Q1:Explain what companies should do to make employees   contribute towards the strategic management process in the organization.

Q2: Why many organizations fail to implement plans successfully?

Q 3&4 : Case : Maestro Pizza the food industry nowadays became harder than before. The people now pay extra attention to even small details when it comes to food. The variety of food kinds, the way the food being served, the quality of food, the price and even the place decoration! Furthermore, there are tons of restaurants (competitors) those being in the food industry for decades which makes it even harder to compete them. Not to mention if a new restaurant will serve one kind of food that already being served by other expert restaurants.

Here we talk about a new restaurant in Saudi Arabia that successfully entered the food industry and managed to compete existed restaurants who are serving the same kind of food for a long time and even considered the best in the world of serving such food! The restaurant's name is Maestro Pizza which is locally founded and operated by Saudi people. This restaurant has successfully dominated the market and stole the throne from underneath of many other pizza restaurants like Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza and others.

In the context of the above case analyze and provide solution to the following:

Q3. Bargaining power of consumers .

Q4. Suggest strategies to differentiate Maestro Pizza products and services with its competitors

Compare the ratios for each company against each other and draw a conclusion about each of the ratios. Interpret the meaning of the ratio in relation to your companies.

South West Airlines (2019) In millions

Payout Ratio = Cash Dividends on Common Stock / Net Income

= .372/2.3 / 2,300 *   = 16.17% ( cash dividend taken from cash flow statement)   

Return on Common Stockholder's Equity = Net Profit - Preferred Dividend / Average Common Stokholder's Equity

= (2,300 -0 ) / (17,945 +15,967)/2 = 2,300 / 16,956 = 13.56%

Times Interest Earned = Net income + Interest Expenses + Income Tax Expenses / Interest Expenses

= (2,300 + 118 + 779 ) / 118 = 27.09

American Airlines (2019) In millions

Payout Ratio = Cash Dividends on Common Stock/Net Income

0.40/3.80= 10.5% (cash dividend taken from cash flow statement)

Return on Common Stockholder’s Equity = Net Profit - Preferred Dividend / Average Common Stockholder’s Equity

= (1686-0) / (3,945+4,964)/2= 1,686 / 4,445.5 = 37.85%

Times Interest Earned = Net income + Interest Expenses + Income Tax Expenses / Interest Expenses

= (1,686+1,095+570) / 1095 = 3.06

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, stores are temporarily closed, but e-commerce growth in the market remains strong. Most of the growth we have seen in athletic footwear, for example, has come from the online channel. Provide your information technology strategy for short-term, mid-term and long term range planning. (Atleast 2-3 pages of word)

