Another key objective for a firm is to "Retain Human Capital".  Given this, please read the passage below and answer the 2 questions that follow.

The Blurring Boundaries Between Work and Home

One of the most interesting transformations taking place in the work place today is the rapid blurring of the boundaries between home and office. The following numbers, based on a survey of large companies that employ more than 500 employees, tell an interesting story.

¨             40 percent of large companies allow part-time telecommuting.

                ¨             16 percent of large companies offer child care centers, some even subsidized by the company.

                ¨             3 percent of large companies allow employees to bring their pets to work.

1. Do these numbers surprise you?

2. Why do you think companies permit such flexibility, even in an environment where unemployment is high?

Managing the Productivity of Human capital under various Leadership approaches

major legislation, rules or regulations when running a restaurant and bar business in Trinidad and Tobago

Customer Empowerment

Customer empowerment is a relatively recent phenomenon. Give some examples of your own consumer activity in which you experienced empowerment.

19. The majority of customers who stop patronizing a particular store do so because
a. its prices are too high
b. its quality is too low
c. an indifferent employee treated them poorly
d. it failed to advertise enough

20. Which of the following is not an element of the marketing mix?
a. Price
b. Place
c. Profit
d. Promotion
e. None. All of the above are part of the marketing mix.

21. Without a clear picture of its target market, a small company will try to reach almost everyone and usually ends up appealing to almost no one.
a. True
b. False

23. An individualized (one to one) marketing campaign requires business owners to
a. collect information on their customers, linking their identities to their transactions.
b. calculate the long term value of their customers so they know which ones are most desirable and most profitable.
c. practice "just in time marketing" by knowing what their customers' buying cycle is and time their marketing efforts to coincide with it.
d. all of the above

24. When an employee in a business treats a customer poorly, that customer usually does not complain; however, she does tell her "horror story" about that business to at least nine other people.
a. True
b. False

25. Modem consumers are more concerned about health, nutrition, and the environment than in the past, and they shop accordingly
a. True
b. False

Tweeted Complaints

Some experts are beginning to question the value of immediately responding to every tweeted complaint with something free, arguing that consumers are wise to the ways of companies and tweeting false complaints in the hopes of getting something free. Have you known anyone to do this? How do you think companies should handle tweeted complaints?

In the competitive software development market, patent protection is imperative for new products. Electronic Solutions Incorporated (ESI), where you work, has spent millions of dollars and many years developing a new software platform. While ESI has been waiting for a patent to be granted, its revenues, profits, and stock prices have slipped to an all-time low because so much time, money, and energy have been devoted to the software development effort.

You, as director of public relations, have been called to a meeting with the company president and members of the executive team. They give you the bad news: The United States Patent and Trademark Office denied ESI's application for patent on the new software platform. The executives at ESI were counting on the new software to restore the company's prestige and save the company from financial ruin. In the meeting, you also learn that this patent was ESI's last hope to avoid bankruptcy. The company attorney explains that ESI might win an appealwith the Patent and Trademark Office, but winning an appeal is a "long shot at best."

After the meeting, Mr. Mateo, the president, asks you to stay. He reminds you that your job is to "make the best of a bad situation." He tells you to write a press release about the situation. He says, "You need to write a press release reassuring employees, shareholders, and the public that everything will be fine. Make sure you include the fact that we are planning an appeal and are confident that the patent will be issued when our appeal is heard. Your responsibility is to get the positive story out there so that ESI does not fall apart."

Questions for Discussion

1. Does Mr. Mateo have the right to ask you to create a misleading press release? Should you write a release according to Mr. Mateo's instructions? Do employees, shareholders, and the public have a right to know what is happening?

2. What are your options? What could you do to try to resolve the situation?

Mini case analysis    

Summarize the creative aspects of the “Save a Life” effort at the end of Chapter 9. What makes this effort and its promotion creative?

Brainstorm on an idea for a new commercial that would extend the campaign’s theme and develop this new Big Idea as a proposal to present to your instructor.

How does global health relate to primary care clinic and clinic mangament?

