Cell Phone Use And Relevance To Students Major In Universities - Free Essay Example

According to the case study from the text book, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, (Scandura 252).   Lab126 which is Amazons private lab was given the task in 2009 to develop a new smart which is known as the, Fire Phone today. The case study also stated some features that were brought up during the initial conceptual phase for creating this phone. Such as double touch screens, using the phone as A USB drive, teleconferencing capabilities or infrared cameras. These ideas most likely came up during the, Team Decision Making Methods that the books mention. Brainstorming is one of the most common forms of team decision making (Scandura 237238). Brainstorming is a conference technique of solving specific problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, developing new ideas, etc., by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion (Dictionary.com, 2018). The number of ideas generated in the brainstorming process should be filtered by all the group members. After reviewing all these ideas thoroughly Amazon should have split the group into small teams, and according to their field of expertise they are responsible to explore more in-depth features. For instance, one team could have been focused on refining the idea of using the Fire Phone as a USB drive. It also can be very challenging to evaluate the teams success before placing the product on the market. Therefore, one way to see if this product would sell is to use focus groups to test the new ideas, and possible prototypes of the phone. Using focus groups would avoid and doubt or questions before placing this product on the market. Also, Amazon could have tested the new phone inside their corporation but use different employees not the ones that were involved in developing this product. Using your own employees would be an excellent source of feedback to evaluate the teams success before placing the phone on the market for consumers. As a leader of this highly technical team the best decision-making method for achieving the greatest result for the product would be the Consensus method. This method involves discussing ideas and deferring a final decision until everyone can say they have been heard and will support the final decision (Scandura 238). During this process, team members can convey with each other about other features that could be implemented as they progress forward as a team. The biggest factor in creating this product could be the different personalities of each individual member of the team. Even though, engineers are directed by theories, facts, testing a number in their technical field of expertise; their personality may trigger many conflicts inside the team as they may think that they are right and others wrong (Personailtymax.com,2016). Also, a leader or supervisor cannot be called all the time to resolve conflict, but when a serious issue comes up it must be taking care of immediately. Leadership should come in the play after discussing the problem and trying different methods to reach a solution. Sometimes though as a team or group an agreement cannot be reached and such prevents the team to progress forward. At this point a leader or supervisor needs to step up and make an executive decision and impose his/her authority to solve the conundrum. A important fact to remember when making a final decision as a leader you is to make sure you do undermine anyone on the team so to dont diminish the teams purpose.

Evaluating Unethical Decision Consequences Of An Organization

Evaluating Unethical Decision Consequences This paper provides an identification of potential means whereby Information Technology (IT) managers, acting on the organization’s behalf as purchase agents with IT vendors, participate in fraudulent activities. Further included are a series of recommendations for measures and actions that chief information officers or chief technology officers should consider as mandates to reduce fraud and other unethical practices while protecting the reputation of the organization, and the infrastructure of the computer systems of the organization. Finally, the paper elaborates regarding how these identified measures reduce the frequency of fraudulent activities. Identification of Potential Information†¦show more content†¦Identified Types of Fraudulent Activity At almost any stage, there is a potential for fraud occurring in the IT procurement process. Fraud activities may include a range of activities on the part of a fraudulent manager. As reported by the ACFE (2010), these fraudulent activities on the part of procurement managers potentially include various actions that negatively affect the organization. Accordingly, some identified types of fraudulent activities reported in the ACFE (2010) study included categories such as: selecting only information technology projects that provide higher return values with specifications tailored to limit competitive bidding, or instituted through abuse by the IT managers of confidentiality. Moreover, other potential fraudulent activity might include manipulations in the preparation stage of the contract resulting in limits to the submission of and evaluation relative to contract bids, as well as the potential for instances of false invoice and over-billing, or contract underperformance and an in ability to meet the contract specifications (ACFE, 2010). Consequently, as stated by the Office of the New York Comptroller (2010), procurement activities that involve corruption commonly fall into one of three general categories: †¢ Demand for payment occurs when an Information Technology Manager receives improper bribes or kickback from the customer, in exchange for

