If you were a VW executive appointed after the scandal, what recommendations would you make to prevent something like this from happening in the future?

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Volkswagen emissions scandal

In Chapter 2, we learned about an ethical decision-making process. Read the attached case study on the Volkswagen emissions scandal, and apply the ethical decision-making process in your analysis of the case (as if you were a manager at VW at the time the defeat devices were being installed) . If you were a VW executive appointed after the scandal, what recommendations would you make to prevent something like this from happening in the future?

 

What is the difference between a good and a service? How do businesses make money (use the R-E=P equation)? What is the relationship between risk and reward and where do you stand on the risk-reward continuum?

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DISCUSSION ESSAY

Write a 2-3 page paper. Pretend you are an entrepreneur selling a good or a service. Briefly describe your product and then, using your business as an example, explain the following:

What is the difference between a good and a service?, How do businesses make money (use the R-E=P equation)?, What is the relationship between risk and reward and where do you stand on the risk-reward continuum?, What is the definition of “stakeholder” and name 3 stakeholders for your business, What is the definition of outsourcing and would you outsource a portion of your business, why or why not?

R=Revenue E=Expenses P=Profit

 

Identify a challenge that the industry has recently faced. Explain why it is a serious challenge. Offer a specific solution or recommendation to address this challenge.

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Weeks 5/6: White Paper Peer Review Discussion (25 pts.)

Sources: At least five credible sources (trade publications, financial reports, and other reliable materials)

Format: APA-based document including visual components and clearly geared towards a non-academic professional audience (no in-text citations or References page)

For your white paper, you will identify a specific problem in an industry sector and propose an evidence-based solution.

The objectives of your white paper are to:

Establish a successful aspect of an industryLinks to an external site.
Identify a challenge that the industry has recently faced.
Explain why it is a serious challenge.
Offer a specific solution or recommendation to address this challenge.
back your solution with two precise cases in which the proposed recommendation has worked (two organizations which have successfully implemented the specific solution)
address any possible concerns or objections to this proposed solution and directly respond to them
present the next steps to implement your proposed solution
Keep in mind that your intended audience for this assignment is industry professionals — identify them in your paper — , so consider how to best organize and effectively present your ideas.

Although your audience is non-academic, you still need data to back your proposed solution, so be sure to use a variety of credible sources to support your ideas.

You will also need to include visual components in your white paper — consider how graphs, charts, tables, and other dynamic data pieces can make your document more appealing to a professional audience.

 

Note: In order to submit a white paper draft, you must first complete and submit Warm Up: White Paper Outline Worksheet Submission by Tues., 2/7 and receive instructor feedback/approval.

 

A white paper is a recommendation based on two or more successful case studies demonstrating a successful strategy across an industry sector.

Create a Gantt chart or other project planning tool that outlines the actions necessary to reach the goals outlined earlier.

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Putting It Together: Planning and Mission

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.

Let’s return our attention to Sun City Boards and its owner, Tom Wilson. Dani travelled to Tom’s operations on the West Coast and confirmed her suspicions that the problems the organization is facing are due to a lack of planning. Dani is meeting with Tom to report on her findings and to submit her recommendations.

“OK Tom, I’ve spent the last several days going through your operations and records, and I’m confident that there are actions you can take that will help turn around the business.”

Tom lets out a long sigh and says, “Dani, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that. So at a high level, what’s the problem?”

“In a nutshell, the problem with Sun City Boards is that you have lost your focus and there is no clear plan for moving forward.” Tom looks confused, so Dani explains. “When you started the business, what was your vision?”

Tom answers, “To set people free from the earth … free to ride the waves.”

“Perfect!” Dani responds. “And how were you going to do that?”

Tom thinks for a moment and then emphatically declares, “We will strive to provide the absolute best in high-end surfboard design and production!”

Dani tells Tom that he has just created the vision and mission statements for Sun City Boards. She further explains, “You have to start creating a focused plan that will help the organization deliver on its vision and mission. The reason your company is struggling is that there is no clear roadmap to success.”

Tom asks, “What do you mean?”

Dani continues, “When you started the company you were very successful because you focused on one key thing—making the best surfboards anyone had seen. As a result, everything your business did revolved around that core idea.”

Tom interrupts, “OK Dani, I think I see where you’re headed. When we started making money in the early days, I began to start expanding into other areas without a lot of thought. I listened to salespeople who came in and told me that I should branch out into low-end surf gear, then swimwear, then camping gear. Customers don’t know what we’re all about any more. And neither do my managers and employees.”

