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What aspects of your own non-for-profit organization’s structure strikes the right balance between serving the customer and addressing the needs of the managers and employees?

Height is one of the major aspects of organizational structure that strikes the right balance between serving the customers and addressing the needs of managers and employees. The size of a non-profit organization depends on the number of activities and customers. Large organizations will often use tall organizational structures in...

How important do you feel it is for company boards to become more diverse?

I believe that diversity in the board of any organization plays a great role in enhancing the effectiveness of the board. Gender diversity leads to better performance, a wide range of talents, and increased market responsiveness. Research and studies indicate that organizations that have included women on their boards have...

From reading the literature, do you agree with the ‘Recipe for a good board’ proposed in this chapter? Would you prefer a different set of ‘ingredients’? Compile your own list, explaining which ‘ingredients’ you consider to be the most important.

I believe that the recipe for a good board illustrated in J. Solomon’s book “The Role of Boards in Corporate Governance” is appropriate. Based on my assessment, the list contains good and necessary ingredients for making a good board. The list of preferences might be different, but the combination leads...

Do you consider that non-executive directors play a useful role in company boards? To what extent do you think the academic research has clarified this issue.

Based on J. Solomon’s book “The Role of Boards in Corporate Governance,” I believe that non-executive directors on the company’s board have an important role to play in the operation of the corporation. Studies have revealed that non-executive directors play a role in the success of a company. As such,...

When it comes to Homeland Security, is aggressive risk management a realistic approach? Should all weaknesses or vulnerabilities be corrected, regardless of costs?

Aggressive risk management is not a realistic risk management approach because it can turn out to be too expensive for the efficient operation of the critical infrastructure. The losses made in terms of reduction or disruption of civil liberties can lead to a situation where the public feels restrained from...

If you were a consultant at the HCL Technologies company, other than the strategic renewal that the president Nayar has introduced, draw at least two recommendations to improve the required organizational redesign. Include in your recommendation the most needed segment of “faces of change”.

It is possible to say that Nayar’s decision to establish the “trust pay” system is not necessarily a good one as high pay is not always enough to motivate employees. Moreover, instead of improving the company’s immediate financial position, this initiative deteriorates it. It may be presumed that by aligning...

Organizational leaders like Nayar from HCL Technologies need to find ways of developing the human resource capabilities of their employees wherein the organization focuses on aligning of talents, skills, attitudes, and behaviors of employees. Justify Nayar’s ideas on HRD being transferrable to other industries and countries. Also, critically draw the potential problems in implementing Nayar’s human resource initiatives within India.

HRD initiatives introduced by Nayar focused on employee empowerment since they were expected to be key actors in driving the change in the company and improvement of its overall performance and innovativeness. To do so, Talent Transformation and Intrapreneurship Development program focused on the promotion of an in-depth understanding of...

The international organization HCL Technologies is “working with clients in areas that impact and redefine the core of their business.” Critically explain how the company has applied the sequential model of change that stresses the importance of a “shared diagnosis” in redefining the core of their business development efforts.

To modify the organizational culture, the president Nayar implemented the steps included in Lewin’s change model. Firstly, he unfroze the existing situation by making employees aware of the need for change. As part of the shared diagnosis process, he forced all involved stakeholders to re-examine the core of the business...

More often than not, teams operate at less than peak efficiency. Why?

One of the central reasons is the lack of the appropriate organization. As it becomes evident, it is not enough just to include diverse people and provide them with an opportunity to become leaders. However, it is fundamental to guarantee that all members understand the current goals and know each...

What answer should an applicant for a Technical Officer role in a Food Processing and Packaging company provide to a question on health & safety, and equality?

All employees within the organization participate in quality assurance. Therefore, the TQM program needs to incorporate health, safety, and diversity considerations in order to ensure the necessary degree of commitment. Employees must be aware that the quality of a product is not achieved at the expense of their well-being. Thus,...

What answer should an applicant for a Technical Officer role in a Food Processing and Packaging company provide to a question on total quality management?

Total quality management (TQM) is a set of managerial practices and strategies aimed at establishing a culture of continuous improvement. TQM involves all members of the organization in a unified effort to improve the quality of their product and the efficiency of organizational processes within the company. According to the...

What answer should an applicant for a Technical Officer role in a Food Processing and Packaging company provide to a question on demand, supply and equilibrium price?

Supply and demand are the core concepts of a market economy. Supply is the representation of the quantity of product or service available on the market at a given time. Demand illustrates the quantity necessary to satisfy the demand required to satisfy the needs of consumers. The relationship between supply...

What answer should an applicant for a Technical Officer role in a Food Processing and Packaging company provide to a question on quality control and quality assurance?

Quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) are two fundamental concepts in the field of quality management. Due to the existence of multiple definitions of the words “control” and “assurance” the terms are often used interchangeably to identify the practices and actions aimed at ensuring the quality of products and...

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the following forms of managerial compensation in terms of mitigating agency problems, that is, potential conflicts of interest between management and shareholders. a. A fixed salary. b. Stock in the firm that must be held for five years. c. A salary linked to the firm’s profits.

a. A fixed salary allows the manager to focus on long-term and safe company operations. However, it does not offer any incentives for maximizing the value of the company. b. Company stock as a form of compensation helps align the manager’s interest with the interests of shareholders. However, this option...

From S. K. William’s book “The Truth About Thriving in Change,” select three truths that you find the most impactful in your professional life/life experiences and write specifically why they are so important. To answer this question, you will need to be specific (identify the truth and its #), and the relevance is to a specific aspect of your professional life.

The first truth is as follows (truth 9): “run before you walk.” Its relevance lies in the fact that an active position described by the author is an integral component of successful work and recognition by both colleagues and management. The whole process of evaluation and implementation of any business...

a. Think about your organization, or an organization you are familiar with. If there was a need to reduce operating costs, what options are available? b. What do you see as the best options for an organization to reduce total compensation costs? Provide some context for your recommendations and discuss their prioritization.

a. There is a need to reduce operating costs at the XYZ Company because it has not been profitable for the last two years. The first option would be to improve on the production efficiency, especially in the supply chain. The second option would be to cut the secondary benefits...

a. If you were responsible for reducing benefits costs, what steps would you take to make your decision? b. In order of priority, explain which benefits you would change, how you would change them, and why? 1. Medical 2. Pension 3. Paid vacation 4. Paid holidays 5. Paid sick leave 6. Long-term disability 7. Life insurance

a. When reducing the benefits, I would start by selecting secondary benefits that would not have a grave impact on the lives of the employees. For instance, between entertainment and periodic target benefits, I would reduce periodic target achievement benefits since it would not interfere with the constant salary that...

From your own experience, share an example of a performance management process that works well and why or share an example of a process that does not work well, and why not.

The 360-degree feedback is a very effective performance management process since it is holistic and self-sustaining, irrespective of the work environment. Specifically, the process has internalized the financial and non-financial aspects of employee performance with a matrix that reviews the feedback periodically against preset standards. The symmetrical performance management system...

With respect to the story of Rollins College, did the faculty leaders or President fail to use any of the components of decision-making used by the Navy SEALS? Explain your reasoning.

The President failed to use practically every decision-making component. There was evident faculty division which resulted in low loyalty and team value. He failed to learn from the mistakes of creating the new department, which was met with opposition. The President showed overconfidence by making a bold statement that went...

Find one example from the labour market in your country of a job position that offers some form of an incentive payment scheme as part of the overall benefits package and include this with your assignment. a. Identify that part of the compensation package that involves an incentive for the employee. Is the incentive for the individual strong or weak? Explain. b. Identify some “income risks” for the potential employee associated with the incentive scheme.

An incentive scheme program is a scheme established in companies to reward and motivate their employees. Incentives also apply as an arrangement to attract new customers and maintain the existing ones. There are various types of incentives, and different companies normally adopt the programs that suitably correlate with their operations....

Describe the relationship between TPS, DSS, MIS, and ESS.

Exchange of data occurs between different kinds of systems within a business enterprise. Transaction processing systems are the primary source of information for other systems, notably decision support systems and management information systems. Transaction processing systems collect transaction data and deliver it to both management information systems and decision support...

How do systems serve various levels of management in a business?

There are four main types of information systems in existence within firms. These systems serve operations, middle and senior administration levels. The operational level management mainly uses transaction processing systems such as order processing and hotel room reservation that monitor the flow of routine processes required to carry out business....

Define TPS, MIS, DSS, and ESS and describe their role in business.

A transaction processing system is an automated system that carries out and documents routine transactions within the business. These transactions include keeping employee records, sales order entries, and hotel room reservations. A management information system is a system tasked with designating classified information to the different levels of management within...

Compare and contrast the characteristics of the operational, managerial, and executive level of an organization.

The operational level involves employees that are guided by the managerial level of the organization. Managers ensure that the working process performs successfully, set long and short-term goals, and check whether the company’s objectives are reflected in the working process. The executive level provides people with higher responsibilities. An example...

List and define four of the systems knowledge andskills core competencies.

Systems knowledge and skills are connected with systems integration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and development methodologies. System integration is defined as connectivity and compatibility of systems. Critical thinking and problem-solving are linked to challenging other’s assumptions, problem identification, and information analysis.

