Describe the obstructionist approach to social responsibility with an example.
> Do you think that the grapevine would be more or less active in a matrix organization? Why?
> Using your country as an example, explain how the balance of trade and national debt have a direct impact on the finances or growth of a country’s economy.
> Does a flat organization encourage or discourage office gossip? What leads you to this conclusion?
> Thinking about your office or college, what types of information are conveyed through the grapevine? How often is the information accurate?
> How would the role of a middle manager differ from that of a first-line manager?
> What aspects, if any, of virtual and learning organization structures do you see at South African Airways?
> What does a manager’s span of control suggest in terms of their workload?
> If South African Airways wanted to change its structure, what structure would you suggest?
> In what ways does its structure help and hurt South African Airways?
> Identify as many examples that are closely related to organization structure as possible in this case.
> How can you ensure that intrepreneuring makes a continued and effective contribution to the business?
> What would you do in this situation?
> What are the ethical issues in this situation?
> Explain how managers of Alibaba, eBay, Amazon.com, and other online retailers might view the concepts of supply and demand.
> As the company founder, how willing would you be to make major organizational changes in light of your increased and difficult workload?
> How do you distinguish between strategic and tactical plans? What is it about the two different types of planning that makes them different, in form and order as well as detail?
> What is the difference between a market economy and a planned economy?
> How can an organization go through the process of changing its corporate culture?
> Identify and explain the three different types of strategy used by organizations.
> Do you think that Ellison will be successful in rescuing JCPenney, or is it too late?
> The text describes a variety of skills that are essential to management. Which two skills do you think will be most important for new CEO Ellison?
> As CEOs, both Ullman and Johnson were involved in each of the four management functions. Briefly describe the types of decisions that the CEO of JCPenney must make as they relate to each of the four functions.
> How would you describe the corporate culture at Alphabet?
> What role have goals and strategy played in the success of Alphabet?
> Which management skills seem to be most exemplified in Sergey Brin and Larry Page?
> Describe examples of each of the management functions illustrated in this case.
> 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?
> 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?
> 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?
> 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
