been around awhile. You respect her judgment?and her authority. She’s probably right, but then again, you had to lean on the people in manufacturing to get them to agree to the April 15 date. You seriously doubt whether they can deliver the product two weeks early without sacrificing quality. Should you change the proposal? Please justify your answer.

2.Choose a specific country, such as India, Portugal, Bolivia, Thailand, or Nigeria, with which you are not familiar. Research the culture and write a brief summary of what a U.S. manager would need to know about concepts of personal space and rules of social behavior in order to conduct business successfully in that country.

ITeam, Inc. is a high-tech company based in Walnut Creek, California that produces, markets, and sells computer systems, peripherals, and other consumer electronic products to corporate clients and electronics retailers. iTeam has grown significantly in its first five years focusing on selling its products locally. Recently they have expanded nationally putting them in direct competition with larger, global firms. These larger companies can offer equal or lower prices with greater product diversity and more value added services.
In addition, iTeam’s cost structure has increased which has lowered their profit margins. Predicting future success is difficult since sales in this industry are difficult to predict as the high tech market has been erratic. The recent decision to source product from China has resulted in reduced product quality and political pressure domestically. In addition proposed EPA legislation if passed will be costly to producers of electronic goods. Lastly, iTeam has not established a formal sales program and relationship selling has been non-existent.
Variables in the external environment that effect sales consist of economic, legal and political, technological, social and cultural, and natural. There are many external environmental factors that are likely to affect iTeams future. The most likely to negatively affect this companies future is Global competition. Their recent national expansion from a local niche company to a national sales organization has put them in direct competition with larger companies who have the ability to price their products at the same level or lower than iTeams. In addition, these companies can offer greater product diversity and more value added services.
The recent move to source product from China has resulted in reduced product quality and caused political and social pressure for eliminating U.S. jobs. Also of serious concern is the potential level of lead in products manufactured in China. This could open the company up to legal risk from potential lawsuits and reputation risk if they were to have unfavorable media coverage.
The rapidly changing Technological environment is creating the need for extensive Research and Development to create constant innovations to keep up with the competition. The need to continually spend significantly on R & D to remain competitive in the market place is a significant factor.
If CEO Andrew Taylor chooses to move forward with an expansion into Europe and China, it will require a significant investment in an expanded supply chain and new distribution channels. It would also create the need for an improved manufacturing system to increase production capacity. Relationships would need to be developed with new customers and suppliers and iTeam’s current sales force is not experienced in this area. These challenges will clearly affect iTeam economically.

Variables in the internal environment include goals and objectives as well as internal culture, personnel, financial resources, production and supply chain capabilities, service capabilities and technological capabilities including but not limited to Research and Development. iTeam does not appear to have a well defined mission and even CEO Andrew Taylor is not convinced that the industry growth projections are accurate. Since this company was formed as an entrepreneurial start up by Mr. Taylor and several of his classmates from business school, the creative spirit has been allowed to flourish, resulting in a group of individual contributors unskilled in relationship building and most likely focused on how large they can get their commission compensation. There is currently no incentive for the sales team to spend time building new relationships with potential new suppliers or long term prospects.

Research Paper

 

The Research Paper must demonstrate the understanding of new learning in project management and how it relates to cost and value management. This assignment should be six to eight pages (not including the title and reference pages) and should integrate the reading, multimedia, and class discussions. It is mandatory to have research from the classroom text, as well as at least three scholarly sources from the Internet or Ashford Online Library to support your views.

 

Consider the validity of your sources carefully before using them in academic papers. It is recommended to use examples from your professional experience where possible or build from your learning in the discussion boards.

 

Focus of the Research Paper

Use at least one project you have been a team member of or a project manager for as an example to contextualize the research topics below:

All of the following topics must be addressed in order for the paper to be complete:

 

• Discuss the importance of work packages to support the creation and use of the WBS.
• Examine how to establish a cost and schedule performance measurement baseline.
• Present examples of EVM and how it will help the PM understand project status.
• Examine how the PM uses project control charts to show project status and present value.
• Recommend an effective change management process to ensure a successful project.

 

Writing the Research Paper

The Research Paper:

• Must be six to eight double-spaced pages in length (not including the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.
• Must include a cover page that includes:
• – Title of Paper
• – Student’s name
• – Course name and number
• – Instructor’s name
• – Date submitted
• Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.
• Must use at least three outside sources from the Internet or Ashford Online Library.
• Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources.
• Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.

 

 

You are a board member of a large company that manufactures and distributes aftermarket automobile parts. The board consists of six members. You are number two in seniority and the CEO is NOT on the board. The CEO has been a strong leader and an effective manager for over five years but lately the organization’s performance has fallen off and you will now have two consecutive years in the red. The CEO is highly regarded by the subordinates, but it is clear to you as a member of the board that many changes and adjustments have to be made. The serving CEO appears to be entrenched in approaching current challenges and opportunities with tried and true approaches.

