Category: Business and Management

What are some of the key advantages of free markets in fostering economic development and the advancement of society? How do concepts such as consumer freedom, innovation, and sustainability contribute to the overall benefits of free markets? Provide specific examples from your experience, as well as from this week’s reading on free markets, to illustrate your points.
I have attached the reading material

Purpose
The main purpose of the Strategic Plan is to meet a key learning objective in the course:
Develop effective approaches for managing the process of executing and implementing strategic decisions and initiatives
Exchange ideas and opinions with other students in a team environment to develop strategic alternatives within semi-structured settings
Hence, creating a strategic plan of your team’s Game situation will help you develop the skills to synthesize diverse information and so reason critically about potential solutions in a business context.  Such skills are necessary for effective business management.
Task
The task is to create a document containing the following three aspects:
Strategy Recommendation:  Please describe the generic business-level strategy that your company will utilize (see Chapter 4 notes).  Be specific about your intent.  For instance, saying “our company will be number one” is not a strategy!  References changes to specific elements of the company’s strategy (see Chapter 1 notes). In addition, the plan should note the competitive weapons that are most critical for your proposed strategy, as well as how this strategy will help the team meet its goals.  Therefore, the plan should reflect a detailed analysis on the two dimensions – internal organization and external environment (SWOT).  Essentially, students should reference their recommendations in relation to both analytical dimensions.
Strategy Implementation:  In this section, the plan should describe in detail their implementation approach – i.e., the value chain activities and the combination of competitive factors to execute your strategy.  You should also explicate the specific numbers that you have proposed, discussing how these target numbers will help you to (1) implement the strategy and (2) achieve your objectives.  For example, you could describe your decisions on the raw material mix, celebrity bids, worker productivity, delivery rate, etc.  Discussing specific numbers helps to clarify your intent and the expectations to achieve objectives for these decisions.  Each competitive factor outlined in the Guide is associated with a particular value chain activity.
Expected Outcome:  What performance outcomes are you expecting?  This section should include a discussion of the projected income statement and expected performance on the benchmark metrics.  The plan should reference the expected results of the decisions for the year/round of the plan.  Please include the pro forma income statement as an exhibit.  Do not just attach the pro forma printout from the game.  Instead, you need to discuss the assumptions and decisions made to forecast your performance over the next year.  This statement should mirror your intended strategy and highlight how you plan to reach your goals.  For example, if you are targeting a higher than average market share, it would not make sense to assume an enormous increase in price.  To get started here, students must complete their decisions for the year.
A few further points of clarification:
The format is a typed document (12-point font, double-spaced text). I would encourage students to use a memorandum or presentation format, addressed to your team members.
The Strategic Plan must be submitted electronically before the scheduled decision round.  Your file (Word; PDF; PPT) should be uploaded to the proper folder under the Assignments tab on our iCollege site. Ideally, the plan is completed prior to the team meeting to finalize decisions for the round.
Each team member is responsible for submitting a plan to the Assignments folder for the specific decision round chosen (Year 13). The team should discuss the specific round/year that each member will provide a strategic plan. Ideally, the specific decision round chosen by each student is completed for the team charter.
If in memorandum format, each submitted Plan should be roughly three-to-four pages in length.
Criteria
In terms of grading criteria, the following guidelines are instructive:
Clearly identifies the main strategies of the team’s company.  In addition, the student is able to recognize how these strategies relate to course concepts, such as business-level strategy.  Student is also able to clearly distinguish the main elements of the strategy.
The analysis explicates multiple challenges in the Game, including issues related to the external environment and internal organization.  The student references the analysis along the SWOT dimensions, while identifying the most serious challenges facing the team.
Outlines the process of making critical game decisions, illustrating the implementation steps to achieve competitive advantage (i.e., cost leadership, differentiation, hybrid).  The Plan makes clear references to actual Game decisions, discussing the benefits and issues with the choices being made.
The plan closes with a clear outline of the team’s expectations on key performance metrics (e.g., EPS, ROE, Image rating).  In addition, the plan explores the key assumptions driving the projections, as well as outlines the next steps to be taken.
Finally, students can structure the Plan in either a memorandum or presentation format. Please see the examples below for an illustration of a Plan as a memorandum directed to the team, or as a presentation of your analysis.

You are Mr. Guerra’s attorney and legal advisor. Select one topic from the text and either tell him why he is proceeding according to your advice, or suggest an alternative course of action.
Remember, you are giving legal advice. If you agree or disagree, you must give support for your answer.
You can use any Internet source to support your position, but you must provide all URL.
I have also attached the file pick one step

Please follow all directions. Please use APA 7th edition for all Excel work. Please comport all tables in APA 7th format. 

