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Using Porter’s characteristics, describe the interfirm rivalry
in the chocolate industry. What are the strengths/weaknesses of Rogers’ Chocolates major competitors?

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Budweiser and Coors enjoy the highest market share of the U.S. beer market. Corona, however, has managed to carve out a respectable market share by appealing to a certain segment of the market. Discuss Corona's segmentation strategy and offer your own example of a company that has a successful segmentation strategy.

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Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – Potable Drinking Water Tan

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Headquarters, New York, New York. With medical costs rising 10 to 15 percent per year, one of the members of your Board of Directors mentioned that some companies are now refusing to hire smokers and that the board should discuss this option at the next month’s meeting. Nationwide, about 6,000 companies refuse to hire smokers. Weyco, an employee benefits company in Okemos, Michigan, requires all applicants to take a nicotine test. Weyco’s CFO says, “We’re not saying people can’t smoke. We’re just saying they can’t smoke and work here. As an employee-benefits company, we need to take a leadership role in helping people understand the cost impact of smoking.” The Cleveland Clinic, one of the top hospitals in the United States, doesn’t hire smokers. Paul Terpeluk, the director of corporate and employee health, says that all applicants are tested for nicotine and that 250 people have lost job opportunities because they smoke. The Massachusetts Hospital Association also refuses to hire smokers. The company’s CEO says, “Smoking is a personal choice, and as an employer I have a personal choice within the law about who we hire and who we don’t.”


As indicated by your board member, costs are driving the trend not to hire smokers. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a smoker costs about $4,000 more a year to employ because of increased health-care costs and lost productivity. Breaking that down, a smoker will have 50 percent higher absenteeism, and, when present, will work 39 fewer minutes per day because of smoke breaks, which leads to 1,817 lost hours of annual productivity. A smoker will have higher accident rates, cause $1,000 a year in property damage (from cigarette burns and smoke damage), and will cost up to $5,000 more a year for annual insurance premiums. John Banzhaf, executive director of an antismoking group in Washington, and a law professor at George Washington University, says, “Smoking is the biggest factor in controllable health-care costs.”


Although few would disagree about the costs, others argue it is wrong not to hire smokers. Jay Whitehead, publisher of a magazine for human resources managers, says, “There is discrimination at many companies—and maybe even most companies—against people who smoke.” Even if applicants aren’t asked whether they smoke, it “doesn't mean that hiring managers turn off their sense of smell.” Paul Sherer, a smoker who was fired less than a week after taking a new job, says, “Not hiring smokers affects millions of people and puts them in the same category as women able to bear children, that is, people who contribute to higher health-care costs. It's unfair.” Law professor Don Garner believes that not hiring smokers is “an overreaction on the part of employers whose interest is cutting costs. If someone has the ability to do the job, he should get it. What you do in your home is your own business. … Not hiring smokers is ‘respiratory apartheid.’”


With the meeting just a month away, you have to prepare for the Board of Directors’ questions. For example, on what basis should the company decide whether to hire smokers? Should the decision be based on what is in the best interest of the firm, what the law allows, or what affirms and respects individual rights? The Board is interested in making good decisions for the company, but “doing the right thing” is also one of its core values. Next, is this an issue of ethics or social responsibility? Ethical decision-making is concerned with doing right and avoiding wrong, whereas social responsibility is a business’s obligation to pursue policies, make decisions, and take actions that benefit society. Finally, given that it so much cheaper not to hire smokers, the board will want to know whether refusing to hire smokers is a form of discrimination.








Consider yourself a consultant to the decision maker – what would you suggest is a good decision and why?


Frame your reply as a letter to “The Decision Maker” – the substance of the letter should not be more than 300 words. Make sure to consider the decision making and critical thinking process.