CASE STUDY
Source: The Star Online, New Straits Times
THE economy may be slowing and the retail industry is going through a rough patch, but Al-Ikhsan Sports Sdn Bhd believes this is as good a time as any for it to shine. “The economy is soft, even globally. I think Malaysia is fairly stable in that sense. When the economy faces rough weather, that’s when the true strength of retailers can be seen. “When the economy does well, everyone does well. You can hide your inefficiencies and all that. But if you can grow your business when the economy is down, it shows the strength of the company. As the economy gets tougher, Al-Ikhsan will become more relevant,” says chief executive officer Vach Pillutla. At a time when most businesses are looking to downsize their physical presence, Al-Ikhsan is looking at ways to expand its number of outlets. The company currently has 131 stores under five different retail models, namely, the Al-Ikhsan Sports chain (116 outlets), Sports Warehouse (4), Football Republic (6), Sneaker Street (2) and Factory Outlets (3). The homegrown sports retailer has carved a name for itself in the market by selling products from international sporting brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma and Umbro at an affordable price. Pillutla says it is planning to open 12 to 14 new doors every year, with 80% of its expansion plans focused on the entry- to mid-level concept. Although the retail industry has become increasingly competitive, he notes that the company’s advantage in staying ahead of the pack is its core mission to stay affordable.
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“Our core purpose will keep us going for the next few years. As long as we are able to communicate our core purpose properly to consumers, I think they will keep coming back,” he says. Tapping the bottom As consumers become a little more tight-fisted, retailers have been trying to diversify into either the more premium or niche markets to maintain margins and profitability. Pillutla notes that unlike most emerging markets, the local retail space has two very distinct segments: the high-end and entry-level segments. “Most emerging markets have a very big middle-class segment. It works like a typical pyramid, where the well-heeled consumers make up the smaller segment at the top and the entry level is much bigger. As the economy grows, the middle-class will expand and other consumers will aspire to move up the pyramid. “Malaysia is different in the sense that people are either at the top end or at the entry level. There’s very little middle-class. So brands and retailers who try to stay in the middle of the spectrum don’t do well because consumers who see a middle-class brand are either willing to trade up or trade down. So you either have to be at the upper-end or lower-end of the market, ” he explains. Hence, he believes that there is also money to be made at the bottom of the pyramid. “People at the bottom of the pyramid are also aspirational. They, too, want things and if you can make it affordable for them, you can tap that market. Consumers are the king. So we have to keep our brand focus and give them what they want,” he adds. Although margins may be thinner at the entry-level, Al-Ikhsan has a variety of retail concepts which can be pushed out to meet the needs of the market it is in and grow its volume. Pillutla says its Sports Warehouse brand, for example, which focuses on entry-level consumers, is a concept that still has legs to go, particularly in smaller towns. “Wherever that has a catchment of 50,000 people, we can do any one of our concepts. We started the Warehouse this year and it has shown very strong results so far. We can
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see another 35 to 40 Sports Warehouse outlets over the next three to five years. Our next position is to move down, deeper,” he says. That said, he maintains that Al-Ikhsan also has enough variety of products to cater to a wider range of consumers. “Our stores have products from different brands. We can have prices for certain products that go up to RM600. So while we make products affordable to consumers, we are also able to sell them at a certain level of prices if the brand can command that price. In that way, we can cater to a wider range. “But we always try to stay to our core purpose, to stay affordable. We are about making Malaysia fit and active since 1993 by making brands affordable to consumers. That is our strength and our core purpose. It cannot go away.” Al-Ikhsan was founded by Ali Hassan Mohd Hassan in 1993 in a small shop in Holiday Plaza, Johor. His entrepreneurial pursuit had started earlier on as a student in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to fund his studies. He sold trinkets and such and managed to graduate with a diploma. When he started the business, he was diligent to ensure that he maximised every opportunity to keep sales going. He built a good rapport with his customers and kept his sports products affordable. Ali Hassan’s success in growing Al-Ikhsan was obvious when the retailer caught the eye of government-linked private equity firm Ekuinas, which bought a 35% stake in the company in 2016. Ali Hassan and his wife still holds the remaining 65% of the company and he has stayed on as its chairman. Pillutla thinks the company is only halfway through “what we are really capable of doing”. As long as the sports industry continues to grow, Al-Ikhsan will be able to grow in tandem. He adds that its retail concepts are also applicable to any emerging market, making it easier for it to expand overseas when the time is right.
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On the horizon Over the next three years, the company will continue to expand into tier-2 and -3 cities. It will also continue its focus on the entry-level concept stores like the Sports Warehouse. Another thing that the company will be paying close attention to in the coming years is its private label. Pillutla hopes to make its private label and licences more relevant to the masses as he views this as a good channel for Al-Ikhsan to have a deeper engagement with its consumers. “We want to create products that consumers want. I think our house brand can grow to be a significant brand pillar for us, maybe making up to 30% of the brands we have,” he says. With these strategies in place, the retailer is aiming to keep its double-digit growth every year – a target that Pillutla says is “absolutely achievable”. “That’s the job of professional CEOs like us. There’s a limit to what founders and entrepreneurs can do for a company because the thing about professional CEOs is that we don’t think from our hearts. “We see opportunities, we look at our current capabilities and we think in terms of how we can build that capability for future growth. We are a bit disconnected, so we don’t make decisions based on emotions. But that is not to say that one is right and one is wrong. It is just a way of working. “In business, you need data and experience to take a very informed action, so that you’ll have stronger chances of success. And we believe we have a formula here,” he says. “The challenge for us is more internal. We are no longer small. And we need to continue to drive and align our people towards our mission. As long as we understand our core, we can have market share,” he says.If all goes well, the company is eyeing listing plans in two to three years’ time. The company’s three concepts – Al-Ikhsan, Football Republic and Sneakers Street – are vital to promote sustainable growth for its retail sports business in order to mitigate the seasonal impact.
