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Paper Instructions:

Amazon has exploited several opportunities on the Internet to attract customers and increase revenues. Amazon uses the Internet to attract customers by offering a huge resource of millions of books. A large physical bookstore, in contrast, carries fewer than 100,000 titles. Amazon also uses the Internet to customize service to the individual. Amazon′s software allows it to develop and maintain customer relations by recommending books based on customer purchase history, sending reminders at holiday time, and permitting customers to review and comment on books. New titles are quickly introduced and made available online, whereas a brick-and-mortar bookstore chain must distribute and stock the titles prior to sale. Amazon takes advantage of other Internet attributes: online ordering and 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week availability. To this Amazon adds delivery to the customer′s door. Topics/Questions that should be covered in the essay: History and background of the company. What are the advantages and disadvantages of selling products over the Internet? Give examples of companies that have been faced with advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, describe their challenges and the methods used to overcome challenges. If books can be downloaded online, how will Amazon′s business change? What methods could be used to forecast inventory and facility cost? What types of inventory methods does Amazon use? Would ABC Analysis be the best inventory method? Explain. What inventory method would you use? Explain. Why would the other inventory methods not be the most beneficial? What other products could Amazon sell that are downloadable? Give examples and reasons Amazon would be successful. What challenges would they have to overcome? What recent projects has Amazon started? What do traditional bookstores have to gain from setting up an e-commerce site to complement their retail stores? How does this impact on-hand inventory? What are Amazon’s competitors and how are they dealing with inventory cost and control? Can they compete with Amazon 10-15 years from now? Why or why not? What are some of Amazon’s best practices that help establish the company as a leader in their field? What are some best practices for managing inventory (be sure to include reference)? How does the company’s initial mission and philosophy align with how Amazon has grown and developed over the years? Your essay should be at least 3-4 pages.

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Paper Instructions:

Product safety has become a hot topic for businesses around the world. The point for product safety is to keep the consumers safe. There is also an expectation of product quality and essentially profits to be made for the business.

How does the company factor all these competing responsibilities and still hold the consumer responsible for their proper product use for safety effectiveness?
Please no citations or references. Only one paragraph. Please end the paragraph with a question and the answer.

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Paper Instructions:

Discuss three important practices of Human Resources (such as hiring, rewards systems, training etc.) and their impact/value to an organization.

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Paper Instructions:

What type of information might you seek from an HR specialist or generalist when designing an HRIS?
Provide insight into the benefit of doing so.
What type of information might you seek from an expert in information technologies when designing an HRIS?
Provide insight into the benefit of doing so.
What is a potential drawback to attempting to design an HRIS without integrating the input or feedback from line managers?

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Paper Instructions:

You are in the role of project manager for a coffee franchise global expansion project. You plan to expand into two different countries. The magnitude of the project requires you to prepare for the project kickoff meeting and business negotiations with the project team who are potential partners from Mexico and China. You understand that these cultures are vastly different. They have different business customs, social protocols, and languages, so conducting business with each country requires a customized approach.

To prepare for your first outreach effort with each country, analyze the cultural similarities and differences that exist between the countries and the United States using Geert Hofstede's Six Cultural Dimensions (link here and below) as discussed in the assignment notes, chats, etc. Note that the two countries are characterized by collectivism while the United States has an individualist culture.

Once you have done your research, compare and contrast each country according to your findings. Discuss the implications of the relative cultural dimensions based on what you read related to Hofsteds from the web site. How might they impact managing the global expansion project? Remember that you are adapting your approach from a United States point of view. (400-600 words).

This assignment lays the foundation for IP4, where you will apply your findings to forming an effective global team.

Step One:

Visit Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions

Step Two:

Create a country comparison using the United States in first dropdown menu box to see the values for the six cultural dimensions. After selecting the United States, a second country can be chosen in the second dropdown menu box. Keep the United States in the first box and then repeat for each country (Mexico and China) involved in the fast food expansion project to see a comparison of their scores.

Step Three:

Using your findings:

Explain Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
Using the United States as a basis for comparison, evaluate each country's similarities and differences relative to the franchise business deployment.
Discuss the implications for your initial communications within each country.  For example, what is the impact of collectivism relative to individualism regarding management communication? 

