Question B1

In 2002, Musk sold his second internet startup, PayPal, to eBay for $1.5 billion. His first company, a Web software firm, was acquired by Compaq. Currently, Musk is the CEO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors, and also the chairman and the largest shareholder of SolarCity, an energy technology company. SpaceX, which builds rockets for companies and countries to put satellites in space, was the first private company to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. It’s reigniting interest in space exploration. Tesla Motors is the world’s most prominent maker of electric cars and is proving that electric cars can be green, sexy, and profitable. SolarCity is now the leading provider of domestic solar panels in the United States. Each of these ventures has transformed an industry: PayPal – Internet payments; Tesla – automobiles; SpaceX – aeronautics; and SolarCity – energy. (Modified from source: Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)

Based on the above case, name the type of problems Musk deal with when developing these new ventures.

B2

In early 2020, Hong Kong was hit by a disease – Coronavirus. As more and more people were infected with Coronavirus, citizens had adopted the practice of wearing masks whenever they got out of their homes. Thousands of people lined up in streets and wait overnight for a chance to purchase masks for themselves and their families. The price of masks, when they were available, had increased from HK$1 a piece to HK$10 or even more. Mr. Wong was a restaurant owner. He was shocked by the situation and he wanted to help. He tried to purchase masks from sources all over the world but was unsuccessful most of the times. Through an old friend in Egypt, he finally found a mask manufacturer in Egypt – the Pyramid Mask (PM). PM agreed to sell a machine that can produce 100,000 masks per day to Mr. Wong. They could also supply all the raw materials that were needed to manufacture the masks. As Mr. Wong is not a technical person, PM even agreed to send an engineer to Hong Kong for 3 months to solve all the problems that were expected in starting a new factory. However, PM insisted that the products must be sold under PM’s brand name and Mr. Wong had to pay a fee.

Based on the above case, identify the approach Mr. Wong used to go international.

Question B5

Google has made some tremendous efforts in going green by slashing their energy usage and supporting green energy projects. For instance, Google has constructed one of the world’s most energy efficient data centers and continuously campaigns for the need for energy conservation and the use of renewable energy sources as well as clean energy products. Google has supported and funded green energy projects by buying and installing numerous windmills and solar panels. It looks for a way to protect the earth’s natural resources.

Based on the above case, identify the approach that Google has applied when going green.

You are safety site supervisor for a commercial construction company. The company employs 12 administration personnel, 18 construction personnel and 60 subcontractors. They have a fairly strong health and safety program, but are concerned about increasing back injury reports. Workers have been asked to identify and report on any inadequacies in existing risk controls relating to back injury and to the hierarchy of control.

To whom should workers report? What are the responsibilities of the HSR or HSC in terms of reporting and monitoring the results of responses? What is the hierarchy of control, how does it impact on risk controls in a situation like this, and why is important to regularly monitor and report on inadequacies?

Describe three current routines used in a program to assist with classroom management.

1. Take time to do a physical assessment of your current teaching-learning space.
   • Draw a map (preferably to scale) showing the placement of permanent items.
   • Add arrows to suggest traffic flow.
   • Circle the areas of highest concentration of student activity during a typical working day.
   • Identify student's personal storage space.

After creating your map, write a brief description of your current teaching-learning space. Make sure you describe the placement of permanent items, the flow of traffic, areas of highest student concentration and students’ personal storage space

1. Note areas of improvement and a plan for change.

How would Xiaomi then evaluate the effectiveness of the HRD programs? ( about 600 words should include mostly about xiaomi)

Describe the Functional Model of Decision Making.

Pick two of the steps in the decision making process and describe how leaving them out might negatively affect a decision.

Think about how your school (or workplace) can become a more culturally sensitive place for students (or employees) from different backgrounds. How can you help everyone feel more welcomed? Develop a list of at least five suggestions to improve cultural acceptance. Explain how you would implement each suggestion at your school (or workplace). You are encouraged to conduct research and reference the textbook to help you generate ideas, however, your ideas must be original. At the end of your list of suggestions, write two paragraphs explaining what you learned from completing this assignment and how you can incorporate some of these suggestions in your major field of study of Online Teaching and Learning.

Frankly speaking, Jeff, I didn’t think we would stand a chance in winning this $20 million program. I was really surprised when they said that they’d like to accept our bid and begin negotiations. As Chief contract administrator, you will head up the negotiation team, “remarked Gus Bell, vice president and general manager of Cory Electric. “You have two weeks to prepare your data and line up your team. I want to see you when you’re ready to go”. Jeff Stokes was chief contract negotiator for Cory Electric, a $250- million-a year electrical components manufacturer serving virtually every major U.S industry. Cory Electric had a well-established matrix structure that had withstood fifteen years of testing. Job casting standards were well established, but did include some “fat” upon the discretion of the functional manager.

Two weeks later, Jeff met with Gus Bell to discuss the negotiation process.

Gus Bell: “Have you selected an appropriate team? You had better make sure that you’re covered on all sides”

Jeff: “There will be four, plus myself, at the negotiating table; the programme manager, the chief engineer who developed the engineering labour packages; the chief manufacturing engineer who developed the production labour package; and a pricing specialist who has been on the proposal since the kick-off meeting. We have a strong team and should be able to handle any questions”.

