Determine the major impacts that Zappos’ leadership and ethical practices philosophy have had on its stakeholders.

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Read the “Zappos: Delivering Customer Satisfaction” case, located on page 475 of the textbook.

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

  1. Analyze the manner in which Zappos’ leadership has fostered a culture of ethicalness in the company. Suggest two (2) actions that other companies can take in order to mimic this culture.
  2. Determine the major impacts that Zappos’ leadership and ethical practices philosophy have had on its stakeholders.
  3. Examine three (3) of the ethical challenges that Zappos faces. Recommend three (3) actions that Zappos’ leadership should take in order to address these ethical challenges.
  4. Evaluate the effectiveness of the core values in relation to developing a culture of ethicalness. Determine the manner in which the core values support the stakeholder’s perspective.
  5. Analyze the major ethical challenges that Zappos has faced. Determine whether or not you would have resolved these challenges differently than Zappos’ management. Provide a rationale for your response.
  6. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other similar Websites do not qualify 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 or school-specific format. 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:

  • Examine ethical issues and dilemmas in business.
  • Analyze scenarios to determine the ethical character of decisions made and the related impact on the organization.
  • Examine the significant issues of an ethical controversy in business to moral philosophy and values.
  • Write clearly and concisely about issues in ethics and advocacy for HR professionals using correct grammar and mechanics.
  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in business ethics and advocacy for HR professionals.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric found here.

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Determine the political, economic, social, and capital risks associated with doing business in China. What are the most important factors to consider? Why?

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While there are many factors that lead to an organization’s success or failure, it is important to identify the risk associated with the endeavor—financial or nonfinancial. Once the risks have been identified, management has a responsibility to develop measures to mitigate those risks.

Tasks:

Use the publicly-traded company you chose in Module 1*****and imagine it has made a strategic decision to start doing business in China. Using the discussion, Currency Exchange Rates: A Case in China with Country Risk, (Chapter 7, Global Finance, page 192 of your textbook) as a model for the report you will write, prepare a report in which you:

  1. Develop a brief country risk assessment.
  2. Determine the political, economic, social, and capital risks associated with doing business in China. What are the most important factors to consider? Why?
  3. After years of keeping the Yuan pegged to the US dollar, in 2015 the Chinese  allowed it to float freely in international currency exchange rate markets. You may read more about the Yuan reforms here. Many economists believe that keeping the Yuan pegged to the US dollar has caused it to be undervalued by 30 to 50 percent. Discuss what impact a revaluation of the Yuan might have on US multinationals doing business there, on China’s exports, and on Chinese citizens’ standard of living. What impact would a revaluation have on Chinese inflation and on purchasing power parity? Explain. Your paper should be about 2,000 words.

****(paper attached with publicly traded company from module 1)

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Identify two different steps a company should take to prepare for its first round of bargaining with the union pre-negotiation activities.

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Select any four of these six topics for your Final Written Assignment and address each question comprehensively:

1.      It has been said that “a company that deserves a union gets one,” suggesting that if proper leadership and motivation techniques are employed and desirable policies devised, the workers will not want to unionize. Either agree or disagree with this philosophy. Support your position and explain what a company could do to create an environment where workers will not want to unionize.

2.      Some means of resolving negotiations impasses involve economic weapons (e.g. strikes and lockouts). There are other means of impasse resolution that do not involve the use of economic weapons (e.g. fact finding, mediation, med/arb/interest arb, etc.). Select two (2) non- economic means of impasse resolution, 1) explain how each one functions and 2) discuss the relative pros and cons of each.

3.      Unions have declined as a percentage of the workforce in the private sector. With this decline, have career and workplace dissatisfaction and alienation increased? If so, why is this so? If not, why not? Support your position.

4.      List and discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages in using seniority as a factor to determine shift preference or overtime assignments.

5.      Identify two different steps a company should take to prepare for its first round of bargaining with the union pre-negotiation activities. Explain why each of the steps you have identified is critical to achieving an initial successful collective bargaining agreement with the union.

