A business has received intelligence that the government intends to introduce stricter waste disposal legislation next year. The business immediately frames a new green waste policy and widely publicizes it. How would you characterize this approach?
> What are the key features of long-term goals in an organization?
> What economic indicators would a business owner be most likely to watch, and why?
> How would you describe the culture of this company based on the limited information in the scenario?
> What would you do?
> What do you think most managers would do in this situation?
> What are the ethical issues in this situation?
> Which management functions are involved in setting goals and measuring performance?
> Identify Dream Vacations’ short-term goals. Are short-term goals more or less important than long-term goals?
> What intermediate goals will help Dream Vacations meet its long-term goals and realize its mission? What types of corrective action should Arturo take if the company fails to meet these goals?
> Considering Dream Vacations’ mission statement and the information provided in the case, what are the company’s long-term goals? How should Arturo measure these goals?
> Working with your group, develop a mission statement for Dream Vacations. Why is developing a mission statement important?
> Compare and contrast the corporate cultures of two companies that do business in your community. Give examples of the culture of each company.
> Should there be more government intervention in the markets and business dealings? Why or why not?
> Why effective management is considered a blend of science and art?
> The World Bank uses per-capita income to make distinctions among countries. Use Web or database research to identify at least three countries in the following categories for last year: high-income countries, upper-middle-income countries, lower-middle-in
> Overproduction in a particular country can lead to a global glut in supply. The consequences of this to domestic producers can be disastrous. What steps can governments take to prevent dumping in their domestic markets?
> Research and identify a quota imposed by your country on an imported product. Do you support that quota? If so, why?
> Why are cultural factors sometimes a minor challenge to a manager and at other times a major one?
> Although it is impossible to predict how different cultures might react, outline the meaning of social, power, uncertainty, goal, and time orientation as identified by Geert Hofstede and explain how they help us understand different cultures.
> Why might a business enter a strategic alliance?
> What is the role of an independent agent in an international organization?
> Would you describe Starbucks’ model as multinational or global? Why? How would you differentiate the two different approaches to marketing?
> In the context of organizations, what is ethical compliance and in which type of organization are you most likely to find it?
> Describe the obstructionist approach to social responsibility with an example.
> What does a lobbyist do? What is their value?
> China has a collectivist culture. How do you believe that this will affect managers in a Starbucks store?
> Does Jack Ma’s success increase or decrease your confidence in a capitalistic system based on private enterprise?
> What are the five key elements that a business needs to address in order to claim that they have green marketing credentials?
> What are organizational stakeholders, as opposed to the broader definition of stakeholders?
> What are the three ways managerial ethics may be classified as?
> What is the appropriate role of government in the event of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Sandy?
> Do you think that U.S. businesses have a greater responsibility to support rebuilding in New Jersey or Haiti? Defend your answer.
> How would you characterize Home Depot’s approach to social responsibility? Be sure to support your conclusion.
> Do you think that social responsibility is good for business? What would motivate a profit-seeking company like Whirlpool to incur the expense of donating appliances to the rebuilding effort?
> After Hurricane Sandy hit, Lowe’s committed to maintaining prices on emergency goods. Do you think that other retailers acted similarly? Why or why not?
> Under what circumstances might fair trade actually cause harm? To whom? At what point would fair-trade tradeoffs no longer be acceptable?
> Do you pay attention to fair-trade products in your own purchasing behavior? For what kinds of products might you be willing to pay a premium price to help those who produce the ingredients?
> What distinguishes an international business from a multinational business?
> How would you describe Divine Chocolate’s approach to social responsibility? How do they balance their responsibilities to their stakeholders?
> How would you describe Divine Chocolate’s approach to social responsibility? How do they balance their responsibilities to their stakeholders?
> While Divine Chocolate has embraced the concept of fair trade, their products are not organic. On their website, they argue that purely organic production methods could result in greater instability in production because cocoa is very disease-prone. Do y
> Should regional and national governments get involved in situations like this? Can legislation passed in a handful of countries have a significant impact on the use of plastic bags across the globe? Does legislation in these countries undermine the abili
> Are the short-term consequences of your decision different from the long-term consequences? Describe the short- and long-term impacts.
> Putting yourself in the shoes of the CEO, what course of action would you recommend?
> Tip-offs and whistle blowing are the most effective way of uncovering bribery and corruption in business. How would you create a process and culture to encourage whistle blowing?
> How widespread do you think unethical and corruption business practices are locally, regionally, and globally? Why do you think this is the case?
> Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “Organizations should create and communicate appropriate processes to ensure that employees know what to do if they witness unethical practices.” Support your answer with examples from your own work
> What personal, social, and cultural factors do you think contribute to unethical behavior in the workplace?
> How will expansion in the ready-to-drink market help or hinder sales in China’s Starbucks stores?
> Describe your personal code of ethics. Be sure to include what you think is right and wrong, as well as your ethical framework for making decisions.
