BUSINESS LAW

1.    Tell me the four elements of an enforceable contract - hint (offer and acceptance make up "agreement", the first element) and after you do that, tell me the elements of a valid offer, and the elements of a valid acceptance.

2.   List at least 4 material items that you would see under the common law in a contract.   (I don't mean specific terms, although that is one of them ("material terms").

3.   Please tell me a) at least 5 types of contracts that the Statute of Frauds would require to be in writing and then tell me b) the four exceptions to the Statute of Frauds.

Give an example of a good decision you made that resulted in a bad outcome. Also give an example of a bad decision you made that had a good out come? Why these outcomes occured?

Please do not copy paste. Write in your language (500 words)

Q. Discuss quality circles success stories in India.

What are the advantages of lower number of shares outstanding ?

1)

Annual sales (=demand), D = 4000 sets

Order cost, S = $ 25

Holding cost, H = $ 5

Current order quantity, Q = D/2 = 4000/2 = 2000 sets

Optimal order quantity, EOQ = sqrt(2DS/H)

= sqrt(2*4000*25/5)

= 200 sets

Annual holding cost of current policy = H*Q/2

= 5*2000/2

= $ 5000

Annual holding cost of optimal policy = H*EOQ/2

= 5*200/2

= $ 500

Difference in holding costs = 5000 - 500

= $ 4,500

2) A distribution center operates for a major electronics company that fulfills orders that customers make from the website. (15 pts.)

Estimated annual demand: 16,936 laptops (50 weeks per year)

Cost: $840 per laptop

Lead Time: 5 weeks

Standard deviation of weekly demand: laptops

Standard deviation of lead time: 0.9 weeks

Holding cost per unit per year: 60% of item cost

Ordering cost: $37 per order

Desired service level: 98% (z=2.05)

***Calculate the reorder point and the safety stock? Note that you need to convert the annual demand to weekly demand based on 50 wks/yr.

Please read the case provided below and answer the following question:

In 2007, JetBlue was a booming young airline with a strong reputation for outstanding service. In fact, the low-fare airline referred to itself as a customer service company that just happened to fly planes. But on Valentine’s Day 2007, JetBlue was hit by the perfect storm—literally—of events that led to an operational meltdown. One of the most severe storms of the decade covered JetBlue’s main hub at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with a thick layer of snow and ice. Small JetBlue did not have the infrastructure to deal with such a crisis. The severity of the storm, coupled with a series of poor management decisions, left JetBlue passengers stuck in planes on the runway for up to 11 hours. Worse still, the ripple effect of the storm created major JetBlue flight troubles for six more days.

Understandably, customers were irate. JetBlue’s efforts to clean up the mess following the six-day Valentine’s Day nightmare cost over $30 million dollars in overtime, flight refunds, vouchers for future travel, and other expenses. But the blow to the company’s previously stellar customer-service reputation stung far more than the financial fallout. JetBlue became the butt of jokes by late night talk show hosts. Some industry observers even predicted that this would be the end of the seven-year-old airline.

But just three years later, the company is not only still flying, it is growing, profitable, and hotter than ever. During the recent economic downturn, even as most competing airlines were cutting routes, retiring aircraft, laying off employees, and losing money, JetBlue was adding planes, expanding into new cities, hiring thousands of new employees, and turning profits. Even more, JetBlue’s customers adore the airline. For the fifth consecutive year (even including 2007), JetBlue has had the highest J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction score for the entire airline industry. Not only did JetBlue recover quickly from the Valentine’s Day hiccup, it’s now stronger than ever.

What’s the secret to JetBlue’s success? Quite simply, it’s an obsession with making sure that every customer experience lives up to the company slogan, “Happy Jetting.” Lots of companies say they focus on customers. But at JetBlue, customer well-being is ingrained in the culture.

From the beginning, JetBlue set out to provide features that would delight customers. For example, most air travelers expect to be squashed when flying coach. But JetBlue has configured its seats with three more inches of legroom than the average airline seat. That may not sound like much. But those three inches allow six-foot three-inch Arianne Cohen, author of The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life from on High, to stretch out and even cross her legs. If that’s not enough, for as little as $10 per flight, travelers can reserve one of JetBlue’s “Even More Legroom” seats, which offer even more space and a flatter recline position. Add the fact that every JetBlue seat is well padded and covered in leather, and you already have an air travel experience that rivals first-class accommodations (something JetBlue doesn’t offer).

