Author: chris

Business Unit Analysis

Directions: Create a Feasibility Study for Harley-Davidson using the following outline:

Part I: Differentiation Strategies

The analysis of current strategy and competitor analysis you conducted last module impressed the senior vice president. She now needs you to delve into the brands and analyze them by conducting a business unit analysis and presenting your findings in a three-part PowerPoint presentation.

Research the Harley-Davidson (H-D) Web site for each brand, and review the annual report for relevant details of the size, scope, target market, services and amenities, and other salient points of differentiation. Include these details in Part I of your PowerPoint presentation.

From the research and analysis of the business units, identify:

• A description of each brand or business unit that provides a clear picture of the brand and its place in the overall portfolio of Harley-Davidson.
• The target market of each brand.
• How the brands are alike and how they differ.
• A preliminary analysis of any gaps that exist in the portfolio that might lead to opportunities to add to the brands.
• Your analysis of possible merger/acquisition/joint venture possibilities and what would be achieved or accomplished through the merger/acquisition/joint venture.

Part II: SWOT Analysis

Perform a SWOT analysis for Harley-Davidson and include this information in Part II of your PowerPoint presentation.

• Based on the internal analyses of the SWOT analysis, assess the functional areas, resources, capabilities, and strengths H-D possesses. Please be sure to cover the following functional areas in your assessment:
  • Marketing: New product development, integrated marketing planning, marketing communications, and building customer loyalty.
  • Operations: Quality, service, and consistent execution.
  • Human Resources: Hiring, training, developing talent, and performance planning. Avoided lawsuits and bad PR due to its hiring practices. Is ethical in its HR practices.
  • Executive Leadership: Industry knowledge and experience, vision about where the industry is heading, and strategy execution.
  • Supply Chain Optimization: Strategic sourcing of input, vendor management, integrated IS, and joint forecasting with suppliers.
  • Corporate Responsibility and Ethics: Concern for corporate citizenship and the environment. Present any potential ethical concerns as well.
  • Safety and Quality: How the motorcycle industry is dealing with safety and quality issues.

Part III: Growth and Profitability Strategies

In addition, the executive board is interested in your ideas about bold strategies for the future. The strategies you recommend will have to contribute to growth and profitability, as outlined in the Annual Report.

You will want to pay special attention to exploring vertical integration, strategic alliances, and the internal growth of new brands entering new geographic markets, and/or additional acquisitions.

Consider the following:

• Is Harley-Davidson, Inc., (H-D) competing in the right businesses, given the opportunities and threats present in the external environment? If not, how can H-D realign its diversification strategy to achieve a competitive advantage?

  This may include additional diversification to take advantage of opportunities such as further vertical integration.

• Is the corporation managing its portfolio in a way that creates synergy among its businesses? If so, what additional businesses should it consider adding to its portfolio?

After you have reviewed the growth and profitability strategies, create a list of possible strategies to present a full range of ideas.

Part III of your presentation should include your complete list—all potential ideas—for the senior vice president. This is your chance to be creative.

Next, rank your ideas from best to worst. To do this, keep in mind several things such as fit with current strategy, resources and capabilities, and difficulty of execution.

For each of your top five ideas, add the following:

• Briefly describe the strategy.
• Why you picked it as one of the top five.

Think about such things as:

• Does the strategy build on current competencies and foster horizontal relationships among brands? In other words, what can be leveraged or shared? What are the pros and cons of this strategy?

Your PowerPoint Feasibility Study presentation will also include slides pertaining to the following assessments:

• Part I: Identification of size, scope, target market, services, amenities, and points of differentiation.
• Part II: SWOT analysis that includes marketing, operations, human resources, executive leadership, supply chain optimization, corporate responsibility, ethics, safety, and quality.
• Part III: Growth and profitability strategies, including your top five strategic ideas and support.

 

Submit the PowerPoint Feasibility Study presentation to the senior vice president so that she can review the alternatives and provide you with feedback about your ideas.

Deborah enters your office, and you notice that she looks apprehensive. “Hi, Deborah. What’s up?” you ask, hoping that nothing is wrong.

“Well, your team is doing an excellent job researching, and you’ve been keeping me up-to-date on your findings. My concern is that we are approaching this from a narrow-minded approach.”

“How so?” You ask. You are puzzled. “Our team has been looking at every aspect of the company and considering both internal and external pros and cons.”

“Have you considered partnerships or an acquisition or other options for expanding our brand?” Deborah asks. “I didn’t see that as an option in any of your reports. I think you really need to cover our bases here. Please report back to me next week with more options.”

You decide that Deborah has brought up another good point that should have been discussed in the beginning of the project. You make a note to add this to a list of project management ideas to help make future projects go smoother.

