01 Feb People and Culture

GB570 Managing the Value Chain

Unit 1 discussion

Review the Discussion Board Participation grading rubric in your course Syllabus.

Introduction:

To ensure you earn maximum points, your professionally written postings should provide substantive depth that demonstrates your proficiency to address topics and advance the Discussion at a graduate school level. Your postings should represent your own experience and the knowledge you have gained through learning, by communicating clearly through the written word. Correct use of grammar, spelling, descriptive explanations, and logical flow of thought are important in all assignments. (Note: Discussion responses are submitted to Turnitin® to confirm originality and correct citation of references). Post a main response plus at least two additional conversational responses in the Discussion forum. There must be postings on or before Saturday and on three different days during the unit.

Topic: The Customer as the Principal Driver of Value

The objective of value chain management is to convert customer needs into customer value. Unit 1 begins with the concept of customer delight as an indicator of earning customer value. By researching the Library and reading articles related to customer delight, you will gain an understanding of one of the ultimate goals of value chain management. This Discussion describes some of the process inherent when customer delight is present.

Directions

Search the Library for articles explaining customer delight and customer service excellence. You will include at least one quote from the Library article(s) within your response, using APA in-text citations and listing the applied reference(s) at the end of the response. There should be no more than one application of referenced information per paragraph. You may include one referenced sentence from your textbook. Internet references are not accepted for this Discussion, although you may use internet research for your own learning.

Think about when you have experienced customer delight — a purchase experience (product or service) that surpassed your expectations. Customer delight is not simply customer satisfaction, it is exceeding expectations on an ongoing basis. Perhaps you told other people you know about your amazing experience.

The response should use first person perspective.

Include the following information:

(A) Describe this purchase experience; include where, when, why, the product, the brand name, and explain the details of this positive, memorable purchase from the beginning, from when you first considered the purchase, to the eventual purchase transaction and outcome. Be specific.

(B) Describe the processes, steps, and phases you believe the company did to make sure your purchase experience was delightful (surpassed expectation and perhaps made you brand loyal). You may make assumptions for this portion of this Discussion. Include the following considerations:

Do you think you were a target market customer? Why or why not?

How did the company communicate the benefits of their product or service to you?

Why did you choose their product?

Was the product or service available to you when and where you wanted it? Once you received and used the product or service, did it perform as you expected? Explain.

(C) Support your response’s content with at least one applied and cited reference from a Library article. Apply and cite no more than one referenced sentence per paragraph. You may also apply and cite one sentence from the textbook if you wish. Internet references are not accepted for this Discussion. Use APA in-text citation within the response and list the applied reference(s) at the end of the response using APA formatting. APA formatting resources are available in the Academic Tools area titled, “APA Style Central.”

Proofread your response, run spell check and grammar check, and proofread again. Post your polished response in the Unit 1 Discussion.

GB570 Managing the Value Chain

Unit 2 discussion

Review the Discussion Board Participation grading rubric in your course Syllabus.

Introduction:

To ensure you earn maximum points, your professionally written postings should provide substantive depth that demonstrates your proficiency to address topics and advance the Discussion at a graduate school level. Your postings should represent your own experience and the knowledge you have gained through learning, by communicating clearly through the written word. Correct use of grammar, spelling, descriptive explanations, and logical flow of thought are important in all assignments. (Note: Discussion responses are submitted to Turnitin to confirm originality and correct citation of references). Post a main response plus at least two additional conversational responses in the Discussion forum. There must be postings on or before Saturday and on three different days during the unit.

Topic: The Dimensions of Competitiveness

An effectively and efficiently managed value chain supports competitive advantage and achievement of profitability goals. The textbook identifies four core dimensions by which companies can choose one, some, or all of the dimensions to compete. The four core dimensions are cost, quality, response time, and flexibility. The purpose of this Discussion is to apply these four dimensions of competitiveness to real-world examples.

Directions

Choose four different companies (choose examples that are not mentioned in your textbook) that represent each of the four dimensions of competitiveness. It is fine for a company to be an example representing more than one of the dimensions, but there must be examples of four different companies and each of the four dimensions of competitiveness must be covered.

