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Response-60 wordA Management Information System (MIS) is a powerful group of resources that assist leaders in achieving goals of the company. This group of resources includes people, databases, software and hardware all working together to help answer questions and solve problems based on a set of business rules or processes.  Most of these systems do this through extensive reporting features built into the software(Stair & Reynolds 2012).  Through these reports the MIS is communicating decision making information. Therefore it is important that the right person has the right information and at the right time (Stair & Reynolds 2012).Example: Your Company uses all the major shipping companies, UPS, FedEx and DHL. Whenever you ship a package to Las Vegas You get the following results:Non- Holiday Shipping:ShipperAverage shipping TimeCostUPS36 hours$22DHL48 hours$28FedEx30 hours$21Holiday Shipping:ShipperAverage shipping TimeCostUPS32 hours$22DHL48 hours$38FedEx36 hours$36Based on this information, I can see that on non-holiday days I should decide to use FedEx since they are faster and cheaper. During holidays, I should use UPS as my shipping carrier. This is where the right person at the right time and right information comes into play. This data may mean nothing to the manager in tech support, but may mean saving thousands of dollars for the fulfillment manager.Financial MIS is a system that serves up financial information to managers to organize and plan money making or saving strategies (Stair & Reynolds 2012).  Manufacturing MIS – These systems help improve and direct manufacturing processes (Stair & Reynolds 2012). An example of a system like this is at L-3. They use a manufacturing MIS to control assembly of products.  Whenever someone has a problem, it will show, the parts accumulating at that person’s station.  The assembly manager can compile reports based on this information to improve assembly procedures. For example, maybe one person is not enough for a certain part and two people would be better.Marketing MIS – Promoting your products has become extremely competitive and requires a marketing manager to be innovative. These systems can help show marketing success and failures allowing the company to get the most out of their advertising dollar. Some of this innovative thinking would be using GPS system to track users or online affiliate programs to sell for your company.Human Resource MIS – This system can help track company employees and help with hiring decisions. It can provide a wealth of statistics regarding the employees. Maybe 95% of the employees take off Christmas week.  Maybe the company will decide to close down for Christmas week.Geographical Information System (GIS)  - These systems display geographical information (Stair & Reynolds 2012). For example, The Department of Energy uses these types of systems to display national energy usage and reporting statistics.Response-60 wordThe primary purpose of a management information system (MIS) is to help and organization achieve its goals by providing managers with insight into the regular operations of the organization so that they can control, organize, and plan more effectively (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  There are different types of MISs including financial, manufacturing, marketing, human resource, accounting, and geographic information systems (GIS).  All of these MISs perform the functions of: providing reports with fixed and standard formats, producing hard-copy and soft-copy reports, using internal data that is stored in the computer system, allows users to develop custom reports, and requires user requests for reports developed by systems personnel (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).A financial MIS provides financial information for executives and for a broader set of people who need to make better decisions on a daily basis (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  The financial MIS is valuable because it focuses on profits and costs and cash flows.  Most organizations will have some sort of financial MIS in place.  The manufacturing MIS subsystems and outputs are used to monitor and control the flow of materials, products, and services through the organization (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  Some organizations might not need a manufacturing MIS because they do not carry inventory or produce a product.  A service organization that provides just a service would not necessarily have a manufacturing MIS.  A marketing MIS supports managerial activities in product development, distribution, pricing decisions, promotional effectiveness, and sales forecasting (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  Like the financial MIS, most organizations should have some sort of marketing MIS in place.  A human resource MIS is concerned with activities related to previous, current, and potential employees of the organization (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  Any organization that has paid employees should have a human resource MIS in place, even some organizations that do not have paid employees, but volunteers such as not-for-profit organizations, it would still help with knowing what functions and skills are needed to get the job done.  An accounting MIS performs a number of important activities, providing aggregate information on accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and many other applications (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  Most organizations have an accounting MIS unless they hire outside accounting firms.  This information will assist greatly with a financial MIS.  