1 PORTFOLIO. MANAGING IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Using the concept of metacognitive knowledge (the learning processes, your beliefs about how you learn and how you think others learn; the task of learning and how you process information; and the strategies you develop and when you will use them), discuss how you would learn a new skill for your job in 6 months. Discuss each of the following areas in detail:  

· The learning process

· Tasks of learning

· The strategies that you will use to meet this goal.

The Portfolio entry should be a minimum of 400 words and not more than 750 words. Use APA citations and references if you use ideas from the readings or other sources.

2 DISCUSSION. MANAGING IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Discuss how cultural strategic thinking plays a part within your current organization or an organization that you are familiar with. What two specific cultural strategic thinking techniques have you observed within your team? Did you see evidence of Cultural Intelligence (CQ)? Using the article you read and your text discuss some of what you observed, both in terms of positives and deficits and discuss how CQ could have been improved.

3 WRITTEN. MANAGING IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

In Chapter 7 of your textbook, Cultural Intelligence for Leaders, please read Case Study 9: Faith and Health.  Please be sure to particularly address the following questions related to the case:

1. Using what you know about cultural intelligence, analyze the situation in terms of national, regional and individual levels.

2. For each of the five behaviors and needs outlined,  find a strategy, or strategies, to resolve the issues.  Utilize the basics of developing and practicing cultural strategic thinking within the Unit 2 reading.

3. Determine how the hospital can increase their cultural strategic thinking to ensure patients are addressed with care and compassion regardless of their individual culture and beliefs. 

Submit a 2-3 page paper, (independent of the title page and reference page) double-spaced in Times New Roman (or its equivalent) font which is no greater than 12 points in size. The paper should cite at least 1 additional source, independent of the textbook. Be sure to use APA format.

Cultural Intelligence for Leaders 

(

2012). Saylor Academy. Creative Commons by-nc-sa 3.0.

· Chapter 4

Earley, P. & Peterson, R (2004). The Elusive Cultural Chameleon: Cultural Intelligence as a New Approach to Intercultural Training for the Global Manager. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 3(1), 100-115. Available to download 

here

.

PLEASE ALWAYS INCLUDE CONCLUSION AT THE END OF EACH WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT,AND AT LEAST 3 REFERENCES. CITE YOUR SOURCES AND DO NOT COPY PASTE FROM THE INTERNET, OUR UNIVERSITY USE TURNITIN AS WELL AS CHECKS EVERY ASSIGNMENTS THROUGH DIFFERENT PLAGIARISM PROGRAMS.

1. Case Study: Conflicting Clients

Topic: Auditing (Confidentiality, Misrepresentation of Facts)

People Involved:

· Jennifer Grace, First year member of her CPA firm’s management group

· Tom Ward, CFO of Fantastic Developments, Inc., a client

While reviewing the current-year audit working papers of Coshocton National Bank (CNB), the engagement manager, Jennifer Grace, noted something curious. In the working papers related to loan valuation, Jennifer saw that the commercial loan of Fantastic Developments had been randomly selected for confirmation but that Fantastic had not responded to either the initial or second confirmation request. The audit staff disposed of this “loose end” by alternate procedures: examining cash collections (which had become somewhat sporadic) and vouching to underlying loan documentation, including a set of recent (unaudited) financial statements that showed Fantastic’s solid financial position and operating profitability.

Jennifer noted this reference to Fantastic Developments because this private company was also a client of her firm. In fact, Jennifer had served as the audit senior on the prior-year audit of Fantastic. She knew that the company had been struggling for a couple of years and had experienced recurring operating losses. Her knowledge of Fantastic did not reconcile with the discussion in the audit working papers related to the financial statements furnished to the bank.

When Jennifer contacted Fantastic’s CFO, Tom Ward, and inquired about the company’s apparently miraculous turnaround, he was noncommittal and unhelpful. Tom replied that business had picked up. He apologized for not calling Jennifer’s firm himself because he had been so busy, and then he told her that Fantastic had decided to engage another CPA firm for its accounting and auditing needs. Although confused, Jennifer obviously couldn’t reject the possibility that this abrupt dismissal was a direct consequence of her inquiry.

As a result, Jennifer wonders whether the financial statements which Fantastic furnished to the bank as a basis for a loan application are fraudulent. The bank apparently has no such suspicion, however.

_______________________________________________

Use the 

Instructions for Case Analyses

 to craft a response to this case, articulating the main issues and ethical dilemma.   Review the assessment criteria below before you begin writing. 

Submit a written paper which is 2-3 pages in length exclusive of reference page and that is double-spaced.  You should cite relevant resources in APA format. 

Papers will be assessed using the following criteria:

The Written assignment:

· identifies all the relevant facts of the case

· articulates overarching ethical issues including the extent of Jennifer’s responsibility to take action; how the interests of the firm (and stockholders) can be balanced against the environmental interests; what obligation the company has to future generations and citizens.