6.      Identify and explain the major ways in which the government is an important participant in the labor relations.

Please don’t be late

Requirements include,

  • Cover Page with Name, Date, and Title of Assignment
  • Use headings to separate the sections of the paper (use the Questions selected)
  • Page numbers
  • Double-spacing
  • Times New Roman, size 12
  • Use a minimum of four sources (from the past four years) for each response
  • In-text citations in APA style
  • Reference page using APA style

How will you monitor progress of outcomes in your plan? How will you define and measure success? Connect these to your objectives and goals. (1/2-1 page) Conclusion (1 paragraph)

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  • The second part of the portfolio project.
  • Marketing Strategy and Positioning: Explain and support your marketing mix component decisions (4Ps), using academic concepts and academic reference sources. Discuss whether your company has a competitive advantage in each section of the marketing mix (4Ps).
  • Positioning: What do you want your customer to think of when regarding your brand, product, proposed product? Take an analytical approach to this section. Create at least one perceptual map (as applied to differentiation or positioning). (1 page)
  • How will Marketing Research be used to support the planning, implementation, and monitoring process? What research methodologies will be used? Add a sub-section on ethical and/or legal factors, plus a CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategy summary. (1 page)
  • Financial Projections: Present a summary spreadsheet. For example: years 1, 2 and 3 units sold, sales volumes. Estimate marketing expenses for promotions/advertising. What is the projected timeline of the product life cycle’s introduction and growth stage? (1 page maximum)
  • Implementation Plan: Identify specific tactics and steps that will be taken (primarily focused on distribution, marketing communications, promotion, PR, for example). Create a chartdepicting your advertising/promotion plan with actions, time frame, media choice, for example. Include a Marketing Plan.
  • Technology sub-section: How will marketing technology be used throughout the marketing process: marketing research, communications, promotions, monitoring, for example? (1 page)
  • Evaluation and Control Metrics: How will you monitor progress of outcomes in your plan? How will you define and measure success? Connect these to your objectives and goals. (1/2-1 page)
  • Conclusion (1 paragraph)

Other:The following are requirements for your portfolio project:

  • 8-10 Word pages in the body of the paper. Estimated page counts are listed above in each section.
  • Use APA format! Do not enumerate the sections—use regular APA heading format and please use plenty of headings and sub-headings according to APA Requirements. Develop full paragraphs and full sentences.
  • Apply marketing models, theory, terminology, and concepts throughout the plan.
  • A minimum of 6 references (in addition to course materials like the textbook or articles). At least 2 of these being peer-reviewed articles.
  • READ THE PORTFOLIO PROJECT RUBRIC IN DETAIL (pre-loaded into the course website). Note that there are additional aspects that need to be addressed, such as applying critical thinking.

• write to an identified audience o If your white paper is an advocacy white paper, it might have a very general audience. For example, a white paper arguing against the Common Core Standards in schools would be an advocacy white paper to a very general audience – parents, teachers, administrators, and others.

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Your last writing assignment will be a white paper.

In preparing for this assignment, you will want to review the Purdue OWL video, “White Papers: An Introduction to the Genre and Its Expectations.”

You may take any of the following approaches:

• a white paper to an internal audience

• a white paper to an external audience

• a company white paper to potential customers. This is an example of a white paper to an external audience, but it features different rhetorical considerations than the typical white paper written to an external audience does.

All three options are discussed in the video mentioned above.

Strategies to Consider for this Assignment:

Make sure that you follow these guideline:

• have a focused topic

• write to an identified audience o If your white paper is an advocacy white paper, it might have a very general audience. For example, a white paper arguing against the Common Core Standards in schools would be an advocacy white paper to a very general audience – parents, teachers, administrators, and others.

• integrate thorough research

• make sure that you do not tell the audience what action it should take. Rather, offer background information that the audience can use to make a decision. The Purdue OWL video mentions this principle.

