Discussion Question

In week two one task that your team will face is to analyze growth opportunities for expansion. In the global economy there are many strong ties between corporate ethics and profit. McMurrian and Matulich offer this hypothesis, “In fact, a reputation for ethical business activities can be a major source of competitive advantage” (2006, p. 11). For this discussion question you will:

1. Conduct research to validate the statement made above by McMurrian and Matulich.

2. Post the APA compliant results of your research to include at least one company that has successfully applied their ethics or values with profitable results and one company that has lost profit dollars when they have acted in non compliance with their ethics.

3. Comment on how this research applies to your current employer or one that you have worked for in the past.

4. Comment on how this research will increase the effectiveness of your simulation team’s decision-making.

Reference

McMurrian, R. C., & Matulich, E. (2006). Building Customer Value and Profitability with Business Ethics. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 4 (11), 11-18.

 

Week 2

Please review the Discussion Board Participation grading rubric on your course syllabus. This is important information that will ensure that you earn maximum points. Your professionally written APA compliant postings, using appropriate sources should provide substantive depth that advances the discussion. Also, please be sure to edit your posts for grammatical errors before you post.

 

Discussion

In your business growth plans for this week, one area you will be focusing on is recruitment and retention of employees. Your text states “In a recent survey of 173 CEO/founders…the HR issues seen as most important included: recruitment/ selection/ retention/ compensation and special pay programs…” (Cadotte & Bruce, 2003, p.359). A unique recruitment and retention challenge faced by current CEO’s is that for the first time in history multiple generations work side by side. “Each group has its own distinct characteristics, values, and attitudes toward work, based on its generation’s life experiences” (American Management Association, 2007, ¶ 2). For this discussion question respond to the following, supported by scholarly sources:

a. Define the generations as referenced by the American Management Association.

b. Talk about the motivations for each of these generations.

c. Research the challenges faced by employers in creating compensation/rewards programs that will satisfy all generations.

d. Discuss how the company you presently work for accomplishes this goal.

e. Recommend changes or improvements that your present company could make to their current practices.

Reference

American Management Association, (2007, January 27). Leading the four generations at work. Retrieved fromhttp://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Leading-the-Four-Generations-at-Work.aspx

Cadotte, Ernest R. and Harry J. Bruce; The Management of Strategy in The Marketplace, South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati, 2003.

 

Discussion Topic

As your company grows and faces increasingly complex challenges, you may be finding that the original strategy you created is changing. You are also changing and growing to meet these new challenges. Senge (2007) tells us “The organizations that will excel in the future will be those that can tap the commitment and capacity to learn of people at all levels within them” (para 5). Senge’s 5 key disciplines are “1) systems thinking, 2) achieving personal mastery, 3) shifting mental models, 4) building shared vision, and 5) team learning” (2007, para 6). They are key to achieving the goal of creating the learning organization.

For this week’s discussion question, you will be reviewing the readings for this week, viewing to the Extra Extra videos, and using your own organization to research how these disciplines can be integrated into organizational growth and improvement. Your response should contain the following information:

1. A brief description of your current employment organization or one that you have worked for in the past.

2. A review of how these disciplines have been integrated (either formally or informally) within the organization and the impact on organizational effectiveness.

3. Commentary on how the organization can improve.

4. How you can integrate this information into your business plan in the classroom team.

Reference

Senge, P. (2007). Fifth Discipline. Bloomsbury Business Library – Management Library, 27. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Sources of Capital

All small business owners find themselves looking for small business funding at one point or another. In this simulation you are preparing to seek funding from venture capitalist, but there are many other sources of funding to consider. The small business owner must determine how these sources marry with company vision, mission and values, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each funding source. For this discussion question you will conduct research on these funding sources and:

1. Present a high level overview of at least 4 types of sources.

2. Select the top 2 sources that you think would be a best fit for the growth stage of your business.

3. Discuss how you would identify specific companies/individuals within these 2 choices to find one that is the most compatible with your organizations values.

4. Cite one example of a company that has achieved this goal

 

Discussion Topic

Last week you presented to the venture capital team and received feedback on how to increase your chances of success as you grow your company. You will be incorporating this feedback into your business plan and possibly changing your strategy. Linkow tells us “In this rapidly changing world with tight–and getting tighter–resources, the capacity to make and execute strategy is a source of competitive advantage. Organizations that don’t have strategic competence embedded in their infrastructures will fall behind” (1999, p. 37). In his article, Linkow identifies several thinking competencies that are common in great strategic thinkers:

· reframing

· scanning

· abstracting

· multivariate thinking

· envisioning

· inducting

· valuating (p. 35)

For your discussion question response this week, select 2 of these competencies and in your response:

1. Define each competency using Linkow’s work and other sources you discover in your research.

2. Discuss the impact achieving a high degree of skill in these competencies can have on an organization’s growth.

3. Select a business leader that has exhibited either one or both of these competencies and give an example to support your thoughts.

