Essay #1
After a long job search, you find a position within a human resources department. One of your duties is to monitor a recently consolidated workforce resulting from a merger between Company A and Company B. After observing the consolidated workforce, you noticed some of the employees are having difficulties adjusting their patterns of behavior as to operate within the newly formed company. Using Lewin's framework, make two suggestions for change as to help employees adjust to their new positions and manifest the needed behaviors. Justify your suggestions.
Essay #2
After years of hard work and dedication, you find yourself as a CEO of a grocery chain-FoodMart. FoodMart has 35 stores operating along the east cost of the United States. The chain is established, very profitable, and operating as expected. To your surprise, one of the produce suppliers calls your office with a chance to purchase the supplier and integrate it into FoodMart!
After thoughtful and fair negotiations, FoodMart acquires the supplier and integrates it into FoodMart. The result is a new division of FoodMart called VegSmart. Thus, FoodMart is also its own supplier.
Comment upon the acquisition from the perspective of product and institutional relatedness. Did the CEO make the correct decision? Why or why not? Justify your answer with evidence from other merger or acquisition events.
Essay #3
Importing countries may use tariffs as a retaliatory measure against other nations as to ensure freely trading and efficient markets. However, are such uses of tariffs deemed as justifiable? Support your position using examples from literature and world events.
Essay #4
Upon graduation, you are hired as an analyst for small private mutual fund. One day, while having lunch with the fund managers, they ask you for an opinion about XYZ, a small technology company. Being a keen observer of the market, you have deduced that the expected rate of return for XYZ's stock should be about 9.5% given a beta greater than 2. You also noticed the risk-free rate of capital tends to approximately 7.2% given the market expected return rate between 8%-9%.
Although you are unable to give exact values for rates of return, the manager asks whether you believe XYZ's stock is a poor investment. What do you tell the manager? (Be sure to use the CAPM model in your argument as to support your claim.)
Essay #5
The multiple uses of the technology S-curve model include at least the following: (a) the ability to identify a relationship between effort and performance improvement; (b) determine a performance threshold at which a firm should consider redistributing resources into emerging technologies; and (c) patterns of predictable behaviors within technology cycles. Identify a new technology and argue for the use of the technology S-curve model as to understand (a)-(c) during policy and marketing decisions.