Explain one of the Rater Errors and the consequences of that error. What training and/or systems would you put in place for the leadership of an organization in order to reduce the impact of that Rater Error on performance management? The Rater Errors are stereotype error, attribution error, spillover error, halo error, and primary error.

The subject is Evaluation, Coaching, and Mentoring

Read the article 10 Pricing Strategies That Can Drastically Improve Sales  (Links to an external site.)

2. Locate an example of any one of the Pricing Strategies and post a link to the product in the forum.

3. Explain the advantages of this Pricing Strategy and the disadvantages of this Pricing Strategy.

4. Answer the following question: have you ever bought a product that was priced using this strategy? Why or why not?

Q1: A firm produces 3 products. These products are processed on 3 different machines. The time required to manufacture 1 unit of each of the 3 products and the daily capacity of the 3 machines are given in the table below:

It is required to determine the daily number of units to be manufactured for each product. The profit per unit for product 1, 2, and 3 is $4, $3, and $6 respectively. It is assumed that all the amounts produced are consumed in the market. Formulate the mathematical model for the problem.

Solution:

Cisco and Polycom are two major vendors of telepresence products. Write a one-page paper that identifies one top-of-the-line product from each company. Which product would you recommend to any company? What are you basing your recommendation on? What are two advantages of using a telepresence system compared to a face-to-face meeting? What are two disadvantages?

Case 10.1

"Pauline McKee, an 87-year-old grandmother, was attending a family reunion at the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo, a combination hotel and casino. One evening she and several members of her family gambled at the casino. McKee was playing a penny slot machine called “Miss Kitty.” A person wins at the Miss Kitty game by lining up different combinations of symbols from left to right on the slot machine screen. The game includes a button entitled “Touch Game Rules” in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Tapping this button displays the rules that govern the game and a chart describing potential winning combinations of symbols. These rules do not mention any additional bonus, jackpot, or prize available to a person playing the Miss Kitty game. The rules state “MALFUNCTION VOIDS ALL PAYS AND PLAYS.” A sign posted on the front of the machine reiterates “MALFUNCTION VOIDS ALL PAYS AND PLAYS.” McKee did not read the rules before she played the slot machine.

While playing the game, McKee won $1.85 based on how the symbols had lined up on the slot machine screen. However, at the same time a message appeared on the screen stating “Bonus Award $41797550.16.” The casino paid McKee $1.85 but refused to pay the alleged bonus, claiming it was an error and not part of the game. McKee sued the casino in district court to recover $41,797,550.16. The casino introduced evidence that the appearance of the bonus on the screen was an error in the computer system of the game. The casino made a motion for summary judgment, which was opposed by McKee. The district court held that the rules of the Miss Kitty game were an express contract between McKee and the casino. The court granted summary judgment to the casino. McKee appealed.

Issue

Was there a contract between the parties that provided for the payment of a bonus when playing the Miss Kitty slot machine?

Language of the Court

Gambling contracts are governed by traditional contract principles. We agree with the district court that the Miss Kitty rules of the game are the relevant contract here and that they form an express contract. Further, it is undisputed the rules of the Miss Kitty game did not provide for any kind of bonus. Hence, in our view, McKee had no contractual right to a bonus. Nor is it relevant that McKee failed to read the rules of the game before playing it. It is sufficient that those rules were readily accessible to her and she had an opportunity to read them. On the play in question, the alignment of the reels entitled McKee to a prize of $1.85, and the casino paid it to her, fulfilling its side of the contract.

Decision

The Supreme Court of Iowa affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the casino."

Read Case 10.1 in your text.

A) Do you think the Court ruled correctly? Why or why not?

B) What does the term "a contract is a contract is a contract" mean and how does it relate to this case?

C) Identify two (2) other examples when people may not read rules or provisions of service that may affect them if there is a problem.

D) Pick an ethical principle that the casino followed by not paying the bonus.

Of the five common characteristics of high quality information (accuracy, completeness, consistency, uniqueness, timeliness) which do you think is the most difficult to maintain and why? What steps should organizations take to ensure this characteristic?