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“Our three concepts are catered for entry to mid-level consumers and up to high-end consumers. Football Republic is a specifically designed for personalisation or customisation of football’s boots and attire, targeting professional amateur players or fans”. “Sneakers Street category is a sports lifestyle concept that offers affordability for sneakers and accessories to consumers,” he said. Pillutla said the company aspires to have stability in its business earnings with promising growth for long-term sustainability, while adapting to the current market needs. “We want to aggressively expand our market reach, especially in East Malaysia and outside the country with about eight stores are expected to be opened this year. “For long-term expansion plan, we target to open up to 30 stores by 2021,” he said, adding that this would allow the company to reach about 145 Al-Ikhsan stores nationwide. Pillutla said the company also plans to open 15 Sneakers Street stores in the next three years, with initial four stores to be opened this year, followed by additional five Football Republic stores in the future from the current five stores. He said Al-Ikhsan is currently in the discussion with various parties to expand its business in other market in Southeast Asia region, while providing numerous choices to consumers. “We have ‘reasonable’ allocation for capital expenditure (capex) as it will be financed internally. The cost of each store will typically be depended on its size and location,” he said, citing that it is important for the company to have single-digit or lowest double-digit rent-to-sales ratio. Pillutla said capex should not be extremely high as the company on its self-sustaining mode to generate sustainable earnings, while reducing its debt. The company’s inventories is also important to keep its earnings healthily to avoid inventories not age beyond certain points. “We will also embark on digital platform – Omni Channel – to complement our existing retail stores. This allows customers to choose and buy our products virtually through
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mobile app or online platform. The initiative would also enhance our efficiency and productivity, as it easily helps us to monitor our inventories,” he said. "Our commitment is to keep Malaysia fit and active by making sports affordable for all. We also need to understand consumers well and must change ourselves based on what consumers want,” he said in a media interview here recently. Al-Ikhsan will launch a new e-commerce online platform (website) next month, a move that will help the company become a global player in the sports retail segment. “We are ranked 64th largest sports retailer in the world. Therefore, when consumers look at us, they don’t just perceive us as a Malaysian company but rather benchmark us as a global player,” Pillutla said. “I don’t think, even our founder Tuan Haji Ali, thought that we could reach this stage,” says Vach Pillutla, Chief Executive Officer of Al-Ikhsan from his office at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. The company, with its various concept outlets, is by far the largest sports retailer in Malaysia, commanding over 20 percent market share in the sports equipment, apparel and footwear segment. “Ten million people have walked through our doors every year. To put things into perspective, almost one third of the Malaysian population visited Al-Ikhsan stores.” He expects Al-Ikhsan’s e-commerce platform to contribute about 5.0 per cent of the total sales over three years. “In general, the overall retail sector grows about 4.0 per cent to 5.0 per cent annually, while the sports retail around 8.0 per cent to 9.0 per cent. “Globally, most markets are likely to remain stagnant but I think Malaysia continues to perform quite well in sports retail,” he said. He also said Al-Ikhsan continued to learn about consumers and offered products and services at prices preferred by customers. “As long as we continue to pursue it, we are not worry about competitions. For the next three years, we intend to open up to 14 stores annually in the Peninsular Malaysia with
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concepts including Football Republic and Sneakers Street, depending on the market and catchment to match consumers’ demand,” he said. He did not divulge further on how much capital the company would invest, saying that it had sufficient money to fork out internally. As stated earlier, Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) acquired a 35 per cent stake in Al-Ikhsan in July 2016 for RM68.6 million. Ekuinas chief executive officer Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir said the first two years since the partnership with Al-Ikhsan were about stabilising the company, in particular improving its back-end support. “We need to ensure that we have strong back-end processes before exploring growth. We focus on effective resource planning - an inventory software system - as well as execute strategic business plans, recruit the right talent and strengthen existing brands under us,” he said. Syed Yasir Arafat said it was important for the government-linked private equity fund manager to strengthen Al-Ikhsan’s foundation and expand in certain areas, while offering different products not only active brands but promoting in-house products. “We have about 30 brands under Al-Ikhsan. We employ around 1,200 staff and command about 30 per cent local market share in multi-retailer segment.” Syed Yasir added that since Ekuinas invested in Al-Ikhsan, the former had managed to more than recoup its investment. “From Ekuinas’ perspective, Al-Ikhsan has strong liquidity and sufficient cashflow to grow, with good inventory management. Hence, Al-Ikhsan doesn’t require further capital injection to expand further,” he added. Al-Ikhsan founder and chairman Ali Hassan Mohd Hassan believes the sports retail business was growing with abundance of opportunities locally. “We are investing about RM1mil in each new outlet, inclusive of renovation and stocks.” Ali Hassan said strengthening the company’s position in the local sports goods retailing segment would discourage foreign companies from taking over the domestic market.
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He said it was important to stop these companies from expanding in Malaysia, as local players should be given the opportunities. He said prospects for sports goods in Malaysia were bright as the goods sold here were the second cheapest in the world after the US. Ali Hassan said by having a formidable presence in the urban and rural areas, it would be almost impossible for foreign sports goods retailers to gain a strong footing here. He said the company catered to customers who were serious in sports and those who were into sports fashion. He said Malaysians were brand conscious and more customers were willing to spend money on branded items. “Previously, there was a huge pressure from the sports brand principals as they demanded for growth based on the global trend. “Similarly, they expected growth from Al-Ikhsan in Malaysia due to opportunities in sight. Hence, we decided to partner with Ekuinas to support our future growth and become more competitive,” he said. Through the partnership, Ali Hassan said Al-Ikhsan had undergone due diligence exercise to evaluate the company’s weaknesses and strengthens. “Ekuinas had helped us to find new team members, while consolidating our stores and improving the back-end processes.
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The Six basic steps in decision making:

1-Define the Problem

2- Determine the Objective

3- Explore the Alternatives

4- Predict the Consequences

5- Make a Choice

6- Perform Sensitivity Analysis

Write 300 to 400 words on “Determine the Objective.” Describe your own motives and what your short or long term plans are (please explain short term and long term plans separately) after completing your MBA? Knowing you “can’t always get what you want” what can you get? What can you change? Explain how you have to make these decisions under uncertainty. Cite the textbook at least twice applying concepts from the text.

Excel please I don't know how to do it.

6-13. From a sample of 22 graduate students, the mean number of months of work experience prior to entering an MBA program was 34.86. The national standard deviation is known to be 19 months. What is a 95% confidence interval for the population mean? Compute the confidence interval using the appropriate formula and verify your results using the Excel Confidence Intervals template.

6-15. A survey of 26 college freshmen found that they average 6.85 hours of sleep each night. A 90% confidence interval had a margin of error of 0.497.

      a. What are the lower and upper limits of the confidence interval?
b. What was the standard deviation, assuming that the population standard deviation is known?

Participate in a discussion with your classmates regarding natural unemployment. Review the “EYE on Your Life” caption titled, Natural Unemployment, on page 209 in the textbook. Now that we have learned that potential GDP is the value of real GDP when all the economy’s factors of production - labor, capital, land, and entrepreneurial ability - are fully employed, discuss how these factors render natural unemployment as productive when considering potential GDP. Please apply the production function and labor market concepts as explained in the textbook when sharing your discussion.

Eye on your life Natural Unemployement:

You will encounter natural unemployment at many points in you life. If you now have a job you probably went through a spell of natural unemployment as you searched for the job. When you graduate and look for a full-time job, you will most likely spend some more time searching for the best match for you skills and location preferences. In today's world of rapid technological change, most of us must retool and change our jobs at least once and for many of us, more than once. You might know an older worker who has recently lost a job and is going through the agony of figuring out what to do next. Although natural unemployment can be painful for people who experience it, from a social perspective, it is productive. It enables scarce labor resources to be re-allocated to their most valuable uses.

