1) How does information and knowledge management link to competitive advantage? Discuss the reasons why or why not a dominant firm might or might not consider attacking smaller competitors to increase market share?

2) Companies have to update their strategy on a regular basis but sometimes need to look at radical change, briefly explain these two types of Strategic Change and how they might affect company organization. Define incremental and transformational change.

enter academic citations.

a) List various market entry costs (at least twenty items) for a physical shop on one hand and for a e-commerce business in the same sector on the other, b) give examples of search costs for patients searching for a good dentist, c) give examples of menu costs (cost of adjusting prices) for Marks and Spencers for their physical shops.

A Tesco case study Introduction Tesco is a customer-orientated business. It aims to offer products that provide value for money for its customers and to deliver high-quality service. Tesco wants to attract new customers, but it also wants to keep its existing customers happy. Building customer loyalty is a cost-effective strategy to grow the business. This is because satisfied customers are a good advert for the business. Tesco has more than a 30% market share of the UK grocery market, nearly double that of its nearest rival. In its 2009/2010 financial year, Tesco earned revenues of £38.6 billion in the UK and employed more than 280,000 people. To keep at the top of its game and to maintain its number one spot in the market, the company needs skilled staff at all levels and in all roles. Roles in Tesco Roles in Tesco range from business development, supply chain management and marketing to finance, store operations and personnel management. Each area of expertise requires leadership and management skills. Tesco aims to develop the leadership qualities of its people throughout the organisation, from administrators and customer assistants to the board of directors. It adopts a similar approach to leadership development for staff at all levels. This is in line with Tesco’s employment philosophy: ‘We believe in treating each other with respect, with everyone having an equal opportunity to get on, ensuring Tesco is a great place to work.’ Berian is a bakery manager Berian manages a team of 17 in a Tesco in-store bakery. One of the key challenges of Berian’s job is to ensure his team produces the right products to meet demand at key times. His usual management approach is to allow the team to take responsibility for achieving the desired result. In this way, the team not only buys into the activity, but also develops new skills. For example, when the bakery expanded its product range and Berian needed to ensure that all the products would be on the shelves by 8.00 am, rather than enforce a solution, he turned to the team for ideas. The team solved the problem by agreeing to split break times so that productivity could be maintained. Berian’s approach produced a positive outcome and increased team motivation. Tesco’s leadership framework sets out not just the skills and competencies but also the personal characteristics and behaviours it expects of its leaders. Tesco looks for managers who are positive, confident and genuine, with the capacity to inspire and encourage their teams. A key part of Tesco’s programme for building leaders is encouraging self review and reflection. This allows staff to assess their strengths and find ways of demonstrating the characteristics that are vital to the long-term development of the business. Stephen is a Tesco store manager Stephen is the manager of a medium-sized Tesco store. He has been with the company for over 10 years and his first job was filling shelves in the dairy section. He is currently working towards the Tesco foundation degree. Stephen directly manages a team of around 20 departmental managers, who between them are responsible for almost 300 people. Stephen’s leadership style is usually to allow his managers to make most operational decisions. However, if, for example, an accident occurs in the store, Stephen may take control to ensure a prompt and co-ordinated response. The best managers adopt leadership styles appropriate to the situation. Stephen’s preferred leadership style is to take a democratic approach. He consults widely as he feels that staff respond better to this approach. For example, when planning a major stock reduction programme, he encourages his managers to put forward ideas and develop plans. This increases team motivation and encourages creativity. Some mistakes may be made, but they are used as a learning experience. However, as a store manager, Stephen deals with many different situations. Some may be business critical and it is important that he responds to these in the most appropriate way. In such situations, Stephen may need to adapt his leadership approach and exert more authority. Martin is Tesco's Programme Manager for Education and Skills Martin is Tesco’s Programme Manager for Education and Skills in the UK. He has a range of responsibilities associated with people, processes and standards. Martin may use a democratic approach when setting training budgets. Managers can suggest ideas to make cost savings and they can jointly discuss their proposals with Martin. By empowering his managers, he gets them to take ownership of the final agreed budget. Laissez-faire is at the other end of the spectrum from autocratic. A laissez-faire manager takes a ‘hands-off’ approach and trusts teams to take appropriate decisions or actions with broad agreed boundaries. For example, Martin might leave an experienced departmental manager to develop a budget. This could be because he trusts that the manager has a good knowledge of the needs of the department and of the business. Factors influencing leadership style People at each level of responsibility in Tesco, from administrators and customer assistants to directors, face different types of decisions. Each comes with its own responsibilities and timescales. These will influence the most appropriate leadership style for a particular piece of work or for a given project or audience. Tesco managers have responsibilities for ‘front of house’ (customer-facing) staff as well as ‘behind the scenes’ employees, such as office staff. Before making a decision, the manager will consider the task in hand, the people involved and those who will be affected (such as customers). Various internal and external factors may also affect the choice of leadership style used. Internal factors include the levels of skill that employees have. Large teams may have members with varying levels of skill. This may require the manager to adopt a more directive style, providing clear communication so that everyone knows what to do to achieve goals and tasks. On the other hand, team leaders may take a more consultative approach with other managers of equal standing in order to get their co-operation for a project. External factors may arise when dealing with customers. For example, Berian may need to use a persuasive style to convince a customer to accept a replacement product for an item that is temporarily out of stock. Critical success factors (CSFs) In order to build a sustainable and robust business, Tesco has set out critical success factors (CSFs). These are linked at all levels to its business goals. Some CSFs apply to all employees. These are: • customer focus – to ensure delivery of ‘every little helps’ • personal integrity – to build trust and respect • drive –to achieve results, even when the going gets tough • team working – to ensure positive relationships in and across teams • developing self/others – to motivate and inspire others. Others are specific to the level of responsibility the person or role has and covers: • analysing and decision making • managing performance • managing change • gaining commitment. • By meeting the requirements of these CSFs, Tesco managers can build their leadership skills & contribute to the growth of the business. • Tesco leaders need to be inspirational, creative and innovative, ready to embrace change and with a long-term vision for achievement. Effective leaders manage by example and in doing so, develop their teams. Tesco encourages all its managers to lead by example. It requires leaders who can motivate, problem solve and build great teams. • Tesco employs people in a wide range of roles and provides a career structure which allows employees to progress through the organisation. Tesco’s process of 360-degree feedback allows its employees to reflect on their own progress and improve. Even if someone starts as working in store filling shelves – as did Stephen – they can progress through the organisation into positions of authority and responsibility. Answer all the below questions: 1. With reference to the Tesco case study, compare the leadership style adopted by Berian, Stephen and Martin. 2. In Tesco, what are the qualities that are required for the individuals to assume leadership roles? 3. In reference to the case of Tesco, evaluate the kind of leadership roles displayed by Berian, Stephen and Martin and the changes they need to make in their respective leadership style as required for the situation. 4. In this Tesco case study, explain what is the leadership and managerial competences that Berian, Stephen and Martin need to develop respectively. 5. What should be the development plans that Managers and individuals in Tesco should take