Dani can see Tom is getting his arms around the concept of vision and mission, so she moves on. Next, she presents her recommendation that Tom and his key leaders should come together regularly to create, review and update Sun City’s business plan. This is new to the team, so she gives them a quick example:

  1. Define Objectives: Sun City Boards should look to reduce noncore product lines and associated inventory. Minimum margin target is 35 percent across all remaining product lines.
  2. Develop Premises: Monitor competitor’s plans to implement a new polymer board and determine potential impact to Sun City’s sales.
  3. Evaluate Alternatives: Evaluate opportunity of opening new retail outlets along the West Coast. Also, explore international sales options for high-end surf boards.
  4. Identify Resources: Analyze the level of capital necessary to achieve expansion goals and incorporate plan to close financial gaps in the annual budget.
  5. Plan and Implement Tasks: Create a Gantt chart or other project planning tool that outlines the actions necessary to reach the goals outlined earlier.
  6. Determine Tracking and Evaluation Methods: Create SMART goals for both managers and employees that align with direction the overall business plan provides.

Finally, Dani reminds Tom that the planning process is only a tool and that the plan should be regularly reviewed and updated. Dani warns him that planning is no substitute for taking action, but it is a guide for him and his team as to what actions should be taken.

This consulting project has reminded Dani how important it is for an organization to have a clear vision and mission to know where it’s headed. Likewise, the planning process is critical to know how it’s going to get there. The alternative is like trying to take a cross-country trip without a map—you don’t know where you might end up!

 

Write a 2-3 page paper. Pretend you are an entrepreneur selling a good or a service. Briefly describe your product and then, using your business as an example.

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Business Question

Write a 2-3 page paper. Pretend you are an entrepreneur selling a good or a service. Briefly describe your product and then, using your business as an example, explain the following:

What is the difference between a good and a service?, How do businesses make money (use the R-E=P equation)?, What is the relationship between risk and reward and where do you stand on the risk-reward continuum?, What is the definition of “stakeholder” and name 3 stakeholders for your business, What is the definition of outsourcing and would you outsource a portion of your business, why or why not?

R=Revenue E=Expenses P=Profit

 

What are the 2-3 most critical points that must be presented in the memo to accurately summarize the nature of the crisis without going into non-essential details? Why are you focusing on these points?

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Business Communications and Executive Presence

Overview
As a leader, you will face multiple crises. While you will easily weather many bad situations, there may be some that will seriously threaten your company and your reputation. How you respond to crises, especially crises of trust, will determine your fate. You must use appropriate communication tools to emerge victorious. In your course materials, Jack identifies five principles for managing a crisis:
1. Assume the worst
2. There are no secrets
3. Your crisis management will not be portrayed favorably
4. Your organization will undergo changes
5. Your organization will come out of the crisis stronger

Additionally, Warren Buffett emphasizes four critical steps in managing a PR crisis:
1. Get it right
2. Get it fast
3. Get it out
4. Get it over

For this assignment, you will apply key concepts from your course materials to respond to a public relations crisis. NOTE: Before beginning work on this assignment, review your materials from Weeks 5 and 6.

In your Week 5 discussion question, you identified and addressed a public relations crisis that an organization faced. In this assignment, using that same crisis, you will turn your attention to crafting an internal communication in the form of a memo to be shared by email. You will write your memo from the perspective of a leader within that company. The memo will be addressed to your team members and will communicate information about the crisis and your response. Your assignment will be composed of two parts: (1) an outline of your key points and communication strategy and (2) the actual memo.

Instructions

Part One: Memo Outline
Create an outline of your memo in which you summarize four communication objectives and your strategy to achieve each of those objectives. Think of this as your “game plan.” This outline should be no more than one page in length. You may use bullets and sentence fragments if you like. The outline’s purpose is to help you organize your messaging and create a roadmap for the final version of the memo. Your outline should address the following:

1. The Nature of the Crisis
a. What are the 2-3 most critical points that must be presented in the memo to accurately summarize the nature of the crisis without going into non-essential details?
b. Why are you focusing on these points?

2. The Factors That Led to the Crisis
a. What key circumstances – decisions, mistakes, timelines, personnel, and/or departments caused the crisis?
b. Why are you focusing on these?

3. The Impact on Stakeholders (both Internal and External)
a. What are the most important adverse outcomes you want to highlight in your memo?
b. Why are you focusing on these?
c. Are there any outcomes you do NOT want to include in the memo? Why?

