Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

Another important concept related to ethics concerns the topic of social responsibility and the questions regarding what is socially responsible behavior on the part of an organization, what are socially responsible actions and activities, and how do these actions and activities fulfill any expectations related to ethics.

Take a look at the Ted Talk (video) presented by Audrey Choi, "How to make a profit while making a difference" - it is located under this Module.

She addresses the question of whether or not global capital markets can "become catalysts for social change" and connects the differences that can be realized by investing in organizations that focus on socially responsible behavior.

What are your thoughts about this talk?  What exactly is the interrelationship between social values and ethics?  Is it possible for differences to be realized even through the smallest actions that we, particularly as employees, leaders, supervisors, etc. can take?

How to make a profit while making a difference | Audrey Choi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7l5QHRY_AI

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 
Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

Learning Outcomes

Segmentation.  Students can use the segmentation characteristics to identify and describe market segments
Target Market. Students can identify a usable market segment to be a target market
Target-market strategy. Students can determine an appropriate target-market strategy.
Positioning.  Students can develop and interpret a perceptual map.
Directions

Thus far you have only been considering the customers of your product or service as one big group, or a mass market.  More astute marketing breaks down this large group into smaller market segments of consumers who have like characteristics.  For any given product or service there could be numerous market segments.  However, company resources may only allow a company to pursue one or two or these market segments, which then become target market(s).  Your job here is to break down the mass market for your product or service into at least two market segments and then pick one target market you think would have the most potential for future growth.  This target market does not have to be the one the company would have actually picked, or is currently pursuing, there is no way for you or your faculty to know based on public information.  So, once again the literature will not give you the 'right' answer.  Your brain will help you reason your way through.  
Think outside your own box.  Chances are good you picked a product with which you are familiar.  That is a good starting point, and you may represent one target market.  But you may represent a target market that is saturated and therefore not the best target market to pick for the remainder of the semester.  So be sure your second target market is different enough and represents growth potential. 
If you did not do a thorough analysis of the competition in the prior writing assignments, you may need to go back and figure out the nature of the product or service’s competition.  This will be important when you address the positioning of your product for your newly identified target market inasmuch as positioning is a competition-based concept.  
We understand you are not an employee of the company and do not have access to the data that you feel will allow you to discuss the questions to the degree you would like.  Take your best educated and reasoned guesses whenever you need to do so.
Otherwise, you do not need to do any external research for this writing assignment. Your job will be to critically examine all of the segmentation bases and arrive at your own description of potential market segments for your product or service.  
You may want to visit http://www.segmentationstudyguide.com/understanding-perceptual-maps/a-step-by-step-guide-to-constructing-a-perceptual-map/ for a step-by-step guide on how to draw a perceptual or positioning map.  Remember to label both axes of your perceptual map.  Meanwhile, here is an example of a perceptual map for the beer market, an excellent example for a highly competitive product.