Please include the following sections in your white paper:

• Executive Summary

• Introduction

• Previous Approaches

• New Findings

• Conclusion

• References

In the Executive Summary, summarize your research and your purpose. The executive summary should be a stand-alone document. It should be written in such a way that a busy executive could read the executive summary and know exactly what the paper is about without reading the rest of the paper.

In the Introduction, you lay the groundwork for your readers for the details that will be introduced in the white paper. If you need to define any terms, you will do so here. You might share an anedote or illustration to describe why this topic is important.

In the Previous Approaches section, you will describe the approaches or strategies that have been previously used or are currently used on the topic. For example, if your white paper is being written to a high school principal about why the school needs a learning management system (LMS), you might describe what system is now being used to post documents to students, to collect student work, etc.

In the New Findings section, you present perhaps the most important information in the paper. In this section, you will describe the findings of your research and related these findings to the purpose of your report. You will not only provide data and research, but you will also explain the data and research and why it is relevant to your report’s topic.

For example, if your white paper is being written to a high school principal about why the school needs a learning management system (LMS), you might review what studies on the use of an LMS in other high schools have shown. Perhaps the studies show that students are less likely to submit a paper late, that teachers are more prompt with the posting of grades, that parents are able to view their children’s progress more effectively, etc. Overall, you make the findings of your data clear so that your reader understands what findings are relevant.

In the Conclusion section, you review what your research shows in light of the previous approaches used. You will not tell the audience what steps to take next. However, you will summarize what your findings articulate.

In the References, you will list your sources that you cited in the paper. You will list them in APA format. Please note that the lectures on white papers that you have viewed and examples of white papers you may have read may not have used APA format. You will be using APA format in this assignment.

You are required to have at least five sources for your paper. In addition, at least one of them is to have been acquired through UMUC Library OneSearch.

The following websites and documents offer additional guidance in writing a white paper:

• Chapter 1, “A Primer on White Papers,” by Michael Stelzner

• “The Art of the White Paper,” by Manuel Gordon and Gordon Graham

• “Guidelines for Writing White Papers” from Wartham Associates

• “What is a White Paper?” by Mak Pandit

Length of your paper:

Your white paper should be 1400-2000 words in length. Again, you are required to use at least five sources, with at least one of them being acquired through UMUC Library OneSearch.

Graphics:

Your white paper should incorporate at least two graphics. The graphic can be a table or chart showing some research findings or an image that is relevant to the topic of the white paper.

To see examples of graphics used in white papers, see the Purdue OWL video, “White Papers: An Introduction to the Genre and Its Expectations,” at the 3:27 mark, at the 5:29 mark, at the 6:58 mark, at the 7:01 mark, at the 7:11 mark, at the 7:43 mark, at the 7:58 mark,

Due Date:

Your instructor will notify you of the due date. You will write a first draft, your instructor will comment on the first draft, and you will submit a second draft using the comments as your guide

What are the relative merits of internal versus external recruitment? For this case, does the advantage of bringing new ideas and methods into the department overcome the disadvantage of resentment among current employees who might have wanted the job?

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Overview

After reading the case, follow the instructions below in order to complete the assignment.  Note that the case study workbook you downloaded includes two sections: Case A and Case B.  Both sections are related to the same overall scenario, and you must read both in order to complete this assignment.  Students should utilize a minimum of three scholarly sources in order to research and answer the discussion questions for this case.

