You are the budget director of a small school district that has a budget of $10 million and serves 2,500 children in six schools: three elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The school district receives its budget from the state, and state officials have told you that the state is running a deficit and the school budget is being cut by $250,000. The state provides the revenue; however, the school district does have a partnership with a foundation that provides funding for innovative and supportive programs. What part of the budget would you first examine? Why? After that examination, what would you cut? Why?

Using the same scenario from the question above, the budget director must present alternatives to the district superintendent for consideration. Describe the alternatives you would recommend so the superintendent and/or board has choices.

using chapter 13 data set 2, the researchers want to find out whether there is a difference among the graduation rates (and these are percentages) of five high schools over a 10-year period. Is there? (hint: are the years a factor?)

A loan company wants to design a database to track student loans. Each student attending school is eligible for a loan. A student may have more than one loan. A student may be registered, possibly at different times, in more than one school. Each loan should belong to only one bank. Each bank can approve as many loans as it desires. For each loan, the loan company will track: the student’s SSN, name, address, amount of loan, date of the loan, interest rate ( which may be different for each loan as determined by the bank), duration of the loan, monthly payment, remaining balance, school ID, school name and address, number of years the student has been at the school, bank name, bank branch, and bank ID. Draw an ER diagram. State any assumptions you make in the diagram

The Authentic Baking Taste: The Baker Corner, an authentic taste behind every success

With a strong influence from his French origins and culture, Aly Salama utilized his entrepreneurial spirit and founded The Baker Corner baking shop in 1960 in Egypt. Aly developed a special baking recipe that earned his shop a reputation as being one of the premium bakeries. Since the beginning, The Baking Corner has been a family-run business. Aly Salama’s three sons are currently managing the company; through the transition between generations, the company has aimed to deliver a premium product that is consistent and meets customer standards. Everything from the recipes being virtually unchanged to the layout and colors of the shops needed to be identical to ensure success. Every detail of the place is designed to reflect traditions and authenticity describing The Baking Corner’s as an experience that allows customers to step back in time with a handcrafted product. As customers enter the shop, The Baking Corner’s employees play a special role by their famous storytelling activities; every employee is trained to tell different stories about the bakery making and famous recipes in two to three minutes so that customers get entertained and get more knowledgeable about the brand’s identity and core values. The new generation expanded the product range to include freshly baked cakes, pastries, homemade desserts, freshly baked breads and sandwiches. Industry observers point to several aspects of the Baking Corner’s experience that make it the first choice for young adults and families seeking to get the best quality of freshly baked products at convenient prices; they want genuine home-made recipes made with high-quality ingredients, superior value, fun-filled atmosphere, warm, comfy décor, and quick, friendly service. The company’s famous slogan “The authentic Baking Taste” says it all.  

Over the years, the business expanded to be one of Cairo’s best baking services. The main headquarter is now located in 10th of Ramadan city; the three brothers managed to invest in the new location and build a new factory to become one of the main ready-made bakery suppliers to major supermarkets and grocery shops. Moreover, they continued the family’s legacy by keeping the Baker Corner shops as one of Cairo’s premium bakeries destinations: there are currently seven bakery shops around town, in addition to a new shop in Alexandria with additional plans to expand. With each new store came the difficult task of maintaining the original experience for new, prospective, and loyal customers. To ensure customer satisfaction at the new locations, the management emphasizes the critical nature of replicating every aspect of the original idea.  

In light of the current strong competition with famous bakery and pastry shops, the three brothers have decided to take their family business at a different level. Their strategy aimed at becoming one of the leading providers of frozen goods presenting a new ready to bake range offering ready-made pies, rolls, puff pastry doughs and other new freshly made and frozen goods to be stocked and ready to use within only 15 minutes. They remain committed at presenting their products with their authentic recipes offering the best quality; they consider this promise as a duty that helps protect and build the brand. Accordingly, they hired and trained the new staff to work on their production and distribution plan. They aim to supply their new frozen products to different supermarkets and grocery shops as well as to target other cafes and restaurants and sell in bigger volume.