In 2008, the Board of Directors and shareholders of Anheuser Busch agreed to be acquired by a Belgian Brewer (InBev). Prior to the merger, InBev made many pledges to AB regarding how the company would operate after the merger, how its employees would be treated, and so on. With some stipulations, the U.S. Government agreed to allow the merger.

Since the merger, InBev has laid off a significant number of Anheuser Busch employees, most of whom worked at the St. Louis headquarters. Where the merger created duplication of job duties, those being terminated have to-date been from AB, not InBev. There is a great deal of speculation and trepidation around the St. Louis area about the long-term fate of the remaining employees, as well as worry about how the new company will view the many and varied civic contributions the company has made to St. Louis and the many other U.S. areas in which it has operations.

View 1 - AB acted as a well-managed business that takes the actions necessary to remain competitive in a very competitive market. If AB had not approved the merger, its profits and stock price would have fallen, and investment capital would have fled the company. As difficult as the decision was, AB operates in a very competitive environment and owes its stockholders the best return it can provide.

View 2 - The decision to sell the company was both short-sighted and, ultimately, a bad business decision. Any short term benefits AB stockholders reaped from the merger will be more than offset by U.S. job losses, lower tax revenues for States and the U.S. Government, and damage to the U.S. communities in which the company operates. Employees whose employers are loyal to them during difficult times repay that loyalty to the company through hard work. Employees who view themselves as economic pawns to be added or discarded as needed will feel only a marginal commitment to the new AB and their work performance will reflect the negative opinion they hold of their employer.

Let's hear your thoughts. Don't just tell us what you think personally, but bring Managerial Economic theory to bear on this issue.

Oriole Company reported the following on its income statement:

An analysis of the income statement revealed that interest expense was $100000. Oriole Company's times interest earned was

Retained Earnings:

A. is decreased by a stock split.

B. represents an amount of cash available to pay shareholders.

C. represents the total amount of net income earned by the company during its existence.

D. can be subject to appropriation by a corporation's directors to limit dividends.

P3-45: Assessing Financial Statement Effects of Transactions and Adjustments.

The following information related to December 31 accounting adjustment for fulton fast print company. The firm’s fiscal year ends on December 31.

1. Weekly salaries for a five-day week total 3,600 payable on Fridays. December 31 of the current year is a Tuesday.

2. Fulton Fast Print has 20,000 of notes payable outstanding at December 31. Interest of $200 has accrued on these notes by December 31 but will not be paid until the notes mature next year.

3. During December, Fulton Fast Print provided $900 of printing services to clients who will be billed on January 2. The firm uses the fees receivable account to reflect amounts earned but not yet billed.

4. Starting December 1, all maintenance work on Fulton Fast Print’s equipment is handled by Richardson Repair Company under an agreement whereby Fulton Fast Print pays a fixed monthly charge of $400. Fulton Fast Print paid six months’ service charge of 2,400 cash in advance on December 1 and increased its Prepaid maintenance amount by 2,400.

5. The firm paid $900 cash on December 15 for a series of radio commercials to run during December and January. One-third of the commercials aired by December 31. The $900 payment was in its prepaid advertising account.

6. Starting December 16, Fulton Fast Print rented 800 square feet of storage space from a neighboring business. The monthly rent of $0.80 per square foot is due in advance on the first of each month. Nothing was paid in December to the January 1 payment.

7. Fulton Fast Print invested 5,000 cash in securities on December 1 and earned interest of $38 on these securities by December 31. No interest will be received until January.

8. Annual depreciation on the firm’s equipment is 2,175. No depreciation has been recorded during the year.

Required

Prepare Fulton Fast Print Company’s accounting adjustments required at December 31 using the financial statement effects template.

P3-46: Preparing Accounting Adjustments Refer to the information in P3-45. Prepare accounting adjustments required at December 31 using journal entries.

NOTE: Only P3-46 IS REQUIRED, but you needed the information from P3-45 to complete this problem