Please review and comment below case analysis.

Leadership and Crisis Management during Covid19 Pandemic

Joy works as a project leader in XYZ company and manages service delivery for his client. It is critical to ensure continuity of business operations, so he had proactively planned and established a primary and secondary delivery centers. If one of his delivery center is down due to natural or manmade disaster or event, he will be able to continue delivery from alternate site. Joy leads a team of 200 people, equally spread among primary and secondary delivery centers and each of the team members work on a desktop located in a fixed workstation.

Client has always been happy about Joy's performance for his competency at work, people management and leadership skills. One fine day, a COVID like situation evoked across the world and client gets into a force majeure situation like none of the delivery centers are functional and cities across the continents were locked down, at a very short notice.

Client approached Joy to find a solution and ensure continuity of critical services during this lock down situation. Joy immediately sets up a conference call with his managers and jolts down the limitations for setting the shop up and running.

City is locked down so, there are no transport facilities for employees to reach workplace. Employees have a fixed desktop and workstation so do not have an alternative solution. Government has declared paid holidays during this pandemic situation, so few employees are reluctant to continue work.

Generally, the government will have a big say in this. They are going to allow the relaxation of the lockdown in a phased manner. As a leader, Joy going to have to really go through a series of steps to ensure that complying with those government guidelines, but at the same time, ensuring that people are safe, and are able to be active as well, because at the end of the day, he need them to run a business.

He thoroughly brainstorms on the solutions for each of the above problem statements and approaches client to provide a remote desktop solution to enable team members work from home, he seeks client permissions and gets a non-disclosure agreement signed from his team members to achieve client confidence on data security.

As few of the resources are reluctant to work from home, he sets a very clear expectation with client and does not over commit on work deliverable. He approaches client stating that team will be able to delivery only 50% of the work given current challenges in the lock down situation, despite know the fact that all the team members have got a personal laptop.

In this time of crises, Joy communicate very clearly and transparently all the important business scenarios. Proactive communication within the team and with the clients help to reduce loss for the company and build brand reputation of its own. In Crisis each expense kept in check by the company. The XYZ company consider the minimum operating requirements in case of crisis. Company workforce should always be retained in such times. The impact of crisis may tend to continue hence multiple scenarios, all possible solution should be found out by the company.

He set up a daily meeting with his entire span of control with 200 people to keeps them motivated with performance incentives and keeps a check on their wellbeing. His people management and leadership skills have helped the entire teamwork from home in less than 24 hours. Client has appreciated Joy and team for dedicatedly supporting and ensure there is no impact on business operations.

As a leader Joy assure the people to be strong and don’t panic to the disease and fight against the infection. He able to explain and inform that he handles the issue if there is a support and encouragement from the people. He engages and make them follow the rules and regulations that are important to follow in this situation. The precautions and process steps to stay away from the infected need to be informed to avoid the spread of the disease. The control steps and actions that the Joy is taking to control the disease need to communicate to the people to make them understand what the company is doing to handle the situation. For instance, Joy communicate with his team weekly basis, to get know problem team facing work from home and arrangement for help or support in order to accomplish task as plan. Company XYZ has launched application of Temperature Recording & Health Declaration for all employee. Therefore, Joy encourage use this application to record body temperature twice daily. With this data, he manages keep track health condition of this people.

Precaution is better than cure is the only way we can control the infection of Corona virus. As there is no proper medicine and enough medical kits in most of the countries the social distance and lockdown are the only solution. Joy are the drivers to drive the people in a right way to stay at home and stay safe. Company management actively work to control the spread of rumors through social media which is more dangerous than the disease. Because panic brings fear in the people that is more dangerous than the disease. Thus, company send daily email referring to accurate data from Ministry of Health with current nationwide condition Covid19. The positive information through data collection released to understand what company is trying to control the pandemic. Also includes the actions that development of vaccination to control the infection. Joy work towards to make the necessary goods available to the people through leading them in a right way. Joy daily basis interact and communicate the valuable information and precaution measure steps to boost some confidence.

Employee Attitudes and Turnover Are Issues at Yahoo!

