1. What is PDCA? And briefly say how it works in a Restaurant?                           
2. Outline the 7 Management Principles according to ISO 9001:2015                   

• What is the NLRB? What is it and what is it's role?

• "Fair labor standards Act". Provide an overview.

• "Espoused" versus "in use" cultural values. Define these terms. Why are these terms important to organizations/HR?

• Please answer all of them in details

How much would you be willing to pay for a 10-year ordinary annuity if the payments are $500 per year and the interest rate is 6.25% compounded annually ?

Evaluate in detail, with the use of practical examples, the advantages and disadvantages
of a transformational leader.Evaluate in detail, with the use of practical examples, the advantages and disadvantages
of a transformational leader.

The High Price of Efficiency has proven to offer a particularly prescient warning before the current crisis emerged and the subsequent breakdown in many global supply chains. Using the recommendation for building resilience offered in the article, look at an industry of your choice that is hit hard by the crisis and offer a plan forward, explaining the industry-specific actions required to follow the steps recommended in the article.

High price efficiency

•The single-minded pursuit of efficiency makes businesses less resilient

•Businesses that are consistently more efficient can game the market

•Industries then consolidate around a single dominant business model, leading to a high risk of catastrophic failure

•Resilience demands policy initiatives that limit scale, introduce friction, promote patient capital, create good jobs and teach for resilience

Role Play Question.

Bob is a mechanical engineer and drafting supervisor for a company that designs and manufactures chip-making equipment for the semiconductor industry. Bob is upset because he was promised, and expected training in new drafting software. The draftsmen who worked for Bob were trained but he was not. (Training is expensive $4,000.00 per person). Susan, his boss needed to get the budget down, and knowing that Bob is a ‘nice guy,’ figured he probably wouldn’t mind so much if he wasn’t trained. Bob is also highly intelligent, and Susan determined that he could figure out the new software on his own. As it turned out, Bob did mind. In fact, he became disgruntled and unmotivated.

He decided to talk to you, a top manager at the organization (Susan’s boss). What should you say to him?

HR Management

Walmart’s Global Strategy

Walmart’s international division has an important job. With 80% of the retail industry’s growth coming from outside of the United States, WalMart international’s $137 billion in international sales in 2014 -  29% of sales overall - is a key driver of overall revenue growth. To drive this performance, David Cheesewright, CEO of WalMart’s international division, is focusing on current operations in growth markets and e-commerce.

Shopping trends indicate that what customers buy is changing fast, and that they are quickly switching to online shopping platforms. After decades of work trying to develop a foundation in the Chinese market, Walmart is consolidating its portfolio of stores in that country, closing nonperforming retail stores and investing in successful ones. To enter the Chinese e-grocery market, Walmart holds a 51% stake in Yihaodian, which has posted triple-digit growth—twice the market rate.

The company’s operations in Brazil and Mexico are experiencing slowing growth, in part a result of economic cycles and their brand’s lifecycle, but they still offer the opportunity to develop strong, mature

businesses. International expansion comes with country specific challenges. After experiencing too many regulatory difficulties in India, Walmart canceled plans to open retail stores there. Instead, Walmart India is focusing on business-to-business sales.

Although Walmart has successfully dominated the U.S. market, it has found that expanding its reach across the globe does not always fit with its strengths. In addition, navigating the variety of economic and regulatory requirements across different countries adds significant complexity to the company’s operations. Finally, gaining access to and managing workforces with different values, cultures, and languages present tremendous challenges.

1)    What strategies should a company use to determine which countries it should expand into?

2)    How can a company assess how cultural and economic differences might impact its ability to succeed in different countries?

3)    What things can companies do to manage a global workforce more effectively.

How to best way to explain Job Requirement Matrices for HR/director position

lululemon athletica, Inc. in 2020: How to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic?

It is April 17, 2020, and the Board of Directors of lululemon athletica, Inc. has employed you as a crisis consultant to assess the company’s overall situation during the COVID-19 Pandemic and recommend a set of specific, measurable and rapid actions for the company to take to quickly restore the company to health and outstanding performance. Please prepare a report to lululemon’s board of directors that makes a list of action recommendations that the company needs to follow into order to put the company back on track in Fiscal 2021.

