escribe three (3) key concepts you consider most important in the total cost of ownership.

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Quantity. Please respond to the following in 5-8 sentences per question:
· Being a small-business owner such as a custom framing store, a restaurant, a garage, or a specific small local business of your choice, apply the basic supply management principles to the acquisition of services.

· Discuss the trade-offs of quantity, quality, and cost in a small business such as a custom framing store, a restaurant, a garage, or a specific small local business of your pick.

· Planning systems such as MRP and CRP might be overkills for a small-business owner. Devise a simplified version of an MRP and/or CRP such as a supply planning chart or a supply planning template for a small local business. A local small business could be a custom framing store, a restaurant, a garage, or a specific small local business of your pick.

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Please respond to the following in 5-8 sentences per question:

· Articulate in one to two (1 to 2) sentences Neil’s problem from your perspective. Supply evidence from the case to support your statement. (See case 9-1 attached).

· Create and then prioritize a list of issues that Neil must tackle and would be nice if he could tackle.  Identify the issues using these two labels (must and nice to).

· Recommend an ideal action Neil can take and a likely action Neil will have to take. Provide evidence to back up your recommendations.

· Discuss whether or not Neil should consider initiating a penalty against Stinson Distribution. Company in upcoming contract talks. Thoroughly explore the pros and cons.

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Cost Management. Please respond to the following in 5-8 sentences per question:
· Describe three (3) key concepts you consider most important in the total cost of ownership.

· Describe how price discounting would influence the understanding of purchasing as a profit center.

· Explain what and how a small business can apply and benefit from the strategic cost management.  Give at least two (2) examples.

· Describe one (1) of your business negotiation experiences. Explain how your negotiation impacted directly and/or indirectly to the profit and/or the expense of your company or organization. If you do not have business negotiation experience, describe one (1) business negotiation experience you observed or learned about.

What role can top management play in helping a company achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers?

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1. Evaluate the accuracy of the following statement: Formal strategic planning systems are irrelevant for firms competing in high-technology industries where the pace of change is so rapid that plans are routinely made obsolete by unforeseen events.

2. What role can top management play in helping a company achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers?

3. Why is it important to understand the drivers of profitability, as measured by the return on invested capital?

4. What do you think are the sources of sustained superior profitability?

5. Under what environmental conditions are price wars most likely to occur in an industry? What are the implications of price wars for a company? How should a company try to deal with the threat of a price war?

6. When is a company’s competitive advantage most likely to endure over time?

7. From what perspective might innovation be called the single most important building block of competitive advantage?

8. Which is more important in explaining the success and failure of companies: strategizing or luck?

9. Is it possible for a company to be the lowest cost producer in its industry and simultaneously have an output that is most valued by customers?

10. What are the strengths of formal strategic planning? What are its weaknesses?

What future challenges do you envision for Whole Foods market? (Ch 14)

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Whole Foods Case Study Questions

Review the Whole Foods Case Study (pp. 1-6) and answer the questions connected to Chapters 13 and 14 as listed below. Responses to each question should range from 100-200 words. Your paper should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards (12 point Times New Roman font, double-spacing, 1″ margins, title and reference pages). Be sure to use the text and/or other sources to support your responses and properly cite the use of such. 1.Analyze effects of the democratic approach to store operation and hiring new associates on store performance. (Ch 13) 2.Whole Foods now faces a significant amount of competition. How should it respond to the changes in the competitive landscape of its industry? What future challenges do you envision for Whole Foods market? (Ch 14)

How many employees lost their jobs as a consequence of Enron’s collapse?

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Documentary: The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Rise and Fall of Enron

Documentary #2: The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Rise and Fall of Enron

To fulfill the requirements of the first documentary assignment, watch the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room online and answer the questions below.  Print your responses and turn them in in class.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/enron-smartest-guys-in-room/id293365466

Please note that I cannot guarantee that this documentary will remain online for the duration of the semester, so you would do well to complete this bonus assignment as soon as possible.  It can also be viewed on Netflix if you have an instant-streaming package or for $2.99 on Amazon and iTunes via their video departments.)

1.  How many days did it take for Enron to go bankrupt?

2.  At its height, what was the estimated dollar value on Enron?

3.  Who were known as the “smartest guys in the room,” “captains of a ship that could never go down”?

4.  How many employees lost their jobs as a consequence of Enron’s collapse?

5.  Which former president helped promote Ken Lay’s vision of deregulation?

6.  What was the ‘rank and yank’ system?

7.  What after hours activity did Lou Pai engage in as the CEO of EES?

8.  In what country were many people terrified of investing in?

9.  What one word question were Enron employees and supporters always encouraged to ask?

10.  What was the title of the article written by Bethany McLean questioning the viability of Enron’s stock?

11.  Which state was selected to experiment on with a deregulated electricity market?

12.  What did audio tapes reveal to be the only real Enron value?

13.  What were Enron traders betting regarding the price of electricity?

14.  What research scientist sought to understand the roots of evil through electroshock experiments in the 1960s?

15.  How much did the energy crisis cost the state of California?

16.  What movie star ran for the office of governor against Gray Davis as a result of deregulation?

17.  What Enron whistleblower sent an anonymous letter to Ken Lay explaining that Enron’s accounting practices were fraudulent and that the company was in dire financial straits?

18.  What was the name of Enron’s accounting firm that began destroying files?

19.  Who had made more than 45 million dollars through LJM partnerships?

20.  To what classic banking event did Skilling attribute Enron’s failure?

21.  For how much did the former Enron employee driving the truck sell his Enron stock for, despite the fact that it was once priced at 348,000?

22.  Who committed suicide weeks after the Enron bankruptcy?

23.  What was the larger lesson of the Enron failure?

24.  What was the average severance pay for fired employees?

25.  How much did retirees lose in total pension funds?