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Paper Instructions:

For the company you selected for Phase I of your Project, develop a comprehensive plan to address:

Organizational strategy and its relationship to organizational goals.
Organizational attributes in relation to the organization and coordination of work structures and work processes.
Bureaucracy, hierarchy and organizational structure.
Organizational controls, rules, policies, and procedures.
Explain how operations technology influences the organizational design of the company.
Discuss the impact of environmental richness, environmental interdependence, and environmental uncertainty and volatility on organizational design.
Describe how network organizations and alliances enable organizational designs to co-evolve with the environment.
In answering these questions, it is important that you demonstrate a clear relationship to the internal and external environmental factors of the organization described in Phase 2.

You also need to include recommendations based on applicable theories of motivation, job design, and leadership practices and theories of “organizational design for strategic competence” as discussed.

Format: APA academic paper style, using bullets, subtitles, and references. 3-4 pages (900 words not counting titles and citations).

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Paper Instructions:

For this project, you will select one of the major chapter titles or subtitles of this course or a topic provided in the ‘HR Major Project (HRP) Report Topics’ listed under course documents and answer the questions presented below. The HRP should consist of a separate cover page, a 9 page narrative report, as well as, an additional bibliography. See specific instructions below.


1.  Select a major topic. Describe your interest in this topic (i.e., why did you choose this topic) and what you hope to gain from increasing your knowledge about this topic.



2.  What is a current/future trend or controversial topic within the major topic area? Describe the current trend or controversial topic within the major area. Offer support for why this is considered either a current/future trend or controversial area.  


Note: This paragraph frames the rest of your paper. Make sure you provide sufficient support for why a certain topic is either a current (or future) trend and/or controversial.


3.What impact will this trend or controversial topic have on the HR function of an organization? For example, consider how the trend or controversial topic will impact responsibilities of the HR area within an organization, employees, and the entire organization in terms of competitive advantage, employee satisfaction, heath/safety/wellness, etc. B. Writing Style & FormatModern Language Association (MLA) Standards (IF USING APA STYLE, MAKE ADJUSTMENTS)Modern Language Association (MLA) standards for format, citing, and documentation of references etc. are detailed below and at the MLA General Guidelines website:  Modern Language Association. 


1.  Papers must be typed on a computer and printed on standard white paper 8.5 inches by 11 inches, portrait.2.  The text of the paper must be double-spaced using Times New Roman, 12 point only.3.  Leave only one space after periods and other punctuation marks.4.  The margins of the document must be one inch on all sides.  Paragraphs are to be indented one-half inch from the left margin (five spaces or press “Tab” once).
5.  All pages are to be numbered consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top, and flush with the right margin.6.  Use either italics or underlining consistently throughout the document for the titles of longer works and, only when necessary, to provide emphasis.7.  Endnotes are to be on a separate page before the Works Cited page

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Paper Instructions:

China-U.S. Trade War

Write a 6-page paper on the trade war between China and the U.S.”. In this paper you are expected to critically analyze this event and discuss its potential impact on globalization and world trade.

This paper must be in APA format with appropriate quotes and references. Include a cover page and a Reference page, neither of which counts toward the 6 pages. The format for this paper and relative weighting towards the assignment grade is as follows:

Review of Situation (15%)
Analysis (25%)
Potential Impact (25%)
Conclusions (20%)

It is highly recommended that you organize your paper according to these topics. Writing and following APA formatting will contribute to 15% of the grade.

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Paper Instructions:

Pastas R Us, Inc. is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in noodle-based dishes, soups, and salads. Since its inception, the business development team has favored opening new restaurants in areas (within a 3-mile radius) that satisfy the following demographic conditions:

Median age between 25 – 45 years old
Household median income above national average
At least 15% college educated adult population


Last year, the marketing department rolled out a Loyalty Card strategy to increase sales. Under this program, customers present their Loyalty Card when paying for their orders and receive some free food after making 10 purchases.



The company has collected data from its 74 restaurants to track important variables such as average sales per customer, year-on-year sales growth, sales per sq. ft., Loyalty Card usage as a percentage of sales, and others. A key metric of financial performance in the restaurant industry is annual sales per sq. ft. For example, if a 1200 sq. ft. restaurant recorded $2 million in sales last year, then it sold $1,667 per sq. ft.



Executive management wants to know whether the current expansion criteria can be improved. They want to evaluate the effectiveness of the Loyalty Card marketing strategy and identify feasible, actionable opportunities for improvement. As a member of the analytics department, you’ve been assigned the responsibility of conducting a thorough statistical analysis of the company’s available database to answer executive management’s questions.