As of April 17, 2020, the Chief Financial Officer for lululemon has just resigned, and is leaving the company on May 8, 2020. Further, the company’s physical stores in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia are currently closed. Writing to the company’s stakeholders worldwide, Chief Executive Officer Calvin McDonald had the following to say:

The impact of Covid-19 is difficult to process as we navigate the uncertainty of the situation on a daily basis. People are the heart of lululemon, and through this period, we are committed to doing right by our teams, guests, and global communities.

Your assignment as the company’s crisis consultant is to make recommendations to ensure the success of lululemon through the crisis and to restore the company to physical and financial soundness in Fiscal 2021.
Question:
Your report should be prepared as a three page Executive Summary of Recommendations. Your recommendations should be specific and be clearly supported by your analysis of the company’s financial situation. You may supplement your 3-page summary with an appendix that contains (a) an analysis of the company’s financial statements and/or pro-forma financial projections and (b) other appendices that you consider appropriate. You may also include a table of References to sources that you use in your Executive Summary.

Notes:

• Three pages MAXIMUM for your Executive Summary of Recommendations. This three-page maximum does not include any Appendices or the Reference list.

• It is required that you cite your sources in your recommendations and provide a reference list in your appendices.

• Please use the Executive Summary template that is provided to make your report.

(Example of how to do):

Company Name> Executive Summary

Recommendations:

1.

2.

3.

Appendix

Appendix

References:

In detail discuss, with the use of practical examples, FOUR (4) management styles and
the potential impact each style may have on a business.

UPS COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

United Parcel Service (UPS) started out in 1907 in a closet-sized basement office. Jim Casey and Claude Ryan—two teenagers from Seattle with two bicycles and one phone—promised the “best service and lowest rates.” UPS has used this formula successfully for more than a century to become the world’s largest ground and air package-delivery company. It’s a global enterprise with nearly 400,000 employees, 96,000 vehicles, and the world’s ninth largest airline.

Today UPS delivers 16.3 million packages and documents each day in the United States and more than 220 other countries and territories. The firm has been able to maintain leadership in small-package delivery services despite stiff competition from FedEx and Airborne Express by investing heavily in advanced information technology. UPS spends more than $1 billion each year to maintain a high level of customer service while keeping costs low and streamlining its overall operations.

It all starts with the scannable bar-coded label attached to a package, which contains detailed information about the sender, the destination, and when the package should arrive. Customers can download and print their own labels using special software provided by UPS or by accessing the UPS Web site. Before the package is even picked up, information from the “smart” label is transmitted to one of UPS’s computer centers in Mahwah, New Jersey, or Alpharetta, Georgia and sent to the distribution center nearest its final destination.

Dispatchers at this center download the label data and use special software to create the most efficient delivery route for each driver that considers traffic, weather conditions, and the location of each stop. In 2009, UPS began installing sensors in its delivery vehicles that can capture the truck’s speed and location, the number of times it’s placed in reverse and whether the driver’s seat belt is buckled. At the end of each day, these data are uploaded to a UPS central computer and analyzed. By combining GPS information and data from fuel-efficiency sensors installed on more than 46,000 vehicles in 2011, UPS reduced fuel consumption by 8.4 million gallons and cut 85 million miles off its routes. UPS estimates that saving only one daily mile driven per driver saves the company $30 million.

The first thing a UPS driver picks up each day is a handheld computer called a Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD), which can access a wireless cell phone network. As soon as the driver logs on, his or her day’s route is downloaded onto the handheld. The DIAD also automatically captures customers’ signatures along with pickup and delivery information. Package tracking information is then transmitted to UPS’s computer network for storage and processing. From there, the information can be accessed worldwide to provide proof of delivery to customers or to respond to customer queries. It usually takes less than 60 seconds from the time a driver presses “complete” on a the DIAD for the new information to be available on the Web.

Through its automated package tracking system, UPS can monitor and even re-route packages throughout the delivery process. At various points along the route from sender to receiver, bar code devices scan shipping information on the package label and feed data about the progress of the package into the central computer. Customer service representatives are able to check the status of any package from desktop computers linked to the central computers and respond immediately to inquiries from customers. UPS customers can also access this information from the company’s Web site using their own computers or mobile phones. UPS now has mobile apps and a mobile Web site for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android smartphone users.