4. Talk about how this information can be helpful to your team as they change the business plan.

5. Describe how personal integration of this information can increase your effectiveness as a team member.

Reference

Linkow, P. (1999). What gifted strategic thinkers do? Training & Development, 53(7), 34. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

 

Unit 6

Discussion Topic

You have been working in virtual teams starting from the first week and needed to be highly effective almost instantaneously. In week 6 you will be presenting to the board and one area of this presentation includes lessons learned throughout the simulation. One key area you will address is how the team learned to work together from the outset, how you continued to maximize individual strengths to create a high performing team, and what you will be doing to continue this development. In this discussion question address the following:

1. What process the team employed to engage all team members quickly?

2. How successful was your team process?

3. How roles and responsibilities were assigned? Please include information from

a.your insights profile

b.the tools in the textbook reading

c.Other assessment tools that you think are valuable to share

4. What best practices this and from previous courses, articles, books, and assignments have helped you?

5. What changes did you need to make along the way to ensure that the team operated in a highly effective fashion?

6. How will you apply this knowledge to your workplace and other teams you will be operating on in the future?

 

 

Individual assignments

Ethical Considerations in Global Expansion

Overview

 

In Unit 1 you formed a team and started the process of company growth. Part of this team formation was to create a values profile. In week 2 one task that your team will

face is to analyze growth opportunities for expansion. There are several factors that will impact your decision making, “Total demand in any quarter will be determined by (1) the

market’s sales potential, (2) the seasonal and economic conditions of the global economy, and (3) the nature and extent of competition” (Cadotte & Bruce, 2003, p.3).

Another consideration is one of ethics; do your company values support the expansion choices you will be making? Decision making tied to ethics and values may not be easy but can be advantageous. McMurrian and Matulich (2006) cite Ferrell “These advantages include higher levels of efficiency in operations, higher levels of commitment and loyalty from employees, higher levels of perceived product quality, higher levels of customer loyalty and retention, and better financial performance (Ferrell 2004)” (p.11).

As part of the management team, you will need to be in consensus on expansion plans and will be using your values as one filter to make your final decision.

Requirements

In a 4-6 page APA formatted paper excluding title page, reference page, abstracts,diagrams, and other visual/oral aids as appropriate, you will:

? Discuss the challenges of values based business decision making ethics in the current marketplace.

? Research all four markets that you can expand into and assess the current social and political climate of each.

? Pick three that are the best fit for you based on the comparison to company

values.

? Create recommendations that include a detailed rationale for your three choices.

By Tuesday night: Submit your analysis (individual paper) to the Dropbox. Unit 1 [GB 601 | MBA Capstone]

2

Sunday through Tuesday:

? Share your Individual Assignment results with your team.

? Finalize your expansion plans as a team.

References

Cadotte, Ernest R. and Harry J. Bruce; The Management of Strategy in The Marketplace, South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati, 2003.

McMurrian, R. C., & Matulich, E. (2006). Building Customer Value and Profitability with Business Ethics. Journal of Business & Economics Research , 4 (11), 11-18.

Rubric

Item Point Value

Assignment Content

? Challenges of values based business decision making in the current marketplace 20

? Research of all four markets that are considered expansion opportunities and assessment of the current social and political climate of each

20

? Comparison to the company values 20

? Quality of Recommendations 20

General Writing and APA Compliance 20

Total 100

Preview your Unit 6 Portfolio Assignment

The purpose of the Portfolio is to leverage your education accomplishments in pursuit of career goals. You will build an inventory of school assignments that high

 

Unit 2 assignment

Assignment

 

Social Media Integration into Advertising Strategy

Overview

You and your team will be working this week on crafting marketing and advertising strategies to capture market share for the five market segments as seen below.

The Cost Cutter segment is a large segment that looks for a very easy-to-use computer for very basic office applications. The segment is very price sensitive.
The Workhorse segment is the largest group of customers. They want a PC for a variety of office workers to use. It should have substantial capability and flexibility, although not top of the line. Ease of use is more important than high performance. It should also be modestly priced.
The Innovator segment is a small segment that uses a computer for large computational problems (engineering, accounting, inventory management). The segment wants the latest technology and will pay a small premium for this high performance.
The Mercedes segment is looking for a high-performance computer to use in sophisticated engineering and manufacturing applications. Mercedes customers are willing to pay substantially more for high performance. At the start of the exercise, Mercedes customers are not in the market for PCs. They prefer mainframes and minicomputers. It is not likely that Mercedes customers will be willing to buy until sometime in the second year when new computer technology is introduced.
The Traveler segment wants a practical computer to use on the road. Traveler customers are executives and salespeople who travel a great deal. This segment is moderately price sensitive.

Cadotte and Bruce (2003) state “Your overall marketing strategy should include an integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy. That is, all forms of communication with your target audience should be designed to have a common message and support each other” (pg. 163). To achieve penetration to your target markets, you must keep consistency but also differentiate your advertisement campaigns to accommodate for individual market segments. “Advertisers use multiple outlets to ensure you place advertisements in media that that their ad campaign is seen” (Cadotte & Bruce, 2003, p.165). Social media is a relative newcomer to the marketing and advertising toolbox and must be integrated carefully into the overall strategy and more importantly into the strategy for each target audience.

