11 Jan Reflecting back

BUS402 Week 1 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 1 Discussion 1

Entrepreneurs
Please respond to the following:

Inc. magazine claims, “Entrepreneurship is more mundane than it is sometimes portrayed . . . you don’t need to be a person of mythical proportions to be very, very successful in building a company.” Discuss whether you agree or disagree with this statement and why.
Analyze the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and determine if you have what it takes to start your own business. Provide specific examples to support your response.

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Week 1 Discussion 2

Strategic Management

Please respond to the following:

Analyze the steps involved in developing a strategic plan for a company and determine which step is the most difficult to get right. Explain your rationale.
From the e-Activity, determine how you would leverage the support provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration in planning and starting your own business. Provide specific examples to support your response.

BUS402 Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 2 Discussion 1

Choosing a Form of Ownership
Please respond to the following:

From the e-Activity, describe the most appropriate form of ownership for your new franchise based on your current financial situation. Provide specific examples to support your response.
Assume the form of your new business will be a partnership (if you have not already done so). Discuss the types of conflicts that may arise and how you could prevent them from arising in the first place.

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Week 2 Discussion 2

Franchising and the Entrepreneur
Please respond to the following:

Based on the case study (“Firehouse Subs”), determine which of the three options executives are considering would be most beneficial to a single franchise owner. Explain your rationale.
From the e-Activity, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being a franchisee of the franchise you selected. Provide specific examples to support your response.

BUS402 Week 3 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 3 Discussion 1

Buying an Existing Business
Please respond to the following:

From the e-Activity, discuss the best possible method for determining the value of the business you selected. Explain your rationale.
Create a strategy for negotiating the purchase of the business you selected in the e-Activity.
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Week 3 Discussion 2

Feasibility Analyses and Business Plans
Please respond to the following:

Develop an idea for a new business and conduct a feasibility analysis. Please be as creative as you like in the development of your idea (but as careful as you can be in your analysis of that idea).
Analyze the steps involved in crafting a wining business plan and make at least one recommendation for improving the process. Explain your rationale for making the recommendation you did.

BUS402 Week 4 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 4 Discussion 1

Creating a Solid Financial Plan
Please respond to the following:

Discuss the best way to leverage a breakeven analysis when defining a business strategy.
Analyze the 12 financial ratios mentioned in the textbook and determine which is the most useful to the greatest number of small businesses. Explain your rationale.
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Week 4 Discussion 2

Managing Cash Flow
Please respond to the following:

Analyze the steps involved in preparing a cash budget and determine which steps presents the greatest number of obstacles to the greatest number of small businesses. Explain your rationale.
Analyze the steps involved in avoiding a cash crunch and make at least one additional recommendation for doing so. Provide specific examples to support your response.

BUS402 Week 5 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 5 Discussion 1

Guerrilla Marketing
Please respond to the following:

From the first e-Activity, discuss the key elements that made the guerrilla marketing so successful. Explain your rationale.
Discuss possible best practices from the guerrilla marketing campaign that different types of small businesses could leverage. Provide specific examples to support your response.
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Week 5 Discussion 2

Advertising and Promotion
Please respond to the following:

From the second e-Activity, determine the best possible way to leverage Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites to advertize and promote the small business of your choice. Explain your rationale.
Select a small business with which you are familiar and then determine the best way for that business to stretch its advertising budget. Provide specific examples to support your response.

BUS402 Week 6 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 6 Discussion 1

Pricing and Globalization Strategies
Please respond to the following:

From the e-Activity, discuss the best possible pricing strategy based on whether the company you selected is a retailer, manufacturer, or service firm. Explain your rationale.
Discuss the best possible way the company you selected could expand its market globally.
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Week 6 Discussion 2

Globalization and Sources of Equity Financing
Please respond to the following:

From the e-Activity, discuss how the company you selected might benefit from selling new customers on e-Bay (as opposed to building and maintaining its own Website).
Referring to the same company, determine the best source of equity capital available to the company you selected. Explain your rationale.

BUS402 Week 7 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 7 Discussion 1

Sources of Debt Financing
Please respond to the following:

Briefly describe a small business you could envision yourself owning and discuss the most appropriate source of debt capital for that business. Explain your rationale.
From the e-Activity, discuss how you could best use an SBA loan to get your business running or expanding. Provide specific examples to support your response.

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Week 7 Discussion 2

Location, Layout, and Physical Facilities
Please respond to the following:

Using the same small business you described in the first discussion, determine the best possible location for your business within driving distance of where you now live. Explain your rationale.
Discuss the layout and design configuration of a building you would like to use to house your business, including how you would comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

BUS402 Week 8 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

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Week 8 Discussion 1

Supply Chain Management
Please respond to the following:

From the e-Activity, determine which best practices can be applied to the greatest number of small businesses. Explain your rationale.
Analyze the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma in regard to quality control of a product or service, and make at least one recommendation for improvement. Explain your rationale.
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Week 8 Discussion 2

Managing Inventory

Describe a retail business with which you are familiar and determine the most suitable means of inventory control. Provide specific examples to support your response.
For the same business, discuss what innovative steps you could take to deter employee theft and/or shoplifting.

BUS402 Week 9 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

Week 9 Discussion 1

Fikes Products
Please respond to the following:

From the case study, discuss possible new options for finding quality employees other than those considered in the case study.
From the case study, discuss how Mark Sims could better motivate the employees he already has to become more productive and dedicated. Provide specific examples to support your response.

Week 9 Discussion 2

Management Succession and Risk Management Strategies
Please respond to the following:

Assume you are the owner of a small business with which you are familiar. Outline the basics of a management succession plan for passing the business on to the individual of your choice.
Referring to the same small business, determine the most appropriate way for that business to minimize its exposure to risk. Explain your rationale.

BUS402 Week 10 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

Week 10 Discussion 1

Ethics and Social Responsibility
Please respond to the following:

Select a small business with which you are familiar and develop a plan of action for encouraging ethical behavior. Provide specific examples to support your response.
Analyze a business’s responsibilities to the environment, employees, customers, investors, and the community, and determine which is the most important. Explain your rationale.
Week 10 Discussion 2

The Legal Environment
Please respond to the following:

Select a small business with which you are familiar and discuss the most likely forms of business law it would need to be concerned about. Provide specific examples to support your response.
Referring to the same company, discuss the most likely government regulations that would directly impact day-to-day operations. Provide specific examples to support your response.

BUS402 Week 11 Discussion 1 & 2 Latest 2017 June

Week 11 Discussion 1

Summation
Please respond to the following:

Reflecting back on everything you have learned in this course, discuss the single most important lesson any entrepreneur should apply in order to be successful. Explain your rationale.
Summarize the lessons learned in this course in 140 characters or less (something you could post on Twitter)

Week 11 Discussion 2

My Dream Business
Please respond to the following:

Discuss the most innovative idea you can dream up for a new business. Explain why you think it would be successful.
Discuss the major challenges you would face in running such a business and how you would expect to overcome them. Provide specific examples to support your response.