Embry BUSW500 All Discussion latest 2016 July

Embry BUSW500 Module 2.4 Discussion latest 2016 July

2.4 - Discussion: Country Research - Traditional American Business vs. Business in Another Country

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There are many videos and websites identifying cultural differences relevant to global business. Watch the following video on how different cultures view punctuality.

Culture Shock: Punctuality (BBC Report on time keeping and punctuality in different cultures.)

Duration - 4:15

Note: For this discussion you must choose a country that has not yet been chosen and listed in this discussion area.

Think of a country you are familiar with, or wish to become familiar with, and view the discussion area to determine if your country has already been chosen. If it has not been chosen, you will need to post your Title and Country to “claim” your country of choice. Follow these directions:

In this discussion, begin your post with a subject that includes the following:

Title: Country

1. Once you claim your country, conduct Internet research on what differences may exist between so-called traditional American business and doing business in the country you choose.

2. Write a 2-3 paragraph discussion entry with the current APA citations and identify the cultural dimensions of your country. Include the following elements in your discussion entry:

Identify the cultural dimensions of the country of choice using the Project GLOBE article or other internet tools and compare those dimensions with traditional American culture. Do you foresee any conflicts?

How would American business best expand to the country you chose?

What specific cultural, social, or professional conflicts to you foresee and how would you remedy them?

3. Return to your original post and reply to it. Update your post with your information.

4. Choose two of your classmate's discussion threads and post insightful comments about their information.

An example discussion post is located herePreview the documentView in a new window. Students are encouraged to use the Cultural Comparison tool found here (Links to an external site.) (please cite properly).

Review the Discussion Rubric by selecting the Gear icon and then "Show Rubric". It will assist you in creating effective posts and will be used to evaluate the activity.

Embry BUSW500 Module 3.2 Discussion latest 2016 July

3.2 - Discussion: Managerial Roles

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Mintzberg on Managing

Duration - 10:18

Henry Mintzberg is a management education guru best known for his categorization of managerial roles. Watch Mintzberg on Managing to learn more about the evolution of management education from Mintzberg’s perspective. Then, read Rounding Out the Manager's Job (Links to an external site.) to learn more about managerial roles and how those roles cannot reside in a vacuum. Mintzberg over the course of 160 articles and 16 books has proven to most that management is a practice and that management education must build on practice to be of any real value.

With this in mind, think about a recent manager. Without naming names, discuss how this manager managed using Mintzberg’s managerial roles as a framework and whether or not you feel this manager was “well rounded” based on the preceding article. Explain how this manager could improve and become more “well rounded”. Also include what this manager did well. Include observations about the managerial environment. Did this manager face any organizational barriers to success? Did the organization’s culture facilitate successful management?

Please begin your discussion with 2-3 substantive paragraphs connecting your thoughts to the material you just read. Then, comment on the experiences and observations of two other students

Note: If you need a distraction, read the online version of Mintzberg’s hilarious opinion of aviation in his work titled The Flying Circus. (Links to an external site.) This is not a class requirement, but it’s quite entertaining.

Embry BUSW500 Module 4.3 Discussion latest 2016 July

4.3 - Discussion: Managerial Decisions Making

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Herbert Simon is often viewed as one of the most famous economists of the late 20th century. He taught at Carnegie Mellon University and earned a Nobel Prize for his work on decision making. He put forth the idea that decisions made by managers are generally sub-optimal. Managers, due to time constraints, resource limitations, external pressures, etc. often engage in what Simon calls “satisficing”. Here, a decision is made that meets the decisional criteria but the decision is not necessarily optimal. The term satisficing comes from satisfy and suffice blended together. Furthermore, Simon introduced the term “bounded rationality” to suggest that we, as managers,

cannot conceivably process all available information due to time and cognitive limitations. Thus, there are boundaries on what we can rationally take in and use.

Of course it must be noted that Simon was born in 1916 and died in 2001 at age 85. Since then, the computer age has changed how we make decisions to some extent. Quick reference dashboards, balanced score cards, quality metrics, performance metrics, and the likes have enabled us to engage in Evidence-based Management and data-driven decision making. Read Practical Wisdom in Management Development (Links to an external site.) an article on decision making.

*Note - Log into ERNIE in order to access the article.