Report: 

Write a 750-word statistical report that includes the following sections:

Section 1: Scope and descriptive statistics
Section 2: Analysis
Section 3: Recommendations and Implementation


Section 1 - Scope and descriptive statistics

State the report’s objective.
Discuss the nature of the current database. What variables were analyzed?
Summarize your descriptive statistics findings from Excel. Use a table and insert appropriate graphs.


Section 2 - Analysis 

Using Excel, create scatter plots and display the regression equations for the following pairs of variables:
“BachDeg%” versus “Sales/SqFt”
“MedIncome” versus “Sales/SqFt”
“MedAge” versus “Sales/SqFt”
“LoyaltyCard(%)” versus “SalesGrowth(%)”
In your report, include the scatter plots. For each scatter plot, designate the type of relationship observed (increasing/positive, decreasing/negative, or no relationship) and determine what you can conclude from these relationships.


Section 3: Recommendations and implementation

Based on your findings above, assess which expansion criteria seem to be more effective.Could any expansion criterion be changed or eliminated? If so, which one and why?
Based on your findings above, does it appear as if the Loyalty Card is positively correlated with sales growth? Would you recommend changing this marketing strategy?
Based on your previous findings, recommend marketing positioning that targets a specific demographic. (Hint: Are younger people patronizing the restaurants more than older people?)
Indicate what information should be collected to track and evaluate the effectiveness of your recommendations. How can this data be collected? (Hint: Would you use survey/samples or census?)
Cite references to support your assignment

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Paper Instructions:



Case Study 2- Keurig: From David to Goliath: The Challenge of Gaining and Maintaining Marketplace Leadership C-87 (Case appendix)

Welcome to the capstone case writing exercise which is unique by itself in its design and implementation/ compliance. 
First you have to read the contents of the text that begins with Part 4: Case Studies which starts after p. 442 of your textbook. 

In the case studies list, you will see almost 30 cases. But we only need two cases for this capstone class because of paucity of time (7wks only). Otherwise the total capstone experience would have been on case studies and analysis alone. 

The author’s instruction on preparing an effective case analysis is on pp. C4-C12 "Preparing an Effective Case Analysis" and you must be thoroughly read all of it. This gives you a detailed instruction to what to expect from in class case discussions. Please read carefully pages. You will have to conform to the exact standard set forth in this article titled, preparing an effective case analysis.

While preparing a written case presentation you must provide the following

strategic profile and case analysis purpose 
situation analysis
general environmental analysis 
industry analysis
competitor analysis
internal analysis
identification of environmental opportunities (generally known as SWOT analysis)
strategy formulation
strategic alternative implementation
and the process issues (for logical consistency) 
For purposes of case writing, you should not limit your analysis to facts in the  the case rather, in starting your analysis use Appendix ! sources of industry and competitor analysis in the form of abstracts and indices that you must refer to, to make your analysis appropriately succinct.

Also, Appendix 2, you will find that the author gives you the financial analysis example formulas with different ratios that are applicable to the case analysis. You should uncover from abstract and indices these numerical formulas and facts, in order to determine whether the company that you are critiquing is up to the mark on not, in your opinion. Such profitability ratios are important indices for your understanding of capstone case analysis.

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Paper Instructions:

Identify the major stakeholders in your organization (or one with which you are familiar). Analyze the top-management structure, investigate and enumerate the code of ethics (written or not written), and explain the ethical stance of all stakeholders involved in the organization. Identify the relationship among any reward systems and organizational goals and what positive or negative effect there is on employee productivity. Cite concepts and ideas from theunit readings to compliment your work.

Format your essay consistent with APA guidelines, and use at least one scholarly source from the CSU Online Library. Your essay should be two pagesin length, not including the title page or reference page. All sources usedmust be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanyingin-text citations in the proper APA format

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Paper Instructions:

Al-Haddad & Kotnour (2015) describes the change models of Kotter and Lewin. In an essay, compare and contrast these change models or any other early research that focuses on individual behaviors and resistance to change.
1. Explain each step of the change model.
2. Compare and contrast each modelof change.
3. Explain the impact of eachmodel on implementing change and resistance to change.

Your essay should be three pages in length, not including the title page orreference page. Cite at least one scholarly article from the CSU Online Library (not including the referenced case study article). You must accompany all referenced, paraphrased, and quoted material and sources used within-text citations in the proper APA format.