Food and beverage is another perk that JetBlue customers enjoy. The airline doesn’t serve meals, but it offers the best selection of free beverages and snacks to be found at 30,000 feet. In addition to the standard soft drinks, juices, and salty snacks, JetBlue flyers enjoy Terra Blues chips, Immaculate Baking’s Chocobillys cookies, and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. But it isn’t just the selection; it’s the fact that customers don’t feel like they have to beg for a nibble. One customer describes snacking on JetBlue as an “open bar for snacks. They are constantly walking around offering it. I never feel thirsty. I never feel hungry. It’s not ‘Here, have a little sip,’ and ‘Good-bye, that’s all you get.’”

Airlines often can’t control flight delays, especially at busy airports like JFK. So JetBlue wants to be sure that customers will be entertained even in the event of a delay. That’s why every seat has its own LCD entertainment system. Customers can watch any of 36 channels on DirectTV or listen to 100_ channels on Sirius XM Radio, free of charge. If that isn’t enough, six bucks will buy a movie or your favorite television show. JetBlue rounds out the amenities with free Wi-Fi in terminals and free sending and receiving of e-mails and instant messages in the air.

Even JetBlue’s main terminal, the new state-of-the-art T-5 terminal at JFK, is not the usual airline experience. With more security lanes than any terminal in the country, travelers scurry right through. High end dining (tapas, lobster tempura, and Kobe sliders, just to name a few options) can be found among the terminal’s 22 restaurants. And its 25 retail stores are characteristic of the latest mall offerings. A children’s play zone, comfortable lounge areas, work spaces, and piped in music from Sirius XM Radio make travelers hesitant to leave.

Although the tangible amenities that JetBlue offers are likely to delight most travelers, CEO David Barger recognizes that these things are not nearly enough to provide a sustainable competitive advantage.

“The hard product—airplanes, leather seats, satellite TVs, bricks and mortar—as long as you have a checkbook, they can be replicated,” Barger tells a group of new hires in training. “It’s the culture that can’t be replicated. It’s how we treat each other. Do we trust each other? Can we push back on each other? The human side of the equation is the most important part of what we’re doing.”

It’s that culture that gives JetBlue customer service unlike that of any other airline. Taking care of customers starts as early as a customer’s first encounter with a JetBlue call center. Many callers feel like they are talking to the lady next door. That’s because, in all likelihood, they are. JetBlue’s founder pioneered a reservation system that employs part-time reps working from home. Mary Driffill is one of 700 at-home reservations agents in Salt Lake City alone. She logs on to her computer and receives calls in her four-year-old daughter’s bedroom, under the watchful eye of Raggedy Ann, Potbelly Bear, and Chewy, the family Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” says Driffill. “Every day I talk to people who love the company as much as I do. That reminds me I’m part of this.”

JetBlue employees are well familiar with the company’s core values: safety, integrity, caring, passion, and fun. If that sounds like an awful lot of warm fuzzies, it’s intentional. But JetBlue hires the types of employees that fit these values. The values then provide the basis for what Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s chief commercial officer, calls the company’s S.O.C.I.A.L. currency program. In JetBlue’s words:

Standing for something. JetBlue was formed with the idea of bringing humanity back to travel, and our engagement with our customers is central to that mission.

Operationalizing the brand. Whether it be in the airport, on the planes, on the phones, or online, the connection with our customers is a key factor in how we do business.

Conversing with customers, broadly. To be properly in touch with the community, it requires the ability to understand and react to the collective conversation that occurs.

Involving, immersing employees. Social media involvement requires understanding and involvement from all aspects and departments of the company.

Advocating the brand. For JetBlue, we understand the ability to market to a social community is dependent on our customers’ willingness to hear and spread those marketing messages.

Listening. Waiving the carry-on bike fee . . . shows we quickly identify and adapt new policies based on feedback we receive through social media channels. It demonstrates our ability to listen and react holistically.

Customers who spread positive word-of-mouth are called many names—true friends, angels, apostles, evangelists. The religious overtones of such labels come from the idea that loyal customers are like true believers who share the good word like a missionary would. JetBlue has an unusually high ratio of such customers. Most airline customers are loyal because they have frequent flyer points. If not for those points, most couldn’t care less with whom they fly. For most, flying is a generally unpleasant experience regardless of who operates the plane.

However, JetBlue customers are so fascinated with what the airline has to offer that they look forward to flying. And they want to keep in touch with the brand even when they aren’t flying. JetBlue has 1.1 million followers on Twitter, more than any other company except. Whole Foods Market and Zappos.com, two other customer service legends. Twitter even features JetBlue as a case study on smart corporate twittering. More broadly, by the metric of social currency (a fancy term for networks of customers spreading by word of mouth), JetBlue is the strongest U.S. brand, outperforming even Apple.

JetBlue’s strong word of mouth has been powered by the company’s ability to delight customers.

