Hi, my name is Peter Metcalf. I'm the CEO and lead founder of Black Diamond. Very early on in the beginning of the company, the sports of climbing, mountaineering [inaudible] skiing were relatively small at that time. They've grown dramatically. However, if you aggregated the global demand for that product, then you could have a fairly meaningful business. I recognize that to be competitive, to do what we really wanted to do, we had to think globally. It was going to be about finding these global markets through finding other people who shared our passion, who were young, embryonic businesspeople in many cases who wanted to get into the business because they shared that passion, they knew the markets, they knew the space, and could develop a business as a distributer for us. And as time went on, we did begin to recognize that nobody really cares about Black Diamond as much as Black Diamond people do. And for that reason, we would have to take charge ultimately of the businesses that we were, the business we were conducting overseas through independent distributers. And there was also a recognition that, to be the same brand in Europe or in Asia as we were in North America, we would have to be something slightly different because of cultural values, cultural interpretations.

>> My name is Thomas Hodel. I'm from Switzerland. Born in Lausen. Doing outdoor sports were, was always a big part of my life, so a big passion of me, and that's why I'm here working at Black Diamond sharing that passion. And I have two roles at the moment. On a global view, I'm responsible for all the ski categories, so together with team here, we define strategies and directions for all the categories which belong to the ski side. And then, in Europe, I'm the European category director, so the role there is to make sure whatever we do here works also in Europe and the European needs are covered. It takes a long time to really figure out the differences in Europe, and it's, every country has a different culture, mentality. Having that European perspective, I think that that's definitely asset I can bring into this company and help this company to become more global, to address those needs better.

>> My name is Wim de Jager. Actually pronounced as Wim de Jager, but that's difficult. So Wim de Jager. I go with Wim de Jager. I'm the VP of manufacturing here at Black Diamond. Our business is really global. Our customers are global. And our manufacturing is definitely global as well. So, yeah, we own our own factory in Zhuhai. Products that we assemble and produce in the factory in Zhuhai are also part of this protective products that we use that are being used in climbing and in mountaineering, so the quality needs to be good. But also, we want to ensure that's being done in a good way. So we control it from start to finish, which means how we treat the people, how we manufacture, and how we run the organization, that we ensure that everything is done in the right way.

>> But more importantly, we have a certification and compliance process. We have auditors that go into these factories. We have a very strict guideline of ethical sourcing requirements. So we check these factories. We're not at some sweatshop. Factories that we're in, like, I think an apparel factory we're in in Bangladesh, the people get three meals a day. There's health care. There's English language. There's money for additional education. It's well ventilated, well lit. It's clean. It's safe. Because that's very important to us and 
what our values are.

1. When CEO says their manufacturing operations aren’t sweatshops, Black Diamond is exhibiting

A. Uncertainty avoidance

B. Global perspective

C. Social responsibility

D. Globalization

2. Peter Metcalf founded Black Diamond which creates, produces, and sells outdoor equipment. This is an example of

A. Manufacturing Organization

B. Service Organization

C. A tiered workforce

D. Outsourcing

3. Assume you are the CEO of Black Diamond, a global organization. You realize that some of the people in your organization are more comfortable working in a strong hierarchy while others prefer to work more like colleagues with their managers than as leaders. You have a project that requires highly structured reporting relationships with a clear hierarchy because it is a joint venture project. You believe people from some cultures may not feel comfortable with such a strong hierarchical relationship. In this case, you might seek to put people on the project who are from a (BLANK) country.

A. High Assertiveness

B. High Collectivism

C. High Power Distance

D. High uncertainty avoidance

Were there likely competing commitments with the company Zappos? Please explain and give a couple of examples. The article below will help answer the question but feel free to use any information you know about the company Zappos or any outside resources.

Zappos (www.zappos.com) is a Las Vegas-based online retailer that has been cited in fortune's list of the Best Companies to Work for and Fast Company's list of the world's most innovative company.

The company's first core value is "deliver through service," which is obvious if you've ever ordered from Zappos. It provides free shipping in both directions on all purchases. It often gives customers surprise upgrades for faster shipping. And it has a 365-day return policy.

Zappos uses a sophisticated computer system known as Genghis to manage its operations. This includes an order entry, purchasing, warehouse, management, inventory, shipping, and e-commerce system. For employees, it automatically sends daily e-mail reminders to call a customer back, coordinates the warehouse robot system, and produces reports that can specifically assess the impact on margins of putting a particular item on sale.

Free shipping has become a customer expectation. Other online retailers have copied the free-shipping policies of Zappos.