Critically apply Cyert and March’s analysis of organizational decision making to the Siemens case. Compare/contrast the findings with Brusson’s view.

According to Cyert and March, fundamental structure analyzes the process of decision making in terms of the variables that influence the decision-making process, the goals of an organization, the expectations of the organization, and the choice of the organization. In the case of Siemens, several variables influenced the decision-making process...

What did General Mills hope to accomplish with its April 1994 reduction in trade promotions and prices? What were the risks associated with these actions? How do you expect General Mills’ competitors to respond? How then should General Mills proceed?

GM hopes to reduce the price gap with private label manufacturers, regain some of the market shares and increase their profits. The risk associated with these actions is that the competitors can follow the lead and reduce their prices as well. GM’s competitors can either lower their prices or preserve...

Why is the soft drink industry so profitable? If concentrate manufacturing is so profitable, why have so few firms successfully entered this business over the last century?

The high profitability of the soft drink industry is as a result of combined factors of top products’ demand and regional market monopolies. There are limited soft drink operators in the market, while the products themselves are complements of other foods and beverages. Low competitions and high market demands lead...

Analyze the RTE breakfast cereal industry. Why has it been such a profitable business? What changes have to lead to the current industry ‘crisis’? Why have private labels been able to enter this industry successfully? How do the cost structures of private label and branded cereal manufacturers differ? What are the critical core competencies and success factors needed in this industry? Make sure you include your assessment of General Mills’ resources, capabilities, and competencies. How do you see the private label cereal manufacturers concerning the critical success factors in this industry?

Historically, the ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal breakfast industry was characterized by relative stability and substantial profitability. The RTE market was dominated by the Big Three, such as Kellogg, General Mills, and Philip Morris, which created significant barriers for the entry of new brands. The main reasons leading to the current industry...

What are some devices used for temporary work zone situations?

Some devices used for temporary work zone situations include cones, orange and black work zone signs, flags, drums, arrow panels, and pavement markings. Explanation: These different devices are used as safety measures; they are designed to alert people about possible danger and prevent unfortunate health effects. For example, if the...

Which type of portfolio might a young investor who is not afraid of risk choose? a) A portfolio of with a high percentage of stocks b) A portfolio with a high percentage of conservative mutual funds c) A portfolio that is mostly cash d) A portfolio with a high percentage of treasury bonds.

The correct answer is a) a portfolio of with a high percentage of stocks. Explanation: In today’s financial marketplace, a solid portfolio is essential to any investor’s success. There are many strategies that you can adopt when building a portfolio as a young investor. Overall, it is recommended to have...

What are some devices used for temporary work zone situations?

Some devices that are used for temporary work zone situations are cones, barricades, drums, arrow panels, flags, pavement markings, and orange and black work zone signs. Explanation: The main purpose of these devices is to warn drivers and pedestrians of danger and make them pay attention to the road. Some...

A cutting board must be set aside and shown to manager when it is

A cutting board must be set aside and shown to a manager when it is used for cutting products that can cause cross-contamination. Explanation: For example, if an employee handled raw meat and then sliced some fruits without washing the board, it is possible to transfer pathogenic bacteria from one...

In NIMS, when do managers plan and prepare for the demobilization process?

The NIMS managers start planning and preparing for the demobilization process when it is clear that the situation requires a collaborative approach that includes personnel from several organizations. Explanation: NIMS, or the National Incident Management System, is a special structure for managing multi-jurisdictional or large-scale incidents. It works and is...

What is the principal by-product of the norming stage of team development? Is it significant?

Group cohesiveness is the principal by-product of the norming stage of team development. It is highly significant as social interaction between group members and the similarities of their interests and natures form strong interpersonal bonds that help to achieve corporate goals. Explanation: Group cohesiveness, or team cohesiveness, may be defined...

What are the three main goals of data lifecycle management (DLM)?

Data lifecycle management goals are to implement an approach based on policy in order to manage the flow of data and information. It is tightly interlinked with information lifecycle management techniques to ensure that all data pass through a specific set of stages. Three main goals of lifecycle management of...

Which NIMS guiding principle supports interoperability among multiple organizations?

The guiding principle of standardization is the one that is directed to the interoperability among organizations in case of an incident. Explanation: The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is responsible for handling cases of incidents. The primary purposes of this system can be defined as saving lives, protecting the environment,...

What is the COI management plan? What does it aim for?

A conflict of interest (COI) management plan is a document that outlines and implements measures to actively reduce, mitigate, or eliminate an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest held by an employee. The COI management plan aims to manage the conflict of interest and make it as transparent as possible...