Requirements

In a 4-6 page APA formatted paper excluding title page, reference page, abstracts, diagrams, and other visual/oral aids as appropriate, you will:

Report on the leading edge trends in integrating social media into traditional marketing and advertising campaigns.

Create specific recommendations for incorporating social media into the market segments your company is targeting.

Include a detailed discussion of how these recommendations fulfill the balance of integrated and differentiated requirements as recommended by Cadotte and

Bruce (2003).

By Tuesday night:Submit your analysis (individual paper) to the Dropbox

2

Sunday through Tuesday:

Share your Individual Assignment results with your team.

Finalize your marketing and advertisement plans as a team.

Reference

Cadotte, Ernest R. and Harry J. Bruce; The Management of Strategy in The

Marketplace,South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati, 2003.

 

Rubric

 

Team Assignment

Team Assignment For Week 1

Please review the Simulation Overview documents to be sure you understand all of the requirements. You will be completing Quarter 1 of the simulation. You will also be completing the appropriate sections of your business plan integrating the readings, the results of your individual assignment, Ethical Considerations in Global Expansion, the discussion question and the Extra Extra videos’ into your business plan in preparation for presenting to venture capital investors in Unit 4.

Review the Unit 4 Business Plan Instructions to get you started. For long range planning also review the Unit 6 Report to the Board Instructions.

Items to complete for Team Creation

1. Based on your Insights Profile identify strengths that you bring to your team. The link below will connect you with a webcast that quickly reviews the Strengths Page, Weaknesses Page, and Value to Team Pages of your Insights. (Insights Vancouver archived your previous Profile from GB500. If they have not sent it you, contact them at info@insightsvancouver.com and send them your email address.
It would be best to have your Insights Profile open and on the Strengths page while you view this webcast. You will be using these in your Unit 4 and Unit 6 Business Plan assignment.
http://www.insightsvancouver.com/discovery-webcasts/
This link contains a webcast library you can access to better understand your Insights Profile. For this assignment, please view Session 4: Profile Application. Start at the 3 minute 34 second mark (3.34) with a review of the “Strengths Page” which concludes at 5.50. Then go to 8.08 to review the “Weaknesses Page” which leads to the “Value to the Team” at 9.36 and runs to the end of the webcast.
In the event you need a quick refresher on Insights, take a look at Session 2: Insights Discovery Colour Energies. This webcast runs for 13.38; however, the first 10 minutes will be most useful for this assignment.

2. Define roles and responsibilities. There are many tools for you to use in the completing this definition:

a.The tools in your text.

b.Your Insights Profile.

c.Other tools and processes that you have learned about and used in work or in other classes.

3. Create mission, vision, values. There is a sample values assessment document you can use in your values creation work listed in DocSharing.

4. Determine which type of business structure is the most appropriate for your company.

5. Complete appropriate sections of the business plan.

Unit 2

Team Assignment For Week 2

You will be completing Quarters 2 and 3 of the simulation, please review these documents to be sure you understand all of the requirements. You will also complete the appropriate sections of your business plan integrating the readings, the results of your individual assignment, Social Media Integration Into Advertising Strategy, the discussion question and the Extra Extra videos’ into your business to prepare for you presentation to venture capital investors in Unit 4.

You will also be completing the first of 3 peer evaluations. See information of how to complete the evaluation here.

Unit 3

You will be completing Quarter 4 of the simulation, please review the Simulation Overview documents to be sure you understand all of the requirements. You will also complete the appropriate sections of your business plan integrating the readings, the discussion question and the Extra Extra videos’ into your business plan to prepare for you presentation to venture capital investors in Unit 4.

Simulation Overview Documents

· Quarter 4 – Overview and Important Points

· Introduction to Marketplace Accounting

Unit 4

Business Plan Presentation

Over the last 3 weeks, you have been working with your team to create a business plan for presentation to potential venture capitalist investors. In this unit you will be submitting your business plan to the investors for review and comment.

You will be submitting your the business plan to venture capital investors and integrating their comments into your future plans. Click to view the Unit 4 Business Presentation requirements.

For long range planning also review the Unit 6 Report to the Board Instructions.

When you are ready, please designate one member of your team to submit your Presentation to the Team Assignment Dropbox before the end of the Unit.

Complete Quarter 5

You will be completing Quarter 5 of the simulation, please review the Simulation Overview to be sure you understand all of the requirements.

You will also complete the appropriate sections of your business plan integrating the readings, the discussion question and the Extra Extra videos’ into your business plan and presentation in preparation for a final report submission to the board of directors in Unit 6.

Unit 6

Report to the Board

Over the last 5 weeks, you have been working with your team in the business to create a business plan to grow your company. In unit 4 you presented to potential venture capitalist investors and made changes to the plan while continuing to work within the Marketplace simulation.

In this unit you will be applying all that you have learned and presenting to your board of directors. The instructions for completing this assignment are located here.

When you are ready, please designate one member of your team to submit your Presentation to the Team Assignment Dropbox before the end of the Unit.