Use the Library for articles/company profiles providing information related to determining how you categorize each of the four company dimensions of competitiveness strategies. Once you have made your choices, you may use the chosen company’s websites as references. No other internet resources are allowed as applied and cited references for this Discussion, although you may use the internet to support your own research and learning. Apply no more than one APA formatted reference and citation per paragraph. Support your response’s content by applying and citing at least three separate sources (for example, from a Library article, your textbook, and a company website). APA formatting resources are available in the Academic Resources area titled, “APA Style Central.”

The response should use first person perspective.

Compose a response of at least four paragraphs of 4–5 sentences per paragraph.

The response should clearly address how the company achieves competitive advantage by providing value to customers. Include the following in your response: Identify four examples of companies who compete based upon the four dimensions of competitiveness. How does each company use one or more of the four dimensions of competitiveness? How is their strategy evident? How does this competitive strategy differentiate the company from their competition? Explain.

Proofread your response, run spell check and grammar check, and proofread again. Post your polished response in the Unit 2 Discussion.

GB570 Managing the Value Chain

Unit 3 discussion

Review the Discussion Board Participation grading rubric in your course Syllabus.

Introduction:

To ensure you earn maximum points, your professionally written postings should provide substantive depth that demonstrates your proficiency to address topics and advance the Discussion at a graduate school level. Your postings should represent your own experience and the knowledge you have gained through learning, by communicating clearly through the written word. Correct use of grammar, spelling, descriptive explanations, and logical flow of thought are important in all assignments. (Note: Discussion responses are submitted to Turnitin to confirm originality and correct citation of references). Post a main response plus at least two additional conversational responses in the Discussion forum. There must be postings on or before Saturday and on three different days during the unit.

Topic: Practicing Corporate Social Responsibility

The Unit 3 Discussion is designed for you to consider how a business might implement corporate social responsibility in their value chain.

Directions

Put on your entrepreneur hat! Assume the role as the founder of a fictional company. Describe (you may decide) what type of company, the location, and the societal variables relevant to your fictional company.

You know your value chain will benefit from implementing corporate socially responsible programs. You know the employees, customers, and societal environment will take notice and you will increase your company’s competitive advantage. You have made the decision to improve your results by adding corporate social responsibility to your value chain’s elements.

Explain how you will implement corporate social responsibility in your business.

What do you need to know in order to decide what types of corporate social responsibility efforts will benefit your company? What expectations do you have related to costs and benefits? To what extent can your business demonstrate corporate social responsibility? What can you do without any cost or use of resources?

What are the pros and cons of the corporate responsibility programs you are considering? Do the pros outweigh the cons? Explain.

Conduct research to discover the answers to your questions.

Describe how your business can demonstrate corporate responsible behavior. What will you do and how will employees, customers and society know?

The response should use first person perspective.

Compose a response of at least four paragraphs of 4–5 sentences per paragraph.

Support your response’s content with at least two applied and cited references from a Library article and your textbook. Apply and cite no more than one APA formatted reference and citation per paragraph. Internet references are not accepted for this Unit 3 Discussion. Use APA in-text citation within the response and list the applied reference(s) at the end of the response using APA formatting. APA formatting resources are available in the Academic Tools area titled, “APA Style Central.”

Proofread your response, run spell check and grammar check, and proofread again. Post your polished response in the Unit 3 Discussion.

GB570 Managing the Value Chain

Unit 4 discussion

Introduction: To ensure you earn maximum points, your professionally written postings should provide substantive depth that demonstrates your proficiency to address topics and advance the Discussion at a graduate school level. Your postings should represent your own experience and the knowledge you have gained through learning, by communicating clearly through the written word. Correct use of grammar, spelling, descriptive explanations, and logical flow of thought are important in all assignments. (Note: Discussion responses are submitted to Turnitin to confirm originality and correct citation of references). Post a main response plus at least two additional conversational responses in the Discussion forum. There must be postings on or before Saturday and on three different days during the unit week.

Topic: Global Value Chain Considerations

The Discussion is designed for you to practice the decision-making process when considering globalization of a value chain.

Directions

Choose and describe a company operating solely in the United States that might be ready to expand globally. Explain what type of global expansion is being considered (your choice).

Assume you are the CEO and the ultimate decision-maker of this local company. You are confident your current value chain is solid but you are concerned at what the impact on your value chain might be if you expand to another country/other countries. What might need to be changed or modified in your company’s value chain prior to the expansion?