Herbert Simon

Duration - 3:44

Although introduced decades ago, Simon’s concept of Satisficing and Bounded Rationality holds true. In fact, today’s information age may even make decision making more difficult! Other issues are a variety of heuristics people use in their decision making. These issues were brought to the fore front by the work of Daniel Kahneman (Nobel prize winner in 2002) and Amos Tversky. A good simple summary of heuristics and their effect on decision making is provided in this video (6:33).

I want to learn more about pilot fatigue. I Google “pilot fatigue”. In .33 seconds, Google returned 13,200,000 results.For example:

I want to purchase a new house in my new zip code. I go to Zillow.com and learn that in .20 seconds it returned 427 homes for sale that meet my criteria. I have 2 weeks to purchase.

I need to purchase chairs for my new office. I go to Amazon.com and search for “desk chair” and in .42 seconds have 202,155 to choose from.

After reading the scenarios provided in Activity 4.3, how do bounded rationality, satisficing and heuristics apply? Join the discussion and address the following:

When making decisions that involve money, what steps do you take to make sure you are making a good decision? Use an example or two.

When using sources of information to make a decision, how do you know the information is accurate, relevant, and comprehensive (e.g., think about customer reviews as one tool to make purchasing decisions online)? Use an example or two.

Managers are often blamed when poor decisions are made. Is there a difference between a bad decision (error) and a bad decision born from insufficient information or satisficing? Use an example or two from your work experience where a bad decision was made that could have been reasonable at the time but still turned out to be problematic. You may also use examples of good decisions that were made and how management arrived at an evidence-based conclusion.

Please begin with three substantive paragraphs (one for each question) connecting your thoughts to the material you just read. Then, comment on the experiences and observations of two other students.

Embry BUSW500 Module 5.2 Discussion latest 2016 July

5.2 - Discussion: Managerial Problem

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The scientific method is an organized way to reach conclusions that avoids relying on unscientific observations (e.g., anecdotes, hearsay, propaganda, storytelling, etc.). With this in mind, think about a business problem within your present organization or a managerial problem that you are interested in solving. The goal here is not to solve the problem, but use the scientific method to approach the problem in an orderly way.

Capstone Advice (for students in a degree program that require a capstone project such as the MSM): Students will be required to complete a Capstone and address a managerial problem at the end of this degree program. It’s best to begin thinking about this process now. To leverage this course fully, use this activity to begin thinking about a managerial problem that may become the topic of your Capstone. For those of you in degree programs that do not require a capstone project (i.e. MBAA) you will have other smaller research papers and projects that will benefit from the information presented in this module.

A shortened version of the topic or problem should become the title of your Discussion Board post. You may address a managerial problem, or research other business related topics. You may choose something you are personally familiar with or simply curious about. (Note: the topic selected will be used for Activity 5.3, 6.X, 7.X, 8.X and 9.X.)

Below are a few topic examples:

1. What role does salary play in the retention of mid-level managers?

Explanation: This is a proposition that needs to be turned into a testable hypothesis. A survey could be used to gather data on salary levels and the desire to remain with the organization. These findings could be correlated (keep in mind correlation does not imply causation) to determine if there is a linkage between salary and retention. The literature review will show what we already know about this topic.

2. Does the time-in-chair work model (e.g., 9am – 5pm) have an effect on worker productivity when compared the deadline-based (e.g., Complete XYZ by this date) work model when performing the same task?

Explanation: This is a proposition. Once a specific task is chosen, a hypothesis can be created using that representative task. An experiment comparing two groups, one using each of the models, on productivity measured by task completion would be the best way to test this hypothesis. The literature review should uncover many existing theories on the nature of work and productivity.

3. Does the millennial generation perceive command-and-control leadership as incompatible with their generational values?

Explanation: This is potentially a new theory that needs to be tested if it has not been done already. The construct generational values would need to be better defined. A qualitative method such as interviews may work best to dialogue with millennials about different scenarios that use different leadership styles. A survey could also be used where millennials agree or disagree with certain leadership statements. The literature review will help show how to best test this theory since others have used similar methods to test similar theories.

Once you have a topic, create 1-2 substantive paragraphs per section (a total of 3-6 paragraphs):

1. Provide a brief background of the problem or area of research and the organizational setting or context. Be descriptive.

2. Why is solving this problem or conducting this research important to management and the organization?

3. How can other organizations or others within your organization benefit from your research?

Then, read and comment on the ideas of two other students. These comments should include high-level advice on the feasibility of the idea along with low-level advice on how to conduct the research and solve the problem.