Sources:


S. Azfzal, “Smokers Need Not Apply: Is Hiring Ban Trend of the Future?” The Christian Science Monitor, 17 November 2010, http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2010/1117/Smokers-need-not-apply-Is-hiring-ban-trend-of-the-future [accessed 4 March 2011]; M. Hennessy, “Right to Smoke?” CFO, February 2006, 54; M. Janofsky, “Ban on Employees Who Smoke Faces Challenges of Bias,” The New York Times, 28 April 1994, A1; M. Lecker, “The Smoking Penalty: Distributive Justice or Smokism?” Journal of Business Ethics (2009) 84: 47-64; K. Maher, “Companies Are Closing Doors On Job Applicants Who Smoke,” Wall Street Journal, 21 December 2004, B6; A. Sulzberger, “Hospitals Shift Smoking Bans to Smoker Ban,” The New York Times, 10 February 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/us/11smoking.html?_r=1&hp [accessed 4 March 2011].

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Select a company and provide an account of its operational activities. You need to identify which of these activities contribute more strongly to the creation of customer value. Further, you should discuss which aspects of the company’s operations may raise ethical or environmental concerns. 
The report should refer to the operations management concepts and theories that have been discussed throughout the course. Evidence of secondary research regarding the company’s operations should be demonstrated. You may emphasise some areas of operations more than others but you will need to justify this choice.
Advice
The word length is 3,000 words. However, deviations +/-10% from the word count are acceptable. 
Do some background research on the company before finalising your choice. You need to make sure that sufficient secondary data is available regarding different aspects of operations management at the selected company. You can choose a company from either manufacturing or service sectors. It would be useful to consider if the company is facing any difficulties or problems with its performance.
It is important to identify the environmental impacts of the company’s operations and /or any ethical issues in the supply chain. The nature of the environmental impacts depends on the products/services the company produces. For some companies emissions associated with transport may be the most pertinent issue. In other cases, it could be that concerns about recycling and waste are more relevant. Relations with suppliers and employees may raise ethical issues. 
The report does not need to have a separate theory section; however, you are expected to refer to the relevant theories when discussing aspects of the supply chain. Aim to use at least five academic references (books or peer-reviewed journal articles).

Recommended structure
•    Title page
•    Table of contents
•    Introduction: justify the choice of company and explain the objectives of the report. Provide some background information on the company and its main products/services. (no more than 400 words) 
•    Main Body:
o    -Description of the value chain activities
You need to provide an overview of the value chain from the raw materials till the product/service reaches the end customer. You may also refer to operations regarding the disposal of the product, such as recycling if appropriate. You can refer to different aspects of operations management such as product design, procurement, manufacturing, capacity planning, inventory management and quality management. However, you may emphasise the activities that are more important to the company. Use sub-headings to indicate which operations management activity you discuss.
You need to consider the value attributes and identify which activities provide more value to the customer. For instance, if customers are interested in aesthetics/fashion then product design might be an activity that is important in delivering this value attribute.
o    -Environmental impacts and /or ethical issues resulting from the production and use of the company’s products and services: 
You do not need to refer to both environmental and ethical issues. The focus of this section will vary according to the company selected.
•    Conclusion: summarise the main findings. The conclusion should not include any new information. (No more than 400 words)
•    References: Use the Harvard system. All references should be listed in alphabetical order.
Use material from this course to assess how practices taught in other courses do or do not contribute to sustainability operations. Especially, how do those practices taught elsewhere (e.g., insistence on growth and achieving financial targets, outsourcing to achieve economies of scale and lower costs, using financial incentives and personnel evaluations to achieve higher performance, etc.) help or hinder a company’s ability to operate in harmony with Earth’s capacity for regeneration and renewal?

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Find at least five articles from five different publications. Please integrate these sources and assess the best points of each in the main text. The conclusion should be your opinion, but based on the articles reviewed. 
Please avoid commercial websites or many of the sites available through Google or other general search engines. Google Scholar is acceptable.


All papers must contain: title page, introduction, main text, conclusion, and appropriate documentation of sources.  All facts, quotations, and paraphrases should be documented as to original source. The text should not exceed 7 double spaced pages in length using 10-12 point fonts. 