Examine how globalization could impact the current value chain. In the examination, include the following:

What are some of the challenges an organization faces when a value chain goes global?

What are the differences between a domestic and global value chain?

Why does a firm go global?

Analyze pros and cons of going global.

Does culture matter in a value chain and the management of the business?

Describe how your business can transition the current value chain to be a global value chain.

The response should use first person perspective.

Compose a response of at least four paragraphs of 4–5 sentences per paragraph. Apply no more than one APA formatted reference and citation per paragraph.

Support your response’s content with at least two applied and cited references from a Library article and also from your textbook. Apply and cite no more than one cited and referenced sentence per paragraph. Internet sources are not accepted for this Unit 4 Discussion. Use APA in-text citation within the response and list the applied reference(s) at the end of the response using APA formatting. APA formatting resources are available in the Academic Tools area titled, “APA Style Central.”

Proofread your response, run spell check and grammar check, and proofread again. Post your polished response in the Unit 4 Discussion.

GB570 Managing the Value Chain

Unit 5 discussion

Review the Discussion Board Participation grading rubric in your course Syllabus.

Introduction:

To ensure you earn maximum points, your professionally written postings should provide substantive depth that demonstrates your proficiency to address topics and advance the Discussion at a graduate school level. Your postings should represent your own experience and the knowledge you have gained through learning, by communicating clearly through the written word. Correct use of grammar, spelling, descriptive explanations, and logical flow of thought are important in all assignments. (Note: Discussion responses are submitted to Turnitin to confirm originality and correct citation of references). Post a main response plus at least two additional conversational responses in the Discussion forum. There must be postings on or before Saturday and on three different days during the unit week.

Topic: Managing the Risk of Value Chain Outage(s)

Describe what would happen to a company’s value chain if all electronic devices and systems suddenly were unavailable and an expected time for resolution time is unknown. How might a company prepare for and manage the risk associated with potential outages? Could a value chain be maintained without electronics and technology to support it? If so, how?

The response should use first person perspective.

Compose a response of at least four paragraphs of 4–5 sentences per paragraph.

No references are required for this Unit 5 Discussion, but if you do use source material, apply no more than one APA formatted reference and citation per paragraph and use APA in-text citation within the response and list the applied reference(s) at the end of the response using APA formatting.

Proofread your response, run spell check and grammar check, and proofread again. Post your polished response in the Unit 5 Discussion forum.

GB570 Managing the Value Chain

Unit 6 discussion

Review the Discussion Board Participation grading rubric in your course Syllabus.

Introduction:

To ensure you earn maximum points, your professionally written postings should provide substantive depth that demonstrates your proficiency to address topics and advance the Discussion at a graduate school level. Your postings should represent your own experience and the knowledge you have gained through learning, by communicating clearly through the written word. Correct use of grammar, spelling, descriptive explanations, and logical flow of thought are important in all assignments. (Note: Discussion responses are submitted to Turnitin to confirm originality and correct citation of references). Post a main response plus at least two additional conversational responses in the Discussion. There must be postings on or before Saturday and on three different days during the unit week.

Topic: Employee Satisfaction and Value Chain Management

You will consider the human resource aspects and enablers of value chain management. It is widely accepted there is a distinct, measurable, and positive relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. In value chain management, the goal of creating customer value for the organization includes customer delight (exceeding customer satisfaction) and profitability. Organizational leadership plays a key role in establishing programs, policies, and process that enable ongoing employee satisfaction.

Directions

Assume you are working in a role as a decision-making leader. You are tasked with the responsibility to create employee satisfaction programs and processes related to the following human resources enablers. Additionally, address how could you use these human resource enablers to improve employee satisfaction during times of change?

People and Culture

The Three People Traits: Knowledge, Skills, and Beliefs

People and Trust

No references are required for this Unit 6 Discussion, but if you do use source material, apply no more than one APA formatted reference and citation per paragraph and use APA in-text citation within the response and list the applied reference(s) at the end of the response using APA formatting.

Compose a response of at least four paragraphs of 4–5 sentences per paragraph.

Proofread your response, run spell check and grammar check, and proofread again. Post your polished response in the Unit 6 Discussion.