Jeff: “Yes! Our minimum position is $20 million plus an 8 percent profit. Of course, this profit percentage will vary depending on the negotiated cost. We can bid the programme at $15 million cost; that’s $5 million below our target cost and still book a 1.6 million profit by overrunning the cost-plus-fee contract. Here is a list of the possible cases. See Exhibit one below

Jeff: “I’ve read over all terms and conditions, and so have all the project office personnel as well as the key functional managers. The only major item is that the customer wants us to qualify some few vendors as sources for raw material procurement. We have included in the package the cost of qualifying two new raw material suppliers”

Gus Bell: “Where are the weak points in our proposal? I’m sure we have some”

Jeff: “Last month, the customer sent in a finding team to go over all of our labour justifications. The impression that I get from our people is that we’re covered all the way round. The only major problem might be where we’ll be performing on our learning curve. We put into the proposal 45 percent learning curve efficiency. The customer has indicated that we should be up around 50 to 55 percent efficiency based on our previous contracts with him. Unfortunately, those contracts the customer referred to were four years old. Several of the employees who worked on those programs have left the company. Others are assigned to on-going projects here at Cory. I estimate that we could put together about 10 percent of people we used previously. That learning curve percentage will be a big point for disagreements. We finished off the previous programs with the customer at 35 percent learning curve position. I don’t see how they can expect us to be smarter, given these circumstances.”

Gus Bell: “If that’s the only weakness, then we’re in good shape. It sounds like we have a fool proof audit trail. That’s good! What’s your negotiation sequence going to be?

Jeff: “I’d like to negotiate the bottom line only, but that’s a dream. We’ll probably negotiate the raw materials, the man-hours and the learning curve, the overhead rate, and finally the profit percentage. Hopefully, we can do it in that order.”

Gus Bell: “Do you think that we’ll be able to negotiate a cost above our minimum position?”

Jeff: “Our proposal was $22.2 million. I don’t foresee any problem that will prevent us from coming out ahead of the minimum position. The 5 percent change in learning curve efficiency amounts to approximately $ 1 million. We should be well covered.

“The first move will be up to them. I expect that they’ll come in with an offer of $ 18 to $19 million. Using the binary chop procedure, that’ll give us our guaranteed minimum position.

Gus Bell: “Do you know the guys who you’ll be negotiating with?”

Jeff: “Yes, I’ve dealt with them before. The last time, the negotiations took three days. I think we both got what we wanted. I expect this one to go just smoothly”

Gus Bell: “Okay, Jeff. I’m convinced we’re prepared for negotiations. Have a good trip”

The negotiations began at 9:00 A .M on Monday morning. The customer countered the original proposal of $22.2 million with an offer of $15 million. After six solid hours of arguments, Jeff and his team adjourned. Jeff immediately called Gus Bell at Cory Electric.

Jeff: “Their counteroffer to our bid is absurd. They’ve asked us to make a counteroffer to their offer. We can’t do that. The instant we give them a counter-offer, we are in fact giving credibility to their absurd bid. Now, they’re claiming that, if we don’t give them a counteroffer, then we’re not bargaining in good faith. I think we’re in trouble”

Gus Bell: “Has the customer done their homework to justify their bid?”

Jeff: “Yes, very well”. Tomorrow we’re going to discuss every element of the proposal, task by task. Unless something drastically changes in their position within the next day or two, contract negotiations will probably take up to a month”

Gus Bell: “Perhaps this is one program that should be negotiated at the top levels of management. Find out if the person that you’re negotiating with reports to a vice president and general manager, as you do. If not, break off contract negotiations until the customer gives us someone at your level. We’ll negotiate this at my level, if necessary.”

Source: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Gus Bell: “Okay, I’II take your word for it. I have my own checklist for contract negotiations. I want you to come back with a guaranteed fee of $1.6 million for our stockholders. Have you worked out the possible situations based on the negotiated costs?”

Analyse the various types of Gantt charts Gus bell and Jeff can use to schedule preparations for the above negotiation.

You open up a business called Sweet Success, selling home baked cookies and bars. Your main supplier is Whole Grains, a company that supplies you with flour and sugar for your products. Your contract with Whole Grains is a standard purchase contract, and basically says Whole Grains will deliver 500 pounds of flour and 800 pounds of sugar every Monday to your commercial kitchen.

Is your contract subject to the UCC?

Why or why not?

Your contract includes an obligation of Whole Grains to deliver flour and sugar to your kitchen, but you learned in BusLaw that a delivery isn't the sale of good under the UCC. Does this mean that your contract is NOT subject to the UCC? Explain

One Monday, you decide you need an extra 200 pounds of flour. You call and order it, but you don't modify your written contract with Whole Grains. Will Whole Grains be in default if it fails to deliver the extra flour? Why or why not?

Gabriela, as a condition of employment, signs an agreement authorizing GRG, Inc. to deduct, from earned wages, any cash shortages resulting from her work as a cashier. She files a charge through the Department of Labor arguing that, despite the agreed-upon wage deductions, that GRG, Inc. has violated her rights under the FLSA by imposing such requirements. She argues she should not be penalized due to her "inadvertence" or "negligence". She argues she did not intend to cause the loss to GRG, Inc.. Does her argument have merit? Does GRG, Inc. prevail? Why, why not

Include all appropriate artefacts such as flow diagram, structured table, and others. For Asset Management Process (Acquire-to-Retire)

Use example(s) to discuss common heuristics that can be used to schedule resources in a multi-project environment and comment on their advantages and disadvantages.

Public health entrepreneurship is the application of entrepreneurial skills to advance the practice of public health. Please, discuss this statement, explaining the skills and competencies needed for public health entrepreneurs, and providing an example on successful public health entrepreneurship relevant to the UAE.

1) Consider the network corresponding to the following information.

1. Draw the network corresponding to the above information.
2. Using a table format, identify the critical path.
3. What is the project completion time?