BUS341: Management Concepts and Applications

M3D1: Strategic Management

View the following video, which goes behind the

M3D1: Strategic Management

View the following video, which goes behind the scenes at PTC, The Product Development Company. PTC works with corporate clients to develop software platforms. Howard Heppelmann explains the kind of work PTC does and discusses the means PTC uses to help its clients be environmentally conscious. He holds that green management is an important element of any business strategy in the current corporate world.

• Pearson Education Inc. (Producer). Management Company Cases: PTC—Green Management[Video File 06:35 min]. Available from

  http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/bp/bp_mylabs/akamai/template/video720x405.php?title=Management% 20Company%20Cases%20-%20%20PTC-%20%20Green%20Management%20&clip=pandc/bp/2012/MGMT/ /OBPOM/OBPOM2012_PTC_Green.mov&caption=bp/bp_mylabs/akamai/2012 /MGMT/OBPOM/xml/OBPOM2012_PTC_Green.xml

After viewing the video, respond to the following questions:

• Discuss where you think PTC fits into the product creation spectrum?
• According to Heppelmann, what are the challenges that companies face when creating environmentally friendly products?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Compose your work using MS Word and save it frequently to your computer. When you're ready to make your initial posting, click the Create Thread button and copy/paste the text from your Word document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

M3D2 Planning

This discussion is based on the Closing Case in your textbook (Chapter 5, p. 129). The case details the planning for a new executive leadership training program. Information is offered on goal setting, including prioritization and measurement issues; resource assessment (human, financial, and time); the development of an action plan with specific information on timing, sequence, and accountability; and preliminary results and problems. The case ends with the manager in a quandary because the plan is not working as hoped. What should she do?

Read the Closing Case and answer the following questions:

• What adjustments would you make at the point where the case ends? Would you cancel the program or run it at a loss? Give reasons for your decision.
• What do you think went wrong? What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the planning process as observed in this case?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Compose your work using MS Word and save it frequently to your computer. When you're ready to make your initial posting, click the Create Thread button and copy/paste the text from your Word document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

M3A1: Current Event

·  Select a current event that pertains to competitive advantage for an organization. Information about the current event can come from any reliable resource, including local television news, CNN, MSN, The New York Times, other newspapers, and the Excelsior Library. The published date of the article must be within the last year.

Write a paper on the current event you select. Your paper should include the following:

• Summary of the event: Use information from reliable sources as described above and cite your sources.
• Analysis of the event based on what you have learned in this module: Include references to your textbook and other academic sources in support of your analysis.
• Any other comments

The paper needs to be at least 2–3 pages in length (not including title and reference page) and formatted according to APA standards.

Guidelines

The APA (6th ed.) is the guiding manual for form and style for this project. No more than 15% of your paper should be from direct quotes. No reference can be listed on the reference page that does not first appear in the text of your paper. Please make all papers double-spaced, with a page number and your last name on the top right corner in the header, with 1” margins on all sides. Please use Time New Roman, 12 point font.

Evaluation Criteria

Read the Short Paper Rubric [PDF File Size 156 kb] to understand expectations for this assignment. The three Current Event assignments together make up 15% of the course grade.

·  Due Date

March 23, 2014 11:59:00 PM EDT

Universities are typically organized by departments or colleges, such as business, biology, engineering, political science, and so on.

Consider university structures and respond to the following:

• Is this an appropriate structure? What aspects of the environment support this structure?
• Are there any aspects of the internal or external environment that currently or in the near future may push for changes in university structures?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

M4D2: Diversity

The closing case in Chapter 7 from your textbook describes the efforts of Alliant, a power and natural gas company out of Wisconsin, to increase the diversity of its workforce and its suppliers, particularly minority- and women-owned businesses. The case takes a close look at Alliant’s efforts to improve diversity awareness.

• Why is Alliant so committed to diversity?
• How will this benefit the company?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings nd reply to it throughout the module.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

·  M4A2: Final Project Outline

·  Instructions

The final paper is an in-depth managerial analysis of a selected organization. Provide an outline of your final paper for review along with the abstract and a list of references to date.

To organize the material you intend to present in the final paper, you can create an outline. The outline will be a set of headings or sections that identify the important points in the paper. You can have these points at two levels, similar to headings and subheadings. The outline should be written concisely, each point at just enough length for clarity and no longer.

Another way to organize your thoughts is to write an abstract, or a very short summary, of what you intend to say in your paper. Write a first draft only of the abstract now. (You can revise it later.) Include the draft with the outline.

You have been doing research for your final paper. You should have a list of references by now, and you will be adding to it. Include the list you have now with the outline.

Guidelines

The APA (6th ed.) is the guiding manual for form and style for this project. No more than 15% of your paper should be from direct quotes. No reference can be listed on the reference page that does not first appear in the text of your paper. Please make all papers double-spaced, with a page number and your last name on the top right corner in the header, with 1” margins on all sides. Please use Time New Roman, 12 point font.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the Weekly Assignment Rubric [PDF File Size 9.39 kb] to understand the expectations for this activity. The final project outline makes up 3% of the course grade.