Requirements

Your report for the case study must include the following sections:

  • Cover page
  • Overview — Briefly summarize the case scenario (one or two paragraphs)
  • Discussion questions — Answer the discussion questions listed below
    1. What are the relative merits of internal versus external recruitment? For this case, does the advantage of bringing new ideas and methods into the department overcome the disadvantage of resentment among current employees who might have wanted the job?
    2. A large share of HR professionals have rated online recruiting as their best source of new talent, yet Conroy only utilized the local newspaper. What do you think about her strategy? What are some advantages and disadvantages of online recruiting she should have considered?
    3. The case makes it clear that Henderson needs more training and development. Examine the four approaches to employee development in your textbook (see Figure 8.1 in Chapter 8). Which approaches do you think would best help Henderson? Explain your reasoning.
    4. Conroy has a tough decision to make regarding Henderson’s future at Big Time Computers. Her options include (1) providing additional training in the hopes that his work improves, (2) moving him into a different job, or (3) terminating his employment. If you were the HR Director at the company, how would you recommend Conroy proceed? Explain why you would recommend that course of action, and one potential downside to that approach.
    5. There is no indication that the human resource department was involved during Henderson’s hiring process, or later on when Conroy realized he had some job performance issues. How could an effective HR department have helped Conroy (1) during the recruitment and selection process, and (2) in dealing with Henderson’s performance management issues? Provide specific examples.
  • Debriefing — Reflecting your thoughts and opinions based on the case
  • Reference page

Research

In addition to the case study itself, students should utilize a minimum of three scholarly sources, which can include the textbook, in order to complete this assignment.  These sources must be credible and scholarly (i.e., no blog posts or use of Wikipedia).  Industry organizations such as SHRM, as well as publications such as the Harvard Business Review and other peer-reviewed journals, are all good examples of credible sources. Remember to use parenthetical in-text citations in APA format throughout your paper to indicate the source of your information.

Format

All papers must be completed in APA format.  This assignment should be between 3-5 pages in length (the cover page and reference page do not count towards this minimum), and must be typed using Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, and with one-inch margins. Papers should also be spell-checked and grammar-checked.

An abstract is not required, and will not count towards the 3-5 page length requirement if included.  It is preferred that students not copy and paste the discussion questions into their papers; if the questions are included, they will not count towards the page requirement minimum.

Describe one or two  ways in which you think the two examples reflect similar or changing societal values.

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Select one specific genre book, specific magazine, or specific news source that you read with at least some regularity (book cover, a current description of the book genre and an older description, a magazine/newspaper article or cover/front of a newspaper/magazine, the main website of a news outlet or magazine), and locate two of the examples it with one being current and other being 10 or more years old. For example, one current front page of a newspaper, and a front page of the same newspaper from 10 or more years ago.

Write a journal of 2 or more full double-spaced pages with 1 inch margins and 12 point font, using paragraphs for each response, responding to the following:

  1. Share links to the current example and the older example (if not clear share date or year each example).
  2. Think about the evolution of books, news, and magazines. Then describe two differences between the current example of the older example which connects what you read in the chapters.
  3. Explain one or two ways in which you think the current example is reflective of current technologies.
  4. Describe one or two  ways in which you think the two examples reflect similar or changing societal values.For this essay, you will explore both internal and external customer service and consider ways to provide excellent service to customers within an organization and outside the organization. Your essay should address the following questions:Explain your definition of internal customer service. How do you personally provide excellent internal customer service to your colleagues?
    Explain your definition of external customer service. What is an example of an organization that you feel provides excellent external customer service? Describe this organization and how it provides excellent customer service.
    How has social media and the Internet changed customer service? What suggestions can you give to an organization that is struggling with online customer service?
    Your complete essay must be at least two pages in length. Outside sources are not a requirement for this essay.

Question 1.1. My Estimated Costs: Based on Heidys preference to complete her program in 4 years, what is her estimated cost to complete the program?