· identifies all stakeholders

· poses possible alternatives and ethics of each alternative.  Paper should explore the possible alternatives and ethics from the Utilitarian Perspective, the Rights Perspective, or the Justice Perspective

· identifies all practical constraints

· recommends a specific action Jennifer should take 

· is of high quality, writing is clear and professional

· conforms to the structural requirements including APA style guidelines for References.

2. Topic: Corporate Social Responsibility

Involved Parties:

· Bob, President

· John, Chemical Engineer

· Henry, Controller

· Kirk, Assistant Controller

Kirk is a bright individual who is being groomed for the Controller’s position in a medium-sized manufacturing firm. After his first year as Assistant Controller, the officers of the firm were starting to include him in major company functions. For instance, today he was attending the monthly financial statement summary given at a prestigious consulting firm. During the meeting, Kirk was intrigued at how all the financial data he had been accumulating was transformed by the consultant into revealing charts and graphs.

Kirk was generally optimistic about the session and the company’s future until the consultant started talking about the new manufacturing plant the company was adding to the current location and the costs per unit of the chemically plated products it produced. At that time, Bob (the President) and John (the chemical engineer) started talking about waste treatment and disposal problems. John mentioned that the current waste facilities were not adequate to handle the waste products that would be created by the “ultramodern” new plant in a manner that would meet the industry’s fairly high standards, although they could still comply with federal standards. Kirk’s boss, Henry, noted that the estimated cost per unit would be increased if the waste treatment facilities were upgraded according to recent industry standards.

While industry standards are presently more stringent than federal regulations, environmentalists are strongly pressuring for more stringent regulations at the federal level. Bob mentioned that since their closest competitor did not have the waste treatment facilities that already existed at their firm, he was not in favor of further expenditure in this area. Most managers at this meeting resoundingly agreed with Bob, and business continued on to another topic.

Kirk did not hear a word during the rest of the meeting. He kept wondering how the company could possibly have such a casual attitude toward the environment. Yet he did not know if, how, or when he could share his opinion. Soon he started reflecting on whether this was the right firm for him. What should Kirk do? Putting Corporate Responsibility first, but recognizing the politics at play, what is the most ethical thing to do? The most practical? What strategy would you suggest to Kirk if he came to you for advice?

Use the Instructions for Case Analyses to craft a response to this case, articulating the main issues and ethical dilemma.   Review the assessment criteria below before you begin writing. 

Submit a written paper which is 2-3-pages in length exclusive of reference page and that is double-spaced.  You should cite relevant resources in APA format. 

Papers will be assessed using the following criteria:
The Written assignment:
· identifies all the relevant facts of the case

· articulates overarching ethical issues including the extent of Kirk’s responsibility to take action; how the interests of the firm (and stockholders) can be balanced against the environmental interests; what obligation the company has to future generations and citizens.

· identifies all stakeholders
· poses possible alternatives and ethics of each alternative.  Paper should explore the possible alternatives and ethics from the Utilitarian Perspective, the Rights Perspective, or the Justice Perspective
· identifies all practical constraints

· recommends a specific action Kirk should take (may include leaving the company)

· is of high quality, writing is clear and professional
· conforms to the structural requirements including APA style guidelines for References.

3. DISCUSSION BOARD

Corporations often 

“vote with their feet” 

in terms of doing business where expenses are lowest and revenues are highest. Buying low and selling high is a basic economic formula for success that has motivated international trade in many ways over the centuries.  This is popularly discussed when governments consider tax policies and is also applicable when they also consider the less obvious factor of environmental protections laws. If Mexico has no ban on DDT (a pesticide used in agriculture) and the USA has banned the use (but not the manufacture) of DDT, should a corporation buy land in Mexico, import DDT from the USA, grow larger crops, and export them to the USA?

· What ethical duties does the corporation have to the workers in Mexico, the neighboring landowners, and the USA consumers about the potential dangers of using DDT?

· Is there an ethical duty of DDT manufactures related to their export of DDT to countries that do not ban its use as the USA does?

Your Discussion should be a minimum of 250 words in length and not more than 450 words. Please include a word count. Following the APA standard, use references and in-text citations for the textbook and any other sources.

4. DISCUSSION BOARD

As part of the structural decisions taken within the operations context, product and service design is a key element for organizations’ success. Today, many companies promote more creative, collaborative and value-added oriented design processes in order to better respond to customer needs. This approach is known as design thinking.

First, view the following video:

Brown, T. (2009). Designers—think big! TED. [Video File]. Retrieved from:

Then: read the article:

Yen, S. (2014). How Design Thinking Drives Competitive Advantage. Forbes. Retrieved from:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2014/08/11/how-design-thinking-drives-competitive-advantage/#7c1f8eaa7a53

Do you agree that simplicity is nowadays a key competitive advantage? Explain why or why not.

What other factors do you consider relevant for adding value to customers?

Share some experiences about technology products or services that have added value to you as a customer?