"I couldn't give my boys the things their friends had, and the things I                     and their mother wanted them to have. In fact, we were poor."

Robert Jensen

age: 85

Worked 45 years in a                                                                         fabric factory

"My whole life has been pegged to the future. I tried to instill that into                   my children. None of them has followed it, unfortunately."

Tom Jensen                                                                                   Robert's son

age: 59

an accountant

"I don't believe a bit in the saying 'a penny saved is a penny earned'.                     Make megabucks, spend megabucks. I work hard to have fun."

Michael Jensen,

Tom's son

age: 27

an insurance salesman

These are real statements from a real family. Three generations of the Jensen family are all middle-class Americans, born and raised in this country. They all still live here too. Their philosophies about money, responsibility, life, and future inhabit different worlds. Write a page or so explaining those generational differences in the light of your understanding of the personal and family finance. Be clear and analytical. Express your own opinion freely because you will be judged based on how clear, organized, flowing, meaningful, convincing, and powerful your comments are.

Module 2 -Communication is essential to leadership success, but knowing how and when to use your business communication tools often takes time and practice.

Consider the following case study: You are the manager of a team of workers, and Diego is one of your employees. Before joining your department three months ago, Diego worked six months in another area. Since assigned to your unit, Diego has been repeatedly late for work or absent. Other employees are complaining. You've learned that Diego had a similar problem in the other department. Company policy states that if an employee is warned of such a problem and the behaviors continue, the individual may be given a three-day suspension without pay. One important item to consider: Diego, when he’s on the job, is a top performer and someone you definitely want to keep on the payroll. He can run circles around the other people. He just has problems with tardiness and absenteeism.

Instructions Your goal with this assignment is to create a comprehensive communication strategy to correct Diego's performance issue.You plan to schedule a face-to-face meeting with Diego to address the matter. First, you must notify Diego of the meeting via email. Next, you must plan the agenda for your face-to-face meeting with Diego. Step One: Email - Create an email for Diego to notify him of the meeting. Use Chapter 6: Formatting for Correspondence (pp. 133-147) in Business and Professional Writing: A Basic Guide by MacRae to help you format your email. For the body of your email, use Chapter 8: Bad News Letters (pp. 162-173) as your guide.

When composing your email, consider the following questions: How should you communicate the purpose of the face-to-face meeting to Diego via email? When do you feel is the best time of day and day of week to hold the meeting? Where is the most appropriate location for the meeting? Diego’s work station? Your office? Other locations? Based on your answers, include the date, time, and location for the meeting in the body of your email.

Step Two: Face-to-Face Meeting Agenda - Every successful meeting has a pre-planned agenda. Read the following guidelines on How to Conduct an Effective Disciplinary Interviewby Ruth Mayhew.

When creating your meeting agenda, consider the following questions: What outcome do you need to communicate to Diego during the meeting? What do you believe is the best course of action to handle this problem? Should you counsel Diego and issue a verbal warning? Write a formal letter of reprimand? Suspend the employee for three days without pay? Other actions? How can you clearly communicate company expectations and what you need from Diego moving forward?

According to the text, “harvesting” is a strategy which:

1. Reduces marketing costs even as a product is still being sold
2. Refers to the agriculture industry
3. Is normally an unprofitable strategy
4. Two of the above

BUSINESS LAW

4. Because intellectual property rights are governed by statute. not common law, a plaintiff who has suffered a breach of its trademark rights cannot claim the equitable remedies of an injunction or an accounting: it can only receive an order for damages

1) True

2) False

7. If an employee becomes disabled, the employer must attempt to accommodate the employee so that her employment may continue, however only up to the point of undue hardship.

1) True

2) False

15. Your brother wants to borrow $80000 from the Bank of Victoria and has asked if you would guarantee the loan. You have been told the following with regard to guarantees. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

1) As guarantor, you cannot be relieved of your obligation if the bank fails to disclose financial information in relation to your brother in the bank's possession.

2) A guarantor becomes liable on the debt as soon as the principal debtor defaults on the loan granted to him.

3) You, as guarantor cannot be relieved of your obligation if the bank does something to weaken your position-e.g., by agreeing with your brother to increase the amount without your consent.

4) If he defaulted on his payments and you had to pay the debt to the bank you would not be subrogated to the rights of the bank i.e., you would get the bank's right to sue your brother

5) A legally enforceable guarantee need not be in writing as long as it is witnessed.