A geographic information system is a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  This could help other MIS areas such as marketing.ReferencesStair, M. R., & Reynolds, W. G. (2014). Fundamentals of information systems (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology.Response-60 wordWe just covered a case study in our Leadership class about Kevin Kaplan who owns and operates a Real Estate firm. He started using social networking to collaborate his realtors nationwide. This was very successful case for sharing information and in return he received feedback that he could use to make decisions. Social Networking has advantages and disadvantages.Advantages:Social Networks are great for real-time communication and media sharing. Being able to keep in touch with people you normally would not have, has increased social capacity.  Linked In is great for posting job and resume information to prospective employers.Innovative Leaders as mentioned above, can use these systems to communicate and make descisions based on employeee feedback.DisadvantagesMay be hard to remember who may be viewing your posts. Having a get together and inviting people through Facebook may end up insulting those who do not get invited. Be careful what you post. I have even heard police using Facebook to make arrests. Security may be another issue. You do not want to post when you will be on vacation for a week. You may come home to an empty house. Employers nowadays are getting very nosy about employees social lives. You may have some unwanted guests visiting your personal pages to find out what kind of person you are. It’s important to secure your pages so that you can set who can see your page.  LinkedIn and Facebook have their share of scammers and spammers. Do not put out too much information about yourself that will allow them to view personal information.  Ralph M Stair & George W. Reynolds(2012).  Fundamentals of Information Systems.  7 Edition. Published by Course Technology Cengage LearningResponse-60 wordA decision support system (DSS) is an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to help make decisions that solve problems (Stair & Reynolds, 2014).  Social networking sites, such as Facebook, are a collection of people and businesses who are able to reveal as little or as much as they want to.  Social networking sites would benefit from a DSS by being able to get the information about similar situations that others have been through and posted about.  It would be a great way to see how others have handled certain situations and what the outcomes were.  Upper-level decision makers are often less interested in where the information came from or how it was gathered than that the information is bother understandable and accessible (Stair & Reynolds, 2014). ReferencesStair, M. R., & Reynolds, W. G. (2014). Fundamentals of information systems (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology.Response-60 wordMcDonald’s “Although a multinational giant, McDonald’s adapts its business and menu to the different countries they operate in. They respect cultural differences and every country has its own policy of developing menu items. “(Carreras, 2014).Segmentation- “McDonald’s main focus is the US, where they spend most of their budget and trial more new products and innovations. The American audience is their largest – Americans spend more money at McDonald’s than any other fast food restaurant in the country.”(Carreras, 2014).Product Testing- “Experimentation is vital, and it is often carried out by adding or deleting food from menus according to latest consumer trends and local popularity.” “It is true that the marketing and branding strategy of McDonald’s is based on uniformity, no matter where in the world, you will always be able to order the most iconic menu items such as the Big Mac.” (Carreras, 2014).Global product Marketing- “When we look at the strategic differences between US McDonald’s and the Japanese version, we can appreciate the localized marketing strategies. For example, the name of the restaurant is adjusted for the katakana, the appropriate Japanese script for foreign words. In Japan, they call it ‘Makudonarudo’, (マクドナルド), a more appropriate and attractive sound in Japanese. Drink sizes and fries are much smaller than the ones in the US, and burgers are a bit smaller too, to suit eating habits. McDonald’s ensures the correct sizes before exporting for international target markets. Although McDonald’s offers its products everywhere in the world, being the most popular restaurant on the planet, the brand keeps recognizable with its original meaning and identity whilst catering to local tastes.” (Carreras, 2014).Innovation and Collaboration- “For McDonalds, globalization has meant embracing and engaging different cultures while at the same time retaining a strong enough brand to be immediately identifiable.” (Carreras, 2014). Starbucks“Starbucks is marketing a social product beyond its coffee offerings, having positioned itself in the industry as a company that offers a great environment where people can enjoy ethically sourced beverages and snacks. As such, it is crucial to evaluate the socio-cultural environment of a target foreign country and the marketability of such an offering within that particular geographical area. The key to success lies within the ability to match the product offerings of a company with the demands of the local foreign market, without compromising the firm’s business model. Carefully selecting its international partners whose values match the Starbucks passion for great customer focused services, Starbucks seeks the necessary help from well-established local retailers. Although the whole-ownership market entry mode guarantees immediate higher profitability, Starbucks’ focus is on creating long-lasting relationships with consumers in every geographical region, seeking and rewarding the loyalty of the brand’s customers. As such, JVs, licensing or partly-owned subsidiaries are the entry modes of choice for Starbucks in their pursuit to establish themselves as market leaders. The company is clearly not seeking short term goals through aggressive tactics, rather focusing on a well-established strategy that promotes a steady continuous growth, which