Using the Amazon case please answer the following question:

Describe Amazon's strategic approach to mergers and acquisitions. How has the approach helped Amazon be successful? What drawbacks has Amazon faced from their merger and acquisition strategy?

Do you think it would be easy or difficult to imitate Trader Joe's strategy? Why?

Read Case Study 10-2, “Must a Union Process a Grievance of a Nonunion Employee?” on page 463 of your textbook. Then, answer the questions provided.

1. What are nonunion employee rights under the LMRA?

2. What is meant by the union’s duty of fair representation?

3. When has the union met its obligation of fair representation?

4. Has the union in this case met its fair representation obligation? Explain.

Read at least 2 academically reviewed articles and Write an annotated bibliography paper on Activity Based Costing

Examine the reasons companies use social media marketing listed in Figure 9.5.

• Engage fans

• Increase brand exposure

• Avenue for customer interaction

• Increase traffic

• Generate leads

• Enhance brand image

• Improve search rankings

• Gather customer intelligence

• Develop loyal fans

• Increase sales

Rank the reasons from most effective to least effective based on your personal experience with social media and brands that use it. Discuss your rankings. Explain, with examples, your top three choices.

Imagine that you have been a production operator manager for two years at a large gas distribution company. Recently, your director told you that the company is planning a large restructure, but that your department will not lose any employees. You decide that you need to use personal communication techniques to reach out to the people on your team and convince them that they are safe and they need to maintain their productivity levels for the upcoming year.

Fortunately, you have a large personal network of diverse contacts both inside and outside the company. But you know that some of your employees have much smaller networks, and you worry that they will not have the contacts they need in order to get a good perspective on the restructuring. Which of the following pieces of advice should you give to your employees to help them build their networks? Check all that apply.

A)Try to fill your network with people who are very similar to you, preferably people who do the same kind of work you do and people who have non-work backgrounds similar to yours. This will make it easier to develop relationships with them.

B)Reach out to people and do as many activities as you can with them. Try to fill your calendar so that you connect with as many people as possible.

C)You’re going to have a hard time building a network that you can use to support you through this restructuring, but start now to build your network before you need it the next time.

D)Make sure that when you build your network, you don’t always expect your contacts to be giving to you. You have to give as well as receive in order for a network to be effective.

The general thrust of consumer protection legislation has been to provide accurate information or disclosure of essential terms to the buyer. Has consumer protection legislation generally met this goal?

Explain the concept of Tension Management. Discuss how managers can leverage tension management as an effective tool to gauge productivity of employees.

1. Errors with Pronouns - Faulty Agreement

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns, noun phrases, or other pronouns. Pronouns can be the subject of a sentence, the object of a sentence, or in the possessive case. A pronoun should agree in number and gender with its antecedent. An antecedent is the word the pronoun stands for. The following is one rule for pronouns.

Rule: Use the singular pronoun with "everyone," "anyone," and "each."

Incorrect: Each player on the girls’ soccer team wants their coach to play them in the championship game.

Correct: Each player on the girls’ soccer team wants her coach to play her in the championship game.

Directions: Click on the blank lines that follow and select the pronoun that agrees with its antecedent.

Swamp Coffee

The Greatest Toronto-Based Band in History

Fan Trivia

1. The band members refuse to reveal how the band got its/their name. Each of the popular theories has its/their merits, but the general public may never know the truth.

2. A local music critic claimed she/her will never forget the first time hearing this band's music. The sound is unique, making it hard to classify. When asked why there are no vocals, lead guitarist Halil Shafak says the message is in the music itself/themselves. .

3. Halil writes most of the songs alone in the studio.He/Him and bass guitarist Seth Spence then rework the songs together.

4. Near the end of the autumn 2013 concert tour, drummer Maya Creedy temporarily quit the band when Halil yelled at her/she for improvising too much. Halil later apologized to Maya and she/her rejoined the band. At the time, she told reporters that she felt bad for Halil because no one is more misunderstood than he/him .

5. Fans designed the band's last three album covers. Each of the winning designers received free concert tickets and had her/our picture taken with the band.

6. When asked if he would ever break up the band and go solo, Halil said the other members of the band were like family, so he/him could never do that to them/they.