1. A local hardware store owner is preparing an annual advertising budget for his firm. While doing so, he considers his competitors' budgets as benchmarks and uses them to make specific allocations to the promotion mix in his budget. He believes that other established hardware firms in the industry know what they are doing and have goals similar to his. Based on these factors, which of the following methods for establishing an advertising budget is he most likely to use?

   		The all-you-can-afford approach
   		The task approach
   		The competitive parity approach
   		The research approach

What are the differences between social contextual learning and guided competency development? Are both types of learning (and associated training methods) necessary? Explain.

Put in your own words

In September 2017, Hurricane Irma was forecasted to have a major impact on South Florida; many were affected by her strong winds and water. Drinking water before and after Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys was scarce for South Florida residents.

• Imagine that on August 21, 2017, the Vice President of Distribution for Zephyrhills Water was notified that Hurricane Irma, a Level 4 hurricane may be on track to hit South Florida on September 10th, which of the three decision-making styles would the Vice President need to exhibit to ensure that South Florida residents are provided sufficient supplies of water? Provide support for your choice. Describe the possible plan of action.
• Imagine it's September 6, 2017, and the Vice President of Distribution for Publix was notified that Hurricane Irma, a Level 4 hurricane was on track to hit South Florida on September 10th, which of the three decision-making styles would the Vice President need to exhibit to ensure that South Florida residents are provided sufficient supplies of water? Provide support for your choice. Describe the possible plan of action.
• In reflection, what could leadership at these entities have done to better prepare before and after Hurricane Irma's arrival that would have had a lesser impact on the residents of South Florida.

Submit a 1 - 1.5 page, double-spaced essay document. Provide the reader with an introduction.

Managers at Fluid Induction Industries are reviewing the economic feasibility of manufacturing a part that the company currently purchases from a supplier. Forecasted demand for this part is 16,800 units. Fluidoperates 250 days per year.

Fluid’s financial analysts established the cost of 9% for the use of funds for investments within the company. Also, over the past year $2,200,000 was the average investment in the company’s inventory. Accounting information shows that a total of $101,000 was spent on taxes and insurance related to the company’s inventory. Additionally, an estimated $29,000 was lost to inventory shrinkage, this included broken and damaged goods, and pilferage. $100,000 was spent on warehouse overhead, including expenses for heating and lighting.

Two hours are required to process and coordinate an order for the part regardless of the quantity ordered. Purchasing salaries average $28 per hour, including benefits. A detailed accounting analysis on 1,250 orders revealed that $25,000 was expensed for internet, paper and postage directly related to this ordering process.

Lead time for this part is one-week. The use of the part during the lead time is normally distributed with a mean of 960 units and a standard deviation of 16 units. The company’s policy regarding stock-outs is that one stock-out per year is permitted.

The company has a current contract to purchase the part from the supplier for $90 per unit. Fluid has increased its manufacturing capacity and is considering producing the part in house. The utilization of the increased capacity will produce at a rate of 4,800 units per month with up to 5 months of production time available. Management believes that with a two-week lead-time it can schedule the production of the part when needed. . The use of the part during the lead time is normally distributed with a mean of 1,280 units and a standard deviation of 200 units. Production costs are estimated at $76.50 per unit.

A major concern for the company is the fact that it will take two full 8 hour shift to set up the equipment. The total cost of labor is estimated to be $150 per hour.

Managerial Report.

Develop a managerial report that will address the question as to whether the company should purchase or manufacture the part itself. Include the following factors in your report:

1. An analysis of the holding cost.

2. An analysis of the ordering cost.

3. An analysis of setup cost.

4. Develop an inventory for ordering a quantity form the supplier and producing a quantity in house.

5. Include such information as Q, number of orders/production runs, cycle time, ROP, amount of safety stock, expected maximum inventory, annual cost of the units purchase or manufactured.

6. Make a recommendation to management whether the company should purchase or manufacture the part and the cost savings associated with your recommendation.

how do non- profits, government organizations or cooperatives leverage the concepts of corporate and business level strategies?

What are some legal matters comcast has been involved in and describe their customer services, tell whether it is good or bad.

Over the last few years, brick and mortar retailers have come up with some ingenious ways to gather data about the customers who walk into their stores. We’ve taken a look at many of them in past issues of this newsletter, including one story about “smart” mannequins that observe consumer patterns using cameras in the dummies’ eyes. Although that may skew a bit on the creepy side, it’s important to keep in mind that physical retailers are merely trying to imitate their online rivals. After all, websites like Amazon don’t need invasive cameras in order to track your every move.

