ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENT

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•   Announcement messages
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•   Punctuation
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•   Professional tone
•   Understanding your audience

The following routine message announces required training for all employees as part of achieving an organizational goal. The week-long training will take place in October and will require completing some activities prior to the workshop. This message does not employ a professional tone and is unclear. Additionally, the message contains several verb errors (tense and passive voice), number usage errors, grammatical errors, spelling errors, and style errors. FIND THE ERRORS!!

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Diversity & Inclusion Training

Good afternoon:

CoB Associates will hold ten half day Cultural Intelligence workshops the week of October 12. As you know, strategic priority is diversity at CoB Associates, and this workshop is an important next step in addressing this strategic priority. The strategic priority components are.

1.   Improving all areas of diversity in the organisation encluding leadership, associates, and interns.
2.   Identifying ways for improvement gender and ethnic diversity throughout the organization.
3.   Develop a culture that welcomes diversity and tolerance.

After much research, CoB Associates joined with the Cultural Intelligence Center to collaborate in bringing diversity and tolerance a focal point to all members of our organization. The workshop is the next step in building a culture and awareness of all types of diversity. All workshops will take place in HRTR. Please review the list below for your assigned date and time (scheduled by department):

October 12, 8:00-12:00 Human Resources; 1:00-5:00 C Suite

October 13, 8:00-12:00 Accounting; 1:00-5:00 Design

October 14, 8:00-12:00 Sales, 1:00-5:00 Communications

October 15, 8:00-12:00 Consulting; 1:00-5:00 Support

October 16, 8:00-12:00 IT; 1:00-5:00 Makeup session

Watch for communications with detailed specifics to your assigned workshop day and time. This email will contain important instructions for completing required activities prior to the workshop. The Director of CoB Associates wants members of our organization too join in collaboration with the Cultural Intelligence Center.

Thank you for being a key part in CoB Associates achieving this strategic priority.

Kind regards,
Kate

--------------------------------

Kate C. Grace, HR Director
CoB Consulting Group
Office: 740-555-5551 | Cell: 740-555-5554

FIND THE ERRORS!!

a example of cultural lag.

1. Conduct external research and create a SWOT analysis for Redfin of the 2020 real-estate industry.

2. Zillow and Redfin are two very different ‘disruptors.’ How does each of these companies create value?

3. What are the most important limiting factors affecting Redfin’s growth? Should Kelman do national advertising? Should Kelman reconsider the full-time agent model?

What can businesses expect directly and indirectly in the aftermath of a disaster?

Wood County Hospital consumes 1000 boxes of bandages per week. The price of bandages is $35 per box, and the hospital operates 52 weeks per year. The cost of processing an order is $15, and the cost of holding one box for a year is 15% of the value of the material.

1. The hospital orders bandages in lot sizes of 900 boxes, what extra cost does the hospital incur, which it could save by using EOQ method?
2. Demand is normally distributed, with a standard deviation of weekly demand of 100 boxes. The lead time is 2 weeks. What safety stock is necessary if the hospital uses a continuous review system and a 97% cycle-service is desired? What should be the reorder point?    When the cycle-service level is 97%, z = 1.88.

Decide on the staffing policy you will use for top-level managers for a small UK company and give your rationale for this policy using the UK Labour Act include the following elements: Working hours, Compensation package, Termination, Holiday and Sick Leave

American Express's Relationship Care strategy has at a general level given the company's customer service agents more control and purpose in their jobs. However, that overarching strategy is supported by a number of specific rewards and policies. From an extrinsic perspective, the company has instituted a pay for performances system that ties incentives to customer satisfaction surveys. In particular, the company tracks the degree to which customers would recommend the company to their friends. Agents get their survey results 5-7 days after a given call and can check how their results compare to those of their peers. Rewards are doled out every two weeks, giving agents the ability to connect their behavior to the bonuses they receive. Although agents start out at a salary of $30,000 these rewards can add up to 35 percent of their base. Such aggressive incentives have increased compensation costs for American Express, but those increases have been offset by lower turnover levels. The incentives are paying off according to other metrics as well. Survey studies show that 82 percent of American Express customers are aware of their card services, above the 70 percent industry average. Most importantly, the strategies have been credited with an 8-10 percent boost in member spending.

Some compensation experts worry that these sorts of pay for performance programs can have a downside. Traditionally, having a lot of data on employees was synonymous with objectifying them, notes one experts. Fortunately, American Express has supplemented its extrinsic rewards with some intrinsic ones. Symbolically, the company changed agents titles from customer care representative to customer care professional. The company also provided agents with business cards for the first time, echoing that professional labeling. Agents were also given more flexible scheduling, which is unusual in call center jobs. These sorts of steps are meant to signal that customer service agents are not part of some back office cost center, but rather a unit that is critical to firm success.