Remember, you have a two-page limit so be judicious in your responses, do not report anything the company is or has done. You are now in charge at your company. We (your boss) are only interested in your thoughts at this point.
Prepare your assignment by answering the following four areas of inquiry related to the learning outcomes noted above. 
Segmentation.  Using the various criteria of the segmentation bases described in the week's readings and in Table 4.1, identify at least two distinct market segments for your product or service.  Each market segment description must include at least three (more if needed) of the characteristics from amongst any of the four bases categories, e.g. one from demographic variables, one or two from psychographic variables, and one from behavioral variables, or a similar scheme.  Be sure to explain your choices based on what customer need the product or service offering can fill for each segment. 
Target market.  Select one of the market segments you described in (1) above as the one you believe is or can be the most profitable for your product or service offering and explain why you feel they can represent growth for the company.  Refer to the six criteria for an attractive market segment as described in course content under ‘Selecting Target Markets’.  Name your target market so you can use this name throughout all of your remaining writing assignments.  Your name should be descriptive of the segments characteristics like 'savvy young shoppers' or 'educated baby boomers', or 'urban hipsters', or the like.  The goal is for your faculty member to get a mental image of your target market for the remainder of the semester.
Target market strategy.  Should the company focus all their resources on this new target market (concentrated marketing) or should they continue to pursue both the new and the existing target market as well as other market segments (multi-segment marketing)?  Alternatively, is the market so saturated might they be more successful by focusing solely on an even more narrow market segment, perhaps an even narrower version (niche marketing) of your selected target market, as their best chance for growth?  What is your reasoning?
Positioning.  Draw yourself a perceptual map as illustrated in the week's readings or use the websites noted in the directions. Be sure to pick two criteria that are important to your new target market for your two axes, perhaps two of the criteria you used in Week 1 in your competitive analysis.  Map at least the two major competitors you noted in Week 1 and add any others that you may have discovered since then.  Describe what the perceptual map is telling you regarding how each product is perceived in the minds of the new target market you described above.  You may have to make a series of educated guesses for some of the data points.  Ideally, you want to find uncontested space. If your product overlaps with a competing offering discuss whether or not your product or service should try for an ‘uncontested’ space on the map and ‘reposition’ itself; or if it should keep the same position and compete head on with the other product.  (You will have a chance to make changes to the product, the pricing and the distribution to change the product's positioning and find uncontested space in the coming weeks).  
Be sure to follow all of the submission requirements outlined in the syllabus and provided below again for your easy reference:

• Prepare as a word processed document (such as Microsoft Word). 

• Your assignment should be the equivalent of two pages of double spaced text, approximately 1/2 page for each of the four questions.

• Be sure your name, writing assignment number, and the name of your product or service are on the first page of your writing assignment.

• Use a simple 12-point font such as Times New Roman.  Use black ink for majority of your work and only use colors if it enhances your ability to communicate your thoughts.  

• If the writing assignment requires external research, be sure to use footnotes and include a bibliography.  You may use MLA or APA style, or any other college-level style guide. More information about using a style guide can be found in the UMUC's virtual library accessible from your LEO classroom or at umuc.edu/library.  

• Upload your word processed document in your LEO assignments by the due date in the LEO calendar.  

Refer to the grading rubric associated with the assignments.  Be sure to note that 20% of your grade on this assignment will be based on your grammar, composition, adherence to the submission requirements, and use of an appropriate college-level style guide for writing and referencing. 

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

Big Data is Better Data, Kenneth Cukier
https://www.ted.com/talks/kenneth_cukier_big_data_is_better_data

It's Time to Redesign Medical Data, Thomas Goetz
http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_goetz_it_s_time_to_redesign_medical_data

After carefully going through the powerpoint, videos and dashboard examples, answer the following:

1. What are Business Intelligence and Big Data? How are they related and differ? What are the benefits of using BI and Big Data? Are there any drawbacks?

2. You should remember that information has many attributes and describes several different types of things. Big Data comes in many different forms. What are they?  There are also different ways in which the quality of the data can be described. What are they and what do they mean?

3. The Healthcare Industry has been particularly impacted by Business Intelligence. In 'It's Time to Redesign Medical Data', what does Goetz say impacts patients in their health choices? Why was Wired Magazine interested in medical data? What impact could BI have in this industry? What other industries may benefit from BI? Explain.

4. In 'Big Data is Better Data', Cukier talks about machine learning. Big data is what enables these types of automatic methods. What are some of the real life examples that he provides that use machine learning? How or why do they use it? We know from Chapter 1 that MIS has 3 key components, and we know which is most important. Do automatic data processing and analysis methods such as machine learning undermine this? Explain.

5. Performance Dashboards and the visualization of key performance indicators are a key component of Business Intelligence. Have you come across any in your past or present work or co-op experiences? What industry do you hope to work in? How might a company in this industry use dashboards to compete?