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Question 1.1. My Estimated Costs: Based on Heidys preference to complete her program in 4 years, what is her estimated cost to complete the program? (Points : 3)$67,690$80,076$85,00$89,575Question 2.2. My Estimated Costs: What minimum level of enrollment does Heidy need to maintain to graduate in 4 years as planned? (Points : 3)Less than half time ( 6 hours)Half time (6-8 hours)Three-quarter time (9-11 hours)Full-time (>12 hours)Question 3.3. My Estimated Costs: How much is Heidy borrowing each year in loans that have to be repaid after leaving school? (Points : 3)$4,750$6,000$14,250$21,285Question 4.4. My Estimated Costs: How much money does Heidy need to find from alternative sources, such as savings or scholarships, in order to have enough to cover her expenses each session? (Points : 2)$1750$594$1785$7095Question 5.5. My Budget: After reviewing Heidys income and expenses on the My Budget tab, how much additional money does she need to cover her current expenses while in school? (Points : 2)$200.00$298.75$347.00None of the aboveQuestion 6.6. My Budget: Which of the following are wants (nice-to-have, non-essential goods and services) instead of needs (items that are necessary for everyday living)? (Points : 3)Cable TelevisionRentDining OutBoth A and CBoth B and CQuestion 7.7. My Dream Career: Even though Heidy plans to make $38,000 annually, how much will she actually have left to spend after taxes (Estimated net annual income after taxes)? (Points : 3)$38,000$35,093$5,681.25$27,511.75Question 8.8. My Dream Career: How much student loan debt will Heidy be responsible for once she completes her program? (Points : 3)$57,000$14,250$80,364NoneQuestion 9.9. My Dream Career: Which repayment plans offer Heidy a repayment amount she can afford based on her projections? (Points : 2)Standard, Extended, Graduated, Income SensitiveIncome Sensitive, Income Based, Consolidated with Auto DebtStandard, Consolidated with Auto DebtExtended, Income Based, Graduated, Income SensitiveQuestion 10.10. My Dream Career: The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website (http://www.nslds.ed.gov/) contains information on which of the following: (Points : 3)Amounts of all federal loans the borrower has receivedThe status of each of the federal loans the borrower has receivedSpecific contact information for lenders and loan servicesAll of the aboveQuestion 11.11. My Dream Career: What web site should Heidy visit if she wants to consolidate her loans to make one payment? (Points : 3)my.devry.eduNSLDS.ed.govLoanConsolidation.ed.gov

Briefly describe two collective bargaining strategies companies use when dealing with unions. How can these strategies affect employee morale?

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I will pay 100.00 for the following article critique (Attached as a PDF 7 pages)

Unit VI Article Critique

Locate the following article in the Business Source Complete database in the CSU Online Library:

Hurd, R. W. (2013). Moving beyond the critical synthesis: Does the law preclude a future for US unions? Labor History, 54(2), 193-200.

This article is a reflective essay that assesses the strength of comments made by Christopher L. Tomlins in his book The State and Unions (1985), which looks back over the past quarter century. Various predictions were made concerning union decline and failed revival efforts as well as counterfeit rights offered to the U.S. working class.

Using all of the knowledge accumulated in this unit and in previous units, write a critique of the article. You may use other academic resources to support your points as necessary. Your critique must be at least three pages in length.

Your critique should address the questions below.

What are the author’s main points?

Do the arguments presented by the author support the main point?

What evidence supports the main point? For example, if Tomlin’s thesis that the New Deal offered only a counterfeit liberty to labor is true, what effect does that have on employee morale?

Briefly describe two collective bargaining strategies companies use when dealing with unions. How can these strategies affect employee morale?

What is your opinion of the article?

What evidence, either from the textbook or from additional sources, supports your opinion?

Be sure to follow the guidelines below.

Accurately identify the premise and supporting points from the article.

Provide an insightful and thorough analysis of the information from the article, including using evidence as well as reasonable and compelling interpretations.

Link material to course content and real-world situations.

Organize the material logically by using smooth transitions and by grouping similar material together.

Cite all sources used; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations in APA format.

What can IBM, in partnership with your group, do to maximize your productivity? •    What courses of action can IBM take to influence the buying decisions of your group?

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A Vision on Managing Diversity

The multinational IT company IBM is convinced that it can only keep its current competitive edge by reflecting marketplace diversity in the workforce and by offering a safe work environment for all employees. The company considers workforce diversity as “the bridge between the workplace and the marketplace.”