2

Throughout the years, The Baking Corner has strived to deliver a promise to customers by staying true to the original product. Yet the company has a tough road ahead: maintain the superior performance of its old bakery shops and at the same time focus on the new expansion project. Everything from the recipes to décor of the stores need to be identical to ensure success in every new store; enthusiastic workers must be found. The owners are also concerned on how to sustain such growth in light of the global economic challenges that prevail due to the pandemic situation. What is the most appropriate strategy for this growth given the current economic condition? Not an easy task…

Case Questions

1. Explain whether The Baker Corner is working B2B and/or B2C, and why. (2 points) 2. Describe The Baker Corner’s Company target segment using evidence from the case. (3 points)

3. Outline the role of business in society according to your understanding of the course and the case. (5 points)

4. Mention the different departments that might be available in The Baker Company and explain the role of each department. (5 points)

5. Describe the challenges that might the new generation in maintaining the company growth. Please suggest from your point of view your recommendations to them. (5 points)

WG is one of the world’s leading makers of mobile phones, with market share of approximately 20%.Unlike any of its major competitors, it is based in Narnia, a high-cost, developed country. Narnia has very limited natural resources, but has developed significant expertise over the decades in high-end precision engineering and efficient use of materials. WG is quoted on the Narnian stock exchange, where it is the largest company by market capitalisation. It has a wide shareholder base including most Narnian

institutional investors and private individuals. Its largest three shareholders are institutions who each own around 2% of the company.WG was founded in the 1960s to make telephone equipment and in the 1990s managers made a strategic decision to focus on the then-tiny mobile phone market. This was partly attributable to the Narnian government being among the first to fully deregulate their telecoms market, which lead to lower call costs. Narnia and its neighbouring countries are also fairly rural, and its populations were enthusiastic early adopters of mobile phones. WG was given a particular boost in 1995 when the transmission standard they had pioneered was adopted as the basis for calls by the government in Narnia and many other governments around the world.

Serving a rapidly growing market, WG quickly gained economies of scale that allowed cheaper production than competitors emerging later. WG then exploited these to open up export markets all over the world,enhancing their advantage further.

Unlike many of its competitors, who subcontract their manufacturing to others, WG assembles most of its own handsets. Its factories are mostly in Narnia, where it benefits from the highly educated population and the presence of high-quality local suppliers to carry out increasingly high-tech manufacturing processes. Narnia has very good communication links, which helps suppliers to deliver rapidly.

Technology is advancing all the time and WG regularly launches new, more sophisticated devices, most recently a suite of smartphones. However, the fastest-growing demand is for cheaper, basic models which just carry out voice calls and text messaging. This demand is driven by users in developing countries, who are concerned to keep costs down, but also want the status of using a well-known brand such as WG. WG has invested significant resources in building up a local sales presence in these markets, which allows it to spot trends and produce phones tailored to local tastes and languages.

Competition in the industry is intense, and has become more so due to a recent global economic downturn. The Narnian government has also announced new anti-pollution measures that will result in large-scale manufacturers having to pay more than previously to dispose of their waste products. Shortly afterwards, WG announced that they will increase the proportion of handsets manufactured in lower-cost countries from 15% to 40% over the next three years. Component manufacturers announced plans to follow them to the new locations. This will involve cutting over 1,000 jobs in Narnia. A spokesman for the

Narnian government called the decision “disappointing”. A trade union official said,

“WG has increasingly been putting pressure on its suppliers to lower costs and respond more quickly to market fluctuations. This has made it unprofitable for them to operate in Narnia and lead to decisions like this”.

Required: (a) Analyse WG’s environment using two appropriate models SWOT , 5 forces of Porter

(b) Discuss the main stakeholders in WG and how management could try to retain their support as it seeks to reduce costs.

Florentia (F) is the managing director of XO Pty Ltd, a profitable company that runs a dance school (mainly ballroom dancing style) and that specialises in buying and selling dance clothes for women - mainly between the ages of 45-65 years. XO has a board of directors that includes 5 majority shareholders and F chairs the monthly meetings. Recently, F was having lunch with a friend (Luis) who has no connection whatsoever with XO although F would like him to join the dance school as she wants to attract more male dance partners to attend. At lunch, Luis asks F if her company would be interested in helping him to market a new organic deodorant that he has invented (made from ingredients extracted from mango skin). Luis claims his new product is primarily for young men and has the advantage of helping them think they are more attractive when they use this product. F tells Luis that her company would not be interested because it sells women’s dance clothing and runs a dance studio that is mainly for mature women. However, she offers to help him by setting up a new company called Amazing Mango Products Pty Ltd (AMP). F and Luis become its directors and members. As F contributed most of the setup capital, she became its majority member. AMP is an immediate success and quickly makes considerable profit. At a board meeting of XO nine months later, F proposes that XO enter into a long-term contract with AMP to buy supplies of organic mango-skin deodorant for re-sale. She proposes that many of the women who attend dance school might try it and then promote it on the internet. The board agrees and F negotiates with the board to receive a small commission on every sale as she found this business opportunity for them. XO then makes large profits from selling the organic deodorant. XO then learns informally that F is actually the majority member in AMP. Directors are very annoyed with F and want to know if anything can be done. Has F breached any of her director’s duties? If so, what remedies should XO seek?