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Radio Frequency Identification Detection (RFID) includes technology that allows for the capture of information about items. RFID technology has implemented in many industries.


Discuss the uses of Radio Frequency Identification Detection (RFID)


Before starting this activity, read Chapter 7 of Fundamental of Information Systems and the Lecture Notes from Module 7.


Wal-mart is one of the many companies which use RFID technology. Companies attest that RFID increase the effectiveness of customer service by getting the product to the customer quicker.


However, is it cost effective for any organization?


Discuss how RFID technology has impacted the various industries.

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Relationships with suppliers have become critical to the success of businesses competing in the global market. Lateral integration, the free flow of information, and the formation of collaborative partnerships with suppliers have become key steps for improving performance. For this week's Discussion, respond to the following questions:


What competitive advantages can a lean supply strategy confer on the manufacturing industry? Explain in detail how these advantages are secured and maintained.


How can the supplier relationship be used to secure broader objectives for the organization than purely the supply of materials? Base your answer on ideas in the journal article "Use the Supply Relationship to Develop Lean and Green Suppliers.

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Application: Evaluation and Application of Thesis


Review the arguments made by Christopher and Towill in the article "Developing Market Specific Supply Chain Strategies." Evaluate their thesis that there are three feasible pipeline designs for supply chains. Apply these ideas, together with any relevant concepts covered in your reading and research this week, in order to explain how one or more of these pipeline designs for supply management would fit with the strategy of global electronics company Hewlett-Packard to optimize materials and product flows. You will need to conduct independent research concerning relevant operational methods and issues at Hewlett-Packard, known for its supply chain success.


Your task is to prepare a 3- to 5-page research paper using practitioner and scholarly resources from this week's readings and the Walden library, fully documented and cited in APA format.

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Business skills for proposals and pitches

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Aquaman is president of a marine research company called "Underwater Leagues, Inc." On April 1, the research director of Underwater Leagues tells Aquaman that they've come up with "Oxygum," a means of breathing underwater by chewing a special kind of gum. Aquaman knows a great product when he hears it.


He delays announcing the invention to the public so that he can buy all the stock he can get his hands on. He buys 50,000 shares of Underwater Leagues, at $10 a share. After the announcement, the share price skyrockets to $50 per share. 

a) If the shareholders bring a derivative action against Aquaman, what federal law should they accuse Aquaman of having violated (i.e., which federal statute)? 

b) Did Aquaman actually violate that statute? Explain. 

c) If Aquaman were found to have violated that statute, what remedy would the shareholders be able to seek (i.e., how much money would Aquaman be liable for)? 

For this assignment, please use federal case and statutory law since the issues are SEC (federal) issues.

An IRAC-style essay IS appropriate for this assignment for part (b). Part (a) can be answered in one phrase, while part (c) may take up to a few sentences and a case or statutory citation.

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Compatibility of the tax regime of Alpha with the WTO rules.

Country Alpha applies an excise tax regime on alcoholic beverages which distinguishes between alcoholic beverages depending on the raw materials used in the distillation process. For the purpose of the excise tax, spirits are dived into four categories: 1) spirits obtained from fruit; 2) spirits obtained from cereals; 3) spirits obtained from wine; and 4) spirits obtained from sugar cane. The tax rates applicable to the four categories vary depending on the net resale price of a 750 ml bottle of the spirit in question. As a result, the different spirits are subject to the following tax: Spirits obtained from fruit: €3 Spirits obtained from cereals €4 Spirits obtained from wine: €7 Spirits obtained from sugar cane: €14 Country Beta, which is an important exporter of spirits obtained from sugar cane, is dissatisfied with the high taxes imposed on its products in Alpha and seeks your advice as to whether the tax regime of Alpha is compatible with the WTO rules. Both Alpha and Beta are WTO members. Beta also informs you that Alpha is producing spirits from fruit and cereals, whereas its production of spirits obtained from wine or sugar cane is insignificant. Please write a max 2-page brief advising your client on the compatibility of the tax regime of Alpha with the WTO rules.