Group Management Concepts Analysis PaperPresentation(100 Points
- 1. Group Management Concepts Analysis Paper/Presentation (100 Points) Objective: To analyze how management concepts relate to managers to be more effective and efficient. (see below for prompts to help you tackle the assignment). Being a group assignment, students will gain exposure to various perspectives, benefit and learn from different writing styles/strengths, and if each group member contributes at least one journal article, then groups will benefit from having a greater number of articles from which to choose. Article Selection: · Each team (4-5 students) will select a journal article (published no earlier than September 1, 2016 in outlets such as Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, and/or Peer reviewed journal articles in Academic Journals). · Teams are required to choose an article related to concepts covered in the course and how they are relevant for managers to be more effective and efficient. Paper Description: This paper allows you to state your opinion about the management concepts of your choice and then support your claim with facts, theories, or research. Thoroughly explain your opinions and cite as much outside reference support (i.e., peer - reviewed, scholarly journal articles) to substantiate your discussion. Empirical research, in particular, will help strengthen your discussion. (Note: Do not copy the information present on the web. Emphasis should be to understand the framework for understanding the factors that influence how managers can be more effective and efficient).
- 2. Prepare a detailed 8-10 pages concept paper using the questions below as a guide. Be sure to incorporate your readings, and cite your sources using APA guidelines (6th edition including in- text citations and references) Section 1: Paper Overview (Max. 1 Page, double space) · Article Specific- Discuss the management concepts and/or functions? · What is the current status of the company in the industry? (Review Bloomberg.com/Reuters/WSJ/Forbes/PRJ’s. · Briefly discuss the overview of the article. Section 2: Identification and Discussion of Management concepts using P-O-L-C framework. (Max 6 Pages, double space) Using a Management Concepts lens, the students should be able to identify and discuss at least four management concepts and functions applicable in the selected article mentioned below: · Management environment and landscape · Strategy · Organizational Culture · Organization Structure (Identify your company’s organization structure; describe how organization use this structure, is i t used in combinatory of other; discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the structure used). · Organization design · Employee engagement and motivation · Leadership · Human Resource Management · Communications · Teams · Performance Management
- 3. · Operations Section 3: Reflection (Max. 3 page, double space) This section is mainly your analysis of the selected article focusing on the managers to be more effective and efficient. · Through this newspaper article, are any management course concepts challenged? · Having read this journal article, do you see the need to refine any of our course material to better capture the reality of organizational life? · What changes would our management course material suggest in order to improve the practice(s) featured in your journal article? · How would you use our management course material to support the initiatives/new practices featured in your journal article? · Why should a management student read this article? Paper Guidelines: · Discuss at least 4 management concepts listed in the section 2 in your paper. (This does not guarantee an “A” in the paper). · Format of the paper: There are no special formatting requirements. For in-text citations and references follow APA 6th edition. Should be able to know more about APA https://owl.english.purdue.edu · Number of pages- Maximum 8-10 pages double space. The number of pages does not guarantee an “A” on the paper; it depends on the quality of the discussion, depth, and rigor in the paper. Cover the information, which clearly present the framework of P-O-L-C in the organization.
- 4. · Number of references- Minimum 5 references, this is to make sure that you use at least five good quality research papers to substantiate the discussion and add value to the extant literature in the field of study. Reference page is exclusive to the page limit. (These minimum references do not guarantee an “A” in the paper). · Quality of the information is important, but how do you present that information is equally important. Please use appropriate headings and sub-headings to clearly present the information in the paper. · References (Build a comprehensive reference page that includes refereed journal articles and/or websites cited above. It is NOT acceptable to have only web articles that are not scholarly/refereed journal articles. Do not use Wikipedia/encyclopedia or blogs and similar Internet sources in this paper). Feel free to use professional business journals such as Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, and/or company websites etc. · IMPORTANT: Turnitin is a part of the D2L. Every time student turns in any assignment in the dropbox in college. Turnitin would automatically evaluate it. WARNING: Turnitin.com DOES check to see if any part of the document is copied from any other document in their files...published or unpublished. Because of the nature of the assignments, some duplication is acceptable and even expected...such as the repetition of titles, names and specific questions and quotations. Within 24 hours of submission, you should be able to check for your report detailing what percentage of your paper has been previously submitted. You are expected to correct and resubmit to reduce it as low as possible (be sure to allow extra time for this!) Anything over 25% will result in automatic point deductions, but anything (no matter what % turnitin.com shows) that does not follow acceptable documentation and citation