Assignment #4: T test for Dependent Samples

Directions: Conduct a T test for Dependent Samples to answer the questions based on the following scenario. (Assume a nondirectional research hypothesis (two-tailed test) and a level of significance of .05)

To further examine the school performance scores of the district, the superintendent identified schools within the district that could be matched to schools from surrounding districts using a series of demographic characteristics such as size, socio-economic status, and percent special education students. The data that were collected are presented below. School Pair Superintendent School Matched School School Pair Superintendent School Matched School 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 78 72 73 80 79 68 72 81 71 60 69 71 69 69 65 86 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 77 71 79 85 66 75 83 82 72 77 70 70 90 51 71 88 71 62

1. What are the mean school performance scores for the superintendent’s district and matched schools?

2. What are the standard deviations of the school performance scores for the superintendent’s district and matched schools?

3. State an appropriate null hypothesis for this analysis.

4. What is the observed or computed value of t?

5. What is the value of the degrees of freedom that are reported in the output?

6. What is the reported level of significance from the T Test for Dependent Means?

7. Based on the results of the T Test for Dependent Means, what would you conclude about the difference in scores of schools in the superintendent’s district and the matched schools?

8. Present the results as they might appear in an article. This must include a narrative statement that reports the results of the T Test for Dependent Means.

The Case of Bridgeport Academy of a new performance management system designed specifically for support staff at a school in the United Kingdom.

Background • This fictionalized case study is based on a real organization. The school is a public, mixed comprehensive secondary school located in the United Kingdom with an average annual turnover in excess of £1 million. Because it is government funded, it is a non-profit organization. • Although the case study is in a school setting, many of the issues identified are the same across different countries and different industries—for example, the tension between the exempt employees and support staff. • There are 120 employees: 80 teaching and 40 non-teaching employees. The school has more than 800 students aged 13-18. • The case study’s author was the school’s HR manager. • The actual events took place in 2004-05.

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this case study, students will: • Understand the components of an effective performance management system. • Appreciate the complexities involved in designing a performance management system. • Demonstrate an awareness of the practical issues surrounding implementation of a new performance management system. • Understand the benefits of performance management to different stakeholders. • Recognize the importance of training and continuous feedback

The Case Study: Five years earlier, Bridgeport Academy, located in the United Kingdom, implemented a performance management system for all school employees. The performance management system was designed for teachers by the British Department for Education and Skills (DfES), but was used to evaluate school support staff as well because there was no system specifically geared toward support staff. The school had no HR personnel to custom-design a system for support staff; and at the time, most of the emphasis in terms of performance management was paid to teachers. Because few support staff members were classified as exempt employees, a specialized performance management system was not perceived to be a priority.

School Staff Support Roles Iclude: • Administrators • Teaching assistants • Learning mentors • Science technicians (who support the work of Science teachers) • Computer technicians • Finance managers

The DfES system required employees to: • Agree to 3-6 performance objectives for the upcoming performance period. One of the objectives that must be included requires that teacher performance encompass “pupil progress as well as ways of developing and improving teachers’ professional practice.” Another objective must be related to meeting School Development Plan goals. • Undergo at least one classroom observation annually. • Conduct a formal performance review focused on the identified performance objectives. The meeting should also include the following: • Review, discussion and confirmation of the teacher’s essential tasks. • Identification of employee strengths and achievements. • Identification of developmental areas and an action plan on how they will be met. • Agreement to future performance objectives and an action plan for the upcoming year.

Support staff members were assigned teacher appraisers. Teacher appraisers had been trained to use the system; support staff members had not. As a result, support staff employees were appraised by someone who had little knowledge of their roles and responsibilities.

Review of the DfES Performance Management Process An HR manager was hired at the school. Because of concerns raised by support staff about the DfES performance management system, the HR manager reviewed the system.

During the review, the following issues were raised: • A large percentage of staff members did not meet the annual deadline to complete the appraisal process. • There was confusion among staff about what exactly needed to be completed and when. • Staff members thought the system was a ‘waste of time’. • A trade union representative thought the system was not appropriate for all staff members. • The DfES system was irrelevant to support staff. For example, support staff members could not set objectives in pupil progress or have lessons observed. • Little attention was paid to identifying training needs and further, when needs were identified, there was no follow-up with appropriate actions. • Appraisals were led by teachers who had little knowledge of the support staff member’s job. • Performance meetings were a one-way process with some performance objectives established before the meeting started.