Complete a VRIO or Value Chain analysis, a PESTLE analysis, and a Five Forces model for an organization. Prepare a 3-6-page executive report that analyzes the internal and external environments of the organization and recommends a course of action based on the analysis.
Introduction
For this assessment, you will analyze the internal and external factors that shape and influence an organization’s strategy. Your work on this assessment will demonstrate your understanding of industry forces and how an organization can leverage its strengths to its advantage. This portfolio work project asks you to analyze the strategic process using the AFI framework. This analysis will clearly demonstrate your ability to think critically and strategically, and to use evidence to support your thinking.
Scenario
The vice president of strategy has asked you to prepare an objective analysis of the internal and external environments of the organization. She is hoping that your insight can be used to plan for the future direction of the company.
Your Role
You are a strategic analyst for the company you have selected to use in this course. The company has recently started the strategic planning process and needs to analyze the current internal and external environments.
Requirements
To complete this assessment, be sure you understand the AFI framework as presented in your text. Conduct your own research to find recent articles on the value of strategic planning and the role of leadership in the strategic planning process. (Note that the Strategic Management Process Map on pages 30 and 31 of the course text will be very helpful in completing this assessment.)
For this assessment, you will need to complete a VRIO or Value Chain analysis, a PESTLE analysis based on research of the organization (not conjecture or opinion), and a Five Forces model (pay attention to the relationships of elements from both PESTLE and Five Forces). These must be included as appendices in the document you submit. You should also research the industry your company is in, as well as the company’s website for information and supporting evidence. Once you have this research completed, prepare an executive briefing report that will be distributed to senior executive leadership. In your report, address the following:
Analyze the key components of the AFI strategic planning framework. Assess the value of using a strategic planning framework for long-term success and sustained competitive advantage.
Analyze the internal environment of the organization.
What are the key findings from your VRIO or Value Chain analysis?
How well does the organization leverage its strengths to execute the business strategy?
How effective is the organizational structure and management system design?
Analyze the external environment of the organization.
What are the key findings from your PESTLE analysis?
What are the key findings from your Five Forces analysis?
How can the organization respond to these forces to better position itself?
Explain the role of leadership in the strategic planning process. Be sure to address the ethical responsibilities of leaders in the strategic planning process.
Recommend a course of action for leadership based on your analysis.
The strategic process and analysis is a professional document and should therefore follow the corresponding MBA Academic and Professional Document Guidelines, found under Writing in the MBA Program Resources, which you can find in the Tools and Resources for this course. Pay attention to the sections on APA formatting and citing references.
In addition to the analysis, include:
Title page.
Table of contents.
Executive summary.
References page with APA formatted references from at least five sources.
Appendices: VRIO or Value Chain analysis, PESTLE analysis, and Five Forces analysis.
Target length of 3-6 content pages in addition to Title page, Table of Contents, Reference pages, and Appendices” including your VRIO/Value Chain, PESTLE, and Five Forces analyses.
Written for an audience of executive leaders.

Please review the 1.pdf document and follow the instructions on the 6- 1 Word file. Please also include appropriate charts.

Good cash management is impossible without an analysis of the cash collections and cash disbursements of a company. Cash budgets provide a gauge for determining credit, disbursement, and discount policies. Cash budgets are effective control devices for monitoring cash and determining financing requirements.
Cash budgets are essential to all small businesses. In this assignment, you are required to do the following:
Develop a spreadsheet with a cash budget with lagging collections
Determine the net cash flows for the year
Forecast the cumulative dollar amount of the external financing required for the year
You are also required to prepare a 3-page analysis of the results of your cash budget.
Middletown Construction, Inc. has estimated the following sales forecast over the next 12 months (they close in the winter):
January $0
February $0
March $275,000
April $275,000
May $312,000
June $417,000
July $714,000
August $611,000
September $827,000
October $500,000
November $116,000
December $0
The company also gathered the following collection estimates regarding the forecast sales:
Payment collection within the month of sale = 20%
Payment collection the month following sales = 60%
Payment collection the second month following sales = 20%
Payments for raw materials and labor costs are paid the month after the purchase and are estimated as follows:
March $220,000
April $240,000
May $225,000
June $287,000
July $350,000
August $415,000
September $242,000
October $214,000
November $222,000
Additional financial information is as follows:
Administrative salaries will approximately amount to $30,000 a month.
Lease payments are around $10,000 a month.
A one-time new plant investment for $23,000 is expected to incur and be paid in June.
Income tax payments estimated to be around $50,000 will be due in both June and September.
Miscellaneous costs are estimated to be around $5,000 a month.
Cash on hand on March 1 will be around $50,000, and a minimum cash balance of $50,000 shall be on hand at all times.
To receive full credit on this assignment, please show all work, including formulas and calculations used to arrive at the financial values.
Prepare a monthly cash budget for Middletown Construction, Inc. for the 12-month period of January through December.
Use Excel to prepare the monthly cash budget with the use of this template.
Based on your cash budget findings, answer the following questions in a 3-page analysis:
Will the company need any outside financing?
When is the line of credit the highest for MCI will need?
If you were a bank manager, would you want MCI as your client? Why or why not?
Please submit your assignment.
Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, you will need the following:
Title page: Remember the running head. The title should be in all capitals.
Length: 3 pages minimum
Body: This begins on the page following the title page and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The typeface should be 12-pt. Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics, except as required for APA-level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your paper for this assignment is 3 pages. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. A variety of academic sources is encouraged.
Reference page: References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final page of your paper. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hanging indent, italics, and uppercase and lowercase usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember, the Reference page is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation.
Please submit your assignment.
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.
Grading Criteria Points          
Deliver

Develop a short essay (minimum of 500 words) that answers the following:
Summarized the key points of the article
What is the objective of the article?
What are the basic concepts or terms being used? How do these relate to Customer Retention Modeling?

develop a short essay (minimum of 500 words) that answers the following:
Summarized the key points of the article
What is the objective of the article?
What are the basic concepts or terms being used? How these relate to Customer Complaint Systems

After watching the video provided and studying the content
in this module (the three main methods of survey administration. The advantages
and disadvantages of the three main methods of survey administration, The
techniques to maximize survey response rates, Explain when and how often to
survey customers.)  Explain the three
main methods of survey administration and identify at least 3 advantages and 2
disadvantages.  Send your response
through the link available in Blackboard.
“Methods of collecting survey data”,