Question: The text describes a variety of skills

> Apple and Google use historical sales growth rates in estimating future sales. Data below are for one product segment for each company (Apple: iPhone; and Google: Apps, Hardware, and Cloud services). Required 1. Compute the sales growth rate for each co

> Which costing system, job order or process, typically uses more Work in Process Inventory accounts?

> Under what conditions is a market-based transfer price most likely to be used?

> What is a transfer price? What are the three main approaches to setting transfer prices?

> How is a department’s contribution to overhead measured?

> How is the performance of profit center managers evaluated?

> How are decisions made in decentralized organizations?

> In responsibility accounting, why are reports to higher-level managers usually less detailed?

> How is the performance of cost center managers evaluated?

> List at least two positive and two negative features of standard costing systems.

> Can a retail store like Apple use variances in analyzing its operating performance? Explain.

> Apple offers sales price discounts to college students. Apple can use sales variance analysis to assess the effects of these sales discounts. Assumed data for a local college follow. Required 1. Compute the sales price and sales volume variances and ide

> Information for Google follows. Required 1. Compute Google’s cash conversion cycle for both the current and prior years. 2. Did Google become more effective at managing cash in the current year?

> If you were the owner of the company, how would you choose the right coffee-shop managers?

> What organizational changes are going to be necessary in order for you to continue to grow and select the right managers?

> Select a company where you would like to work one day. Using online research, determine if the company has a functional, divisional, matrix, international, team, virtual, or learning organization. Explain how you arrived at this conclusion. Do you believ

> What do the solid lines in an organization chart represent?

> Audit and assess the basic management skills of a local manager or business owner. Note technical, human relations, conceptual, decision-making and time management skills. How important are these skills to them? What areas require development?

> How and why would a business decide to fundamentally change their corporate culture? What are the advantages of starting again?

> Describe, in your own words, the meaning and significance of operations management. What does it tell us about operations processes and the transformation of goods and services?

> Choose three different sized business organizations, one large, one medium sized and one small. Examine and identify their organizational structure. How do you think decision-making is made in the organization? Explain your findings.

> Do you think that a learning organization is an appropriate type of structure for most types of business? What types of organizations are better suited to this form of structure and why?

> What contingencies would a major retailer of home improvement supplies need to consider in planning? How do you think the organization would address those risks?

> Describe a virtual organizational structure for a group of writers and artists working on joint projects. Describe changes that might be necessary as the business grows.

> A business wants to merge sales and production. Suggest an appropriate structure and explain its features.

> Why are grapevines in organizations potentially positive as well as negative?

> What are the significant differences between line authority and staff authority in an organization?

> If a manager believes that they cannot delegate because they like to control everything, what is the solution?

> Many companies encourage their employees to form social relationships outside work to build a sense of camaraderie. How would these informal groups feed or limit the grapevine?

> 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?

> 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?

> 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?