1. With a focus on the resource-based view of the firm discussion in Chapter 3, provide four observations to support how can you justify a company like Netflix’s strategy being more focused on its resources and capabilities rather than specific customer needs?

1) What does it mean to say "IBM and Microsoft are trying to position themselves as IT utilities"? In what way? How is this an advantage?

2) How can using IT Systems create a sustainable advantage? Given a manufacturing company what are some ways IT systems can help? Provide at least 2 examples with justification.

3) Describe the function of Middleware. What is the advantage of using it?  

4) Given a medium-sized organization without a security posture. What security measures could you recommend to put them on a path for a more secure position? List at least 3 with explanations.

1. If Netflix were to diversify into the telecommunications industry, would it create value for its shareholders? Utilize the appropriate measures found in Chapter 7 that can be applied for Netflix to make up its mind and to justify your answer.

Appropriate measures: economies of scope, transaction costs, costs of corporate complexity, diversification, vertical integration and strategic manoeuvring

1. Chapter 4 addresses the nature and sources of competitive advantage. Why could other streaming companies have difficulty in copying what Netflix has done to create a competitive advantage?

1. Porter’s 5 Forces is addressed in detail in Chapter 2. Discuss why it may be limited in analyzing the industry that Netflix currently competes in and what needs to be done using observations from that industry?

Although we live in enlightened times, a recent Gallup Poll found that 15 percent of American workers still experienced some form of workplace discrimination. The study was conducted to mark the anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the creation of the EEOC.

The poll found that the two most frequently cited types of discrimination are sexual discrimination (31 percent) and discrimination based on race or ethnicity (36 percent). Also mentioned were age, disability, sexual orientation, and religion. The work areas found to be most susceptible to discrimination are promotion and pay. Being selected for a job and treatment in the workplace were also cited. Wage discrimination and sexual harassment are two big battles women continue to fight. Both topics were in the headlines in 2017; one took center stage and the other was brushed under the covers (at least for now).

Thanks to Harvey Weinstein, the topic of sexual harassment was in the spotlight, setting off a tsunami as women around the world reacted with their #MeToo stories. As the movement progressed from Hollywood, to media companies, to Capitol Hill, and finally into corporate America, the topic had a platform. From the boardroom to the factory floor, women who had been sexually harassed shared their stories.

As companies rushed to put zero-tolerance policies into place and issue new training requirements, lawsuits and class-action cases were settled more quickly, some very publicly. In August 2017, the EEOC reached a $10 million settlement with Ford motor company for sexual and racial harassment at two Chicago plants.

In contrast, little was reported on the reversal of the new regulation designed to combat the wage gap between men and women. The revised EEO-1 would have gone into effect March 31, 2018, and required companies with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees to report W-2 wage information and total hours worked for all employees. The EEO-1 form already requires employers to report data on race/ethnicity and gender.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) initiated a review and immediate stay to the U.S. EEOC “in accordance with its authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA),” reversing the regulation that had been revised on September 29, 2016.

Pay equity advocates who had supported expanded pay-data reporting were critical of the suspension. “We see through the Trump administration’s call to halt the equal pay rule that requires employers to collect and submit pay data by gender, race, and ethnicity to the government,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, D.C. “Make no mistake—it’s an all-out attack on equal pay. [It] sends a clear message to employers: if you want to ignore pay inequities and sweep them under the rug, this administration has your back.”

How important is equal pay? According to the analyses of the 2014–2016 Annual Social and Economic supplement published by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the United States economy would have produced additional income of $512.6 billion if women received equal pay; this represents 2.8 percent of 2016 gross domestic product (GDP).

In addition, poverty rates would drop from 10.8 percent to 4.4 percent, and the number of children with working mothers living in poverty would be nearly cut in half, dropping from 5.6 million to 3.1 million.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Why is workplace diversity so important in today’s business environment?
2. What are the major sources of workplace discrimination? Cite specific examples from the case.
3. What steps are companies taking to ensure that employees are not discriminated against?