Maximum Megahertz Project Olaf Gundersen, the CEO of Wireless Telecom Company, is in a quandary. Last year he accepted the Maximum Megahertz Project suggested by six up-andcoming young R&D corporate stars. Although Olaf did not truly understand the technical importance of the project, the creators of the project needed only $600,000, so it seemed like a good risk. Now the group is asking for $800,000 more and a six-month extension on a project that is already four months behind. However, the team feels confident they can turn things around. The project manager and project team feel that if they hang in there a little longer they will be able to overcome the roadblocks they are encountering—especially those that reduce power, increase speed, and use a new technology battery. Other managers familiar with the project hint that the power pack problem might be solved, but “the battery problem will never be solved.” Olaf believes he is locked into this project; his gut feeling tells him the project will never materialize, and he should get out. John, his human resource manager, suggested bringing in a consultant to axe the project. Olaf decided to call his friend Dawn O’Connor, the CEO of an accounting software company. He asked her, “What do you do when project costs and deadlines escalate drastically? How do you handle doubtful projects?” Her response was, “Let another project manager look at the project. Ask: ‘If you took over this project tomorrow, could you achieve the required results, given the extended time and additional money?’ If the answer is no, I call my top management team together and have them review the doubtful project in relation to other projects in our project portfolio.” Olaf feels this is good advice. Unfortunately, the Maximum Megahertz Project is not an isolated example. Over the last five years there have been three projects that were never completed. “We just seemed to pour more money into them, even though we had a pretty good idea the projects were dying. The cost of those projects was high; those resources could have been better used on other projects.” Olaf wonders, “Do we ever learn from our mistakes? How can we develop a process that catches errant projects early? More importantly, how do we ease a project manager and team off an errant project without embarrassment?” Olaf certainly does not want to lose the six bright stars on the Maximum Megahertz Project. Olaf is contemplating how his growing telecommunications company should deal with the problem of identifying projects that should be terminated early, how to allow good managers to make mistakes without public embarrassment, and how they all can learn from their mistakes. Give Olaf a plan of action for the future that attacks the problem. Be specific and provide examples that relate to Wireless Telecom Company. Read the case study above “Maximum Megahertz Project” (Page 549 from: Larson, E.W. & Gray, C.F. (2010). Project Management:

a) What do you think Olaf Gundersen, the CEO of Wireless Telecom Company should do? Use what you know from the case and the course to build the arguments? (The answer will not be graded based on right or wrong but how the arguments are developed.)

b) What are some potential conflicts that could result from the steps in recommended in a? How could you apply change management or conflict avoidance/resolution techniques to avoid or resolve these?

c) Based on what you have learned in this class, what could have been done so that the project problems would have been avoided? (Of course, you do not have complete information but use what is here and what you have learned is best practice in managing projects.) (30 points)

d) Costs and deadlines of the projects escalated in the Maximum Megahertz project. Why are accurate estimates critical to project management? What would you advise Olaf about his problems with estimate? How to develop a process that would result in more realistic estimates?

e) How should Olaf improve project management in his organization?

1. The monthly cost of heating our company office is a fixed cost, a CEO says, "because we adjust the thermostat according to the weather conditions which are beyond our control." Do you agree? Is this a variable cost? Explain your ground concisely.

2. At Q company, the annual depreciation expenses for the production equipment are computed under an accelerated depreciation method, resulting in annually changing depreciation amounts. with respect to the production volume, the depreciation amount total level is a ____ cost. Then, explain your ground concisely below.

The CEO of your company is concerned that a natural disaster could make your company's information systems unavailable long enough to significantly impact business. Currently, critical systems like file servers, e-mail services, and applications, such as HR, Payroll, Billing, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), are hosted in a local datacenter. Your job is to educate the board on the benefits and risks associated with using cloud services for business continuity and disaster recovery in order to aid their decision on whether to move to a cloud-based service or continue working from a local datacenter.