Of course, such rewards cannot be effective if agents lack the competence and confidence to attain them. To supply high levels of both, American Express shifted its recruiting efforts to focus on individuals with hospitality backgrounds, not merely call center experience. The company also shifted its training resources from technical skills to interpersonal skills. In addition, if agents struggle, the company steps in to help. Such agents are given access to additional training, as well as coaching from supervisors and experts in their area. They're then given incremental goals to try to improve bit by bit over time. Thomas Parker, vice president of human resources, notes that such steps can save may struggling agents. our success rate is well over 50 to 60 percent, Parker said. The end result of these strategies is care agents who have the ability and the motivation to handle the unexpected when it arises. Wendy Fondrin, in the Phoenix service center, is one such agent. She spoke with a card holder who had lost her card at the same time her mother passed away. The lady was in hysteria, Fondrin notes. She needed to make funeral arrangements immediately. Fondrin arraged to have a card delivered that same day, with American Express picking up the $500 charge. The loyalty and that refer friend is worth that money, Fondrin summarizes.

Questions:

1. Consider these strategies in the context of the theories reviewed in chapter 9 and 10 (needs theory, expectancy theory, goal setting theory, equity theory, agency theory). Which theories seem to be most present in these strategies? Which seem to be least present, and what could the company do to rectify such omissions?

How would you handle a major financial surge or slump that might affect your facility?

Using the provided case study (“Why Illegal Immigration Is an Intergovernmental Mess and Will Remain So” in Chapter 4 of the textbook), craft a paper analyzing the issues at play through the lens of public-administration theory and ethics. Specifically consider: What are the issues and perspectives related to immigration in the United States? How is immigration policy developed and what factors impact its development? What concepts in public administration would guide the actions of a public agent charged with enforcing the law? Specifically, you must address the critical elements listed below.

I. Overview: In this section, outline the issues related to immigration in the United States by briefly explaining the context and perspectives related to legal and illegal immigration in the United States.

II. Policy Development and Enforcement: In this section, analyze how immigration policy is developed and the variables that impact its enforcement. A. Discuss the political, social, economic, and cultural variables that impact public policy in immigration reform. B. Analyze ethical expectations of public administrators (such as border-patrol agents) charged with enforcing laws or policies that have been developed, especially in light of intense public opinion or scrutiny.

III. Situational Response: In this section, imagine you are a border-patrol agent. How would your role impact your ability to defend and advocate for your personal opinion on immigration? A. Defend your position on whether public-agency employees give up certain First Amendment rights by virtue of serving in their positions. B. Explain how Miles Law applies in this situation. C. Explain how organizational-culture theory could influence your actions as a border-patrol agent. D. Describe the ways that you could advocate to change the law without breaking it as a border-patrol agent.

1. During an interview, what could you do to increase your confidence?
2. What are you personal strengths and weaknesses? How would you address these in an interview?
3. What are three things you can do during an interview to make a positive impression?

1. What is measurement? Describe what it is and how we use it to acquire quantitative data on both tangible and intangible attributes.

Investment Example

An investor has $70,000 to divide among several instruments. Municipal bonds have an 8.5% return, C D’s a 5% return, t-bills a 6.5% return, and growth stock 13%. The following guidelines have been established:

-No more than 20% in municipal bonds

-Investment in C D s should not exceed the other three alternatives

-At least 30% invested in treasury bills and C D s

-More should be invested in C D s and treasury bills than in municipal bonds and growth stocks by a ratio of 1.2 to 1

-All $70,000 should be invested.

Write down your mathematical formulation.

Decision variables (10 points)

Objective function (5 points)

Constraints (Please label each constraint) (5 points)

MaxTotal Revenue= Max $45 B + $120 P                                   

SE:20 B + 5 P    <= 1400 minutes               

QC:15 B + 30 P <= 4000 minutes               

B <= 60 units                    

P    <= 100 units

Questions:

1. Bottleneck Resource is: SE True/False

2. Preferred product is: P         True/False

3. Optimal values: B=45 units, P=100 units, and Total Rev =$14,025            True/False

4. The “allowable Increase” for the coefficient of the B in the objective function is $435.           True/False

5. SE Constraint SP is $24 per min. True/False

Should companies that operate outside of the U.S. treat employees in other countries with the same standards as its U.S. employees? Justify your response. Support your response with an APA-cited reference(s).