DISCUSSION  1 

Your total response should be a minimum of 175 words.

The global business environment is constantly evolving based on the forces in the general and task environment. In order to sustain the company and maintain a competitive foothold, organization leaders must consistently analyze the global environment and adjust their strategy as needed. Managers play an important role in implementing strategies to achieve a company’s mission and goals. Research a company with stockholder reports available. These reports can usually be found on a company’s website. Use the report to answer the following questions:

• What is (are) the main industry(ies) in which the company competes?
• What business-level strategy does the company seem to be pursuing in this industry? Why?
• What corporate-level strategies is the company pursuing? Why?
• Have there been any major changes in its strategy recently? Why?

Share how your understanding of the above questions can apply to a SWOT analysis. (For example, if you recognize that a major change in strategy revolves around expanding into foreign markets, that relates to the opportunities component of a SWOT analysis.)

DISCUSSION 2

One of management's responsibilities is to ensure their team’s work aligns to the company’s business strategies.

Respond to the following prompt in a minimum of 175 words:

• What leadership theories have you seen used in your own workplace?
• Which were most effective? Which were the least effective? Why?
• How did the execution of these theories align with your company’s business strategies?

DISCUSSION 3

Think of a company or organization you’re familiar with, perhaps one you’ve worked for or even a place of worship or school. Answer the following questions in a minimum of 175 words.:

• What kind of organizational structure does the organization use?
• What other structures discussed in the chapter might allow the organization to operate more effectively? For example, would the move to a product team structure lead to greater efficiency or effectiveness? Why or why not?

DISCUSSION 4

This week you will explore the wonderful world of descriptive statistics. You may not have noticed how often you are presented with statistics in the media and in everyday conversations. It is common for people to make statements like “Statistics show that… [insert claim].”Make sure to give a specific example to start your discussion. Then, respond to the following question in a minimum of 175 words:

• What sorts of follow up questions about the statistics might you ask that person in order to obtain the data needed to make a decision about the validity of that statement? Be sure to use concepts and vocabulary from this week to guide your response.