Complete the following:

• What other strategies would be a good fit for your company profile?
• Provide a brief overview of these strategies.
• Why is it important to have more than one strategy in mind when pursuing global expansion?

ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION

Due Date

Monday, January 25, 2016

9:00 AM

Points Possible

100



Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center.

Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.

 

Assignment 1: “What Makes ______ the Best Place to Work and Why?”

Due Week 3 and worth 100 points

 

Choose one (1) company that you believe would be an ideal company to work for based on working conditions, salary, opportunity for advancement and work involved. Use the Internet to research.

 

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

 

Evaluate the fundamental driving forces that shape the organizational environment of the selected company. Be sure to address the following: competing in a global marketplace, workforce diversity, ethics and morality, and technological innovation.

Examine the selected company’s specific practices or policies. Speculate on the major influences that these practices or policies have on individual and organizational outcomes.

Determine which practices related to work attitudes in U.S. organizations are most strongly affected by diversity and suggest a strategy to address the effects.

Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

 

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

 

Evaluate human behavior in organizations and the forces shaping the behavior.

Analyze individual differences within organizations and their impact on organizational behavior.

Use technology to research issues affecting organizational behavior in order to deliver assignments which are clear, concise and have proper writing mechanics.

Write clearly and concisely about operations management using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment. I would like for it to be about the Department of Defense.

ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION

Due Date

Monday, January 25, 2016

9:00 AM

Points Possible

100



Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center.

Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.

 

Assignment 1: “What Makes ______ the Best Place to Work and Why?”

Due Week 3 and worth 100 points

 

Choose one (1) company that you believe would be an ideal company to work for based on working conditions, salary, opportunity for advancement and work involved. Use the Internet to research.

 

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

 

Evaluate the fundamental driving forces that shape the organizational environment of the selected company. Be sure to address the following: competing in a global marketplace, workforce diversity, ethics and morality, and technological innovation.

Examine the selected company’s specific practices or policies. Speculate on the major influences that these practices or policies have on individual and organizational outcomes.

Determine which practices related to work attitudes in U.S. organizations are most strongly affected by diversity and suggest a strategy to address the effects.

Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

 

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

 

Evaluate human behavior in organizations and the forces shaping the behavior.

Analyze individual differences within organizations and their impact on organizational behavior.

Use technology to research issues affecting organizational behavior in order to deliver assignments which are clear, concise and have proper writing mechanics.

Write clearly and concisely about operations management using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment. I would like for it to be about the Department of Defense.

Building a brand is a crucial exercise that often takes years or decades to accomplish. The benefit of brand equity is realized in the bottom line. You researched brand equity from a consumer standpoint. For this assignment, you will select a big national or international brand that has advertisements that feature a famous person or persons.

Part 1: Research Background

Research the selected brand using both its Web site and articles in the AIU Library’s full-text databases, and address the following:

• What does the brand mean in today’s market?
• How has it evolved over time?
• What is the target market(s) for the brand? Has that changed from the past?
• How is the competition positioned?

This section of the assignment requires the use of articles from the AIU Library’s full-text databases. Articles are found in periodicals. These are not to be confused with eBooks or reference books. The most popular databases in marketing are: ABI Inform Global, Academic Search Premier, and Business Source Premier. This section of the paper should be at least 2 pages in length.

Part 2: Application

Marketing is not all serious research involving scholarly, statistical, and practitioner resources; it is also about trends, buzz, and pop culture of the day. Actors, models, musicians, athletes, and reality stars of the moment are hounded by the press. Their lives unfold in the media, and many are seen wearing, carrying, eating, or driving a particular brand. For this section, you may research the following in any media outlet:

• What celebrities endorse your brand? Why are they a good fit? To what target market do they connect?
• What other famous characters could be connected to your brand? Explain why.
• What about the competition? What kind of endorsers do they use?

This section of the paper should be at least 2 pages in length.

Your report must include a reference list. All research should be cited in the body of the paper. In-text citations and corresponding references should be included in your paper. For more information on APA, please visit the APA Lab. The paper should be written in third person; this means words like I, we, and you are not appropriate. The use of direct quotes is discouraged but may be used sparingly in appropriate situations.

Your assignment should contain a cover page, an abstract page, and a reference page in addition to the body. The body of the paper should be 4–5 pages in length, starting with a brief 1-paragraph introduction and ending with a short conclusion. The entire submission will be 7–8 pages in length.

 

 

Use Times New Roman (Font 12) and two paragraphs for each of the 5 questions (two pages of content). Additionally, I want you to state each topic question followed by your response.

 

responses are to be in your own words with no copying except for minimal quotes that must be properly cited.