to develop themselves as leaders for achieving the critical success factors set by Tesco. Given the nature of tasks, roles and responsibilities in Tesco for each individual, what are the leadership and managerial skills that should be exhibited by the concerned managers given the Internal and External environment changes.

​The drying rate needed for the ceramic projects is dependent on many factors and varies according to the following distribution.

Please show all work

In many respects, the Netflix HR strategy seems like a dream come true for small businesses. You don’t need a pay plan; instead, you just update each person’s pay every few months based on market surveys. You offer no training and development. And you don’t track vacation time, more or less. If someone’s not doing well, you just pay him or her to leave, with no hassles. Netflix seems to have hit upon its own version of “Netflix High-Performance Work Practices.” Given that, answer the following questions (please be specific).

18-9.    What (if anything) is it about Netflix that makes its HR practices work for it?

18-10. Would you suggest using similar practices in other businesses, such as, say, a new restaurant? Why?

18-11. List the criteria you would use for deciding whether another company is right for Netflix-type HR practices.

18-12. What argument would you make in response to the following: “Netflix just lucked out; they would have done even better with conventional HR practices?”

Please answer each question in 350-500 words.

How have you observed/experienced diversity in the work place(Marriott Hotel)? This can be co-worker to co-worker, co-worker to guest, etc. These different groups include male/female, ages, sexual orientation, race, socioeconomic status, etc.