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

PUBLIC POLICY IMPACT ON AN AMERICAN CORPORATION (Research Paper)


As you have learned throughout this term, society, through its laws and policies impacts business, and business in turn impacts society. The purpose of this paper is to give you experience in writing a brief analysis of a law that impacts a business corporation in California.  You can choose a law and a corporation with which you are familiar. For example, you might analyze The Sarbannes Oxley Act, 2002, or the Family and Medical Leave Act, 1993, Americans with Disabilities Act, or some other law.  You can use the following guidelines:

Introduction to the paper (highlight the law and the corporation you have chosen)
Analysis:
    Why did the law come about? (i.e., what did society find lacking that led to this the creation of this law?)
    How the law has impacted (or how will it impact) your corporation?
    What are the benefits of the law? (i.e., who has the law helped and why?)
    What pressures/costs has the law placed on the corporation? (i.e., is this law fair     to all concerned?)
    What might  be likely to happen to amend the law or change it in some way?
Summary & Recommendations
Bibliography
Use 12 point font.  Double-space. One inch margins.  Use APA-style citation and cite all your sources and direct quotations, as used.  The paper should be 7 pages in length, excluding the Bibliography. You may attach Appendices.The paper must be a piece of original writing. Cutting and pasting text from the web is not permitted.  Ensure that you have some scholarly sources (journal articles)

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

The bama companies,Inc

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

Watch this video. TED Talks-London, England: “Martin Jacques-author of “When China Rules the World,” presents his talk on “Understanding the Rise of China.”
Answer these two questions with a response of AT MOST 350 words:
The speaker said that China will change the world in two ways, what are they?
Explain the leadership traits, behavior and contingencies of China in the National Context?
As China continues to experience growth in the global markets, compare and contrast the US leadership style with that of China from a national cultural perspective, and explain your findings.

YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imhUmLtlZpw

Discussion Topic: Marketing         

We have all seen them. Some of us love them; others wish we could live without them – the television commercial. Companies realize that in order to catch and hold your attention, convince you to buy their product or use their service, they need to do this in 60 seconds or less. Advertisers are willing to pay millions of dollars for 30 seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl. 

Share with the class your favorite or most memorable commercial or website commercial. Explain why this particular 30 to 60 second advertisement meant so much to you. 
•Did the advertisers accomplish their purpose? 
•Did you buy the product or service because of this commercial? 
•Are there products or services that you refuse to use because of advertisements you have seen? 

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

1. Improving Customer Service. Many customers
find that service is getting poorer and workers are
getting ruder. Evaluate the service in a local store,
restaurant, or other organization. Are customers
made to feel comfortable? Is workers’ communication
helpful, friendly, and respectful? Are workers
knowledgeable about products and services? Do
they sell them effectively? Write a report analyzing
the quality of service and recommending what the
organization should do to improve.
2. Recommending Courses for the Local Community
College. Businesses want to be able to send workers
to local community colleges to upgrade their skills;
community colleges want to prepare students to
enter the local workforce. What skills are in demand
in your community? What courses at what levels
should the local community college offer?
3. Improving Sales and Profits. Recommend ways a
small business in your community can increase sales
and profits. Focus on one or more of the following:
the products or services it offers, its advertising,
its decor, its location, its accounting methods, its
cash management, or any other aspect that may be
keeping the company from achieving its potential.
Address your report to the owner of the business.
4. Increasing Student Involvement. How could an
organization on campus persuade more of the students
who are eligible to join or to become active
in its programs? Do students know that it exists?
Is it offering programs that interest students? Is it
retaining current members? What changes should
the organization make? Address your report to the
officers of the organization.
5. Evaluating a Potential Employer. What training is
available to new employees? How soon is the average
entry-level person promoted? How much travel
and weekend work are expected? Is there a “busy
season,” or is the workload consistent year-round?
What fringe benefits are offered? What is the corporate
culture? Is the climate nonracist and nonsexist?
How strong is the company economically? How is
it likely to be affected by current economic, demographic,
and political trends? Address your report
to the placement office on campus; recommend
whether it should encourage students to work at
this company.
6. With your instructor’s permission, choose your own
topic.


