Please read
all instructions carefully before you begin.
Failure to read and understand instructions could result in an
unsatisfactory grade on the assignment.
If you have questions about the assignment, contact your
instructor. Don’t wait until the last minute to read the assignment and clarify any
questions you might have. If you wait
until Monday or Tuesday night, your instructor might not be available to answer
your questions at that exact moment.
Include your responses to all issues
in ONE document labeled with your last name and “final,” — e.g. “Smithfinal”– and post in .
Do not post a separate document for each question. Your final document should include ONE reference list at the end of the
document with all of the references you used in your responses. The reference list is required but will not
count toward the allowed number of words.
In addition to the reference list, you should also cite sources in your text when appropriate.
Be sure to base your discussion of these issues on the theories and
principles in the reading you have done throughout this seminar. This is not a
research project. The purpose of the
assignment is to demonstrate your knowledge of and ability to apply the
principles and theories discussed in the course materials. Do not consult
sources outside the assigned AMBA 610 course materials. Using sources
that are not in the course materials may result in point deductions.When
making reference to course materials, be sure to use proper APA formatted
citations and references, and indicate direct quotations by using quotation
marks and proper page citation. Your
exam should contain specific references to the text books and other course materials.
You must address all questions.
Your answers should be limited to the number of words indicated for each
question. Failure to adhere to word
length parameters will result in deduction of points. It is advisable to use the word count feature
to check.
Point Allocation:80% of
your grade will be based on the quality of the content of your responses to the
questions. The content points allocated
to each question are indicated. In
addition, consistent with the practice followed throughout the course, 20% of
your grade will be based on the quality of your attention to graduate level
grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and citation requirements.
Please see the grading rubric for
this assignment for additional details on grading criteria.
Content – 80 points
Issue 1 – Ethics and Legal Environment – 30 points. (1,000-word
limit)
Monique is a widow with two young children.
For the past several years she has worked very successfully as a manager
for a large, transnational pharmaceutical corporation, making a salary of
approximately $90,000 per annum. She is
proud of her work and proud to be affiliated with such a prestigious employer.
Her company has recently completed phase II of its animal testing on a
promising new Zika vaccine. The
successful development and commercialization of this vaccine is a key component
in the company’s strategic growth plan.
Before the company can move from the animal testing stage to human
trials the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must review and approve the
animal testing results and give the okay for the human trials. Without human trials the drug has no chance
of making it to market.
This morning, Monique’s boss called her to a private meeting in his
office. After reiterating how important
the success of the Zika vaccine trials is to the future of the company, he
directed her to change some figures related to the percentage of animals that
died as a result of receiving injections of the vaccine during the phase II
trials. Specifically, he told Monique
that her report to the FDA will have to show a percentage of animal deaths that
is 10% lower than the actual rate of deaths the raw data in the test results
indicate.
Based on the above, respond to each of the following:
·
What are Monique’s obligations as an agent of
the company?
·
Analyze the ethics of the situation using Badaracco’s
framework. Be sure to support your analysis through sound reasoning,
incorporating appropriate ethical principles and theories.
·
Based on your legal and ethical analysis, advise
Monique on what she should do. Do not
simply just give her options; tell her what she should do, in specific detail, and
why.
Issue 2 – Organizational Environment – 30 points (1,000-word limit)
Imperious Corporation is a technology manufacturing firm
with more than 150,000 employees in its worldwide operations. It currently does business in 95 countries
and generates more than $22 billion in revenue.
Among its many products are wind turbine power generators, light rail
cars, automotive assembly robotics, and oil refinery plant process controls. The nature of these, and other, high-tech
products makes it critically important that Imperious be on the cutting edge of
innovation and that it leverage to the extent possible economies of scale in
its research/development and production processes. Imperious’s customers pay top-dollar for
these big-ticket products, so they are demanding in terms of having the most
up-to-date and best-functioning technology.
Additionally, because of the nature of Imperious’s products,
its customers are often either governments or government-subsidized companies;
so political concerns frequently come into play during the product sales
cycle. Often governments favor suppliers
that they perceive as country-friendly and committed for the long term: that,
for example, hire local labor, purchase raw materials locally, and maintain an
in-country presence—such as a subsidiary—to ensure knowledge of and compliance
with local laws and regulations.
In thinking about Imperious’s competitive environment and
what the best structure might be to remain successful, its CEO, Nigel Bruce,
had the following thoughts about the attributes he’d like the company to have:
- It must be both global (to
be able to offer the finest technology available) and local (to respond to
political aspects of the buying-decision process)
- It must be both large (to
enjoy needed economies of scale) and small (to be nimble in decision
making and adjusting to marketplace changes)
- It must be both
decentralized (to nurture innovation and intrapreneurship) and centralized
(in its reporting and control, to insure accountability and consistency in
implementation)
Considering all the above, Nigel thinks that a matrix design
might be the way to go in terms of an organizational structure that will let Imperious
meet its goals and prosper into
the future.