Anyone with a package to ship can access the UPS Web site to track packages, check delivery routes, calculate shipping rates, determine time in transit, print labels, and schedule a pickup. The data collected at the UPS Web site are transmitted to the UPS central computer and then back to the customer after processing. UPS also provides tools that enable customers, such Cisco Systems, to embed UPS functions, such as tracking and cost calculations, into their own Web sites so that they can track shipments without visiting the UPS site.

A Web-based Post Sales Order Management System (OMS) manages global service orders and inventory for critical parts fulfillment. The system enables high-tech electronics, aerospace, medical equipment, and other companies anywhere in the world that ship critical parts to quickly assess their critical parts inventory, determine the most optimal routing strategy to meet customer needs, place orders online, and track parts from the warehouse to the end user.

An automated e-mail or fax feature keeps customers informed of each shipping milestone and can provide notification of any changes to flight schedules for commercial airlines carrying their parts. UPS is now leveraging its decades of expertise managing its own global delivery network to manage logistics and supply chain activities for other companies. It created a UPS Supply Chain Solutions division that provides a complete bundle of standardized services to subscribing companies at a fraction of what it would cost to build their own systems and infrastructure. These services include supply-chain design and management, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, mail services, multimodal transportation, and financial services, in addition to logistics services.

For example, UPS handles logistics for Lighting Science Group, the world’s leading maker of advanced light products such as energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lamps and custom design lighting systems. The company has manufacturing operations in Satellite Beach, Florida and China. UPS conducted a warehouse/distribution analysis to shape the manufacturer’s distribution strategy, in which finished goods from China are brought to a UPS warehouse in Fort Worth, Texas, for distribution. The UPS warehouse repackages finished goods, handles returns and conducts daily cycle counts as well as annual inventory. Lighting Science uses UPS Trade Management Services and UPS Customs Brokerage to help manage import and export compliance to ensure timely, reliable delivery and reduce customs delays. UPS also helps Lighting Science reduce customer inventory and improve order fulfillment.

UPS manages logistics and international shipping for Celaris, the world’s largest wireless accessory vendor, selling mobile phone cases, headphones, screen protectors, and chargers. Cellaris has nearly 1,000 franchises in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company’s supply chain is complex, with products developed in Georgia, manufactured at more than 25 locations in Asia and 10 locations in the U.S., warehoused in a Georgia distribution center, and shipped to franchisees and customers worldwide. UPS redesigned Celaris’s inbound/outbound supply chain and introduced new services to create a more efficient shipping model.

UPS Buyer Consolidation for International Air Freight reduces complexity in dealing with multiple international manufacturing sources. UPS Worldwide Express Freight guarantees on-time service for critical freight pallet shipments and UPS Customs Brokerage enables single-source clearance for multiple transportation modes. These changes have saved Celaris more than 5,000 hours and $500,000 annually, and the supply chain redesign alone has saved more than 15 percent on shipments.

2. What was the strategy of UPS, and how did the information systems support the company in achieving its strategy?
3. If you are the manager of UPS what are the main opportunities you could use to ensure the success of the information system?  

Q2. A warehouse facilitates the reduction of the order cycle time of raw materials or consumer goods required for a factory or retail outlet respectively.

Please explain how this is achieved. (30marks)

- Reduce travel time.

- Shift resources around the facility to the areas of the most activity.

- Throttle orders to areas that are underutilized and which have idle resources.

- Implement technology that will prevent stock outs and prioritize replenishments before they occur.

Q1)      For each of the four departments (human resource management, e.g. Do we have enough of right talent, skill, and experience ?), (production and distribution, e.g. Can we create product or service within that time, with such product characteristics, at that quality and cost ?) (marketing and sales, e.g. satisfy customers, which customers ? which do you lose while trying to attract which else ? who do we target, general or niche, what do customers demand ??) (accounting and finance, e.g. profitability ? market share ? reputation ? budget constraints ? price wars ? risky investments ?), give examples of DSS decisions made by the middle managers of ...................... .

Q2)      For each of the above four departments, give examples of MIS reports used by the middle managers of ...................... and explain where such reports would be used.

When engaging in cross-cultural communication, there are six (6) fundamental patterns of culture differences. Explain five (5) of them and provide appropriate examples in your response.