Write the proposal using the following sections questions.
1. In your first paragraph (no heading), summarize in a sentence or two the
topic and purposes of your report.
2. Problem/Opportunity. What problem or opportunity exists? Why does it
need to be solved or explored? Is there a history or background that is
relevant?
3. Feasibility. Are you sure that a solution can be found in the time available?
How do you know? (This section may not be appropriate for some class
projects.)
4. Audience. Who in the organization would have the power to implement
your recommendation? What secondary audiences might be asked to evaluate
your report? What audiences would be affected by your recommendation?
Will anyone in the organization serve as a gatekeeper, determining
whether your report is sent to decision makers? What watchdog audiences
might read the report? Will there be other readers?
For each of these audiences give the person’s name and job title and
answer the following questions:
■ What is the audience’s major concern or priority? What “hot buttons” must
you address with care?
■ What will the audience see as advantages of your proposal? What objections,
if any, is the audience likely to have?
■ How interested is the audience in the topic of your report?
■ How much does the audience know about the topic of your report?
List any terms, concepts, or assumptions that one or more of your audiences
may need to have explained. Briefly identify ways in which your
audiences may affect the content, organization, or style of the report.
5. Topics to investigate. List the questions you will answer in your report, the
topics or concepts you will explain, the aspects of the problem or opportunity
you will discuss. Indicate how deeply you will examine each of the
aspects you plan to treat. Explain your rationale for choosing to discuss
some aspects of the problem or opportunity and not others.
6. Methods/procedure. How will you get answers to your questions? Whom
will you interview or survey? What questions will you ask? What published
sources will you use? Give the full bibliographic references. Your
methods section should clearly indicate how you will get the information
needed to answer questions posed in the other sections of the proposal.
7. Qualifications/facilities/resources. Do you have the knowledge and skills
needed to conduct this study? Do you have adequate access to the organization?
Is the necessary information available to you? Are you aware of
any supplemental information? Where will you turn for help if you hit an
unexpected snag?
You’ll be more convincing if you have already scheduled an interview,
checked out books, or printed online sources.
8. Work schedule. For each activity, list both the total time you plan to spend
on it and the date when you expect to finish it. Some possible activities you
might include could be gathering information, analyzing information, preparing
a progress report, writing the report draft, revising the draft, preparing
visuals, editing and proofreading the report, and preparing the oral
presentation. Think of activities needed to complete your specific project.
These activities frequently overlap. Many writers start analyzing and
organizing information as it comes in. They start writing pieces of the final
document and preparing visuals early in the process.
Organize your work schedule in either a chart or calendar. A good
schedule provides realistic estimates for each activity, allows time for
unexpected snags, and shows that you can complete the work on time.
9. Call to action. In your final section, indicate that you’d welcome any suggestions
your instructor may have for improving the research plan. Ask
your instructor to approve your proposal so that you can begin work on
your report.

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

Why Do Some Managers Hate the Performance Evaluation?

A 3-5 page paper is due in Week 6.  The paper will consist of 3-5 pages of content, a cover page and a reference page.  The total page count with the cover page and the reference page should be 5-7 pages. 

Your paper should include an introduction and conclusion that summarize the contents of the entire paper.

Your paper should be written in proper APA format


Write:
Some managers would rather get a root canal than go through the performance evaluation process with their direct reports.  Why?  What does research tell you?
As you respond to the three questions listed above, please address the following:
What traits does an effective manager display in the workplace? 
Is there a profile for a manager who may struggle with the evaluation process?
What are the key elements of a successful employee evaluation process?  How should a manager prepare for the event?
Develop an evaluation form for your direct reports and show how the evaluation criterion correlates to the organization’s objectives.

References: At least two references are required for this assignment.

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

What is the best business model for the small business or startup you have chosen? In one page, outline at least three different business models and then select the best model for your business. Then, give a short statement explaining why this is the best model.

