Discussion 1: "Diversification"

Please respond to the following:

• From the e-Activity, suggest one way the company you researched could increase its level of value-creating diversification. Provide specific examples to support your response.

• Building on the topic above, determine how diversified the company you research could become before it created a negative impact on the company's bottom line. Explain your rationale.

Discussion 2: "Victory Motorcycles"

Please respond to the following:

• From the e-Activity and the case study, evaluate the business-level strategy of Victory Motorcycles to determine whether you believe the strategy is appropriate to offset forces in the industry. Provide specific examples to support your response.

• Make recommendations for improving this strategy as well as describing any challenges you foresee in executing those recommendations. Provide specific examples to support your response.

Discussion 3: "Identifying Misleading Information in an Argument"

Please respond to the following:

• Consider the following argument: There are many arguments for the elimination or modification of current U. S. drug laws, but one of the most persuasive involves what negative effects drug laws are having on society in comparison with the effects of the drugs themselves. In the past ten years, most forms of drug use have dropped significantly, especially among teens. Despite this, non-violent drug offenders accounted for 21.1 percent of the federal prison population. First time drug offenders serve, on average, a sentence three months longer than kidnappers, nine months longer than burglars, and thirty-three months longer than sex abusers. In 1992, the average cost of keeping an inmate in either state or federal prison was about $20,000 per prisoner per year. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 455 prisoners per 100,000 population. It is maintaining these prisoners at great expense in an environment where they are unlikely to develop a socially constructive attitude. Perhaps it is time that we reconsider our attitudes toward those who choose to use drugs; failure to do so may cost society even more than it already has.

o Determine whether or not the argument uses any deceptive statistics. Give your opinion on whether or not the argument has persuaded you. Explain why or why not.

o Determine the primary ways in which statistics or authority are used in your current position in developing persuasive arguments, and provide examples of such use.