- 5. practices will result in grade deductions or worse. Please note if the Turnitin percentage is higher than 35% it will be evaluated for any plagiarism issue and will be notified to the appropriate authority to take any further action. (Review grading rubric for points deduction). Therefore, please take this very seriously. Correct sentence structure, grammar and spelling are expected on all written assignments submitted for a grade. For additional help with written assignments, please contact the Online Writing Lab at http://web.tamu- commerce.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiesSocialSciencesArt s/departments/literatureLanguages/writingCenter/onlineWriting Lab.aspx Presentation Guidelines: Each group will produce a Power Point presentation based on their papers. The following format is recommended: Slide 1 – Cover page with team member names. Slide 2 – Each student should summarize their findings on two slides. Final Discussion Slides – This should consist of approximately two slides. The first should discuss similarities across companies. Conclusion Slide – wrap up your group results in a succinct manner. The Business Enterprise Trust 9-996-055 Yla Eason (B)
- 6. This case was researched by Laura M. Wattenberg and written by Suzanne Allen, under the supervision of Kathleen A. Meyer, executive director of The Business Enterprise Trust. Copyright © 1997 by The Business Enterprise Trust. The Business Enterprise Trust is a national non-profit organization that honors exemplary acts of courage, integrity and social vision in business. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise – without the permission of The Business Enterprise Trust. Please call (415) 321-5100 or write The Business Enterprise Trust, 204 Junipero Serra Blvd., Stanford, CA 94305. Harvard Business School Publishing is the exclusive distributor of this publication. To order copies or to request permission to photocopy, please call (800) 545-7685 or write Harvard Business School Publishing, Customer Service Dept., 60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163. la Eason had been struggling to convince retail toy buyers that her new line of ethnically correct dolls would meet a genuine need in a previously untapped market — and that both Eason and the buy-
- 7. ers would profit as a result. As president and founder of Olmec Toys, a minority-owned ethnically correct toy company, Eason had done ex- tensive demographic research showing that a market for her products existed and was growing. But the buyers were still hesitant. Convinced that they would eventually come around, Eason contin- ued her barrage of phone calls to potential buyers and sent updates on her research. Finally her tenacity paid off when a buyer from Kmart realized the long-term market possibilities of Olmec’s products. Olmec’s First Big Break Eason arrived at Kmart headquarters carrying a box of carefully crafted toys and a briefcase full of charts and census figures. She had contacted the regional buyer for the New York/New Jersey area many times over the course of five months and he had finally agreed to meet. During the meeting, Eason clearly defined the expanding ethnic mar- ket, the long-term customer loyalty that could result from addressing minority needs and the opportunity it would create to sell additional products to that segment. Convinced by Eason’s perseverance and preparation, the Kmart buyer signed Olmec’s first big contract. A $50,000 deal with a big-name
- 8. retail chain gave Eason the credibility she needed in the industry. Soon after, she secured contracts with Army and Air Force exchange stores Y For the exclusive use of M. LEBRUN, 2015. This document is authorized for use only by MARIE A. LEBRUN in 2015. 2 Yla Eason (B) 9-996-055 and Toys “R” Us. Eason immediately incorporated “micro-marketing” into her Toys “R” Us strategy, identifying those locations with the most ethnic traffic. The surge in revenues from these deals enabled Olmec to advertise its line of black action figures in Ebony and Jet magazines. Increased sales, addi- tional market research and customer feedback prompted Olmec to further expand its product line to include new African-American Princess Imani fashion dolls and accessories (Exhibit 1: Imani doll promotion from Olmec catalog). Overcoming Continued Resistance Despite success with some big-name accounts, Eason still encountered resistance from many other
- 9. buyers. Undaunted, she resolved to work around them. If a short-sighted buyer seemed too focused on the next quarter ’s earnings, Eason occasionally went over his or her head to senior executives or CEOs who might better appreciate the long-term implications of the demographics she presented. To get on the CEO’s calendar, Eason launched a PR campaign of phone calls, letters, press packets and endorsements from other industry contacts. These efforts eventually led to meetings with a number of top executives. Sometimes Eason even sold her products di- rectly to store managers, bypassing the corporate buyers altogether. Once ten stores from a chain had signed on, she would approach the area buyer and point out that several of his or her stores were already selling Olmec’s toys and the company should consider rolling them out nationally. At the 1989 Toy Fair in New York, Toys “R” Us CEO Mike Goldstein met a number of his company’s vendors, including Eason. Their con- versation led to an enthusiastic request from Goldstein to see Eason’s research and products first-hand. Goldstein was impressed with her pre- sentation and her simple request for an equal chance to compete in the industry: He invited her to address a national meeting of all Toys “R” Us buyers. The audience found her demographic research compelling, leading to even more business with the retail giant. As revenues increased, Eason saw a chance to expand Olmec’s customer base. Letters and