 

want you to share your own thoughts in your own words in completing this assignment – a bibliography is not required

 

1) Describe the challenges faced by US Customs and Border Protection agents attempting to secure the border. Be sure to include:

 

What is the functional equivalent of the border?

What is the Fourth amendment exception as it pertains to border searches?

How are seizure statistics used to justify the mission of border security?

 

 

2) Explain “open markets and closed borders” as it pertains to smuggling, free trade, and border enforcement.

 

 

 

3) What are the challenges of facilitating legal border crossings while maintaining secure borders?

 

 

4) What has been the economic impact of terrorism on U.S. and Global Markets since 9/11?

 

 

 

5) Describe the impact of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) agreements on cross border trade in North America.

 

 

Use Times New Roman (Font 12) and two paragraphs for each of the 5 questions (two pages of content). Additionally, I want you to state each topic question followed by your response.

 

responses are to be in your own words with no copying except for minimal quotes that must be properly cited.

 

want you to share your own thoughts in your own words in completing this assignment – a bibliography is not required

 

1) Describe the challenges faced by US Customs and Border Protection agents attempting to secure the border. Be sure to include:

 

What is the functional equivalent of the border?

What is the Fourth amendment exception as it pertains to border searches?

How are seizure statistics used to justify the mission of border security?

 

 

2) Explain “open markets and closed borders” as it pertains to smuggling, free trade, and border enforcement.

 

 

 

3) What are the challenges of facilitating legal border crossings while maintaining secure borders?

 

 

4) What has been the economic impact of terrorism on U.S. and Global Markets since 9/11?

 

 

 

5) Describe the impact of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) agreements on cross border trade in North America.

 

he Final Project for this course involves a decision problem that matters to you. This problem must be identified, defined, articulated, and solved.

For this week’s Assignment, write a 2- to 4-page paper that identifies an important decision you need to make. It can be a decision associated with your doctoral program, your dissertation research, your work, your family, your community, or any other area of your life. Include in your paper the following:

• A description of the decision you need to make
• A description of the stakeholders involved
• A description of the decision environment
• An explanation of whether this is an individual or group decision

The purpose of this lab is to construct a practical Colpitts RF Oscillator circuit with MultiSIM. The frequency of output waveforms will be measured using a virtual oscilloscope. Students will gain an understanding of the effects biasing resistors on the output frequency of oscillator.

 

1.    Review the document Week 4 – RF Oscillator.pdf

 

2.    Calculate the value of RG in order to produce the following output voltages (peak-to-peak).

 

Vout	RG
5V
7V
10V
12V
15V

 

3.   Construct the Colpitts Oscillator in Figure 2 of the PDF document in Multisim.

 

4.    Using the values of RG from the table, run the simulations to confirm the output voltage, Vout.

 

5.    Using Agilent Oscilloscope, plot the output waveform of Vout for each case and measure the frequency of the output. Take the screen capture for each measurement.

 

6.    Reverse the polarity of the diodes and redo steps 4 and 5.

 

RG	Measured Frequency (in Hz)	Vout (Forward Biased)	Vout (Reverse Biased)

 

7.    Observe the differences in the output voltage and the frequencies between forward and reverse biased diode settings and explain the significance of diodes in the operations of this oscillator.

 

8.    Answer the following questions:

 

1.    Describe the operations of the Colpitts oscillator circuit and explain how it helps in generating clean sinusoidal output?

 

2.    How does the two diodes help in providing linear input to the voltage follower circuit?

 

3.    Discuss how the resistor Ros can be setup to perform soft clipping operations.

 

9.    Verify all calculations from analysis and measurements from simulation. Save the results along with the table and paste the screen captures in the word document.Make sure to answer the questions.

1. Describe four changes to the traditional 7-Eleven supply chain that the move to fresh foods will require. In addition, discuss four advantages that 7-Eleven can gain by outsourcing all or most of the fresh food supply chain responsibilities.
2. Use a basic flow diagram to create a simple supply chain model for delivering fresh sandwiches with eight distinct boxes. You may use the software of your choice to create the diagram; however, it must be readable when copied and pasted or imbedded into your MS Word document.
3. Recommend either a push-based strategy or pull-based strategy for ordering fresh foods and justify your recommendation.
4. Discuss three advantages and three disadvantages of using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in the proposed supply chain.
5. Describe four businesses that have successfully implemented the retail of fresh foods that would be suitable for 7-Eleven to benchmark.
6. Discuss four important pieces of information that must be gathered and transmitted using 7-Eleven’s IT networks to support the fresh food supply chain.
7. Describe how the practice of tanpin kanri (item by item management) may be transferred from 7-Eleven Japan to the United States operation.

 

1. Must be eight to twelve double-spaced pages in length (not including the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.
2. Must include a cover page that includes:
   • ctory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
3. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
4. Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.