Embry BUSW500 Module 7.3 & 7.5 Discussions latest 2016 July

Module 7.3

7.3 - Discussion: BLS Data Review

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Data sorting and filtering and basic data analysis are important ways for you to gather and process data so that useful information can be generated. Attached is an Excel spreadsheet containing Bureau of Labor dataPreview the documentView in a new window for mean salary and number of employment positions available based on a particular occupation code. In addition, the data is sorted by state.

From this data, extract the following information:

Think about the state you wish to work in. Create table or tab in the worksheet of all of the occupations in your state of choice that have the word “manage”* in the Occupational Title field. You've now created a subset of the original data set from which additional analysis can be made.

*The term managerial positions will be defined as any position with the word “manage” in the title. The reason the word “manage” should be used as a filter is that this will include occupations with the word manager or management in the title.

grap.jpgAnswer the following questions using the data subset you created:

What is the average salary for your chosen state of all managerial positions?

How many total managerial positions are available in your state?

What percentage of the total number of employment positions in your state are managerial positions? ***Hint: You will need to refer back to all of the positions in your state to calculate this.

What does this information mean to you as a prospective job seeker in this state looking for a managerial position?

Note: Please do not just answer the questions in the Discussion Board. You must show your work in Excel and upload an Excel worksheet or some form of spreadsheet as an attachment to receive credit for this activity. Your Discussion Board post should contain the summary data from the questions to be answered.

Then, read and comment on two of your classmates summaries.

Module 7.5

7.5 - Discussion: Survey Design

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NOTE: This activity requires you to create a survey and take your classmates surveys. Surveys and links were posted during module 6 (items 1 through 4); the remaining items are completed in Module 7.

Complete following

1. Access surveymonkey (Links to an external site.) to create a survey.

2. If you do not have an account already, select the Sign up FREE option located to the right side of the webpage. Do not purchase anything!

3. Create a 5-10 question survey on one of the following topics based on your last name.

Note: With a free account you will be limited to designing a 10 question survey using a variety of quantitative and qualitative question types. You will not be able to download the data to use in Excel, but you will be able to generate a PDF of your data.

Group 1: If your last name begins with the letters A - H

Your boss has asked that you create a survey to determine how satisfied customers of your branch of the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) are when obtaining/updating a driver’s license, registering a new/used vehicle, or obtaining a title transfer or replacement title. The goal of the survey is to determine what problems may exist and how the DMV can improve customer service. Your boss prefers that you use a Likert-type scale in addition to write-in questions to capture the true nature of customer feelings.

Respondents: Respond based on your last experience with the DMV in your area.

Group 2: If your last name begins with the letters I - Q

You work for a large manufacturer of consumer electronics (e.g., televisions). Due to some recent returns where the product was damaged in shipping, your company has chosen to improve the packaging so that it a) is easier to open and b) provides better protection from damage. Your goal is to survey people who recently purchased this large, consumer electronic device and see what type of experience they had with the new packaging and whether or not it was easy to open and the product was damage free. Since you have the consumer’s attention, it may be a good time to briefly inquire about their purchase experience as well.

Respondents: Respond based on your last electronics purchase.

Group 3: If your last name begins with the letters R - Z

You are the sales manager for a car dealership. You have concerns over the tactics that your salespeople are using to obtain sales although you are pleased with the sales numbers. The mission of your dealership is to provide honest advice, fair prices, and a low pressure, hassle free sales experience. You need to survey customers who recently purchased a vehicle to see if in fact your sales team is living up to the mission of your dealership. It’s also important to know the Net Promoter Score of the dealership. (Hint: Google - Net Promoter Score to learn more.)

Respondents: Respond based on your last car buying experience.

4. Post your survey link to the Discussion Board.

5. Take 6 surveys created by your classmates utilizing the advice for survey takers.

6. Reply to 2 survey link posts with:

A Critique of whether or not you think their survey achieved the objective.

Comments about the look and feel of their survey.

Any suggestions for improvement based on survey objective.

7. The goal here is to critically analyze the work of others to make sure the survey is well constructed. Finally, take a look at the results of your own survey. View the Analyzing Your Questionnaire below to learn how to interpret survey results. Did the respondents answer the questions asked? Had 100 or more people taken the survey, could you have answered your research question or addressed your hypothesis? There is an entire science dedicated to asking questions and how to do so properly. Following best practices ensures both a reliable and valid survey instrument that can generate useful data.

Analyzing Your Questionnaire (Links to an external site.)

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