4. The Plan to Resolve the Crisis
a. What are the critical next steps to get through the crisis?
b. Who will own these steps, and what are the timelines?
c. What do you need from your team?
d. Why are you focusing on these actions?

Part Two: Memo
Create a 1- to 2- page internal memo to be sent to your team members via email based on your outline. Make sure you cover the following:
1. The nature of the crisis
2. The factors that led to the crisis
3. The impact on stakeholders
4. The plan, including how the company – and you – are responding to the situation, and the steps your team members should take, including what, if anything, they need to do differently

Professional Formatting Requirements:
Your assignment should follow these formatting requirements:
• Your memo should be typed, double-spaced, with a blank line between paragraphs, using a professional font (size 10-12).
• Your memo should include headings and subheadings to identify main topics and subtopics with one-inch margins on all sides.
• Your submission should include a cover page containing the assignment's title, your professor’s name, the course title, and the date.
• Application of course material or other resources is needed. References and in-text citations must be included and provide appropriate information that enables the reader to locate the original source. Use the Writing Standards Guide in the Course Documents to guide you in formatting yourcitations.

• The length of 2 to 3 pages does not include your cover page or references page.
• Begin your 1- to 2- page internal memo with the following headings aligned to the left:
o TO: Fill in your team’s name (e.g., Sales Department, Accounting Team)
o FROM: Fill in your name
o DATE: Fill in the due date
o RE: Insert an appropriate subject line

Complete the financial section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators. Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.

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Developing a Balanced Scorecard

You are a former Navy officer and fighter pilot who is now the controller of a division of TransGlobal Airlines, which utilizes a fleet of corporate jets for charter at several airports in the southeast part of the United States. Your division’s private charter clients include several Fortune 500 companies in the region. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has informed you that the company is considering the acquisition of two smaller aviation firms in the Caribbean specializing in chartered flights for luxury vacations using light aircraft (60 passengers or less). The CFO has tasked you with assessing the organizational benefits of acquiring these aviation firms. The CFO intends to develop a new business plan for the organization if your analysis recommends moving forward with the acquisition.

After an initial assessment, the company has shortlisted two airlines they want to examine further for acquisition. To understand all aspects of the two airlines under consideration, you have visited each proposed site to assess their performance. The assessment includes creating and analyzing a balanced scorecard for each airline with all four components—financial, internal processes, customers/market, and learning and growth—that will impact the acquisition.

In this milestone, you will use the given information to create balanced scorecards for Company A and Company B.

Prompt
Use the Basic Balanced Scorecard Template to create a balanced scorecard for each company.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

Use the data given in Company A Information and Company A Financials to create a balanced scorecard for Company A. The balanced scorecard should highlight key performance indicators, such as net profit, annual growth, and market share, and include the four components:
Financial: Complete the financial section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.
Internal Processes: Complete the internal processes section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.
Customers/Market: Complete the customers/market section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.
Learning and Growth: Complete the customers/market section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.

Use the data given in Company B Information and Company B Financials to create a balanced scorecard for Company B. The balanced scorecard should highlight key performance indicators, such as net profit, annual growth, and market share, and include the four components:
Financial: Complete the financial section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.
Internal Processes: Complete the internal processes section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.
Customers/Market: Complete the customers/market section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.
Learning and Growth: Complete the customers/market section of the balanced scorecard template, identifying two of the most relevant key performance indicators.
Explain your rationale for the KPIs chosen, with an explanation of the cause-and-effect relationship between the chosen KPIs.

Guidelines for Submission:
Submit two completed Excel spreadsheets using the provided template

What are your competitors' current products and services? Are your competitors expanding in the current market? Explain how this impacts their market strength. Analyze your company’s capability to pursue the innovation.

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Innovation Approach

Overview
In the highly competitive automotive market, it is critical to keep up with current technology to stay in or get ahead in the marketplace. To remain competitive, companies must innovate and integrate new technologies within their product lines and services.

Scenario
You work as a middle manager for one of the top U.S. producers of luxury and mass-market automobiles and trucks.

The chief technology officer (CTO) of the company from the course scenario has been monitoring new technology developments that the company could integrate into its vehicles to enhance the usefulness of and improve access to the data acquired by the many digital sensors integrated into vehicle subsystems over the past 20 to 30 years. The technology trend of particular interest is the internet of things (IoT)—the interconnection of embedded devices, such as sensors and computers, over the internet. By taking advantage of this trend, the CTO believes the company can seize an opportunity to provide better service and predictive maintenance to its customers, improving customer satisfaction and adding additional revenue streams.