In ten short years, JetBlue has proven that an airline can deliver low fares, excellent service, and steady profits. It has shown that even in the airline business, a powerful brand can be built. Few other airlines have been able to write this story. If you’re thinking Southwest Airlines, you’d be on target. In fact, JetBlue’s founders modeled the airline after Southwest. JetBlue has often been called, “the Southwest of the Northeast.” JetBlue’s onboard crews even greet customers onboard with jokes, songs, and humorous versions of the safety routine, something Southwest has been known for since the 1970s. But where Southwest has made customers happy with no frills, JetBlue is arguably doing it all, including the frills.

Until last year, Southwest and JetBlue steered clear of each other. But then both airlines added a Boston-Baltimore route. Boston is a JetBlue stronghold; Baltimore is Southwest’s biggest market. But with JetBlue’s younger workforce and newer, more fuel-efficient planes, its cost per available seat mile is 8.88 cents, whereas it’s 9.76 cents for Southwest. That has allowed JetBlue to do something that no other airline has done to Southwest; undercut it on price with $39 tickets that are $20 cheaper than Southwest’s lowest fare. It’s not clear yet how the battle of the low-fare, high-service airlines will play out. But it may well turn out that as JetBlue and Southwest cross paths on more routes, the losers will be the other airlines.

Now, assume that you have been appointed by JetBlue Airlines Company as marketing director; then answer the following questions:

1. Briefly explain the concept of core competency, in your opinion what are the core competencies of Jet Blue, Do you think this would lead to competitive advantage?

2. Apply the theory of product Augmentation to Jet blue, by explaining the different layers. Suggest improvements in the augmented layers that would give an edge for the company over it’s competitors particularly in the Boston – Baltimore route?

3. Analyze the pricing strategy followed by Jet Blue and Explain the pricing steps that JetBlue had to follow in setting up the price (fare) for Boston-Baltimore route.   

4. Explain the concept of IMC , design an effective marketing IMC campaign for its new route Boston-Baltimore route.

5. If you know that JetBlue sell its tickets online through its own website as well as independent companies’ websites such as cheapflights.com. What are the distribution strategies used by JetBlue?

how do you structure the answer to the question: organisations adopt different stances on corporate social responsibility depending on how they perceive their role in society. Critically discuss the two governance models (the shareholder model and the stakeholder model) with reference to the strategic purpose of the firm.

1. What step is most important in developing an effective ethics program?

2. Has social media affected ethics in a positive or negative way?

1. Discuss the classifications of inventory control and indicate the purpose for each type.

and then locate a company (or using an industry is fine too) that utilizes JUST IN TIME (JIT) inventory controls. Why do you think they use this method? What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages?

Match the distribution center function with its example:

These are the terms:

- Stockpiling

- Breakbulk

- Cross-docking

- Reverse logistics

- Value-added services

- Production support

And these are the functions that need to be matched:

A) The Spangler Candy Co. loads full-truck loads of Dum Dums for shipment to DCs for Target, Walmart, and Kroger

B) Customer returns are sent from each individual store in Ohio to the Findllay DC

C) A package from LA arrives at the FEDEX hub in Memphis and is loaded on a plane to New York within 20 minutes

D) In January, John Deere holds lawn movers at all of its DCs

E) In the Frito Lay DC, a grocery store display for Doritos is assembled

F) At a DC, within one mile of the Jeep assembly plant, car parts are sequenced for the assembly line   

Discuss ethics in the field of politics. You can look in local or national newspapers, television, online, magazines and other sources for local , national, or international political ethical issues. Your original post will state your position on the topic, describe the ethical issues involved, and summarize the articles (or other sources). You should have one or more sources in your original post.

essay on Right to Repair”. Look at the legal aspects primarily.

A small chemical company uses process control charts for the container filling processes within its operations. One of the products is a weed killer, Lawn Order. The company wants to setup process control charts for this product and has the following data.

                                     Observations

Sample            1          2          3          4          X-Bar R

     1                 50        90        40        80        65.0     50

     2                 50        60        80        60        62.5     30

     3                 40        70        40        90        60.0     50

     4                 50        60        100      90        75.0     50

     5                 90        60        50        30        57.5     60

     6                 70        60        90        40        65.0     50

     7                 100      30        80        70        70.0     70

     8                 50        100      60        90        75.0     50

A. What are the center line, lower control limit, and upper control limit equal to for the X-Bar chart? (Use the sample range to calculate the upper and lower control limits)

Explain how "CelloGica" company Do Distribution Strategy for their products

Explain the implications of this decision on inventory, transportation and facilities cost