- 10. phone calls from Asian-American and Hispanic parents showed they too wanted dolls and toys that resembled their children. Olmec introduced its first multi-ethnic line, Hip Hop Kids, which included African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and Caucasian dolls dressed in the lat- est fashions. In 1991, Mattel introduced Shani, a black fash- ion doll. Despite the new competition, Eason saw Mattel’s move as an important validation of the existing market she had been articulating for nearly seven years. She was confident that as a minority-owned business with market research experience, big toy companies would be more in- terested in partnering with Olmec than in rein- venting the wheel. As other industries followed suit, creating products for minority markets, Eason felt rewarded for her years of effort. Cementing a Spot in the Industry In order to broaden her product line, Eason designed a doll specifically for infants. However, when her research showed that parents preferred infant toys with recognized brand names, Eason partnered with Hasbro, introducing a line of eth- nic infant toys under their Playskool division. Eason worked hard to earn contracts from more big retailers, and her determina tion paid off. She labored for six years before Wal-Mart signed. It took ten years before Sears saw the trend. Said Eason, “My basic belief is that ‘No’ means ‘Not Now.’ It doesn’t mean ‘No.’ I’m willing to come back year after year because I
- 11. know there is a market for this.” In 1996, Olmec’s products were selling on the shelves of Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, Target, Kay-Bee Toys, J.C. Penney and Woolworth (Exhibit 2: re- tailer ad promoting Olmec). As the first minority-owned toy company to successfully offer a variety of “ethnically correct” products, Olmec established a unique position “She thought that working together with Toys “R” Us, we could not only sell more Olmec products, but enhance our image with African-American customers.” For the exclusive use of M. LEBRUN, 2015. This document is authorized for use only by MARIE A. LEBRUN in 2015. 3 Yla Eason (B) 9-996-055 in the market. But that would carry the company only so far. The defining factor in the toy business is the customer. Eason explained, To keep customers interested, Eason ensured that Olmec dolls wore the latest styles and that the com- pany continually introduced entire new lines of toys. One of the top-sellers in 1996 was the memory matching game, Black By Design, which taught chil- dren about the contributions made by African-
- 12. American inventors, including the traffic light, the air conditioner and the golf tee. Imani fashion dolls also sold well both domestically and abroad. In 1995, Eason moved the company’s headquar- ters to an Enterprise Zone in Richmond, Virginia. This allowed Olmec to qualify for low-interest loans and certain tax abatements, and provided the local community with some new job opportunities. An additional benefit, according to Eason, was the community’s pride in having a successful minor- ity-owned business nearby. Eason chose to locate Olmec’s showroom at the Toy Center in Manhattan. The display window overflowed with an array of toys and dolls in brightly-colored outfits. Sun-Man orbited just above Imani Crimp & Bead’s dreadlocks, while smiling Hispanic and Asian-American baby dolls looked out of the showroom windows. Olmec re- ported $5 million in sales in 1995. Increased inter- national outreach placed Olmec products on store shelves in six countries. Plans for Olmec’s future included additional partnerships with big toy companies, television advertising, further expansion overseas and prod- ucts for Asian-American and Hispanic customers. Through her business, Eason highlighted a market that had long been ignored, an achievement she shared with her long-time supporters and Olmec employees. “You’ve got to have a product that sells, and who are we selling to? The most fickle market around: children who
- 13. decide one minute they want something, and the next minute they don’t.” “I think Olmec has caused the industry to view the ethnic child as an individual and not just a version of another child. I think it has caused the industry to stop for a moment and say ‘Are there any special needs, aspirations or desires that this child may have when we have focused on the majority culture all these years?’” Companies like Olmec who have paid attention to the expanding minority market were well re- warded. According to Marlene Rossman, author of Multicultural Marketing (Amacom, 1994), the estimated spending power of African Americans in the mid-1990s totaled $300 billion. The purchas- ing power of Hispanics totaled $200 billion, and that figure was growing rapidly. For the exclusive use of M. LEBRUN, 2015. This document is authorized for use only by MARIE A. LEBRUN in 2015. Yla Eason (B) 9-996-055 Exhibit 1 4 Example of Imani Doll Promotion from Olmec Catalog For the exclusive use of M. LEBRUN, 2015.
- 14. This document is authorized for use only by MARIE A. LEBRUN in 2015. Yla Eason (B) 9-996-055 Exhibit 2 5 Ad Used in Toys “R” Us Ethnic Publicity Campaign For the exclusive use of M. LEBRUN, 2015. This document is authorized for use only by MARIE A. LEBRUN in 2015.