A retail company sells electronics products including mouse and keyboard. Mouse and keyboard are acquired from distinct suppliers. The monthly demand for a mouse is 2000, while the monthly demand for a keyboard is 1000 products. Mouse costs to company $12 and keyboard's cost are $18. The company has an annual holding cost of 20%, and the fixed shipment cost is $300. The procurement manager is not sure whether to order the mouse and keyboard separately or jointly. Assist with her decision making by calculating the following: 1) Optimal order size, 2) Optimal order frequency, 3) Cycle inventory, 4) Total cost of holding and ordering. Hint: Check the problem where products ordered and delivered separately vs. jointly.

Solve the problem using EXCEL.

Transaction Analysis Activity

Steamy Stacks, Inc. sells toy trains. Steamy Stacks began business on October 1 by issuing (selling) 10,000 shares of no par common stock. for $10 per share. The issuance of common stock represents investment by owners. Steamy Stacks uses the accrual method of accounting.

During the month of October, the following transactions occurred:

   10/1     Issued 10,000 shares of no par common stock for $10 per share.

   10/1     Paid rent of $1,500 for office and retail space for month of October.

10/5     Purchase 500 toy trains for $25 each. The trains were received by Steamy Stacks and payment is due on November 5.

10/10   Sold 150 trains for $45 each. The trains were delivered and cash was received.

            HINT: Remember to ‘match’ expenses to revenue they helped to generate…

10/16   Paid $3,000 wages to employees. Employees are paid on the 1^st and 16^th of each month for the periods ending on the 15^th and last day of month, respectively. For simplicity, assume all payments equal $3,000.

10/17   Sold 300 trains for $45 each. The trains were delivered. Payment is due on Nov. 17.

10/20   Ordered Christmas Steamy Stacks advertisement. The advertisements are scheduled to run the last week of November. The advertising agency required 40% payment with the order and the total charge was $1,300. Paid $520.

10/22 Received order for 125 trains to be delivered December 10.

10/31   Paid a cash dividend of $ .10 per share of common stock.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Record transactions on worksheet according to the accrual method of accounting.
2. Prepare a multi-step income statement for the month of October.
3. Prepare a statement of stockholders equity as of October 31.
4. Prepare a classified balance sheet for Steamy Stacks as of October 31.

Please answer each question in 350-500 words.

If you were running the organization(Hotel Management Group), what changes would you make and why?

Explain the compensation structure (for the 2 types of employees, manager and worker).

Strategic Results of the Company Kroger? Report and discuss key non-financial quantitative indicators. Strengths and weaknesses?

Financial Results of the company Kroger? Discuss key financial ratios and results. Keep it simple. Strengths and weaknesses?

4) The Don Levine Corporation currently produces in four different cities: Decatur, Minneapolis, Carbondale, and St Louis. They send their product to three different warehouses named Ciro, Blue Earth, and Des Moines. The table below shows the transportation cost of shipping from their current plants to their warehouses.

Their production cost per facility is shown in the table below.

The variables are denoted using X## where the first number is the source and the second number is the destination. Sources: Decatur = 1, Minneapolis = 2, Carbondale = 3, and St. Louis = 4. Destinations: Blue Earth = 1, Ciro = 2 and Des Moines = 3.

a) Don Levine Corporation should ship how many goods from each production facility to each warehouse? What is the cost (including production costs) of this shipping plan?

b) The State of Illinois is trying to convince the Don Levine Corporation to move their production facility from St. Louis to East St. Louis. Management has determined that with the incentives that Illinois has provided that production costs would be lower in Illinois but shipping costs to Blue Earth and Ciro would be more expensive. The production cost in East St. Louis would be $40 but the transportation costs to Blue Earth would be $29, to Ciro would be $30, and to ship to Des Moines would be $30. Assume that the corporation shuts down its St. Louis plant and moves all of its production to East St. Louis, which has a capacity of 150 units. How many goods should be shipped from each production plant to each warehouse? What is the cost (including production cost) of this shipping plan? (Hint: the shipping plans are different)

In part b East St Louis is given the source number 5.

Generic Business Level Strategies of the company Kroger? What has the company done historically? What potential future business-level strategies are available to the firm?