All discussion
Unit 1 discussion
The
purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing
ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question.
Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation has
ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.
Some individuals
who are engaged in international business transactions have reported a
cultural component to ethics. You are working on opening a branch of a food
distribution operation in a foreign country, and a local official suggests that
a little cash would help your company get started.
Research
international business and ethical standards, and answer the following
questions:
- In what ways can culture
affect ethical standards and shape business behavior? - Is it ethical to take part
in corrupt international business transactions? Legal? Explain.
Post a
new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your answers to the above
questions. List any sources used in APA format. Also, respond to two other
students’ posts on the Discussion Board and explain to whether you agree or
disagree with their responses.
Your
submitted assignment (60 points) should include the following:
- Your Discussion Board topic
containing your responses to the two questions (40 points) - Your responses to two other
students’ Discussion Board posts (60 points)
Unit 2 discussion
The
purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing
ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question.
Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation
has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.
During
the 1990s, business and personal bankruptcies soared. This happened in spite of
the greatest economic boom in U.S. history. It was also a booming time for
lawyers who specialize in the intricacies of bankruptcy law. In 1998, a record
1.4 million businesses and individuals filed for protection under the
bankruptcy code, which was a 300 percent increase since 1980. 96% of the
filings were personal bankruptcies. However, in 1999, that number dropped 8.5%.
Many analysts
attribute the high number of bankruptcies to aggressive credit offers by banks
and (to a lesser extent) department stores. These companies lure even the most
credit-challenged (young people and those who have problems managing money)
into accepting their credit cards by sometimes offering secured lines of
credit, in which the cardholder places as little as $100 in a savings account
and receives a line of credit that is five times that amount.
Another
reason cited by analysts for the increase is that the old stigma associated
with bankruptcy—if you filed for bankruptcy protection, you were somehow
inferior—no longer exists in most areas of the country.
A third
reason is a change in attitude regarding the credit cards issuers. Not long
ago, if an individual filed for bankruptcy, that person was unable to obtain
credit for years (a bankruptcy filing remains on your credit bureau file for 10
years). However, credit card companies operated on a different premise. If you
had recently filed bankruptcy, you were no longer in debt. Therefore, you
must have had sufficient cash flow to service new debt. Within a month of
filing, your mailbox would have been flooded with credit card offers.
In the
business arena, filing for bankruptcy (thus stopping creditors from taking
legal action) has evolved into just another business strategy.
The three
most common types of bankruptcy are as follows:
- Chapter 7: The debtor’s
assets are sold to pay creditors, and creditors have no right to the
debtor’s future earnings. - Chapter 11: A business
continues to operate, and creditors receive a portion of both current
assets and future earnings. This form of bankruptcy is also available to
wealthy individuals. -
- Chapter 13: For the typical
consumer, creditors usually receive a portion of the individual’s current
assets and future earnings.
Although
bankruptcy laws are sometimes abused—an individual may file personal bankruptcy
every seven years and some individuals do exactly that—bankruptcy is designed
as a safety net for individuals or businesses that experience financial
difficulties for whatever reason.Discussion
Board Assignment Guidelines:Research
the three types of bankruptcy, and answer the following questions:- Who may file Chapter 7
bankruptcy? - What are some of the reasons
that people file bankruptcy? - How does bankruptcy affect
interest rates on loans? Credit cards?
Post a
new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your answers to the three
questions. Respond to two other students’ posts on the Discussion Board and critique
their answers.Your
submitted assignment (60 points) should include the following:- 40 Points Your Discussion Board
topic containing your responses to the questions - 20 Points Your responses to two
other students’ Discussion Board posts that contain your assignment
critiques
Unit 3 discussion
- Chapter 13: For the typical
-
The
purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing
ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question.
Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation
has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.For this
Discussion Board assignment, consider the following statement:- Drug use is information that
is rightfully private and only in exceptional cases can an employer claim
a right to know about such use.
Post a
response to the Discussion Board that either defends or opposes this
statement.Discussion
Board Assignment Guidelines:Determine
your stance on the issue of drug testing and employee drug use, and
in 3–5 paragraphs, write how you feel about the issue.You may
use the following questions to help outline your response:- Do employers always have a
right to know about employee drug use? -
- What if the drug use has no
effect on employee performance? - What if the drug use
constitutes a serious health risk? - How would you (as a manager)
address the issue of employee drug use?
Post a
new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your drug use argument. Respond
to two other students’ posts on the Discussion Board, and explain to them why
you agree or disagree with their position.Your
submitted assignment (60 points) should include the following:- 40 Points Your Discussion Board
topic containing your argument regarding employee privacy and drug
use - 20 Points Your responses to two
other students’ Discussion Board posts
- What if the drug use has no
- Drug use is information that
unit 4 discssion
The
purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing
ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question.
Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation
has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.
Many
organizations have established policies to remedy discrimination when hiring
women and minorities. Discuss whether you feel that affirmative action
programs, reverse discrimination, and criteria of comparable worth are
appropriate forms of remedy.