New System Design It was crucial in designing the new system that the HR manager address the concerns raised about the DfES system. Involving support staff and relevant trade union representatives in the process was critical to gain support of the new system and to ensure transparency, a key organizational goal.

Table 1 shows how some of the practical issues were addressed:

Table 1. Practical performance management issues. Issues with the old system: How it was addressed in the new system Meetings were held on short notice. Employees didn’t know what to talk about. Job descriptions were out-of-date, making performance expectations ambiguous. There was too much documentation required in the old system, some of which was confusing. Appraisers were not knowledgeable in training issues. Both parties were under-prepared. Reviews were conducted in public areas. Appraisers not matched to appraisees.

How it was addressed in the new system: Both parties must agree to the date of the meeting at least one week in advance. Employees must complete a pre-meeting document highlighting proposed areas of discussion. The completed document must be sent to the appraiser in advance of the meeting. Job descriptions are reviewed on an annual basis to ensure they are accurate. Required documents are kept to a minimum, are written in plain terms and avoid unnecessary jargon. All appraisers are given information on available local training programs and are expected to help the appraisee identify the most appropriate training intervention. Training is provided to all staff members so everyone is clear about expectations. Performance appraisal checklists are also distributed to both parties. A private meeting room is available for all review meetings. The appraisers and appraisees are scheduled so that the most appropriate person conducts the review.

New System Content The new system allows the appraiser and employee to review past performance; set goals and objectives for the upcoming year; and identify training and development needs. Performance review meetings occur annually, but both parties are encouraged to meet at regular intervals throughout the year to discuss progress. In the new system, most support staff employees’ performance reviews are conducted with their direct line manager (usually another support staff member). This way, the appraiser understands the employee’s job and can fairly assess the employee’s performance. In some cases, though, the most appropriate appraiser may be a teacher. For example, the best person to appraise a Chemistry class science technician is the teacher in charge of the classroom, since the teacher works with the technician on a daily basis.

Reviewing Performance: Appraisers and employees must independently complete the Performance Review Meeting form (Work tool #2) before the performance review meeting. The new system does not to use a formal rating scale; this approach was too closely associated with the DfES system. Instead, the system is designed to assess general performance and then employee-specific projects and/or tasks. The new system is also designed so that the appraiser can evaluate if the employee has met the objectives identified during the last performance review.

The new system also requires annual review of job descriptions to make sure they are up-to-date. Support staff jobs have changed significantly during the last few years; support staff members are increasingly asked to complete tasks traditionally performed by teachers. Today, many support staff employees prepare learning materials and work directly with students to meet their learning needs. It is important, then, that job descriptions are reviewed regularly so that both parties understand employee roles and responsibilities and can avoid misunderstandings. Job description changes must be approved by line managers to ensure there are no negative implications for the organization or other employees.

Another issue employees raised in regard to the DfES system was that it was a one-way communication process where the appraiser often identified goals and objectives before meeting with the employee. To ensure that the new system is a two-way communication process, employees must complete the Preparing for the Performance Review form (Work tool #1) before the meeting. This form helps employees identify issues and areas they would like to discuss with their appraiser.

Finally, the new performance review system requires appraisers and employees to document any agreed actions so that everyone understands the action plan for the upcoming year. This documentation can also be used to monitor progress throughout the year.

Setting Goals and Objectives: The new system is designed to help employees understand how their jobs contribute to the wider objectives of their team, unit and the overall organization. To achieve this, employee goals and objectives must be specific and achievable, and not phrased in broad strategic terms. To help, employees are asked to complete the Performance Review Meeting document (Work tool #2).

The new process uses the SMART system to help employees define their goals and objectives. In the SMART system, goals can be monitored and reviewed objectively as part of next year’s review process. Using the SMART method means that objectives are:

Specific. The objective must be clear and unambiguous. Measurable. The objective must be quantifiable in some way in terms of quantity or quality. Achievable. The objective should be challenging but also realistic. Relevant. The objective should be related to the employee’s job or organizational goals. Time framed. The objective should clearly state the date for completion.

Identifying Training and Development Needs: In the final step, appraisers and employees identify training needs. Training should be linked to the goals and objectives set for the coming year. Employees can request additional personal or professional development that they feel would benefit them. The appraiser then works with the HR manager to create a training and development action plan. The appraiser is responsible for monitoring the employee’s progress toward the training and development goals throughout the year.

