Friday, 15 April 2016

Case Incident : “Bonuses Can Backfire”

Case Incident : “Bonuses Can Backfire”


Do you think that, as a manager, you would use bonuses regularly? Why or why not?
Can you think of a time in your own life when being evaluated and rewarded on a specific goal led you to engage in negative or unproductive behavior?
Do you think providing group bonuses instead of individual bonuses would be more effective or less effective? Why?
How would you design a bonus/reward program to avoid the problems mentioned in this case?

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Linking Motivation and Performance" Please respond to the following:


Linking Motivation and Performance" Please respond to the following:

Describe an instance where you were involved in a situation where you had to strategize in order to lead the group out of a crisis (e.g., at work, as a member of a sports team, debating team, etc.). Evaluate the strategies that you employed to motivate the group and overcome the problem(s). If you were never in a situation like this, imagine what it would be like and propose strategies you believe would help resolve an issue.
Consider your current job or a past job. Compare the intrinsic rewards to the extrinsic rewards you receive in your current job or received from your past job. Determine the impact each type of reward has or had on your life. Then, describe two ways that you use intrinsic rewards and two ways you use extrinsic rewards in your professional or personal life.

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Case study for international Business

Case study for international Business


Read the case study and answer the question:



THE DECISION



As the plane leveled into cruising altitude over the Atlantic, Crouch reviewed his notes on the OTC

decision. He had reached the conclusion that MedMira had three options:

1. Enter the OTC market alone

2. Enter the OTC market through a partnership with Home Access

3. Do not enter the OTC market

I have to know if I should enter the OTC market alone, through a partnership or do not enter.

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Cultural relativism asserts that every culture has its own set of customs and beliefs, and that culture must be understood by the standards and values of the people within that culture.

Cultural relativism asserts that every culture has its own set of customs and beliefs, and that culture must be understood by the standards and values of the people within that culture.

Anthropologists think that things that might seem cruel or irrational in our own culture must be seen through the lens of cultural relativity, and that all cultures have practices or beliefs that can be seen by others as repugnant or incomprehensible.

After reading the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, explain whether you think that cultural relativism can coexist with the idea of universal human rights. Is it possible for anthropologists to promote human rights without imposing, for example, their own Western values and ideas of human rights?

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.

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Assignment 2: Project Motorcycles

Assignment 2: Project Motorcycles



You are a project manager for a medium-sized manufacturer of motorcycle cruisers. The engines in motorcycle cruisers, like the ones you manufacture, are usually categorized by size rather than the number of cylinders. In the past, your company has successfully manufactured and marketed the best-selling of these fuel-efficient cruisers that occupy the middleweight class. The rather nebulous middleweight class comprises motorcycles broadly ranging in engine size from 500 cubic centimeters, or cc, to 1000 cc.



Executives at your company are now interested in motorcycles with larger motors and would eventually like to produce motorcycles in the touring class, specifically designed to excel at covering long distances with motors larger than 1100 cc. The proposed target market for these larger motorcycles consists of males between the ages of 35 and 60 in global markets. Price points for the larger motorcycles cover income ranges from $55,000 to $100,000. Management has decided that your company will meet the objectives stated herein within the next five (5) years. During the proposed changeover, the company will continue to manufacture the middleweight cruisers to serve its existing clientele.



Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:



1.Select one (1) of the types of project organization that would suit the development of the larger touring class motorcycles. Outline the process steps that your company would take in order to develop the motorcycle. Provide a rationale for the response.



2.Recommend one (1) strategy to the senior executives that the organization might use to balance short- and long-term needs. Specify the crucial resources that you would need as a project manager to run the existing business interests at the same time that the business changes to the production of touring class motorcycles.



3.Suggest the project management leadership style that is most conducive to overseeing the operation of the business growth plan.



4.Recommend at least three (3) risk mitigation strategies to address project plan details that might be forgotten or overlooked. Justify the selection.5.Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.



Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:



•Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.



•Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.



The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:



•Design an organizational structure, staff a project office, and establish a communications system to effectively manage projects.



•Analyze the role of executive management in the life of a project.



•Apply the project manager’s critical skills, in terms of project leadership, team building, time management, conflict management, and effective communication with executive sponsors, peers, team members, and project clients.



•Use technology and information resources to research issues in project management.



•Write clearly and concisely about project management using proper writing mechanics.



Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.

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BUS303 – Business Finance - Comprehensive Problem – Module Three

