BUS499 Full Course (August 2018)

Week 1 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 1 LEARN (e-Activity) videos (there are several) and read Chapter 1 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the bwhybto include in your response to the following:

1) From the LEARN, determine which of the two primary drivers of the competitive landscape is more influential.

a. Explain your rationale.

2) From the PRACTICE activity, identify an organization that could benefit from the application of the I/O Model of Above-Average Returns (Figure 1.2 page 15 in the textbook).

a. Follow the five steps to justify your answer.

b. Do not use Apple or Walmart in this exercise, nor should the organization you select be the same as another post.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student and/or myself.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my bgaming powersbto Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

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Week 2 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 2 LEARN (e-Activity) and read Chapter 2 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

1) Perform an analysis of the social/demographic, technological, economic, environmental/geographic, and political/legal/governmental segments to understand the general environment facing Union Pacific.

2) Describe how Union Pacific will be affected by each of these external factors.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my ‘gaming powers’ to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

Week 3 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 3 LEARN (e-Activity) videos (there are several) and read Chapter 3 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

1) Many companies use their brand as a competitive advantage. Given your knowledge about the global economy, identify three brands you believe have the strongest likelihood of remaining a source of advantage in the 21st century.

a. Explain why.

2) Explain the effects you believe the internet’s capabilities will have on the brands you identified in the previous discussion and what the owner of the brand should do in light of them.

3) From the LEARN (e-Activity), analyze the internal environment of the company you researched to determine that company’s strengths and weaknesses. Based on the strengths and weaknesses you discovered, determine what steps the company could take to positively impact the company’s competitiveness.

a. Explain your rationale.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my “gaming powers” to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

Week 4 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 4 LEARN (e-Activity) videos (there are several) and read Chapter 4 & 5 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

“Business-Level Strategy” b In a single response, respond to the following:

1) From the first e-Activity, assess your satisfaction with the company you researched

a) Make recommendations about how that company could modify its business-level strategy to both increase your overall level of satisfaction and to attract new customers.

b) Provide specific examples to support your response.

2) Analyze the five business-level strategies discussed in Chapter 4 to determine which strategy the company you researched most likely applies.

3) Determine how your experience with that company might change if it switched to one of the other four strategies (your choice). Explain your rationale.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student and/or myself student (more responses may be required to get your percentage to 100%).

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my ‘gaming powers’ to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

Week 5 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 5 LEARN (e-Activity) (there are several) and read Chapter 6 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the ‘why” to include in your response to the following:

“Victory Motorcycles” Please respond to the following:

From the LEARN e-Activity and the case study 29 (p. 419 in the textbook), evaluate the Corporate-Level Strategy of Victory Motorcycles to determine whether you believe the strategy is appropriate to offset forces in the industry.

Provide specific examples to support your response.

Make recommendations for improving this strategy as well as describing any challenges you foresee in executing those recommendations.

Provide specific examples to support your response.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student and/or myself student (more responses may be required to get your percentage to 100%).

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my gaming powers to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

Week 6 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 6 LEARN (e-Activity) (there are several) and read Chapter 7 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

Review Case Study 8: Dr. Pepper Snapple Group 2011: Fighting to Prosper in Highly Competitive Market found on page 115 in your textbook.

Please respond to the following:

The case study outlines six specific strategies that the firm has chosen to support its strategic direction.

1) Determine which strategy is most likely to benefit the firm.

a. Explain your rationale.

2) Briefly outline at least one other strategy the firm could take to support its strategic direction.

a. Illustrate why this new strategy would be successful.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my gaming powers to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

Week 7 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 7 LEARN (e-Activity) (there are several) and read Chapters 8 & 9 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

“International Opportunities” Please respond to the following and include the questions with your answers under each question:

Determine why, given the advantages of international diversification, some firms choose not to expand internationally.

Provide specific examples to support your response.

As firms attempt to internationalize, they may be tempted to locate their facilities where business regulation laws are lax.

Discuss the advantages and potential risks of such an approach, using specific examples to support your response.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my gaming powers to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

Week 8 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 8 LEARN (e-Activity) (there are several) and read Chapter 10 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

Read Case Study 4 “Finding the Best Buy” (page 57)

 

Corporate governance has become a hot issue in the U.S. over the past two decades. From your analysis of the case study, determine two possible corporate governance challenges that might be faced by Best Buy as a result of its rapid growth and why they could become corporate governance issues.

Make recommendations for how Best Buy can overcome these challenges.

Provide specific examples to support your response.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my gaming powers to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

Week 9 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 8 LEARN (e-Activity) (there are several) and read Chapter 10 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

Review the CIBC Mellon: Managing a Cross-Border Joint Venture Case Study found on page 219 in your textbook and respond to the following:

1. Compare and contrast strategic controls and financial controls.

o Provide specific examples of how each may be used to best serve a corporation.

2. As a strategic leader, determine if you would feel ethically responsible for developing your firm’s human capital and state why. Discuss whether or not you believe your position is consistent with the majority or minority of today’s strategic leaders.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my gaming powers to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

 

 

Week 10 discussion

Before starting this activity, review the Week 8 LEARN (e-Activity) (there are several) and read Chapter 10 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the “why” to include in your response to the following:

“Innovation Applied”

Read Chapter 13 Strategic Entrepreneurship and review the Learn video/lecture, then respond to the following:

Analyze the different approaches to innovation discussed in this chapter to determine which approach you think would be the greatest value to the greatest number of organizations.