Marissa Mayer, former vice president of Google Product Search, left the company to become CEO of Yahoo! in October 2012. At that time, Yahoo’s stock was selling for $15.74. In January 2016, it was selling for $29.77, after reaching a high of $52.28 in 2014. Investors were not happy with the drop in revenue—and market share—from 2014 to 2016. Some felt the company’s strategies were lacking and that new leadership was needed. Hedge fund investor Starboard Value LP demanded that the board fire Mayer.⁸¹

Let’s take a more detailed look at what happened at Yahoo!

According to a Dow Jones reporter, “Yahoo’s expenses have risen while revenue has declined in the three-and-a-half years since Mayer took the reins. In the first nine months of 2015, operating expenses totaled $3.9 billion, up 20 percent from the same period in 2014. During that same time, revenue excluding commissions paid to search partners dropped 4 percent to $3.09 billion.” Yahoo! also has been cutting costs via layoffs. The head count in 2016 was 10,700, down from a peak of 14,000 before Mayer arrived.⁸²

It is estimated that 33 percent of the workforce left the company in 2015. A CNBC reporter noted that Mayer’s concern about brain drain led her to approve “hefty retention packages—in some cases, millions of dollars—to persuade people to reject job offers from other companies. But those bonuses have had the side effects of creating resentment among other Yahoo! employees who have stayed loyal and not sought jobs elsewhere.”⁸³

Even more troubling is the manner in which some of these layoffs were executed. In 2014, “managers called in a handful of employees each week and fired them,” recalled one reporter. “No one knew who would be next, and the constant fear paralyzed the company, according to people who watched the process.” In March 2015, the situation got worse. “Mayer told the staff at an all-hands meeting that the bloodletting was finally over. Shortly thereafter, she changed her mind and demanded more cuts.”⁸⁴

In January 2016, Mayer jokingly told employees at a company meeting that “there are going to be no layoffs ‘this week.’” Insiders say these types of comments are eroding employee morale and leading to the exodus of key employees.⁸⁵

Key human resource decisions and policies likely contributed to poor employee work attitudes and turnover. The first was the company’s decision that employees could no longer telecommute. The head of human resources at the time, Jackie Reses, said, “We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.” She defended the decision by stating, “Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussion, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings.” Reses believed that telecommuting hurt the company. “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home,” she said.⁸⁶ But the decision also created bad press for the company.

A reporter noted, “The new rule didn’t just frustrate Yahoo employees who were directly affected, it also set off a fair amount of debate and criticism on Twitter from entrepreneurs, tech company employees and journalists who cover the industry.”⁸⁷ This in turn likely created a negative impact on Yahoo!’s ability to recruit highly talented employees.

The second human resource decision was Mayer’s implementation of the quarterly performance review (QPR) system. This process allegedly led to the firings of more than 600 people in 2013. The system works by first having managers rank their employees into five categories, each with a quota: greatly exceeds expectations (10 percent of employees), exceeds (25 percent), achieves (50 percent), occasionally misses (10 percent), and misses (5 percent). Two “misses” ratings in recent quarters can result in termination. Many managers see this system as a forced curve, though Mayer contends the rankings instead serve as guidelines.

Anonymous postings on an internal message board suggested that managers did not agree with Mayer. Here is what one manager had to say:

“I was forced to give an employee an occasionally misses, [and] was very uncomfortable with it. Now I have to have a discussion about it when I have my QPR meetings. I feel so uncomfortable because in order to meet the bell curve, I have to tell the employee that they missed when I truly don’t believe it to be the case. I understand we want to weed out mis-hires/people not meeting their goals, but this practice is concerning. I don’t want to lose the person mentally. How do we justify?”⁸⁸

Other employees felt the system was vulnerable to human bias and was not fairly applied across levels of management. One commented:

“Will the ‘occasionally misses’ classification apply to L2 and L3 execs also? At every goals meeting, we find Page 76senior staff who missed even the 70 percent goals. Thus, by definition, they should be classified as ‘occasionally misses.’ Two such classifications, and that person should be let go, amiright? How about we set an example for the rest of the company and can a few of the top execs who miss (or who sandbag their goals to make sure they ‘meet’)?”⁸⁹

Employees have become even more fearful of the process given the number of layoffs.

