Strategic planning and execution skills are essential to the success of any company. Strategy is the game plan for winning in the marketplace. Strategy decisions are driven by environmental and competitive changes that lead to opportunities or threats for the company. A business needs to know why it exists- it’s purpose or mission, and where it is going- it’s vision for the future, and its values- the behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that it must adhere to. how might a company go about deciding on which parts it would locate internationally? How do core competencies and innovation factor into the decision-making?

For its three investment centers, Martinez Company accumulates the following data:

The centers expect the following changes in the next year: (I) increase sales 10%; (II) decrease costs $390,000; (III) decrease average operating assets $450,000.

Compute the expected return on investment (ROI) for each center. Assume center I has a controllable margin percentage of 70%.

Do some independent research and discuss why UNIQLO has been able to emerge as a successful global firm. In particular, discuss: a. how it responded to changes in Japanese consumer preferences during the post- crash period? b. how it utilised globalisation of production in response to the high exchange rate and high Japanese wages? c. why it has been much more successful in Asia but not so successful so far in the West? d. what can it do to maintain profits if Chinese wages increase substantially?

Consider the market for aluminum containers. Describe the outcome in the market for the following events. Answer the following questions:

Does supply or demand increase or decrease?

Does market price increase, decrease, remain unchanged or is it undetermined?

Does the market quantity bought and sold increase, decrease, remain unchanged or is it undetermined?

“Changes in government regulations restrict the use of aluminum containers in the food manufacturing industry. At the same time [i.e. simultaneous to the regulatory change], new production technology has reduced the cost of manufacturing aluminum containers.”

Our world has changed in many areas of the economy since the end of February. It has been many, many years since the United States has seen the shortages and surpluses that we have experienced recently. For your discussion forum this week, pick one of those areas where there has been a shortage, or a surplus. Explain how the changes in equilibrium were affected by demand and/or supply shifts. What happened to prices of that product? Has it changed anything about the way consumers shop or manufacturers produce that product?

1. Suppose that the Earth was thermally insulated from the rest of the universe so that it was an isolated system. Describe the entropy of the Earth as a function of time.

2. Consider taking two identical ice cubes out of the freezer. You place one in a cup and let it melt; you take the other and smash it with a hammer and then put it in an identical cup and allow it to melt. Compare the entropy changes of the two ice cubes.

3. Upon freezing, water becomes more orderly and its entropy decreases. Explain why this process does not violate the second law of thermodynamics.

Write a 1,500-word paper on the following:

1.Describe the current health care environment in the United States from both the health care administrator and the patient perspective.

2.What are some recent changes in legislation and how does this change influence the way that an administrator would operate within the health care system?

3.What are current trends emerging in health care? Using the current trends, speculate on future of health care risk management from both the perspective of the health care administrator and patient.

The Poseidon Swim Company produces swim trunks. The average selling price for one of their swim trunks is $88.50. The variable cost per unit is $27.25, Poseidon Swim has average fixed costs per year of $5,216. Assume that current level of sales is 305 units. What will be the resulting percentage change in EBIT if they expect units sold to changes by-3.9 percent? (You should calculate the degree of operating leverage first). (Write the percentage sign in the "units" box). Round the answer to two decimal places

One economic question is deciding how to produce. That means businesses need to make decisions on what types of production systems and what types of inputs to use. The isoquant/isocost model allows us to conceptualize the answer(s) a business might have for the question of how to produce. The relative price inputs plays a role in answering the question of how to produce.

There may appear to be times when a firm does not appear to adjust input use to changes in relative prices of inputs. Explain why this might be the case.