BUS303 – Business Finance - Comprehensive Problem – Module Three



This problem builds upon each of the different modules to a logical analysis and conclusion, emphasizing the most important aspects of business finance through the completion of each of the four modules. Following is a brief description of each of the modules and the course objectives that are covered with the module.
Module One – this module will emphasize the student’s grasp of the formation of financial statements and the development of analytical measures to assess the financial condition of the business firm. (CO 1.2, 2.1)
Module Two – this module will focus upon the development of pro forma financial statements given various planning assumptions. (CO 1.4)
Module Three – this module will require the student to apply working capital analysis techniques and assess the cost of debt to a business firm. (CO 2.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4)
Module Four – this final module will encompass the application of time-value of money concepts to the business firm’s decisions related to the firm’s overall cost of capital. (CO 4.1, 4.4)
General Guidelines:
The proper, and professional, presentation of solutions associated with this comprehensive problem are part of the overall grading of each module. Because all analytic work is to be completed in Excel, but the solution submission is to be in Word, you must become familiar with importing schedules from Excel into Word in a professional manner. Please see the instructions contained in the Getting Started folder in Blackboard.
Each module is due as indicated in the Learning Activities folder for the particular week and is to be uploaded into the Assignment as shown in the Grade Center.
?
Module Three – 40 points
Part A:
Based on the pro forma projections for the first quarter, as provided in Module Two, Mr. Smith would like to know the breakeven point for the firm in terms of units to sell and the sales dollars for each month, on average, and for the quarter. He is considering making some changes to the pricing and fixed cost structure and would like to know how much flexibility he has.
Required: Based on the fixed costs from the pro forma income statement and the selling price and variable costs per unit, calculate the current breakeven point for the firm using the data from the 1st quarter pro forma schedules. The fixed costs are classified as selling and administrative costs and the interest expense of $9,000 for a quarter.
Part B:
Smith-John Widgets, Inc. has been running smoothly and, based on the pro forma projections that had been developed, the bank has provided the needed short-term borrowings that have helped smooth the company’s cash requirements. The company is now looking at better ways to manage the balances of inventory and, in particular, with managing the material ordering process.
Currently, the average inventory for the company has been based on 1.5 month’s supply, which resulted in a high level of inventory and few orders per year. However, based on information received in a seminar for small businesses Mr. John would like to see the policy changed to be based on the EOQ model. The current cost structure of the company has yielded the following inventory and order cost data:

Using the information from the first three months of the year, January through March, the company has determined the following details regarding inventory costs and average balances:


Required: Prepare an analysis of the company’s current inventory costs and develop a recommended ordering cycle based on the application of an EOQ model. Make sure to include in your report the updated information as follows: cost breakdown of inventory costs, including carrying and ordering costs; the average inventory level; the number of orders to place each quarter; and the number of units to order with each order placed, per your recommendation.
Part C:
Currently, Smith-John does not offer early payment discounts to its customers. Mr. Smith is considering offering a cash discount to customers as a means to improve collections. He is considering the following alternatives:

Required: Prepare a report giving Mr. Smith the cost, as a percentage, to the company of each of the proposed cash discount alternatives as presented, based on the cost of not taking a discount formula.
Part D:
In addition to the outstanding a long-term loan of $400,000 the company also has a short-term line of credit provided by the bank. Mr. Smith is negotiating with several new lending sources for additional loans and possibly an increase in borrowings. In meeting with several of these sources, Mr. Smith has received the following offers for financing:


Required: Calculate the effective interest rate for each of these financing offers. For Case 4 it is assumed that at the end of the ½ year the loan would have to be renegotiated at the then prevailing interest rates. Based on your analysis, identify for Mr. Smith which would be the better alternative based solely on the effective interest rate of the financing offer. Make sure to display your calculations in case Mr. Smith has any specific questions.

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Overview – Every organization must consider the mandatory and recommended practices when creating their information security program and/or security policies.


Overview – Every organization must consider the mandatory and recommended practices when creating their information security program and/or security policies.

Legislative documents such as FISMA are mandatory, yet standards documents such as FIPS 200 can also be mandatory. For this project you will compare and contrast two or more technical standards. You have the option of comparing FIPS 140-2 with ISO: 19790 OR comparing DES with Triple DES with AES. There is no requirement to relate this research to your selected organization. The goal is to understand the standards and be able to identify their similarities and their differences.



Learning Objective – After completing this project students will be able to 1) identify at least two technical standards, 2) describe at least two technical standards, and 3) compare and contrast technical standards.



Deliverable - Your research paper should be at least three (3) full pages, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, New Times Roman 12-Pitch font, include a cover page (team member names, course number, date, title of paper) and a reference page. The cover page and reference page are not included in the three-page minimum. Papers not meeting the three full-page minimum will lose points. You must have at least three (3) sources, correctly formatted per APA guidelines. Submit your research paper to the appropriate TurnItIn assignment area by the due date. Be sure and use the mandatory template. This URL takes your to short video with additional details about the assignment and the template.



Detailed Description of Learning Activity



1. As a team, select which standards options 1) ISO versus FIPS or 2) DES, Triple DES, and AES your team wants to research, compare, and contrast.



2. If you select FIPS versus ISO, identify three to five points of analysis from the first standard (i.e., FIPS 140-2) that you will compare and contrast against the second standard (i.e., ISO 19790:2012).



3. If you selected DES versus Triple DES versus AES, identify three to five points of analysis from the three standards and compare contrast those points against the other standards. For this option you will compare the three standards against one another for each point of analysis.



4. Research the security issues related to or solved by the three to five points of analysis.



5. Write your research paper. Use the MANDATORY template for your paper. At a minimum, the paper should include:



a.) An introduction that includes the purpose of your paper and introduces your standards.



b) A standards section that describes the two or three standards you selected for the paper



c) A Points of Analysis section that describes your three to five points and why you selected them (see #2 or #3 above)



d) A Compare and Contrast section comparing and contrasting the details of each standard for the three to five points of analysis (see #2 or #3 above)



e) A conclusion that summarizes what you wrote



6. Use Spell and Grammar Checker before submitting. It is also a good idea to have someone else read your paper.

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