Supporting the System: To successfully implement the new system, all employees had to be trained. With agreement from support staff employees, two training courses were created—one for appraisers and one for appraisees. The HR manager who designed the new system led the training. Table 2 shows key areas that are explored and discussed in both sessions.

Table 2. Key areas covered in performance management training. • Benefits of performance management to staff, managers and the organization. • Characteristics of a successful performance review. • How to prepare for a performance review meeting. • General communication skills, with an emphasis on effective listening. • Understanding and setting SMART goals and objectives. • Identifying training and development activities.

The training for appraisers included how to provide effective feedback. The following points were emphasized: • Feedback should be constructive and provide potential solutions. • Emphasis should be on the positive and acknowledge strengths. • Feedback should be based on facts rather than opinions and backed with evidence. • The goal should be on moving forward in a positive way.

Embedding Performance Management To ensure the new system is an ongoing process rather than an annual event, regular reviews were built into the design. Six months after the annual performance appraisal, the appraiser and employee meet again to review the status of performance objectives and take any necessary action. There is also flexibility in the system so that reviews can occur more often if desired. Because effective feedback is critical at each step in the performance review process, delivering effective feedback is highlighted in the managers’ training program. Refresher training on the performance management system will be held annually for all staff and will be required for all new staff with line management responsibilities.

Conclusions

Southwood School recognized that their existing performance management system was not meeting all employees’ needs, undertook a comprehensive review to assess where it was coming up short, and introduced an improved process. The new system reflected support staff input, allowing them to feel more engaged in the new system and gain ownership. Since the new system was launched, there has been more employee participation; training and development activities have increased by more than 200 percent, bringing new skills into the organization.

Although this case study is a success story, it is important to recognize that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to designing a new performance management system. It is important to take the context and culture of the organization into consideration.

Based on the information provided in this case study, please provide discussion type responses (in consecutive order) realtive in the subject area of PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:

1. Do you think support staff employees were right to complain about the previous performance management system? EXPLAIN

2. What are some potential barriers to the successfu implementation of the new system and how would you overcome these barriers?

3. Is it appropriate to use measurable outputs as goals? If so, please give some examples.

4. What types of training and development opportunities could be offered to employees?

Your timely responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

6. A clinical trial was conducted using a new method designed to increase the probability of conceiving a girl. As of this​ writing, 961 babies were born to parents using the new​ method, and 898 of them were girls. Use a 0.01 significance level to test the claim that the new method is effective in increasing the likelihood that a baby will be a girl. Identify the null​ hypothesis, alternative​ hypothesis, test​ statistic, P-value, conclusion about the null​ hypothesis, and final conclusion that addresses the original claim. Use the​ P-value method and the normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution.

Which of the following is the hypothesis test to be​ conducted?

A. H 0 : p > 0.5

  H 1 : p = 0.5

B. H 0 : p = 0.5

    H 1 : p ≠0.5

C. H 0 : p = 0.5

     H 1 : p > 0.5

D. H 0 : p < 0.5

    H 1 : p = 0.5

E. H 0 : p = 0.5

    H 1 : p < 0.5

F. H 0 : p ≠ 0.5

    H 1 = 0.5

What is the test​ statistic?

Z=____

​(Round to two decimal places as​ needed.)

What is the​ P-value?

​P-value=____

​(Round to four decimal places as​ needed.)

What is the conclusion about the null​ hypothesis?

A. Fail to reject the null hypothesis because the​ P-value is less than or equal to the significance​ level, a.

B. Fail to reject the null hypothesis because the​ P-value is greater than the significance​ level, a.

C. Reject the null hypothesis because the​ P-value is greater than the significance​ level, a.

D. Reject the null hypothesis because the​ P-value is less than or equal to the significance​ level, alpha.

What is the final​ conclusion?

A. There is not sufficient evidence to warrant rejection of the claim that the new method is effective in increasing the likelihood that a baby will be a girl.

B. There is not sufficient evidence to support the claim that the new method is effective in increasing the likelihood that a baby will be a girl.

C. There is sufficient evidence to warrant rejection of the claim that the new method is effective in increasing the likelihood that a baby will be a girl.

D. There is sufficient evidence to support the claim that the new method is effective in increasing the likelihood that a baby will be a girl.

the number of fire engines available to extinguish fires in a small town is two. When a fire occurs it occupies one fire engine for a full day. If the occurence of fires is Poisson distributed with a mean of 0.7 per day, what is the probability that a fire will occur for which no engine is available?