27. Tim is employed as a software developer for a small company. He is assigned to head a project to develop new accounting software for an important client. The project has a strict deadline for completion: under its terms, the company must pay the client damages for every day it is late. After weeks of hard work and stress, the project is falling behind and not likely to be completed on time. One evening, while walking on the beach, Tim finds inspiration to seek a more peaceful life. The next morning, he telephones his manager to say that he is quitting immediately to live a life of quiet meditation. The manager desperately starts looking for someone to finish the project. In these circumstances, which of the following is FALSE

1) if the project is not completed on time and the client sues, the company can sue Tim for breach of contract

2) the company is legally obligated to mitigate its damages by reasonably trying to hire a replacement for Tim

3) Tim cannot be held liable because an employee does not have a duty to give notice when resigning

4) even if the Employment Standards Act does not require a minimum notice period to be given by an employee who quits, there is still a duty to give such notice in common law

5) an employee can leave at any time without notice if the employer has breached the employment contract by fundamentally changing its terms

28. Which of the following is FALSE if an inventor has her application for a patent granted:

1) She has the right to renew the period of protection at the expiry of the first period

2) She can no longer claim that the invention is a trade secret

3) She has the right to sue someone who uses the invention without her permission

4) Infringement of the patent can be a civil wrong

5) She has the exclusive right to make. use and sell the Invention for a period of 20 years

29. A secured creditor has the right upon default to:

1) Claim its contractual remedies

2) Seize the security

3) Sell the security

4) Sue the debtor rather than seize the security

5) All of the above

31. In regard to patent law, which of the following BEST describes an invention that can patented?

1) A genetically modified plant

2) An original artistic work

3) An important scientific theory

4) An idea for a new movie.

32. The Sale of Goods Act adds a number of implied terms to a sale of goods transaction. Which of the following statements is NOT an implied term under the Sale of Goods Act

1) The seller promises the buyer good title

2) The buyer is promised satisfaction or the right to get his money back

3) Goods sold by description must match the description

4) Where goods are sold by sample, the bulk of the goods must match the sample

5) The goods will be of free of liens and other eumbrances

35. Which of the following statements is FALSE in regard to "property":

1) Both real and personal property can be pledged as security to a creditor

2) Real property includes land but does not include the buildings on that land

3) Personal property includes intangible rights such as the right to receive payment of a debt

4) Personal property includes chattels

5) Real property includes "fixtures"

36. A trademark can be protected for an indefinite period of time if it is renewed every 15 years

1) True

2) False

37. Which of the following is NOT an example of a statute that protects intellectual property:

1) The Patent Act

2) The Trademark Act

3) The Copyright Act

4) The Industrial Designs Act

5) The Confidential Information Act

38. If a guarantor signs a continuing guarantee, he may continue to be bound by the guarantee even though the creditor and the debtor agree to later changes that put the guarantor at greater risk of being called upon to pay the debt.

1) True

2) False

40. Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding bankruptcy law:

1) A debtor may be insolvent without being in bankruptcy

2) A debtor who cannot pay his debts can make a voluntary assigns ent in bankruptcy

3) a debtor does not pay his debts, his creditors can force him into bankruptcy

4) A debtor is released from bankruptcy by a court order called "discharge"

5) When a debtor is released from bankruptcy. all his unpaid debts of every kind are cancelled

41. Which of the following is NOT just cause for dismissal of an employee:

1) Serious absenteeism

2) Consistently being late

3) Continual disobedience

4) Continual negligence or incompetence

5) The employer does not have enough work for the employee to do

44. Under the Sale of Goods Act, unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the purchaser of a finished good in deliverable condition bears the risk of loss from the moment the sale agreement is made, even though she will not pay for the good or take delivery until a week later.