Correlation Between Consumption Of Cigarettes And Price

Interpretation of the Findings This study s framework was of a statistical nature. The researchers took statistical data from two different years and compared them against each other, with the only changing variable between the years was an increase in sales tax on tobacco products. The data that was collected indicated that there was a decrease in tobacco sales compared to the year before. Thus, validating the null hypothesis by showing a direct relationship between consumption of cigarettes and price. By looking at the observed ration of reduced consumption to increased price ( 12.1%: 30.2% = 0.40) we can estimate the price elasticity. This elasticity shows the responsiveness of the demand of the product versus its change in price. This ratio was an expected value and shows direct correlation to consumption of tobacco products and there price and is consistent with similar studies done on tax increases on tobacco (Amato, et al., (2015). Limitations However, this increase in taxes was the highest tax increase in a decade in Minnesota. This study was also limited in that it only looked at convenience stores only and was to one specific area. Even with the stated 63% of all cigarettes being bought in these stores it limits the study but not looking at all places where cigarettes are sold. It also limited the types of cigarettes purchased. This study only looked at three types of cigarette sells and do not include the purchase of cartons. Even-though cartonsShow MoreRelatedImposing Taxes on Cigarrettes May Be Beneficial Essay examples810 Words   |  4 Pages Cigarettes are not like normal goods since they for most of their users are addictions. The demand curve is therefore close to inelastic (See figure 1 and Perucic). This is again because customers are addicted to cigarettes and nicotine and will pay the extra money to continue to smoke them. 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Investment Analysis Report free essay sample

This implies that higher amount cash was tied up in operations in 2011. SECTION B I. Introduction This report analyses Majestic Wine plc as a potential investment in the proposed Stable Growth Fund. Majestic Wine is the largest retailer of wines in the UK with 166 stores and has 3 stores in France also. The company sells wines and spirits to both retail and business customers and business customers now account for about a quarter of total sales. It also has an online presence to generate sales. The company is listed on the AIM and had a market capitalisation of ? 264 million on 19th October 2011. II. Historical operating performance Majestic’s revenues increased in all of the last 4 years. The growth was aided by acquisition of a small business in France in early 2009. The increase in sales in the last two years is impressive and is partly due to opening of new stores. It also reflects company’s culture in training its retail staff to high standards so that they can provide knowledgeable and better service to individual customers. The profit margins of the business were stable in the last 5 years with an exception of 2009 when the company took a significant write-down on the value of its assets in France. The pre-tax profit and net profit margins were 7. 9% and 5. 5% respectively in the year ended March 2011. The near constant profit margins on increasing sales resulted in stable growth in earnings. The business was highly cash generative with net cash from operations of ? 17 million in 2011. This was achieved in spite of cash conversion cycle of 25 days. The high inventory days were compensated by lower debtor days as the retail customers pay immediately at the point of sales. III. Financial health The financial health of Majestic is very strong because of very low gearing. The total debt at 28th March 2011 was ? 5. 77 million ? 0. 87 million current debt and ? 4. 90 million long-term debt (Majestic annual report 2011, 2011, p. 29). This resulted in a debt-to-equity ratio of 8. 9% only, which is extremely low for a business with high proportion of tangible assets. The very low gearing also resulted in a very high interest cover ratio of 49 (? 20. 67 million / ? 0. 42 million). This shows that the company can easily meet its interest payments from operating profits. The current ratio was also marginally more than 1 in 2011 and hence bankruptcy concerns are extremely low. The reason for low gearing is that the business generates high amount of cash to invest in growth. In both 2010 and 2011, the net cash from operations was significantly higher than the cash used in investing and financing activities. IV. Opportunities and threats The company believes that it can increase its growth by doubling the number of stores in the UK after reduction in regulatory minimum purchases. Even if the number of stores is increased by 25%, this will significantly increase the number of customers. With only a very limited presence in France, international growth opportunities are also strong. However, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates may hamper growth and profits. Also, increased competition from superstores may limit the growth of the company along with worsening economic conditions. V. Share price performance Majestic’s share price increased every year in the last three years with a total gain of 198% in the period. It outperformed the overall market as the FTSE 100 Index increased by only 34% during the corresponding period. This demonstrates investors’ expectations of continued increase in profits as seen during the last five years. The company plans to double the number of stores because of reduction in minimum purchase requirements from 12 to 6 bottles (Preliminary results, 2011). The higher expectations are also reflected in company’s high P/E ratio. The high and predictive cash generative nature of the business also positively influences its share price, as investors prefer stable and growing businesses. However, the relatively high P/E ratio and sharp increase in share price over the last three years may limit future increases in the market value. VI. Valuation The net asset value and net tangible asset value per share are close to ? 1, which is almost one-quarter of the share price. However, the net asset prices do not reflect the value of company’s brand and its ability to generate high cash flows in the future. Analysts estimate earnings per share of 26 pence in March 2012, which indicates a forward P/E of 16, a reasonable ratio for a growing company. The dividend discount valuation method indicates that market price is at a 10% discount to the theoretical value. However, the rate of return based on CAPM was lower than the assumed constant growth in dividends. An average of CAPM rate and rate calculated using 2010/11 net profits and equity was used for calculating the price. The above valuations indicate that the market reasonably values the company. However, the share price may benefit as and when the company decides to move to the main exchange, as it will bring in more investors. The market valuation may also increase because the strong financial health and high cash generative nature of the business imply that the management has a scope to increase dividends or offer one-off high cash payment to shareholders. This will have a positive impact on the market value. VII. Conclusion