Sadly, employee morale does not appear to be improving. Surveys conducted by Glassdoor revealed that “only 34 percent of Yahoo!’s current employees foresee the company’s fortunes improving. That compares to 61 percent at tanking, scandal-struck Twitter and 77 percent at Google.”⁹⁰

Another issue that may be causing feelings of inequity involves Mayer’s compensation package. “Executive pay at Yahoo! is essentially based on Alibaba’s stock price,” which is outside her control: Yahoo! has a 15 percent stake in Chinese web giant Alibaba, valued at $25.7 billion. “Of Mayer’s $365 million pay over five years, only 3.3 percent will actually be affected by her performance.”⁹¹ This policy goes against the common managerial practice of paying people for their performance.

So where does this leave Mayer and Yahoo! as a whole? Broadly speaking, threats of layoffs continue. The company, which lost $4.4 billion in the last quarter of 2015, announced it would lay off 15 percent of its workforce in 2016.⁹² Under pressure from investors such as Starboard Value LP, Yahoo sold its core business to Verizon Communications Inc. for $4.83 billion in 2016. The sale included Yahoo’s e-mail business, websites dedicated to news, finance, and sports; advertising tools; real estate; and some patents. It does not include “Yahoo’s cash or its shares in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. After the deal closes, these assets will become a publicly traded investment company with a new name.”⁹³

APPY THE 3-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH TO OB

Step 1: Define the problem.

Step 2: Identify causes of the problem

Step 3: Make recommendations for solving the problem. Consider whether you want to resolve it, solve it, or dissolve it, Which recommendation is desirable and feasible?

Have any of you watch Shark Tank on television? What is it that the investors are looking for from these entrepreneurs? Do they hand out business plans or do they have to provide a business plan orally? What is the most important aspect of looking for outside investors, money or experience?

Prepare a flexible budget for Oman Electro-Mechanical Company for the year 2020. The company has provided the following production data for the production of 10,000 units. Table Q5 shows the budgeted expenses for the specified production output. Based on the information given, you are required to prepare a budget for a production of 15,000 units for the same product of the company

Table Q5

Items	Amount (OMR)
Direct materials	4,576
Direct labor	2,029
Variable overhead expenses	2,059
Fixed overheads	1,611
Selling expenses (20% fixed, 80% variable)	1,681
Administration expenses (fixed for all level of production)	386
Distribution expenses (30% fixed, 70% variable)	489

Discuss why the central limit theorem is so important in quality control. 200 word reply

Sandwich maker Subway opened its first overseas store in 1984, in the Middle East. Today, it has nearly 43,000 stores in 108 countries.

For Discussion

Discuss some of the challenges Subway might face in conducting marketing research in potential new international markets. What types of research would you recommend the company use in choosing new countries for expansion?

In one full page below, explain why the media in the U.S.A has been called the fourth branch of government. Include your opinion on whether this is an accurate portrayal. In one full page below, explain why the media in the U.S.A has been called the fourth branch of government. Include your opinion on whether this is an accurate portrayal.

Differentiate between the “discipline without punishment” approach and other alternatives to progressive discipline.

1. In what ways should new stores be designed differently from older stores so as to reflect the differences in Gen X and Gen Y customers?

2. What is merchandise presentation and how does it impact sales?

3. Why is the background music so important to a store’s performance?

How to choose a channel of distribution. Give examples.

500 words >

stages of life cycle cost with definition

effects of life cycle costing

“As a lender, I should be able to advertise however I wish without limits.” Discuss why this statement is outside of current fair lending practice and why it should be.

What is the main problem leading to Wow Sight and Sound bankrupt? Is planning style management function is needed to be improved? provide some recommendations for Wow Sight and Sound to cover its issues (write in a short paragraph)

Main issues:

- Customer satisfaction greatly decreased due to environmental conditions such as technology and online competition

- selling goods at a lower price and below market cost, there is a risk of diminishing profit margins

- the failure use of benchmarking and contingency plan

Hospital questionnaires: spend some time reviewing the mission and goal of the organization you selected so that they understand what they are trying to accomplish and why the questionnaire was used for evaluation.

why has the organization created a questionnaire or survey is it valid for this purpose

1. Importance of distribution channel. With examples.

2. Types of distribution channel. With examples

( 500- 1000 words )

please help