Based on briefings by the CTO and your Module One memo, senior management has decided to implement IoT into its product line. Your CTO has asked you to lead a cross-functional team to take this initiative forward. Your first task is to create a presentation that will include your recommendation for how the company should approach this business problem: should you use incremental or discontinuous innovation?

Specifically, should the company:

Design a completely new product line, based on the new technology (discontinuous innovation)
or

Add new technology features first into one model and then incrementally into the broader product line (incremental innovation)
The recommendation you and your team will make is an important first step in pursuing this new technology. Your presentation and recommendations will be reviewed by senior management. Until senior management approves your approach to this innovation, your cross-functional team will not have a budget and will not be able to start work on the innovation. You should utilize your work from the Module Two presentation and data analysis when making and justifying your recommendation in this first milestone. In Milestone Two, you will subsequently develop a go-to-market strategy. For your project in Module Nine, you will compile your work from Milestones One and Two, and include a proposed organizational structure to best integrate, produce, and market the new technology.

Prompt
Create a PowerPoint presentation to make a recommendation for how the company should pursue the IoT technology to remain competitive: either by discontinuous or incremental innovation. To make your recommendation, you will need to identify how the evolving IoT (sensor) technology fits into the company’s products and services and determine potential risks and benefits. You will also need to look at your competitors to see what they are doing. Finally, you need to analyze the company’s capability (resources) for pursuing the innovation. Use the information and data from the CTO Brief, Comparative Growth Data, Comparative Operating Statistics, and Comparative Product Plans to complete this milestone.

Explain potential risks and benefits for options A and B.
Overview (1 slide): Present the business problem and options A and B.
Option A (1–2 slides): Explain at least two potential risks and benefits for option A.
Option B (1–2 slides): Explain at least two potential risks and benefits for option B.
Compare your competition’s products and services.
Competitors (3–4 slides): Evaluate the competitors’ current products and services.
What are your competitors' current products and services?
Are your competitors expanding in the current market? Explain how this impacts their market strength.
Analyze your company’s capability to pursue the innovation.
Complete a partial gap analysis (2 slides):
Does your company own the technology, or does it need to be purchased?
How is the technology currently being used in today’s products and services?
What type of technology is available to purchase?
Recommend the innovation approach your company should pursue.
Innovation approach (2 slides): Explain which innovation approach you are recommending and why.
Consider the different stakeholders—research and development (R&D), marketing, finance—when communicating your recommendations.
Include a description of the incremental or discontinuous product that you are recommending for R&D.
Include the sales forecasts for marketing.
Include a financial snapshot for finance.

How do these team members’ strengths complement yours? What skills and/or personality traits do they have that will help your team in areas where you feel challenged? Explain how chosen team members complement you in more than one case.

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Week 7 JGR Fantasy Team

1. Describe the role of Team Leader and how you will fulfill that role.
Explain your skills and personal strengths needed to be an effective team leader.
Think about your personal DiSC assessment results from JGR100. What is your DiSC work style, and how will you select team members to complement your skills?
What will you be responsible for as Team Leader? What will you handle personally, and what will you delegate to other members of your team?

2. Select a candidate for each of the four roles described above, and justify your selections.
Review the candidates by viewing the Week 7 Strayer talk and the document JGR Employee Profiles.
Consider how each choice’s particular skills and personality will help them perform their role successfully.
How do these team members’ strengths complement yours? What skills and/or personality traits do they have that will help your team in areas where you feel challenged?
Explain how chosen team members complement you in more than one case.

Explain the ethical issue presented in the article. Determine if the practice is relevant and therefore ethically justified. Was the article appealing? If so, why? If not, why not?

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Employee rights in business

Select one article that examines a contemporary issue on moral or employee rights in business.

Below are possible topics to search for an article:

  • drug testing and the right to privacy,
  • due process in the workplace,
  • use of social media and employee privacy, and
  • freedom of expression in the workplace.

The article review should address the following points:

  1. Summarize the article, and discuss the author’s main point.
  2. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the article.
  3. Explain the ethical issue presented in the article.
  4. Determine if the practice is relevant and therefore ethically justified.
  5. Was the article appealing? If so, why? If not, why not?

The article review must include at least two double-spaced pages, not counting the title and reference pages. You are required to use at least one outside source. Adhere to APA Style when constructing this assignment, including in-text citations, introduction, and references for all sources that are used.