Assignment

Module- SLP: Congruence Model of Organizational Behavior

The Module 3 SLP requires that you enter the same pricing data into the simulation as you did in SLP2. In SLP3 however, you will face new entrants into the industry (new competition).

Assignment

Go to the "Settings" page, and change the following:

1) Entry for New Competitors - On

2) Be sure to SAVE your change!

Now, input the SLP3 decisions:

1) Decision 1: For Years 2008-2012

a) Pricing - Manual
b) Module Price - $0.13
c) Revenue to Process Improvement - 5%
d) Years to Advance - 5 years

2) Decision 2: For Years 2013-2017

a) Pricing - Manual
b) Module Price - $0.11
c) Revenue to Process Improvement - 5%
d) Years to Advance - 5 years

3) Decision 3: For Years 2018-2022
a) Pricing - Manual
b) Module Price - $0.09
c) Revenue to Process Improvement - 5%
d) Years to Advance - 5 years

4) Decision 4: For Years 2023-2025
a) Pricing - Manual
b) Module Price - $0.08
c) Revenue to Process Improvement - 5%
d) Years to Advance - To end

Leave the process improvement percentage at 5%. Note that you will now need to monitor the market share and financial performance of new entrants entering the Solar Power industry (see the "Settings" page for definition of this concept).

Run the simulation once, keeping track of your pricing decisions and the outcome of each decision made (note market share of new entrants, profitability, etc).

Keys to the Assignment

The key aspects of this assignment that should be covered and taken into account in preparing your 5-6 page paper include:

1. Include discussion and analysis of key metrics at the end of each decision point (e.g., among other data, be sure to include total market share, revenue, cumulative profit, consumer net price, modular price, unit cost, etc.). As an MBA, it is your job to identify cause and effect!

2. For each decision point, be sure to include comparative tables that include what you believe to be the most important data. Don't merely recite the data, however - instead, analyze it! As an MBA, what does it tell you?

3. Using Excel, provide a comparative analysis of key data to demonstrate the differences between SLP2 and SLP3 results. It is your responsibility to determine which data (and which comparisons) are most salient.

4. Explain the significance of new entrants into the PV industry. What is the impact that new competitors have on your company's market share? Cumulative profitability? Cost to the consumer?

5. Make recommendations. What would you have done differently as it relates to pricing, process improvement, or other?

NOTE: The 5-6 page requirement includes written analysis and all supporting tables, figures, and graphics. However, it does not include Cover or Reference page. Be sure to adhere to the TUI Writing Guide for formatting of all papers. If you are unsure how to complete a financial analysis, please review the following sample report:

Gilbert O'Neil Mushure. (2014). Financial analysis report: Malaysia airlines 2007 - 2011. International Journal of Sciences : Basic and Applied Research, 14 (2), 148-153.

Also refer to the following source on business writing:

O'Hara, C. (2014, November 20). How to improve your business writing. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-improve-your-business-writing?utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweet

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated based on the Rubric.

Please note the following tips and suggestions:

• Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 5-6 pages of analysis described above.

• Include headings for all papers greater than two pages (basically all papers), but do not use headings as "space fillers."

• Cite and reference all sources that you use in your work, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes of more than five words, and citations for that information which you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.

Hints for success!

Throughout this SLP, you will be asked to make business decisions under conditions of incomplete information and uncertainty. To do so, you will need to make assumptions based on what you have learned throughout the MBA program about how markets operate. Thus, your strategies in approaching this decision need to rely on models, financial analysis, and theories from such classes as Economics, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Strategy, and Quantitative Analysis. In addition, the simulation will give you some additional market information as you progress.

Be sure to explicitly draw on concepts and theories from the courses you have taken throughout the MBA program. That means you need to "think like an MBA" and use the financial data you are given. You will have to crunch some numbers and present your data analysis professionally by creating some simple tables, charts and graphs.

Module- Background: Congruence Model of Organizational Behavior

The background reading for the Case in this module focuses on the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model. You will be using this model to complete the case.