Ambition: An Inclusive Work Environment

In 1953, the CEO at that time published IBM’s first equal opportunity policy letter. This letter stated simply that IBM will hire people based on their ability “regardless of race, color or creed.” IBM’s subsequent CEOs reinforced that policy throughout the years. Since then, equal opportunity at IBM has been an evolutionary journey that underscores the company’s commitment to an inclusive work environment where people’s ideas and contributions are welcome—regardless of where they come from, what they look like, or what personal beliefs they hold.

Diversity in Leadership

To stress the importance of workforce diversity, IBM has a vice president of Global Workforce Diversity who formulates global policies on managing diversity. At regional headquarters, diversity managers translate the global policies on managing diversity into regional initiatives. Next, the executive management teams of every branch office formulate local actions in order to increase and to make full use of workforce diversity in that specific IBM establishment. An example of a local action is the adjustment of human resources policies and processes in each country’s offices. Due to the differences in national legislation on employment and discrimination, IBM thinks it’s best to do this at a country level.

Active Input From Managers and Employees

IBM’s leadership underscores its commitment to an inclusive work environment through eight executive task forces, established in 1995:

•    Asian

•    Black

•    Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender

•    Hispanic

•    Men

•    Native American

•    People with disabilities

•    Women

The mission of each task force is to increase the success of IBM in the marketplace by focusing on the various constituencies as customers. The task forces are chaired and staffed by executives and employees from that particular constituency. Each was formed to look at IBM through the lens of their group and answer these questions:

•    What is required for your group to feel welcomed and valued at IBM?

•    What can IBM, in partnership with your group, do to maximize your productivity?

•    What courses of action can IBM take to influence the buying decisions of your group?

There are also global diversity networks where people from various underrepresented groups can meet each other and colleagues from other backgrounds. Many subsidiaries have local chapters of these networks. IBM Netherlands has local chapters of the global diversity network groups for women (called Women in Blue) and for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders (called EAGLE). In both cases, the initiative for the foundation of a local chapter was taken by employees.

The networks organize meetings, lectures, workshops, and social events for employees belonging to the specific underrepresented group or for those interested in managing diversity and learning more about the other. All network activities are aimed at enhancing people’s personal strength. Another employee collects and distributes information via the intranet about people with disabilities. The company stimulates initiatives like this by allocating time, resources, and budget. The human resources department plays a supportive role: It organizes meetings for the initiators to exchange knowledge and ideas. It also gives them advice on how to use the intranet to draw attention for their subject and gives them information about (international) conferences on managing diversity.

Toward Inclusive Leadership

Throughout the years, global and local diversity network groups were founded for almost any of the traditionally underrepresented groups at IBM. Lately, a turn of opinion has evolved. The company now believes that the key to managing diversity is inclusive leadership. Inclusive leadership implies creating a corporate culture where people feel respected and rewarded, with all their differences and similarities. International training has been developed that focuses on this broad concept of managing diversity. Several senior managers and their advisers have already participated in the training program. Among them were some executives from the Dutch subsidiary and their local diversity coordinator. According to these participants, the training made them aware of the fact that you must focus on diversity management by including all employees.

One exercise showed that everybody sometimes feels excluded from a group and that almost everybody experiences exclusion negatively. Because of the training, they now understand that diversity concerns all employees and not just the ones belonging to a minority. IBM strongly believes that this greater understanding is the basis for realizing inclusive leadership.

Discussion Questions

1.   What are the 2 most important aspects of IBM Netherland’s vision for diversity? Why did you select these?

2.   This case study is set in the Netherlands. Do you think that the diversity initiatives could work anywhere? Why or why not?

3.   The executive task forces for diverse groups focus on three questions: (1) What is required for your group to feel valued? (2) What is required to maximize productivity? (3) How do you influence the buying decisions of the group? Given your understanding of management, list 2 other questions that should be asked and why.

4. According to the case, what is “inclusive leadership” at IBM? How can diversity training increase this type of leadership?