Category: Uncategorized

“Leasing Equipment”

Suggest one (1) key economic factor that motivates leasing as an option in acquiring an asset. Explain the potential asymmetries that may exist where leasing may be beneficial to both the lessors and the lessee.
Determine one (1) significant benefit to an organization that decides to lease an asset that conventional lease analysis evaluation reveals has a negative Net Advantage to Leasing (NAL). Provide a real-life scenario that supports your answer.

Assignment 2: LASA 1—Preliminary Strategic Audit

The end result of this course is developing a strategic audit. In this module you will outline and draft a preliminary framework for your final product. This provides the student with the opportunity to get feedback before a final submission.
In Module 1, you reviewed the instructions for the capstone strategic audit assignment and grading rubric due in Module 7. By now you have completed the following steps:
Identified the organization for your report
Interviewed key mid-level and senior level managers
Created a market position analysis
Conducted an external environmental scan in preparation of your final report and presentation
In this assignment, you will generate a preliminary strategy audit in preparation for your final course project.
Directions:
In preparation for your course project, prepare the preliminary strategy audit using the tools and framework you have focused on so far including:
Analysis of the company value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage
External environmental scan/five forces analysis
Identify the most important (5–7) strategic issues facing the organization or business unit.
You may modify the strategic issues in your final report based on the additional analysis you will conduct in the next two modules as well as the feedback you receive on this paper from your instructor.
Keep in mind it is important to look at the strategic issue(s) from more than just one perspective in the business unit or company—speak to or research the issue from more than one angle to offer a 360° approach that doesn’t cause more problems/issues.
Strategic issues arise from a mismatch between internal capabilities and external trends such that important opportunities are not being pursued or significant external threats are not being addressed under the current strategy.
Include a preliminary set of recommended tactics for improving your company’s strategic alignment and operating performance.
You may modify these recommendations in your final report based on the additional analysis you will conduct in the next two modules as well as the feedback you receive on this paper from your instructor.
Keep in mind that recommendations can include but are not limited to tactics in marketing, branding, alliances, mergers/acquisitions, integration, product development, diversification or divestiture, and globalization. If you recommend your company to go global, you must include a supply chain analysis and an analysis of your firm’s global capabilities.
Write your report as though you are a consultant to your company and are addressing the executive officers of this company.
Make sure your writing is clear, concise, and in an organized manner; demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Write an 8 pages report as though you are a consultant to your company and are addressing the executive officers of this company in Word format.
Use the following format:
Cover page
Executive Summary / Abstract
Table of Contents
Introduction to Company (each subsection should be an assessment)
Value proposition
Market position
Competitive advantage
External Environmental Scan/Five Forces Analysis
Current environment
Assessment of external factors applying five forces
Strategic Issues
Label each issue and provide a header and the reason for why it is an issue
Summary / Key Findings and Recommendations

Assignment 1: Discussion—Supply Chain

Understanding supply chain and how the consumer can play a critical role in the supply chain is an important part of developing and implementing a strategy. In this assignment you will explore the concept of the supply chain in business and the role of the customer in the supply chain.

There are many products and services today where the target customer is part of the supply chain. Wikipedia, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Craig’s List are just a few examples.
Using the module readings, University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following:
Give an example of a product or service where the target customer is part of the supply chain.
Describe the types of innovations or improvements that have come from involving the target customer in the supply chain.
Describe the types of information technology mechanisms that have been used to involve the customer in the supply chain.
Write your initial response in approximately 400 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Fiscal Management in Healthcare Service

It has been brought to the attention of Krona’s executive management team that the department managers have not been held accountable for their individual department’s budget, which has contributed to increased costs and reduced profits. You need to complete the following:
Explain the steps of the budget-building process.
Define flexible and static budgets.
Describe the budget cycle, the decision problems, and the decision rules that may affect the relationships between the department and total facility.

Assignment 2: Internal Environmental Scan/Organizational Assessment( Sony)

This section provides the opportunity to develop your course project. Conducting an internal environmental scan or organizational assessment, provides the ability to put the strategic audit together.
In this course so far you have conducted the following steps toward completing the capstone strategic audit:
Identified the organization for your report
Interviewed key mid-level and senior level managers
Created a market position analysis
Conducted an external environmental scan in preparation of your final report and presentation
Prepared a preliminary strategic audit
In this module you will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the internal environment at your business unit or organization you are working with for this project, also known as an organizational assessment, and present your findings in a report. Your report should analyze the operating characteristics and assets of your business unit and categorize them as strengths or weaknesses in terms of enabling the business strategy (these will be inputs into a final SWOT analysis).
The internal environmental scan or organizational assessment should include the following:
Mission, Vision, and Values: Assess the organization’s understanding of the mission, vision, and values, and how they relate the business strategy. Is there consensus on the mission and vision of the organization? What are the shared values of the organization? What are the behaviors espoused by these values?
Strategy Clarification: Assess the organization’s understanding of the business strategy through interviews with mid-level and senior managers. Assess their understanding and agreement of the business unit’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage (these are inputs fromM5: Assignment 1).
Cultural Assessment: Explain the unwritten rules and shared values that govern behaviors in the organization. Do they act as enablers or blockers to the strategy? For example, is there a culture of information sharing and collaboration that enables the organization to respond quickly across structural boundaries to solve problems for customers? On the other hand, do groups not share important information through informal mechanisms, thus slowing response times?
Value Chain Analysis: Identify the primary (direct) and support (indirect) activities that create and deliver your product or service to your customers. Assess each activity’s contribution to competitive advantage through cost or differentiation. Identify any areas where the business may be at a competitive disadvantage.
Summary of Findings: Using these different analyses, identify the organizational strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the business strategy. Organizational strengths are assets, capabilities, and resources that contribute directly to the organization’s strategic fit, differentiation, and competitive advantage relative to competing organizations. Organizational weaknesses are characteristics and capabilities (often lacking) that place the organization at a disadvantage relative to competitors.
Write a 3 page report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources

Assignment 1: Discussion—Culture and Strategy

An organization’s culture can be defined as “the unwritten set of rules and informal policies that direct employer behavior.” This definition is an amalgamation of organizational behaviorists’ thinking with industrial psychologists’ position, and human resource development researchers. Denise Rousseau’s research on the psychological contract probably comes closest to this amalgamation. Think about your own organization’s culture
Using the module readings, University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following for your organization:
What are the cultural norms that govern the organization, and what types of behaviors does the culture promote?
What behaviors does the culture punish? Do the specific behaviors you describe help enable the business strategy?
Do the behaviors you describe block the strategy?

Assignment 2: Course Project Task 6—Current Financial Status and Future Growth (IKEA)

Both multidomestic and multinational companies have to consider legal and cultural requirements when expanding in international markets.
Consider how each of the following impacts your chosen MNC (IKEA)
Comparable financial statements (balance sheet and income statement)
Versus competitors
Last three years
Noticeable trends
Investments in the specific country or regional area
Past
Present
Future
Recommendations and insights on the company
Express the client company’s current financial state and potential future growth opportunities. BY DISCUSSING the MNC’s current financial status and prospects for future growth

Multinational Versus Multidomestic Issues

Assignment 1: Individual Research and Short Paper—Multinational Versus Multidomestic Issues
Using the MNC you selected for individual research in M1: Assignment 2, (TOYOTA) discuss some of the issues a company faces when it tries to use a multidomestic or multinational strategy.
What legal or cultural requirements do companies need to consider when adopting a multidomestic strategy?
Who are the major stakeholders of a company using a multidomestic strategy? Do the rules change or does the company always need to ensure they are complying both with local laws and the laws of the parent company? What role does the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) play for U.S. companies operating in foreign markets?
Write a 4-pages report in Word format. Apply current APA standards for writing to your work.

Changing Regulatory Environment

Assignment 1: Individual Research and Short Paper—Changing Regulatory Environment
A company’s operating strategy continues to change as the legal and political environment changes. When Argentina’s government assessed a local tax on consumer purchases using credit cards, American Express and other U.S. companies were already facing a highly inflationary market. To make up for lost revenues, American Express began to provide revolving credit products.
In this assignment, you will use the University online library resources and Internet resources to analyze the strategies companies use to deal with a change in regulations.
Select an MNC operating in the U.S. and discuss some of the implications of a changing regulatory environment, then address the following questions:
How do companies evaluate market conditions for potential regulatory changes? Can this type of change be anticipated? Why or why not? What resources do companies have when faced with these types of changes?
Do you think companies should withdraw from the marketplace after new legal regulations are put in place? Explain.
What are the considerations companies account for prior to making any decisions?

Select a U.S. company doing business in a foreign market, then address the following questions:
What legal market conditions did the U.S. Company face and how did it deal with them?
Do you think that operating in foreign markets is similar to operating in domestic markets? Why or why not?
How can companies compete and survive in a marketplace despite the threat of legal restrictions and taxation?
Write a 4-pages essay in Word format. Apply current APA standards for writing to your work.

Tax Planning Proposal

You will submit a draft of your tax planning proposal and strategic plan recommendation regarding the client’s estate. You must also address the tax effects of selling the business prior to the death of the founder. This assignment will address Section I, Parts F through J of the final critical elements of the final project.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Memorandum

F. Create a detailed tax planning proposal explaining how the client’s family can experience tax savings should the client pass away. Cite relevant governing rules and regulations.

G. Illustrate a strategic plan that addresses the need for a will in handling the estate. Detail what happens to the business, land, and investments consistent with tax codes and regulations. Consider extending the plan to address the client’s estate tax, trust, and charitable contributions while minimizing estate tax.

H. Recommend estate planning strategies consistent with tax codes and regulations for the purpose of reducing the taxable estate. Be sure to include gifting property to heirs in your response.

I. Illustrate the best course of action if the client decides to leave the business in three years. Provide some advice to him should he decide to gift the business to his daughter or transfer the assets or common stock to her, depending on the business entity you have selected.

J. Illustrate the best course of action if the client wishes to sell the business. Consider the tax consequences with regard to capital gains and losses, ordinary income issues, and selling an existing operating business.