You
should conduct research on this topic before making your posts.
Using the
textbook, course materials, and Web resources, research affirmative action,
reverse discrimination, and comparable worth and answer the following
questions:
- Do you feel that these
concepts are appropriate forms of remedy in the workplace? Explain. - What else do you think could
be done to eliminate discrimination in the workplace?
You must use at least one credible source
from either the Library’s full-text database or the Web. Include your
reference(s) that you used in APA format with your Discussion Board post. Post
a new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your answers to the
questions, and respond to 2 other students’ posts on the Discussion Board. Be
sure to explain to them why you agree or disagree with their arguments.
Unit 5 discssion
For
many global companies, China represents a very attractive market in terms of
size and growth rate. Yet, it ranks lower in terms of economic freedom and
higher in political risk than other countries’ markets because it has a
communist government. Despite these
risks,
many popular and reputable companies have established manufacturing operations
in China.
This is
largely because the Chinese government makes sales in China contingent on a
company’s willingness to locate production there. The government wants Chinese
companies to learn modern management skills from other international companies
and acquire technology. Some observers believe that when Western companies
agree to such conditions, they are bargaining away important industry knowledge
in exchange for short-term sales.
Answer
the following questions based on the situation described:
- Should companies comply with
China’s terms? - Should they risk losing
sales by refusing to transfer technology?
Post a
new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your answers to the above two
questions. Respond to two other students’ posts on the Discussion Board and
critique their answers.
Your
submitted assignment (60 points) should include the following:
- 40 Points Your Discussion Board
topic containing your responses to the questions - 20 Points Your responses to two
other students’ Discussion Board posts
Unit 1 assignment
An upcoming meeting with your new company’s chief executive officer (CEO) and other executives is a great opportunity for you to share your knowledge of potentially defective products being sold to customers. You are not sure if others are aware of this issue, and the defective products could possibly lead to serious injuries. To complicate matters, you are uncertain about your organization’s ethical guidelines because none have been communicated.
How would you present this issue to the CEO, directors, and managers? What specific courses of action would you recommend with respect to internal actions and customer notification?
In the longer term, what can be done to ensure that a strong sense of business ethics permeates your company? Consider aspects of the organization’s structure (such as adding an oversight function) as well as supporting policies and procedures.
Answer the following questions regarding the scenario described:
- How would you effectively present the issue of potentially defective products to the CEO, other directors, and managers?
- How would you specifically notify customers of such an occurrence?
- What kind of internal actions would you take to prevent future problems?
- What can be done to ensure that a strong sense of business ethics permeates your company?
Compile your answers into a 3–5-page Word document, and cite any references that you may have used in APA format. (125 points)You will be graded on the quality of your recommendations as well as the organization and professional development of your ethics implementation and defective product notification plans.
Unit 2 assignment
Read the following scenario about Mary. Based upon the information in the text and your own online research, discuss Mary’s ethical options. What do you think that she should do?
Mary recently graduated from college and landed her first corporate job. She works as an administrative assistant for an international corporation that manufactures home decorations in the USA and Europe. On many occasions she had had to travel to Europe to assist company executives conduct business in a wide variety of countries. She had a primary boss in the USA and many secondary bosses in a variety of European countries. On the job only four months, Mary feels that she is already starting to loose her idealism about business. She has heard of and observed employees coming to work intoxicated – even sneaking drinks at work. She has seen employees routinely arrive late for work and leave early. Fifteen minute breaks and thirty minute lunches often last twice as long.
Employees routinely use their computers for sending and receiving personal emails, shopping online, checking horoscopes, and the weather, even gambling. And all of that happened in just her department in the USA and Europe. The department manager is very laid back. Mary has tried to talk with him about these problems, but he seems unable or unwilling to confront the problems. It appears to Mary that he wants the employees to like him, and the employees are taking advantage of that. Mary is growing more and more frustrated. She prides herself as a hard worker and assumed the other employees would be too. Mary is tempted to give up and join the other employees, getting paid for doing as little as possible. But she knows that she would not be able to respect herself. She is tempted to go over her managers’ head to his supervisor and complain about the problems. But that would alienate her direct supervisors and the other employees. She has not been at the company long enough to request a transfer, and quitting her job after four months does not seem like a good career move. She is sitting at her desk wondering what she should do.
In response to this scenario, answer the following questions:
- Using the internet, the library, and your textbook, compare and contrast the rights of employees and the responsibilities of employers in the United States and Europe. Are the laws, customs, and cultures different?
- If Mary chooses to file a formal complaint with a government agency, what challenges will she face?
- What kind of reaction will Mary get from her supervisors in the United States and Europe?
- Finally, advise Mary on what course of action she should take.
Unit 3 assignment
In 1999, a Seattle man took a popular soft-drink company seriously when one of its commercials made an offer of a Harrier jet, the famous high-tech jump jet used by the U.S. Marines. In a TV commercial that aired in 1995, the company jokingly included the Harrier as one of the prizes that could be received with a mere 7 million company points. Although that sounds like a lot of points to get from drinking the soft drink company’s products (roughly 190 drinks a day for 100 years), the company also allowed customers to purchase points for 10 cents each.