has so far proved to be a successful approach to internationalization.” (Schultz, 2011).References-Carreras, A. P. (2014). Blur Group, What is the Secret to McDonald’s Global Branding Success? Retrieved from:http://www.blurgroup.com/blogs/marketing/what-is-the-secret-to-mcdonalds-global-branding-success/Schultz, H. (2011). Starbucks, LookingForward to Starbucks Next Chapter. Retrieved from: http://www.starbucks.com/blog/looking-forward-to-starbucks-next-chapter/643?reply=37570Response-60 wordWhy do you think that McDonald's adapts or customizes its marketing mix each time it enters a new country? What about MTV? How about Starbucks?Can you think of any foreign companies who sell here in the United States and how they might have adapted their marketing mix to meet North American requirements?For most companies, it is risky to even think of expanding outside of its original town, so starting a business outside of the country would be a dream.  A company or franchise like McDonald’s adapts to keep its hold on the market share in that country. The chain must adapt their product and marketing mix strategy to meet local wants and needs.   A fast food chain has a tough task to fit into an ever changing global economy.  Through our studies we have learned that we will sell more of a product if we aim to meet the needs of our target market. McDonald’s is a global player however, their burgers are adapted to local needs. In India where a cow is a sacred animal their burgers contain chicken or fish instead of beef.  I can tell you that the Mc Double in Japan taste different than the one in Augusta.Starbucks and MTV were able to adapt its marketing mix through what I consider to be the most important thing to company globalization, research.  Through its studies, Starbucks found that as the Chinese middle class emerged, there existed an opportunity for them to introduce to coffee experience, where people could meet with their friends while drinking coffee.   Even though most of Chinese culture drinks tea, through aggressive advertising, Starbucks was able to create a niche by offering coffee and tea. Genius!  MTV also used research to take advantage of the fact that almost every home around the world has a television and/or an internet connection.  MTV’s globalization gave voices to music and not just American music.  In each country it differs, you may see Brittney Spears but it for the most part it is packed with local artist.  MTV used research to find a need and a market.As the father of a daughter who plays sports year round, Adidas immediately comes to mind.  Adidas has used aggressive advertising and customized its market mix become a major player in the global sportswear market.  It competes heavily with Nike to offer consumers a unique choice in sports gear. http://www.knowthis.com/1662-how-companies-learn-to-adapt-products-in-global-marketshttp://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2012/08/10/starbuckshttp://wearedevelopment.net/2012/01/11/adidas-a-global-sports-strategy/Response-60 wordThe consumer market of various regions in the world practically demands companies to adapt their product and marketing efforts to the consumers in that particular region.  For the most part, this action is a must in order to achieve success.  This is exactly what Unilever and Brazil’s largest toy company did. Unilever adapted its skin products to a range of skin care products geared towards skin tones vice having their products favoring blacks or whites, while the Toy company introduced a black Barbie-like doll called Susi Olodum (Hill, 2013, p. 585).  Not only should a heavy consideration be taken to change the name of the product to accommodate the Brazilian culture, if profits from elsewhere provided ample ability to do so, multipoint pricing should be implemented to dominate the market.  Multipoint pricing is defined when, “a firm’s pricing strategy in one market may have an impact on its rivals’ pricing strategy in another market” (Hill, 2013, p. 600).  In essence, the ability to drop the product pricing significantly would not only challenge the competition and aid greatly in selling the product, but it would also cater to the poorer class that the Black Brazilians have been identified to be (Hill, 2013, p. 585).DougReferences:Hill, C. W. (2013). International business: Competing in the global marketplace (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.Response-60 wordSo, assume you have a good consumer product you’d like to sell to black people in Brazil, how would you go about it?  Would you adapt your sales & marketing efforts?  Would you adapt your product?  What else would you do? I would approach by establishing market segmentation. According to (Hill, 2013) segmentation refers to identifying distinct groups of consumers whose purchasing behavior differs from other in important ways.I will definitely have to adapt sales & marketing because racial discrimination in the United States has made the country’s black population an identifiable subculture. In contrast, in Brazil racism has been more subtle, and the black population has not been excluded in the manner found in the United States.Most African-Brazilians think of themselves as part of a culture that transcends race, rather than as black or white.If I was marketing a skin product specifically for black people I would have to adapt my product because  black Brazilians think of themselves as falling into a range of skin tones, rather than being simply black.  