Discussion 1:
“Getting the Cash, Concepts, and Summaries” Please respond to the following:
- From the first e-Activity, evaluate the business’ current business strategy; propose a change in direction that would improve its prospects. Support your answer.
- Reflect on the concept that small-business ideas prove themselves when customers start buying and discuss whether you agree or disagree with this statement. Discuss whether the customer comes first or the business plan comes first. Then, give your opinion on whether a formal business plan should be in place. Predict what happens if a business plan is available and if a business plan is not available.
- Lastly, from the second e-Activity, Mr. Gupta said, “A startup is a journey.” He also said, “Try to do as much as you can with your own money and on your own time before you ask for investment. As soon as you raise capital, the stakes go up, your clock is ticking.” Interpret the meaning of those statements. Take a position on whether you agree or disagree with those statements. Support your position
Discussion 2:
“Organizational Citizenship and Supply Chains” Please respond to the following:
- Understanding the needs of the organization and the people within the organization is an important aspect of the job. From the first e-Activity, the management invested in employee training and team building. Analyze how that investment paid off and suggest how companies could change their employee training practices to incorporate team building to meet the needs of their employees.
- Then, discuss the concept that most companies do not organize every project in a strict hierarchy of silo reporting relationships. Propose an alternative organization structure for a company that is focusing on developing new engineering technology in solar energy. Support your proposition.
- Lastly, discuss the use of technology and outsourcing to improve a company’s operation. Use the second e-Activity to assess the usefulness of RFID technology to reduce costs in the supply chain (i.e., Wal-Mart) and determine where and how this technology might be best used. Then, give your opinion about how and where outsourcing may best be used to improve a company’s operation. Include an example to support your answer.