The man did the math and discovered that the cost of the 7 million points needed for the jet was $700,000. He then put together a business plan, raised the $700,000 from friends and family, and submitted 15 points, the check, and an official order form along with a demand for the Harrier jet.
The company wrote back, stating that the Harrier jet in the commercial was simply used to create a humorous and entertaining advertisement. They apologized for any misunderstanding or confusion people may have experienced and enclosed some free product coupons.
The free coupons did not satisfy the man, who then took the soft drink company to court. Finally, a federal judge for the Southern District of New York held that the company was only joking when it implied in its ad that it was giving away fighter jets. The judge noted that because the jets sell for approximately $23 million, no one could have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier jet. Instead, this was a classic example of a deal that was too good to be true.
Write a 3–5-page paper that answers the following questions:
- What are the four elements of a valid contract?
- What is the objective theory of contracts?
- How does the objective theory of contracts apply to this case?
- In your own words, why do you think the court held that there was not a valid agreement here?
- Are advertisements generally considered offers? Explain.
- How does this case differ from a reward situation in which a unilateral contract is formed upon completion of the requested act?
Your submitted assignment (125 points) must include a 1–2-page Word document that contains your answers to the questions listed a reference list of any sources that you used within your paper (cited properly in APA format).
Unit 4 assignment
Antitrust laws were essentially created to stop businesses that got too large from blocking competition and abusing their power. Mergers and monopolies can limit the choices offered to consumers because smaller businesses are not usually able to compete. Although free and open competition ensures lower prices and new and better products, it has the potential to significantly limit market diversity.
Look at the 2 examples below of how mergers and acquisitions have affected the way in which companies do business.
Read each of the 2 examples below. Prepare a APA formatted research paper that responds to the aligned questions. Specifically, your paper must:
- Identify the two firms with similar problems from different countries
- Conduct a comparative analysis of the firms
- Analyze political, social, ethical and legal differences and their impact on management decision making
- Provide substantive conclusion and recommendations
Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, you will need the following:
- TITLE PAGE.Remember the Running head: AND TITLE IN ALL CAPITALS
- ABSTRACT.A summary of your paper…not an introduction. Begin writing in third person voice.
- BODY. The body of your paper begins on the page following the title page and abstract page and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The type face should be 12-pt. Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics except as required for APA level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your paper for this assignment is 4-5 pages. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. A variety of academic sources is encouraged.
- REFERENCE PAGE. References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final page of your paper. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hang indention, italics, and upper and lower case usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember, the Reference Page is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation.
Example 1
Federal antitrust enforcers are investigating whether a multinational pharmaceutical company has attempted to minimize the impact of generic competition to one of its most profitable prescription drugs. This anti-depressant drug is the company’s best seller, with sales last year of $2.11 billion, representing a 22% increase from the year before.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting an investigation to determine whether the company has engaged in activities to prevent generic alternatives to the prescription drug from entering the market. Specifically, the FTC is challenging a practice among brand-name and generic-drug manufacturers to agree to delay the introduction of the lower priced generic drugs to the market.
Answer the following questions:
- Why would the drug maker want to stymie generic competition? Explain.
- What types of legal barriers to market entry exist?
- What are the possible ethical dilemmas present in this example?
Example 2
The boards of 2 major telecommunications companies recently agreed to a $16 billion-dollar merger that would create the world’s largest telecommunications company in the world. Although some agree that the synergy between these companies could be dynamic, others feel consumers could ultimately pay the price for the merger depending on which company becomes dominant in the various service areas.
Answer the following questions:
- Why do you think consumer advocates have expressed concern over such merger possibilities?
- Other than pricing, what are some pitfalls that consumers might have to deal with when 2 major companies merge?
- What are the possible ethical dilemmas present in this example?
Unit 5 assignment
Your firm has been investigating the possibility of locating facilities in an East Asian country such as Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, or Singapore. You have been asked by the chief executive officer (CEO) to research what has been happening in these countries in terms of environmental legislation and laws regarding wages and hours. He has asked you to prepare a report that addresses the following information:
- Describe the level of environmental regulation in any 2 of these countries.
- Describe the 2 selected countries’ versions of wage and working-hour legislation.
Use the Library and other Internet resources to find the legislation for the specific countries.
Select 2 of the 4 East Asian countries to analyze for this assignment. Use the Library and other Internet resources to answer the following questions for each selected country:
- What is the country’s environmental regulation level?
- What kind of legislation has been passed in the country regarding working hours and wages?
- Do you think the country’s environmental regulation is sufficient? Explain.
- Do you feel that the country’s hour and wage legislation is ethical? Explain.
Your submitted assignment (125 points) must include a 2–3-page Word document that contains your answers to the 4 questions listed. You must also include a reference list in APA format.
