Exercise 1

College of Business (COB) assessment conducted sometime in the Fall 2015. I will provide instructions in class and discuss what you are supposed to do. There is NO make-up for this assignment as this is a college-wide assessment conducted by our COB Undergraduate Curriculum Committee in our COB capstone course-MGT 449.

Exercise 2

Investigate, research, and write-up a three-page analysis of an article about strategy reflected in action from a different article than used in Exercise 1. Describe how an organization's vision and objectives are indicated in its actions. Is there any connection between vision and objectives and action? Think-out-of-the-box--are organizations just doing things or is there a purpose, a plan of action, or a perspective that action is intended on fulfilling? Again provide citation of the article but NOT a copy of the article.

Exercise 3

Conduct a thorough book analysis using one of the recommended candidate books. What I want from you is a summarized report by chapter of what the author(s) said in the book.

Did the author(s) communicate their ideas very well? Do you believe that the ideas presented in your chosen book will impact you and your future place of employment? Do you believe that the book is too fluffy (i.e., not containing many concrete ideas or examples) or too stringent (i.e., too rigid in their ideas that the book seems preachy or arrogant). I would like your analysis to be at least five-to-seven pages in length.

The recommended candidate books are just that-a recommendation. If you have a different book that you want to use and applies to strategic management, then I would like you to get pre-approval from me. Book selections as approved by the instructor must be done by 9 September 2015.

Exercise 4

Based on your analysis in Exercise 3, you should have a good understanding of what the strategy, leadership or management book was about, who the intended audience was, and the implications the book suggested or provided. That being said, I am asking you to compare and contrast what was in the book you read to what was (or will be) taught in our MGT 449 course. First, tell me the three most important strategic issues that you see in the book that are relevant in MGT 449 course. Second, tell me why these issues are important for a firm, and you, today. Forecast what would happen to an organization if these issues were not addressed and resolved by the average firm or person. Finally, how do these issues relate to concepts discussed in other classes you have attended in the NMSU College of Business? Do you think the issues identified in your book are generalizable to all firms like profit, public, non-profit, and governmental agencies? Why or why not? What surprised you in this book and why? Your response to this exercise should be between seven-to-ten pages in length.