> How can a government regulate businesses indirectly? How might such an approach operate? Does indirect regulation work?
> Large businesses and organizations play an important role in society. Should they have any meaningful influence on government and decision makers? Like most other business, these businesses also employ people, pay taxes, make charitable donations, and pr
> In terms of degrees of competition, how would you describe the market for game consoles? Do you think that this will change in the next five years? If so, how?
> How hard would it be for a new company to get started in the game console industry? Has anyone tried, and if so, what was the result? What are the barriers to entry?
> Is it surprising that innovations, breakthroughs, and pricing strategies in the game console market seem to be coordinated? Why, or why not?
> Which game console do you think is superior? Why?
> Do you think that having only three manufacturers in this industry is positive or negative? Why?
> In 2006, Nintendo broke new ground in the video industry with the introduction of the Wii. Sony recently unveiled a virtual reality version of the PS4. If you were a member of the Microsoft marketing and R&D (research and development) team, what advice w
> How has Starbucks adapted to Chinese culture?
> What are the roles of supply and demand in this scenario?
> What would you do if you were actually faced with this situation?
> What are the underlying ethical issues?
> What is a sole proprietorship? What are the key advantages and disadvantages?
> What is a niche market, and why is it attractive to small businesses?
> What is the most significant reason for the large numbers of small business start-ups and successes?
> Identify six areas where small businesses are a significant presence in most economies.
> What threats might derail Netflix’s success? What steps might the firm take today to thwart those threats?
> Netflix is a corporation. Why do you think the firm uses this form of ownership?
> What are some of the primary reasons Netflix has been successful?
> What motivates companies like Starbucks to expand into international markets with little perceived interest for their product?
> As an independent advisor, what would you recommend that the four original designers do?
> What are the implications of adding three more people to the cooperative?
> What benefits are there to the four original designers of joining together as a cooperative?
> Many new businesses need external funding to make a successful launch. Some may have access to the necessary funds through partners, families, loans or other forms of finance; others look to venture capital companies. What do you think these venture capi
> Interview the owner/manager of a sole proprietorship or a general partnership. What characteristics of that business form led the owner to choose it? Does he or she ever contemplate changing the form of the business?
> Why would a business choose to introduce an employee stock ownership plan? What are the advantages to a business of such a decision?
> Would you prefer to buy an existing business or start from scratch? Why?
> What is the relative significance of the four major reasons why businesses fail?
> How does today’s view of the entrepreneur differ from the accepted view of yesterday’s entrepreneur?
> Insider trading is widespread and a global issue, yet few countries have the same definition and rules about taking advantage of non-public information in order to profit on the sale or purchase of stocks. Fines and penalties are inconsistent, and it is
> How might U.S. businesses best prepare themselves for a possible elimination of the embargo?
> Suppose that you are a business owner and you are seeking funds for expansion. From what sources could you gain the capital you need, and what are some of the characteristics of these sources? Are you limited by your form of doing business, and if so, ho
> Suppose that you are a business owner and you need new equipment and immediate funds to meet short-term operating expenses. From what sources could you gain the capital you need, and what are some of the characteristics of these sources? Are you limited
> A business has 200,000 shares trading at $88.00 each. It wants the share price to rise closer to $20 per share. Why would the company want to bring down the price of their shares? What are the implications for existing investors?
> If a lender is given an unsecured loan, what do they lack, and why is this risky to the lender?
> Which three values do you need to know in order to calculate the total return on an investment?
> What is an angel investor? Why would a company value their involvement in the business?
> Using the data provided from the web source in the previous step, is Gogo a small- or large-cap stock? How would this affect the risk associated with this investment?
> Use a Web source, such as Yahoo! Finance or www.nasdaq.com to obtain the current price of Gogo stock. What has happened to the price of the stock over the last six months? What about the last two years?
> What role did underwriters, such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and UBS, play in the IPO?
> Why would Gogo sell stock rather than taking on additional debt financing? Do you think that this was a good decision?
> How have changes in the structure of the global economy affected the U.S. embargo, which has been in effect for around 50 years? More specifically, how can U.S. companies deal with changing environmental challenges—economic, political and legal, and cult
> Given the risk, what would motivate an investor to purchase stock in Gogo?
> What are the three most common objectives of opening a mutual fund account? Why are they so popular and flexible?
> If an investor had bought stock during the IPO, what would that investment be worth today?
> Would you consider investing in Fogo de Chão? Why, or why not?
> What are the benefits of an IPO as a source of financing? What other options did the company have?
> After the sale of Fogo de Chão to Thomas H. Lee Partners, the board and management team decided to issue an IPO of common stock. What were the goals of the IPO?
> After the Coser brothers acquired the Ongaratto brothers’ shares of the company, they brought in GP Investments, a Brazilian venture capital firm. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using venture capital to build a business venture?
> When the Coser and Ongaratto brothers started Fogo de Chão, what were their primary sources of financing?