The current CEO is internally focused, tradition based and conservative. He has shown some overly cautious actions with respect to entering new markets and expanding the company’s product line. The organization has little in the way of external investment activities and the CEO came close to dismissing the Deputy to the vice president for finance for an investment decision he felt was both risky and radical. He has consistently promoted managers from within and has a poor relationship with the VP for HR. There have been some long term problems with the quality level of one major product line (wheels) and the CEO has moved very slowly to correct it. Finally, he recently rejected the introduction of an enterprise architecture platform that was recommended by a major consulting firm.

What should you do and what should the board do? How should you do it?

1. A manager is trying to decide whether to purchase a certain part or to have it produced internally. Internal production could use either of two processes. One would entail a variable cost of $17 per unit and an annual fixed cost of $200,000; the other would entail a variable cost of $14 per unit and an annual fixed cost of $240,000. Three vendors are willing to provide the part. Vendor A has a price of $20 unit for any volume up to 30,000 units. Vendor B has a price of $22 per unit for demand of 1,000 units or less, and $18 per unit for larger quantities. Vendor C offers a price of $21 per unit for the first 1,000 units, and $19 per unit for additional units.

a. If the manager anticipates an annual volume of 10,000 units, which alternative would be the best for a cost standpoint?
b. For 20,000 units, which alternative would be best?
c. Determine the range for which each alternative is best. Are there any alternatives that are never best? Which?

Midterm Project

The Midterm Project consists of two parts:

Part one: Use the text, internet, and/or other sources and select an example of terrorists (either domestic or international) that have used technology to further their ideologies.

• Explain specifically how the terrorist organization uses, or has used technology in their activities (or related to a specific event). • Provide a profile on the terrorist group including:• known members • activities involving technology • any legal action taken against the organization

• Explain the use of high tech evidence to support cyber crime cases • Cite your references in your work

Part two: Perform a key word search on online identity theft and locate two cases involving online identity theft.

• Summarize the facts of each case, including how:• the thief obtained the victim’s information • what the thief did with the information • the impact to the victim

• Recommend at least 3 methods for each case that the victim could have used to prevent the theft. • Critique the tracking methods used to investigate the internet identity thefts. • Be sure to cite your references.

Include both parts one and two in a single word document for submission.

Paper Format

• Length should be at least 3.5 pages, excluding your cover and references page, in 10-12 point font (Arial, Courier, and Times New Roman are acceptable). • Viewpoint and purpose should be clearly established and sustained • Assignment should follow the conventions of Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.). • Writing should be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful • Your work should display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics • Appropriate citation style should be followed.

You should also make sure to:

• Include a title page with full name, class name, section number, and date • Use double-space and Arial or Times New Roman in 12 point font size • Use examples to support your discussion • Cite all sources on a separate reference page at the end of your paper and cited within the body of your paper using APA format

Lastly, please label your projects: username-project-unit#.doc. For example, a student named Tina Allen would name her file TAllen-Midterm-Unit 5.doc.

Submit this Assignment to the Dropbox by the end of Unit 5.

ID: CJ316-05-10-A

. When advertising expenditure is increased, which of the aggregate and average (cost and revenue) curves shift their positions? Explain the direction of the shift. As an industry moves from being a monopoly to a monopolistically competitive one (due to the entry of new competitors as the monopoly’s patents expire, for example), what happens to the elasticity of the demand curve facing the firm? Why?

2. What is the service or product supplied by your firm? If there are more than one, pick one. What is the market structure for the market in which your firm supplies this product? Why? What does economic theory tell you about the short-run and long-run economic profits for a firm operating in this market structure?Do you observe that for your firm? Why or why not?

3. In the presence of excess capacity, firms sometimes launch new brands in an effort to increase their profits. Why would a monopolist not launch a new brand? Why do you think that launching a new brand is often done in monopolistic competition? Has your firm launched a new brand (provided a slightly differentiated service) in an effort to increase profits? Should it do/have done so? Why or why not?

4. Why is it that firms can earn profits in the long run in monopoly and oligopoly but not in monopolistic competition and perfect competition? What can firms do in monopolistic competition or perfect competition to make the short run last as long as possible since they can only make profits in the short run? Have you observed any firms employ such tactics? Can you give some examples?