I would also target the entire population rather than certain segments. I like the example Unilever provided in Marketing to Black Brazil. The advertisement of different skin tones, not just blacks or whites, and its products are labeled for tan and black people so as to cover a greater range of customers. This is called localization approach of marketing. Respectfully, Daniel Crawford Reference: Hill C. W. (2013)  International Business Competing in the Global Marketplace. New York: McGraw-Hill/IrwinumuResponse-90 wordBuilding processes to optimize a successful virtual work environmentAs with any work environment, practicing active constructive communication is critical to mission success. Some people who work in a virtual environment will get the chance to meet all of their team members in person, while others will always be that mystery person at the end of the phone or email traffic. Regardless of the environment through which the team interacts, everyone must adhere to the rules of communication etiquette. Active Listening is giving one’s full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand their key points, asking questions, and not interrupting during the transmission of their message (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.322). One of my old mentors used to always say “God gave us all two ears, two eyes, and ONE mouth for a reason.” I work at a remote site, in Vicenza, Italy, and have to communicate daily with my HQ in Germany. I find that communication skills often get tossed aside because we don’t have face to face contact in the virtual world. If a person does not have to look you in the eye they can become emboldened to take certain liberties pertaining to mutual respect and trust. I usually follow up an email that could be considered ‘curt’ with a friendly call to clarify the message was received and to ensure my counterpart I meant no disrespect. A little respect goes a long way. Impact of globalization and cross-cultural factors on virtual teams Dealing with cross cultural differences amongst my own countrymen is challenging enough, but special considerations must be applied when dealing with global counterparts. One has to exercise the Intercultural Competence necessary to affect positive outcomes during international transactions. Learning a little about the culture of your counterparts is paramount to success (Mclean, 2010). Knowing is not enough, as you will most likely have to adjust your behavior in response to your new foreign audience. This Behavioral Flexibility is especially critical during meetings, whether in person, on the phone, or via video teleconferencing (Mclean, 2010). As leaders, we have to know enough about our counterparts to understand what might make them feel uncomfortable when they approach us and eliminate that obstacle. Most of us are acutely aware of what makes us uncomfortable and we need to ensure we extend that courtesy to our international peers, this is known as Cultural Code Switching (Molinsky, 2007). In short, you must give a little to receive a little.References Organizational Behavior (2014). Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Foundation. Molinsky, A., (2007). Cross Cultural Code Switching: The Psychological Challenges of Adapting Behavior in Foreign Cultural Interactions. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 32, No. 2, 622–640. Retrieved from                http://www.umuc.edu/library/index.cfm Mclean, S., (2010, March). Business Communication for Success. Retrieved from                http: //www.saylor.org/courses/bus210/Response-60 wordIn my opinion, to build a good virtual work environment you need to have trust in your employees. Allowing employees to work remotely over a virtual network gives them a lot of freedom not being under direct supervision. Though if there is trust in your employees then there are advantages to allowing your team to work remotely,  such as improved productivity. "For a start, at least some of the time they would have spent commuting is inevitably spent doing work. Furthermore, with work constantly accessible, they tend to spend additional time in the evenings answering email and catching up" (Boag 2013). Productivity also may rise from greater focus that they have at home. While at work there are many time consuming distractions such as meetings or customers that come in breaking the employees train of thought. After establishing trust and a stable virtual network there must be an established routine and schedule. Trust but verify was my motto to my Marines and what I mean is that even though you have trust for your team you want to ensure that you verify the work. This shows that you require a certain standard and you are involved enough to "get dirty" from time to time with your team. As long as you don't slip into the realm of micromanaging you can supervise without being overpowering.Impact of globalization and cross-cultural factors on virtual teams ReferencesEconsultancy,. 'The Benefits And Challenges Of Remote Teams'. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.Response-80 wordSuccessful Communication in Virtual Organization EnvironmentsCommunication Do'sWhy important to effective remote communications?1. Use active listening skills/ become more effective listener Active listening is an effective tool to ensure that the listen retains and understand the message coming across.  This is a very effective communicating tool especially when working in a virtual environment and the person is not right in front of you. It also allows you to choose what you want and need to here if there are distractions such as background noises (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p22). 2. Use Verbal Communication when appropriateThere is a time and place for verbal and written communication.  In a virtual environment, and item that can wait and is not urgent can be sent over e-mail or instant message. However, when communicating emotions, urgent message, time sensitive topics, and detail explanation verbal communication should be used rather than written (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p. 40).3. Respect listenersShowing respect towards your audience will build and create a psychological perception of trust and confidence through your team in a virtual environment.  If this is done properly, it is highly likely that there will not be any repercussions (Mackenzie & Wallace, 2011, p 14).  