Still, people are understandably wary about being watched while they shop. That’s why the latest customer-tracking tech doesn’t use cameras or any other equipment that might seem particularly invasive. Instead, this system relies on determining customers’ locations using small, inexpensive “beacons” distributed throughout a store. These beacons transmit signals that can be picked up by a smartphone’s Bluetooth technology, pinpointing the position of the phone’s holder within 2 centimeters. Once the customer’s location has been determined, they can then receive special offers and coupons if they’ve downloaded the store’s app.

Retailers like Macy’s, American Eagle, and Safeway have already implemented this tracking method in some of their stores. Not only are the beacons’ accuracy and effectiveness appealing, but also the system’s opt-in aspect removes much of the creepiness factor. “People won’t know these beacons are there,” said one industry expert. “They’ll just know their app has suddenly become smarter.” The beacons have applications outside the retail world as well. For instance, Major League Baseball and the National Football League have both tested the method in stadiums in order to direct users to shorter concession stand lines. The beacons have also been used at museums to give visitors historical information as they walk through a gallery.

1. Are the “beacons” being used by retailers a violation of consumer privacy?

2. Can the “beacons” be considered a benefit to consumers?

What is procurement of material and what is purchasing of material . i want valid source , not copy from anywhere else with reference .

Robin Hood

Essentials of Strategic Management. The Quest for Competitive Advantage

P. 346

Questions (4)

1. What problems does Robin Hood have? What issues need to be addressed?

2. What strategic options does Robin Hood have? Is continuing with the present strategy an option or is the present strategy obsolete? Explain.

3. What action plan would you recommend to Robin?

4. How should Robin implement the recommended plan? What action steps will need to be taken to make the recommended strategy work successfully?

#1)

• What are the primary differences between managers and leaders?
• Can someone be a manager and a leader? Why or why not?
• Consider your current place of employment, or any past place of employment. List the job title and describe at least one position which fits your description of manager. Then list the job title and describe a different position that fits your description of a leader.
• Consider the leadership position you've listed and described in Requirement #3, did this person display or utilize any management skills in addition to their leadership skills? Why or why not?
• Can you think of anyone else who is a manager but not a leader? Or someone who is a leader but not a manager? What makes them one and not the other?
• Please note: Do not use examples such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Richard Branson or other similar leaders.
• What traits do you believe characterize successful leaders, based upon the trait approach? Please explain the reason for your selection(s).

Case Incident 1

Jack Nelson’s Problem

As a new member of the board of directors for a local bank, Jack Nelson was being introduced to all the employees in the home office. When he was introduced to Ruth Johnson he was curious about her work and asked her what the machine she was using did. Johnson replied that she really did not know what the machine was called or what it did. She explained that she had only been working there for two months. She did, however, know precisely how to operate the machine. According to her supervisor, she was an excellent employee.

At one of the branch offices, the supervisor in charge spoke to Nelson confidentially, telling him that “something was wrong,” but she didn’t know what. For one thing, she explained, employee turnover was too high, and no sooner had one employee been put on the job than another one resigned. With customers to see and loans to be made, she continued, she had little time to work with the new employees as they came and went.

All branch supervisors hired their own employees without communication with the home office or other branches. When an opening developed, the supervisor tried to find a suitable employee to replace the worker who had quit.

After touring the 22 branches and finding similar problems in many of them, Nelson wondered what the home office should do or what action he should take. The banking firm was generally regarded as a well-run institution that had grown from 27 to 191 employees in the past eight years. The more he thought about the matter, the more puzzled Nelson became. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the problem, and he didn’t know whether to report his findings to the president.

Questions

1. What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank’s branches?
2. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help?
3. What specific functions should an HR unit carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? What role should the Internet play in the new HR organizatioN?

Discuss the basic steps of the program evaluation. Do you believe that the 2016 State of Evaluation Report by Innovation Network appropriately followed all those steps? Were there any additional steps possibly overlooked by the Innovation Network? Defend your argument with examples.

Read the attached HBR Case Study: "Keeping to the Fairway" Should Pace Sterling proceed with this sponsorship?

Companies regularly face decisions centered on how best to market their brand. Choices involving spokespeople or organizations with which they partner are critical. This week's assignment is to prepare a case analysis which responds to the information listed below. Your analysis should be in a MS Word document in paragraph form, minimum 2 pages, double-spaced, Arial, 12 pt font: Should Pace Sterling proceed with this sponsorship? Defend your position Pro or Con. When drafting your answer, take the following into consideration: In your introductory paragraph(s) be sure to provide some brief information about the case Do you feel that this sponsorship made any sense in the first place? Why or why not? Is the sponsorship for Pace Sterling worth any negative publicity that might accompany their relationship? If a company associates itself with a sexist organization, what is that saying about their own values? Is that important particularly in today’s #Me Too movement