Prepare a 4- to 5-page Microsoft® Word document discussing the use of cloud services for business continuity and disaster recovery. Include the following:

Cloud Services for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery:

Define business continuity and disaster recovery in the context of the cloud services

Show the importance of disaster continuity and disaster recovery to the function of the business

Risk Assessment:

Identify which risks can be transferred to the cloud provider based on the functions of the business

Explain new risks associated with using cloud services based on the functions of the business Cost/Benefit Analysis: Show the costs associated with a cloud-based solution for the business Outline the benefits associated with a cloud-based solution for the business

Conclusion:

Relate the risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis to the business continuity and disaster recovery for the needs the business

Imagine you are CEO of a large company and your board has asked you to take a more sustainable approach to reporting firm performance Do you adopt Triple Bottom Line reporting or Balanced Scorecard? Why or why not? Now imagine you operate a large call centre in Bangalore, India. What social measures would you use for triple bottom line reporting?

The CEO of your company would like to revamp the retirement options offered to employees.

Create a proposal that describes two to three different retirement plans that could be offered. In the proposal, you must identify specific requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 that the organization would need to fulfill. In addition to the proposal, management has asked the HR department to design a communication plan that encourages employee participation for one of the proposed retirement plans.

Prepare a 525- to 700-word proposal and communication plan. In your communication plan, include components that encourage participation in the retirement plan.

Answer the following questions:

• How will you communicate information to employees?
• How often will you communicate information to employees?
• What tools or methods will you use to communicate the plan?
• How will you overcome resistance to participation?
• How will you get employees to enroll?
• How will you communicate the plan to make it attractive?

I just need help with the introduction and conclusion

Assuming you were the CEO of the Coke-Cola Company (TCCC) in 2013, formulate the
justification for the decision to launch Coca-Cola Life (aka. Coke Life).
NOTE. In your justification, elaborate on the internal and external factors that may have led to
this decision. You may refer to other information about the business situation faced by TCCC
in 2013 to support your argument (proper referencing required).

IB Business Management HL 2  

You are the COO of our mask company and the CEO has asked you some questions about our processes. Please answer these questions:

• Going forward (after the crisis), should we employ JIT or JIC inventory control? Why?

• Can you draw a stock control chart to show what likely happened from January to April of this year?

• What is our capacity utilization likely at right now? What is the disadvantage of this?

Read the following case and answer the questions.

Greener Company

The CEO of Ferguson Inc. wants its executives to make the organization more environmentally friendly by encouraging employees to reduce waste in the workplace. Government legislation is coming that will require all companies of this size to have a program in place and the company’s customers also expect it. The CEO wants to significantly reduce paper usage, garbage and other waste throughout the company’s many widespread offices.

Unfortunately, a survey indicates that employees do not value environmental objectives and do not know how to “reduce, reuse, recycle.” As the executive responsible for this change, you have been asked to develop a strategy that might bring about meaningful behavioural change towards this environmental goal. What would you do?

Questions

1. Based on the case above, and according to Lewin’s Model for Managing Change - what are 2 Forces for the status quo (or restraining forces)?                          /2

2. Using Lewin’s Model for Managing Change, how would you go about implementing and managing the change at Ferguson Inc. – answer a. and b.                               

1. Explain each phase – Unfreezing, Moving and Refreezing  

2. and list one action that you would implement for each phase to accomplish your change.

You have recently assumed the role of CFO at your company. The company's CEO is looking to expand its operations by investing in new property, plant, and equipment. You are asked to do some capital budgeting analysis that will determine whether the company should invest in these new plant assets.

-The firm is looking to expand its operations by 10% of the firm's net property, plant, and equipment= 2018 = $61,797 million, increase 10% = $6,179.7 million to total $67,976.7 million

-The estimated life of this new property, plant, and equipment will be 12 years. The salvage value of the equipment will be 5% of the cost.

-EBIT = 18% of the project's cost

-The hurdle rate for this project will be the WACC = 8.5%

Calculate the discounted payback period.

You are the CEO of a small Canadian online company selling organic energy bars that just started expanding into the United States. You are working on your strategic implementation plan. Please fill in the template below with examples that make sense in your current situation. Your budget is $2M.

Strategy Implementation Plan

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