4 Encourage members to freely communicate with each other. Encourage more communication Encourage free communication. Studies have shown that people who communicate the most within the group are given more of a positive perception (Saonee, Manju, Suprateek, & Kirkeby, 2011, p. 282).  This also allows people to become more comfortable communicating in a virtual environment. 5.  Avoid distractionsAvoid areas when communicating over the phone, web conferences, or web cameras that have heavy background noise, outside employee’s traffic, or any other possible distracts that may cause someone to miss a message being conveyed.(Organizational Behavior, 2014, p. 22).  Communication Don'tsWhy should be avoided in remote communications?1. Using Biased Language  Avoid words and phrases that stereotype other individuals and cultures. For example, stating a person race or color with their job title, when speaking to a group of people using the words “guy” instead of ladies and gentlemen, or instead of secretary use administrative assistant (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p. 19).  .2. Send written communication without proofreadingProofread all written communication before sending.  Do not make fun of or speak ill of someone either.  Be aware of the type of font, size, and color of your written communication.  Doing this may give the perception of unprofessionalism and immaturity.  Virtual environments will rely greatly upon e-mails, memos, and instant messenger.3. Use Jargon Avoid using jargon or acronyms when speaking.  Know the audience in which you are conveying the message to (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p. 16).  For example, military members have an acronym for everything such as roger that, IOT (in order to) accomplish something at 1600.  Civilians that have not served will be greatly confused when items such as these are used especially when communicating over the phone.   4. Overlook Cultural differences Cultural differences may apply to many situations and members of the team and management need to be away of their team and clients.  For example, If you have team members or clients that are of a Muslim faith in which they practice, these individual will have prayer 5 times a day.  Meetings should not take place during these times and scheduling should be adjusted accordingly.  5. Create barriers Avoid creating barriers with individuals.  Do not criticize, make fun of, or judge based on their culture or race.  This can have serious effect when in a virtual environment and the barrier will be even harder to break down and earn back trust while communicating from a distance.     ReferencesMackenzie, L., & Wallace, M. (2011). The Communication of Respect as a Significant Dimension of Cross-Cultural Communication Competence. Cross-Cultural Communication, 7(3), 10-18. Retrieved April 8, 2015, from https://learn.umuc.edu/content/enforced/28113-001135-01-2148-OL4-7980/The Communication of Respect as a Significant Dimension of Cross-Cultural Communication Competence.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=wloMHQAOBFhtjh94mczNRUdlp&ou=52621Organizational behavior. (2014). Communication(p. 16, 19, 22, 40). Washington D.C.: The Saylor Foundation.Saonee, S., Manju, A., Suprateek, S., & Kirkeby, S. (2011). The Role of Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams: A Social Network Perspective. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 28(1), 273-309.Response- 80 wordCommunication Do’s:What is important to effective remote communications?1. Proof Read your messages prior to sending.Spell check does not correct for homophones (e.g. right vs. write).2. Consider each sent message a matter of recordOnce a message is sent and received via email, text, etc., it becomes a record. Ensure you want to commit to record prior to sending, otherwise try using the phone (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.342).3. Ensure you send your message to the proper partyDouble check your directory or ask for a “test shot” with a new receiver. Make sure there aren’t two William Chandlers working in the same organization. PII and HIPPA violations carry costly penalties.4. Use verbal communication when conveying an emotional messageIf you have to convey extreme emotional news (“you’re fired”, etc.), it is best to do this verbally (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.343).5. Be mindful of your audienceAlways take time to consider whether or not you need to add key players to the ‘CC line’ of a message. The primary receiver could consider this disrespectful.References:Organizational Behavior (2014). Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Foundation. Communication Don’tsWhat should be avoided in remote communications?1. Do not send a message that has not been properly edited.Sending a poorly edited message shows that you lack proper communication skills (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.342).2. Do not use biased language.Using terms like “reverse racism” implies non-minorities cannot be victims of racism. Racism is racism. This type of touchy topic is best approached from an unbiased perspective (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.320).3. Do not overuse jargon or acronyms.Use of jargon and acronyms can confuse your audience, especially when dealing with employees from different cultural backgrounds (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.316).4. Do not gossip.“Grapevine” chatter constitutes 70% of workplace communication, but can create distrust due to lack of a credible source (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.315)5. Do not use all CAPS when communicating through e-mails or texts.Some people use CAPS to try to make a point; however, it is considered extremely rude because it is the equivalent of yelling at someone (Organizational Behavior, 2014, p.342).References:Organizational Behavior (2014). Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Foundation. 
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