Click to Launch

The Midterm Examination makes up 15% of the course grade

at PTC, The Product Development Company. PTC works with corporate clients to develop software platforms. Howard Heppelmann explains the kind of work PTC does and discusses the means PTC uses to help its clients be environmentally conscious. He holds that green management is an important element of any business strategy in the current corporate world.

• Pearson Education Inc. (Producer). Management Company Cases: PTC—Green Management[Video File 06:35 min]. Available from

  http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/bp/bp_mylabs/akamai/template/video720x405.php?title=Management% 20Company%20Cases%20-%20%20PTC-%20%20Green%20Management%20&clip=pandc/bp/2012/MGMT/ /OBPOM/OBPOM2012_PTC_Green.mov&caption=bp/bp_mylabs/akamai/2012 /MGMT/OBPOM/xml/OBPOM2012_PTC_Green.xml

After viewing the video, respond to the following questions:

• Discuss where you think PTC fits into the product creation spectrum?
• According to Heppelmann, what are the challenges that companies face when creating environmentally friendly products?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Compose your work using MS Word and save it frequently to your computer. When you're ready to make your initial posting, click the Create Thread button and copy/paste the text from your Word document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

M3D2 Planning

This discussion is based on the Closing Case in your textbook (Chapter 5, p. 129). The case details the planning for a new executive leadership training program. Information is offered on goal setting, including prioritization and measurement issues; resource assessment (human, financial, and time); the development of an action plan with specific information on timing, sequence, and accountability; and preliminary results and problems. The case ends with the manager in a quandary because the plan is not working as hoped. What should she do?

Read the Closing Case and answer the following questions:

• What adjustments would you make at the point where the case ends? Would you cancel the program or run it at a loss? Give reasons for your decision.
• What do you think went wrong? What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the planning process as observed in this case?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Compose your work using MS Word and save it frequently to your computer. When you're ready to make your initial posting, click the Create Thread button and copy/paste the text from your Word document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

M3A1: Current Event

·  Select a current event that pertains to competitive advantage for an organization. Information about the current event can come from any reliable resource, including local television news, CNN, MSN, The New York Times, other newspapers, and the Excelsior Library. The published date of the article must be within the last year.

Write a paper on the current event you select. Your paper should include the following:

• Summary of the event: Use information from reliable sources as described above and cite your sources.
• Analysis of the event based on what you have learned in this module: Include references to your textbook and other academic sources in support of your analysis.
• Any other comments

The paper needs to be at least 2–3 pages in length (not including title and reference page) and formatted according to APA standards.

Guidelines

The APA (6th ed.) is the guiding manual for form and style for this project. No more than 15% of your paper should be from direct quotes. No reference can be listed on the reference page that does not first appear in the text of your paper. Please make all papers double-spaced, with a page number and your last name on the top right corner in the header, with 1” margins on all sides. Please use Time New Roman, 12 point font.

Evaluation Criteria

Read the Short Paper Rubric [PDF File Size 156 kb] to understand expectations for this assignment. The three Current Event assignments together make up 15% of the course grade.

·  Due Date

March 23, 2014 11:59:00 PM EDT

Universities are typically organized by departments or colleges, such as business, biology, engineering, political science, and so on.

Consider university structuresand respond to the following:

• Is this an appropriate structure? What aspects of the environment support this structure?
• Are there any aspects of the internal or external environment that currently or in the near future may push for changes in university structures?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

M4D2: Diversity

The closing case in Chapter 7 from your textbook describes the efforts of Alliant, a power and natural gas company out of Wisconsin, to increase the diversity of its workforce and its suppliers, particularly minority- and women-owned businesses. The case takes a close look at Alliant’s efforts to improve diversity awareness.

• Why is Alliant so committed to diversity?
• How will this benefit the company?

Post your primary response. Be sure to review your writing for grammar and spelling before posting.

Read any postings already provided by your instructor or fellow students. Read and respond to the conclusions drawn by at least two of your classmates. Remember to read the feedback to your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the SBT Discussion Rubric to understand expectations for this activity. All discussions together make up 20% of the course grade.

·  M4A2: Final Project Outline

·  Instructions

The final paper is an in-depth managerial analysis of a selected organization. Provide an outline of your final paper for review along with the abstract and a list of references to date.

To organize the material you intend to present in the final paper, you can create an outline. The outline will be a set of headings or sections that identify the important points in the paper. You can have these points at two levels, similar to headings and subheadings. The outline should be written concisely, each point at just enough length for clarity and no longer.

Another way to organize your thoughts is to write an abstract, or a very short summary, of what you intend to say in your paper. Write a first draft only of the abstract now. (You can revise it later.) Include the draft with the outline.

You have been doing research for your final paper. You should have a list of references by now, and you will be adding to it. Include the list you have now with the outline.

Guidelines

The APA (6th ed.) is the guiding manual for form and style for this project. No more than 15% of your paper should be from direct quotes. No reference can be listed on the reference page that does not first appear in the text of your paper. Please make all papers double-spaced, with a page number and your last name on the top right corner in the header, with 1” margins on all sides. Please use Time New Roman, 12 point font.

Evaluation Criteria

Review the Weekly Assignment Rubric [PDF File Size 9.39 kb] to understand the expectations for this activity. The final project outline makes up 3% of the course grade.

Click to Launch

The Midterm Examination makes up 15% of the course grade