Answer the following questions about Imperious Corporation’s proposed structure. Be sure to state clearly any assumptions you makeabout
the organization as part of the description of factors to consider and state
the reasons for including each factor. Use organizational structure language and theory in your response.
1)
Is a matrix a good choice for Imperious? Advise Nigel on the possible advantages and
disadvantages of adopting this organizational structure.
2)
Assuming that Nigel decides to go ahead with a matrixed
organization, describe to him, at a high level, what such an organization might
look like in terms of business units and spans of control.
Be sure to cite any reference
sources you use from the AMBA 610 course materials. Do not use any materials outside of AMBA 610
course materials.
Issue 3 – Critical
Thinking – 5 points (400-word limit)
Read the following paragraph and provide a brief analysis of
it from a critical thinking point of view
“Thor is the most awesome superhero ever. Anyone who won’t admit that Thor is the
greatest superhero of all time is an idiot who knows nothing about comic-book
superheroes or Norse mythology. In 2015 Thor
was ranked by a magazine as #1 among the top 25 superheroes in history, which
proves that the folks at Marvel Comics are entertainment geniuses who are far
more talented than those losers at DC Comics and other wannabe comic-book
producers. My cousin Vinnie, who reads
more comic books and sees more superhero movies than anyone I know, agrees that
Marvel Comics must be the best because their stuff is the most enjoyable. Plus, with Thor, Marvel Comics came up with a
superhero that will never be topped.
Sure, there may be some ‘artsy’ superheroes out there like Batman or the
Watchmen; but nobody likes movies with complex, depressing plots that make you
have to pay attention to figure out what’s happening. Also heroes like Superman have been around
for like the last gazillion years, and nobody wants to pay $8 to see some movie
about the stupid adventures of some kryptonite-impaired has-been. Anytime Thor’s name is on a movie it’s going
to be fresh, with state-of-the-art special effects and fantastic adventure—so
whenever Marvel comes out with a new Thor or Avengers project you should just
go see it and forget about spending your hard-earned cash on any other
so-called summer blockbuster movie.”
You don’t need to apply all of Browne & Keeley’s critical
thinking steps, but you must include at least the following three:
1. What is the issue
and what is the conclusion?
2. Identify at least
three reasoning fallacies, by name, and explain why they are fallacies in this
argument.
3. Identify a value
assumption in the argument and explain why it is a value assumption.
Be sure to cite any reference sources you use from the AMBA
610 course materials. Do not use any
materials outside of AMBA 610 course materials.
Issue 4 – Business
Associations and Torts – 15 points (600-word limit)
You plan to open Tee Shotz, a custom tee-shirt design and
manufacturing business catering to people who want to display edgy designs and
slogans on their casual clothing. You currently have $50,000 available. You
estimate you will need $100,000 to start and operate the business for 1 year.
You also estimate you will need $25,000 a year for re-investment, assuming no
growth. You plan on being the sole owner if possible, and having two managers:
one for the technical side and one for the business side. You are well known in
the community and could obtain a loan since you have successfully been in
business before. You could also find people to invest in your tee-shirt
business, but you don’t like the idea of losing control. You have already
started finding suppliers and buying equipment for your new venture. Your
friend, Flora, has agreed to do much of the footwork, in terms of applications
and filings with the state, for a fee.
So far, all has gone well except that last week Flora forgot to set the
brake on her van while dropping off a check to the printing firm that’s doing
the marketing materials for your new venture. Flora’s van rolled down a hill
and crashed through six feet of cedar fence fronting a local kitchenware
company run by an old friend of yours, Jamie. Jamie’s told you that, because of
Flora, you have really put him in a bind, as now he has to pay to fix the fence
and business has been terrible for the last few months. Now, with a
shabby-looking front fence, he fears he’ll get fewer walk-in customers. He’s
asking you to pay for the fence damage.
Use the above fact scenario to answer the following
questions:
1) What form of
business should you choose for Tee Shotz and why? Justify your choice in relation to the other
reasonable alternatives available to you.
2) Are you
and/or Flora responsible, legally or ethically, for Jamie’s fence repairs? Explain why or why not.
Form: Follow your
instructor’s specific format guidelines, if any. Graduate-level structure,
grammar, spelling, punctuation, word usage, and citations are expected to be
reflected in your answers: 20 points
