Grant money is used to fund research, events, programs, and other activities. For this week’s topic find research, an event, program or other activity that is funded with grant money. Describe the activity and summarize the purpose of the activity. Describe the grant/s that are funding the activity and any additional information you can discover about the grant/s.

1. Share your personality type with your instructor and point out what you may have to be aware of as you search for a job. How accurate do you feel this test is in describing you.

Late in 2011, JCPenney made a dramatic move, ousting CEO Myron Ulman and bringing in Ron Johnson. Johnson was perceived as a change agent who could reinvent the company as a new, hip place to shop, just as he had transformed the Apple Store from a run-of-the-mill mall store to an entertainment destination. His vision was clear, stating, "In the United States, the department store has a chance to regain its status as the leader in style, the leader in excitement. It will be a period of true innovation for this company." Johnson proposed offering new products and interesting product lines, such as Martha Stewart and Joe Fresh, to lure in high-end customers. He also envisioned JCPenney as a destination, where shoppers would look forward to spending time browsing the store, similar to the excitement one often finds in an Apple Store.

Unfortunately for JCPenney, Johnson's new vision was a near-complete failure. Penney's loyal customer base was unhappy with the new store and pricing strategies. The company failed to attract new customers and sales fell by 25 percent in one year. Even the major shareholder who championed johnson's recruitment, Bill Ackman, realized that the company had made a new fatal error, lamenting, "One of the biggest mistakes was perhaps too much change too quickly without adequate testing on what the impact would be. " Notre Dame marketing Professor Carol Phillips points out that the company failed to understand the buyer with its new value pricing, no sale strategy. "JCP's CEO Ron Johnson was ... clueless about what makes shopping fun for women. It's the thrill of the hunt, not the buying." The new strategy was a mismatch with the company's existing managers, product lines, pricing strategies, and customer base.

Do you think Ron Johnson changed the mission of JCPenney or just implemented new strategies? Be sure to support your conclusion.

I have heard there is a trend where many companies are developing training that uses games or elements of games. Question 6: What are the potential benefits and problems with using games and gamification for training?

QDM Question 4 : In the planning of the monthly production for the next four months, in each month a company must operate either a normal shift or an extended shift (but not both) if it produces. It may choose not to produce in a month. A normal shift costs $100,000 per month and can produce up to 5,000 units per month. An extended shift costs $140,000 per month and can produce up to 7,500 units per month.

The cost of holding inventory is estimated to be $2 per unit per month (based on the average inventory held during each month) and the initial inventory is 3,000 units (i.e., inventory at the beginning of Month 1). The inventory at the end of month 4 should be at least 2,000 units. The demand for the company's product in each of the next four months is estimated to be as shown below:

Production constraints are such that if the company produces anything in a particular month it must produce at least 2,000 units. The company wants a production plan for the next four months to meet its demands.  Formulate an integer programming model to solve the problem at minimum cost.

Decision variables :

Objective function :

Constraints :

Additional constraint 1 : The company can operate an extended shift in Month 1 only if it operates a normal shift in each of Month 2, Month 3 and Month 4.

Additional constraint 2 : The company must produce in either Month 1 or Month 2 (or both) if it does not produce in Month 3.

Additional constraint 3 : For each of Month 2, 3 and 4, the company cannot operate an extended shift in a month if it operates one in the previous month.

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 up to develop themselves as leaders for achieving the critical success factors set by Tesco.

6-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.

Various dimensions have been used to define and measure quality.

1. Which three would be most important from the patient’s perspective?
2. Which three would be most important from the physician’s perspective? Why?

Taylor and Sons is a men's clothing store. It orders 1000 summer suits from ABC Clothiers for delivery on April 1. ABC takes the order. After three weeks pass, ABC informs Taylor it will not be able to make delivery as scheduled, but can make delivery by June 1. Taylor has expended monies to have an ad campaign to sell the suits.

A) What are Taylor's remedies?

B) Should Taylor wait to take delivery, and if so, what are Taylor's damages and remedies?

C) What are ABC's remedies if Taylor takes delivery but refuses to pay for the suits?

Using examples, compare Market Exchange with Strategic Partnerships on the basis of Product, Market and Supplier Characteristics. (The answer length should be between 450-500)

Windhoek Mines, Ltd., of Namibia, is contemplating the purchase of equipment to exploit a mineral deposit on land to which the company has mineral rights. An engineering and cost analysis has been made, and it is expected that the following cash flows would be associated with opening and operating a mine in the area:

*Receipts from sales of ore, less out-of-pocket costs for salaries, utilities, insurance, etc.

The mineral deposit would be exhausted after four years of mining. At that point, the working capital would be released for reinvestment elsewhere. The company’s required rate of return is 19%.

Required:
a. Determine the net present value of the proposed mining project. (Hint: Use Microsoft Excel to calculate the discount factor(s).) (Any cash outflows should be indicated by a minus sign. Do not round your intermediate calculations.)

Based on the article and information you know or find, how might the structure need to change to make this strategy work? What type of decision making (centralized or decentralized) would be most effective in the implementation of the strategy? Why?  Does the company have a strong or weak internal culture and how might this impact implementation of the strategy?

Overwhelmed by the Virus, the Golden Age of Restaurants Is Over

As restaurants scramble to offer methods of delivery during the Covid-19 crisis, some are beginning to consider what the industry will look like post-crisis.

As restaurants learn some new skill sets to try to adapt to the current legal and practical issues of food service during the COVID-19 pandemic, some are beginning to consider that some of these changes may provide opportunities in the future rather than just a band-aid until the crisis is gone.

While survival is the key for these entities right now, industry shocks, such as the virus, can lead to the realization of new opportunities and the development of new competencies to make the company stronger and more resilient post-crisis. In addition, they are learning that some of their hedging against these risks using insurance policies has gotten into the fine print issues where insurance companies are claiming that this type of business loss is not covered.

The high-end restaurants seem to be the hardest hit in that they sell a dining experience versus just good food. This limits their ability to garner a strong takeout, or delivery clientele.

Kathleen Allen has $100,000 to divide among several investments. The alternative investments are municipal bonds with a 5% return, certificate of deposits with a 5% return, treasury bills with a 6.5% return, and a growth stock with a 13% annual return. To minimize risk, Kathleen follows these guidelines:

1. No more than 20% of the total investment should be in municipal bonds.

2. The amount invested in certificates of deposit should not exceed the total amount invested in the other three alternatives.

3. At least 30% of the investments should be in treasury bills and certificate of deposits.

4. The amount invested in CDs and treasury bills should equal to or greater than the amount invested in municipal bonds and the growth stock fund. Kathleen wants to know how much to invest in each alternative in order to maximize the return.