David Nadler is the founder and CEO of Mercer Delta Consulting Group. An internationally recognized expert in organizational change, Nadler has written seven books and numerous articles for practicing managers. Michael Tushman is a Full Professor at the Harvard Business School. He has written or edited eight books and is widely published in academic and practitioner journals.

Required Reading

Nadler, D. A., & Tushman, M. L. (1980). A model for diagnosing organizational behavior. Organizational Dynamics, 9(2), 35-51. doi:10.1016/0090-2616(80)90039-X

According to the authors, "Our congruence model of organizational behavior is based on how well components fit together - that is the congruence among components; the effectiveness of this model is based on the quality of these ‘fits' or ‘congruence.' (p.39).
From the reading, you will note that there are four input categories. They are as follows:

1. Environment (factors external to the organization);
2. Resources (factors internal to the organization);
3. Organizational history (Persistent Traditions); and
4. Strategy (goals, objectives and strategic initiatives).

If the link to the article does not work, it is probably because your computer does not allow "cookies" which would let you connect directly to the library. In such a case, you will need to connect manually to the appropriate database.

At the same time, you will continue with the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model to assess an organization's outputs. Nadler and Tushman identify outputs as existing at the individual, group, and organizational level. They also emphasize the importance of identifying the outputs that the organization desires vs. what is actually achieved.

Outputs are not complicated to understand. At the Organization level, they are the products and services that are provided to its customers. (It can also be the value provided to its owners, but we are not going to consider this here.) The primary way that a company measures its performance is financially: Sales, Profit, Return on Sales (ROS), Return on Assets; and also via market share.

The organization is made up of various groups. One way to look at groups is by functional area: marketing, operations, purchasing, etc. Another way, if the company is large, is by its various divisions or by its product groupings. Here it becomes a little more complicated to measure performance, but it is possible by defining the goals and objectives of each group.

The bottom level of the organization is the individual. Each person has a job description and is responsible for specific outputs for that job. The main method of performance measurement here is individual productivity: Outputs/Inputs (e.g., widgets/hour, or reports/day). This is more difficult to quantify and for a specific company is difficult to obtain, since this data is not generally reported. Sometimes you can infer some individual measures, for example, by dividing Profit by the number of total employees, to get a measure of overall profitability per person.

Optional Reading

The following is an interesting, updated, and highly recommended peer-reviewed journal article relating to organizational diagnosis. Following is the Abstract:

Abstract:

Using an operational framework, the diagnostic funnel is introduced, which prescribes the appropriate actions of a process consultant in conducting an organizational diagnosis. The diagnostic funnel comprises the four actions of (a) selecting a general diagnostic model, (b) collecting data that minimizes bias, (c) analyzing the data to reduce the likelihood of error, and (d) deriving a unique diagnostic paradigm, specific to the organization under study. It is argued that the actions described by the diagnostic funnel will result in a diagnosis that achieves a high level of scientific rigor. To provide a detailed description of the diagnostic funnel, a case example of an organizational diagnosis is presented.

Gregory, B. T., Armenakis, A. A., Moates, K., Albritton, M., & Harris, S. G. (2007). Achieving scientific rigor in organizational diagnosis: An application of the diagnostic funnel. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice & Research, 59(2), 79-90. Retrieved from http://organized-change-consultancy.wikispaces.com/file/view/Diagnostic%20Funnel.pdf/113982643/Diagnostic%20Funnel.pdf

There are no reading assignments for the SLP

However, if you need a refresher on various theories (product life cycle, pricing, price elasticity, market saturation, product development, etc.) there are a multitude on the Internet.

Optional Review Materials

Once again, a small sample of Internet materials that may help you throughout the course can be accessed through the following links:

http://www.investopedia.com/university/ratios/#axzz2JNe7QCr3
http://www.sveiby.com/articles/IntangibleMethods.htm .

This can serve as a complement to previous course materials. You are encouraged to supplement this list if you need additional refreshers.