Explain your rationale.

Create one innovative approach that is not discussed in the textbook for increasing the amount of innovation within a large company.

Describe this approach in detail and explain how companies could benefit from it.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my gaming powers to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book.

 

Week 11 discussion

Summation

Please respond to the following:

Discuss how you will use the lessons learned in your BBA program to be more productive in your current (or future) career. Provide specific examples to support your response.

Discuss the single most interesting or surprising thing you learned in the BBA program, as well as what made it so.

Be sure to respond to at least one (1) other student.

Look for all possible ways to earn 100%. I will monitor the discussions and use my gaming powers to Award Badges and/or Revoke points as applicable. Even though this activity is auto-graded, it may take up to 3 hours to update your Blackboard grade book

 

Week 3 assignment

Choose one (1) public corporation in an industry with which you are familiar. Research the company on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University’s online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

Assess how globalization and technology changes have impacted the corporation you researched.

Apply the industrial organization model and the resource-based model to determine how your corporation could earn above-average returns.

Assess how the vision statement and mission statement of the corporation influence its overall success.

Evaluate how each category of stakeholder impacts the overall success of this corporation.

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:

Determine ways in which the vision, mission, and stakeholders of a firm impact that firm’s overall success.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in business administration.

Write clearly and concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.

 

 

 

Week 6 assignment

Using the corporation you chose from Assignment 1, examine its industry. Research the company on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University’s online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.

Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:

Choose the two (2) segments of the general environment that would rank highest in their influence on the corporation you chose. Assess how these segments affect the corporation you chose and the industry in which it operates.

Considering the five (5) forces of competition, choose the two (2) that you estimate are the most significant for the corporation you chose. Evaluate how well the company has addressed these two (2) forces in the recent past.

With the same two (2) forces in mind, predict what the company might do to improve its ability to address these forces in the near future.

Assess the external threats affecting this corporation and the opportunities available to the corporation. Give your opinions on how the corporation should deal with the most serious threat and the greatest opportunity. Justify your answer.

Give your opinion on the corporation’s greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses. Choose the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to take maximum advantage of its strengths, and the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to fix its most significant weakness. Justify your choices.

Determine the company’s resources, capabilities, and core competencies.

Analyze the company’s value chain to determine where they can create value using the resources, capabilities, and core competencies discussed above.

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.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Identify how the six segments of the general environment affect an industry and its firms.

Identify the five forces of competition.

Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats that impact the firm.

Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in business administration.

Write clearly and concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.

 

Week 8 Assignment

Using the same industry from Assignment 2, and one of your chosen publicly traded corporations within that industry from Assignment 1, research the company on its own website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University’s online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.

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

Analyze the business-level strategies for the corporation you chose to determine the business-level strategy you think is most important to the long-term success of the firm and whether or not you judge this to be a good choice. Justify your opinion.

Analyze the corporate-level strategies for the corporation you chose to determine the corporate-level strategy you think is most important to the long-term success of the firm and whether or not you judge this to be a good choice. Justify your opinion.

Analyze the competitive environment to determine the corporation’s most significant competitor. Compare their strategies at each level and evaluate which company you think is most likely to be successful in the long term. Justify your choice.

Determine whether your choice from Question 3 would differ in slow-cycle and fast-cycle markets.

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.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Identify various levels and types of strategy in a firm.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in business administration.

Write clearly and concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.

 

Week 10 Assignment

In this assignment, you are to use the same corporation you selected and focused on for Assignments 1, 2, and 3.

Consider the corporation you have selected to use in your first three assignments. Identify one of the firm’s major competitors that you would consider working for.

Research the corporation on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University’s online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.

You will do a 15 minutes presentation to the Board of Directors of the corporation. Develop an eight to twelve slide PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes or record a video based upon Assignments 1 through 4. You may choose to compare your chosen corporation to a major competitor with whom you would like to work. You will make recommendations to the Board of Directors based upon your analysis and decision on why the corporation remains or is not a good fit for you.

Determine the impact of the company’s mission, vision, and primary stakeholders on its overall success as a competitive employer in the industry.

Create a SWOT analysis for the company to determine its major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Based on the SWOT analysis, outline a strategy for the company to capitalize on its strengths and opportunities, and minimize its weaknesses and threats.

Discuss the various levels and types of strategies the firm may use to maximize its competitiveness and profitability.

Outline a communications plan the company could use to make the strategies you recommend above known to all stakeholders.

Develop an executive level Power Point presentation with 8 -12 slides with speaker notes and appropriate graphics or professional video.

Assess efforts by this corporation to be a responsible (ethical) corporate citizen and determine the impact these efforts (or lack thereof) have on the company’s bottom line. Provide specific examples to support your response.

Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

References must be submitted on a Works Cited page using APA format.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Determine ways in which the vision, mission, and stakeholders of a firm impact that firm’s overall success.

Identify how the six segments of the general environment affect an industry and its firms.

Identify the five forces of competition.

Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats that impact the firm.

Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.

Identify various levels and types of strategy in a firm.

Assess the ethical implications related to strategic decisions.

Predict ways in which corporate governance will affect strategic decisions.

Assess the relationship between strategy and organizational structure.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in business administration.

Write clearly and concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.