1) True

2) False

48. Which of the following terms or documents is NOT used to determine when title or risk of loss pass to the buyer of goods:

1) Cost, insurance and freight

2) Free on board

3) Cash on delivery

4) Bill of lading

50. To which one of the following contracts would the Sale of Goods Act NOT apply:

1) A meal in a restaurant

2) The sale of a house

3) A sale of future goods when title will pass in the future

4) The purchase of a car

5) The sale of tangible personal property

Strategic Fit and Diversification in Related Businesses Read the overview below and complete the activities that follow. The purpose of diversification is to build shareholder value. Diversification builds shareholder value when a diversified group of businesses can perform better under the auspices of a single corporate parent than they would as independent, stand-alone businesses. The goal is to achieve not just a 1 + 1 = 2 result, but rather to realize important 1 + 1 = 3 performance benefits. Whether getting into a new business has the potential to enhance shareholder value hinges on whether a company’s entry into that business can pass the attractiveness test, the cost-of-entry test, and the better-off test. Entry into new businesses can take any of three forms: acquisition, internal start-up, or joint venture. The choice of which is best depends on: the firm’s resources and capabilities, the industry’s entry barriers, the importance of speed, and the relative costs. There are two fundamental approaches to diversification: into related businesses and into unrelated businesses. The rationale for related diversification is to benefit from strategic fit: Diversify into businesses with matchups along their respective value chains, and then capitalize on the strategic fit by sharing or transferring the resources and capabilities across matching value chain activities to gain competitive advantage. Unrelated diversification strategies surrender the competitive advantage potential of strategic fit at the value chain level in return for the potential that can be realized from superior corporate parenting or the sharing and transfer of generalized resources and capabilities. An outstanding corporate parent can benefit its businesses through (1) providing high-level oversight and making available other corporate resources, (2) allocating financial resources across the business portfolio, and (3) restructuring underperforming acquisitions. Case: See if you can identify the value chain relationships that make the businesses of the following companies related in competitively relevant ways. In particular, you should consider whether there are cross-business opportunities for (1) transferring skills and technology, (2) combining related value chain activities to achieve economies of scope, and/or (3) leveraging the use of a well-respected brand name or other resources that enhance differentiation. Bloomin’ Brands Outback Steakhouse Carrabba’s Italian Grill Roy’s Restaurant (Hawaiian fusion cuisine) Bonefish Grill (market-fresh fine seafood) Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar L’Oréal Maybelline, Lancôme, Helena Rubinstein cosmetics L’Oréal, Garnier, and SoftSheen-Carson hair care products Redken, Matrix, L’Oréal Professional, Kiehl’s, and Kérastase professional hair care and skin care products Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, and Giorgio Armani fragrances La Roche-Posay, Vichy Laboratories, Dermablend, and SkinCeuticals dermocosmetics Johnson & Johnson Baby products (powder, shampoo, oil, lotion) Band-Aids and other first-aid products Women’s health and personal care products Neutrogena, Lubriderm, and Aveeno skincare products Nonprescription drugs (Tylenol, Motrin, Pepcid AC, Mylanta, Benadryl) Prescription drugs Oral health care (Listerine, Rembrandt) Nutritionals (Splenda, Lactaid) Prosthetic and other medical devices Surgical and hospital products Vision care (Acuvue contact lenses, Visine)

List and describe the cross-business opportunities for transferring skills or technology that exist with the business lineups of Bloomin' Brands, L'Oreal, and Johnson & Johnson.

Read and review the Module 2 content before responding to this discussion. Please choose one of the questions below and provide a 3-5 sentence response. What are the differences between a summary, a direct quote, and a paraphrase? Provide an example of all three - a summary, a direct quote, and a paraphrase. Where can academic sources be found to assist you in locating valid outside sources for academic writing? What resources are available to help students avoid plagiarism and how can these resources help students uphold academic integrity?

What are the organizational structure of MNCs? Describe them by the company case study and draw the figures of structure.

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

Once the strategies are in place, employees must support the strategies. Discuss the critical soft skills for success in global roles. What are the methods for acquiring employees with those “soft skills?

Identify three voluntary benefits an employer can provide to employees, describing the benefit and indicating why it is important to employees. Indicate how these benefits can assist and organization is attracting and/or retaining employees.

analysis of differences between US national companies. USA at the competitive level, marketing, national and international trade laws, social media influence among China's international companies at the competitive level, marketing, domestic and international trade laws.

Effective managers stay abreast of current HR topics. Here are a few....... global HRM, labor relations, social media, whistleblower rules, e-HRM/self-service the knowledge economy, outsourcing pros and cons, managing four different generations in the workforce, increasing age of the workforce, employee privacy, the glass ceiling, implications of baby boomer retirements, immigration, social responsibility, elder care, executive pay, and alternative work arrangements. Select three topics from the list above (or choose other current topics that are not included). Research each topic. For each of your three chosen topics, provide a bulleted list of four or five relevant points that you believe have significance for line managers.