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

Course Project Details  The course project is an application of management system analysis to an organization of the student’s choice. Using the knowledge and insights that you have gained in the course, prepare a proposal for your workplace that details the implementation of a management philosophy or program of your choice designed to improve your workplace. Be specific in what you propose and be able to convince your organization that there is both theoretical and practical support for your plans. Also demonstrate what benefits will result and how the results will be measured.  
The goal is to analyze your workplace and come up with a plan to make your company function more effectively.  The techniques you are to use will be structure or design changes using concepts you have studied this quarter; the concepts you are to use are found in our textbook.  A more detailed list of what you need to include is below.    If you think your company can’t be improved, you will need to identify the organizational structure or design that the company is currently using and what the results of a structural (design) change would be.  Saying simply that your company does not need any change and ending the paper at that point will result in a zero for the project.  If you are not working at the present time or do not want to use your employer’s firm, you can pick a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange; these public companies will enable you to find a lot of literature with which you can analyze that company and make your suggestions.  
The body of the paper should be 10 – 15 pages, double-spaced, in APA format. The paper will include details of a plan designed to improve the company’s operation. This proposed plan will identify the company’s issues that inhibit some aspect of the operations and provide recommendations to address those issues. Be specific in what you propose and be prepared to convince upper management that there is both a theoretical and practical support for your plan. Also, demonstrate what benefits will result and how the results will be measured. Any reference to sources used must be in APA format. There is an APA tutorial on the Sullivan library web site if needed. The paper will need to include, as a minimum, the following components:  
1. A short description of the company and what it does.  
2. Identify the type of structure (design) under which the company currently operates.  
3. A description of the problems facing the company and/or areas in which a structural change would help the operations. If there are none that you can identify, explain in detail how the company is structured including (but not limited to) management hierarchy, information flow, customer interaction, and speed of response to both customer needs and the external environment.  
4. Based on current organizational theories (from the textbook), describe how the identified problems affect the operation.  ANIZATON THEORY & DESIGN Richard L. Daft
5. Based on current organizational theories, provide a detailed proposal for correcting the current issues. The proposal will not only identify the proposed solutions but also support those solutions with convincing explanations of why the solutions would be effective and the anticipated results. The proposed solutions should draw on concepts presented in the book and outside resources (not copied but with your own words).  
If your company has no problems as mentioned in paragraph #3, identify at least two possible structural or design changes and how each of those changes would affect the company’s operation in at least two different areas (for each change).

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

First, choose a pair of companies from the following list: 
1. Bloomingdales and Nordstrom (keyword: high-end women’s shoes) 
2. Comcast and Verizon (keyword: cable television) 
3. Teleflora and 1800flowers (keyword: flowers) 
4. CVS and Walgreens (keyword: pharmacy) 
5. Groupon and LivingSocial (keyword: daily deals and coupons) 

Then, read the following two articles about recent trends in e-commerce: 
http://tech.co/web-design-trends-ecommerce-2016-01 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aj-agrawal/5-ecommerce-trends-in-201_b_9204022.html  

Finally, visit the two websites for the pair of companies that you selected. Review the range of information resources and services used in the sites and the ways in which they are organized, designed, and presented. Analyze the website and the website’s e-commerce capabilities and answer the following questions: 

1. Compare and contrast the two websites. Which is more aesthetically pleasing and why? Which is more functional and user friendly and why?

2. Are either of the websites utilizing any of the e-commerce trends identified in the articles? If so, list them and explain. 

3. Which e-business tools for connecting and communicating (email, IMing, podcasting, videoconferencing, web conferencing) are the websites using (if any)? If they aren’t using any, are there any you think they should use? Explain.

4. Type in the keyword listed beside your chosen pair of companies above into your favorite search engine(google, yahoo, bing, etc.). Does it appear that these websites are using search engine optimization (SEO)? Which company is doing a better job of SEO(which is higher on your list of results)?

5. Are either of the websites generating revenues though one of the revenue generation methods (popup ads, banner ads)? As a consumer, do you like seeing advertisements for other websites when shopping? Explain.