Rx’s R Us is a mail order dealer of homeopathic medications. It has 6 phone lines for receiving orders. Order takers answer the phones, check that inventory is available, and then prepare “picking tickets” for the warehouse stock pickers. One order may consist of several lines, with a different medication or multiples of medications ordered on each line. Each order taker can prepare picking tickets at a rate of one line every three minutes. The telephones are normally answered from 6 am to 4 pm Pacific Time. Stock pickers can fill and package the meds at a rate of one line every five minutes. RX employs 8 stock pickers who normally work weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm (except for one lunch hour).
a. What is the effective capacity of order taking (in lines per week) vs. stock pickers?
b. The eight warehouse employees work 10 hours per day between 7 am and 6 pm, 6 days a week for 3 weeks after the fall catalog is mailed in October. What is the peak capacity of the system, in lines per week? [State whatever assumptions you make in order to generate your response.]
c. During the second week of October, Parts R Us filled 5,000 order lines. What is the utilization as a percent of effective capacity vs. peak capacity?

1.
Businesses that engage in EDI with each other are called ____.
a. buyers c. suppliers
b. sellers d. trading partners

2.
The combination of telephone lines and the closed switches that connect them to each other is called a(n) ____.
a. LAN c. circuit
b. WAN d. pathway

3.
In networking applications, an 8-bit number is often called a(n) ____.
a. octet c. piconet
b. byte d. bit

4.
The ____ numbering system uses 16 digits.
a. hexadecimal c. binary
b. decimal d. ASCII

5.
A(n) ____ is like a separate, covered commuter lane on a highway (the Internet) in which passengers are protected from being seen by the vehicles traveling in the other lanes.
a. VPN c. extranet
b. IP wrapper d. IAP

6.
____ refers to markets that are too small to justify a mass media campaign, yet too large to cover using personal contact.
a. The hard middle c. Address media
b. Mass media d. Usability testing

7.
The U.S. government deregulated the securities trading business in the early ____.
a. 1960s c. 1980s
b. 1970s d. 1990s

8.
Companies that use ____ branding offer to help Web users in some way in exchange for their viewing an ad.
a. emotional c. rational
b. perceived d. permitted

9.
In 1987, the United Nations published its first EDI standards under the title ____.
a. EDIFACT c. EDI-UN
b. UN-ANSI d. ANSI X12

10.
A(n) ____ is a marketplace that provides auctions, request for quote postings, and other features to companies that want to operate their own marketplace.
a. private store c. private exchange
b. customer portals marketplace d. private company marketplace

11.
The ____ is the agency responsible for receiving the government’s tax, license, and other fee revenue.
a. FMS c. KMWorld
b. e-government d. TaxWorld

12.
On a(n) ____, the seller posts an item with a price. As individual buyers enter bids on an item the site can negotiate a better price with the items provider. The posted price ultimately decreases as the number of bids increases, but only if the number of bids increases.
a. sealed-bid site c. group purchasing site
b. reverse bid site d. proxy site

13.
The ability of a government to exert control over a person or corporation is called ____.
a. borders c. standards
b. jurisdiction d. laws

14.
____, the largest online bill processor, provides online payment processing services to both large corporations and individual Internet users.
a. AlphaWorks c. KCOM
b. CheckFree d. CNNFN

15.
____ is a key element in a phishing attack.
a. Scrip c. Due diligence
b. Smart card d. Spam

1. Motivators
Motivators can either be positive (as in using a rewards system) or it can be negative (as in the fear of disciplinary action or being fired).

Think back on your experience and write about an example of each you were subjected to. (We’re not talking about things you might have observed; what we want to hear about are occasions when others have tried to
motivate you using positive and negative means). Which had the greater impact on you? Which produced the better results?
Do you consider motivation in the workplace an important factor in accomplishing a task or project? Explain.

2. Power and Influence

You must have read about five types of power. Again based on your experience, which has had the greatest motivational influence on you? Why? Think of a situation which you did use power or one where you could have used power, briefly describe the situation and say which one you used? or in the case of could have which one do you think would have been most helpful in this situation? Was the result what you wanted? If not then which one might have been better?

A second thought, is using power and influence a way in your mind to get ahead? Why should you engage in this behavior or why not? Is this ethical in your mind? Why or Why not? Now that you know more about it has the reading influenced you one way or the other?

3. Groups and Teams

It is more challenging to motivate a group of people than it is to motivate a single individual. Why do you think that is so? If you were placed in charge of a group or are currently in charge of one, which type of power would you think works best in motivating a group? Why?

4. Learning

Learning is about change, and applying newly learned concepts to existing problems or to overcoming barriers. Write about an event in your experience where organizational learning produced change. How do you think this relates to the different theories of learning?

5. Organizational Decision Making
What are some of the most effective approaches to organizational decision making that you have seen, used, or experienced? What distinguished these approaches from each other, yet still made them effective?