Part -1:

Read Assessing Procter and Gamble's Acquisition of Gillette.

Write a 5 page paper (1500 or more words) in APA format in response to the questions listed below:

- What kind of M&A event is the story describing? (Is a horizontal/vertical merger, consolidation, or other kind of event?) How do you know? Be sure to justify your response.
- Part of the M&A event required both companies to divest assets. Why would a government regulator force them to divest certain assets as to approve an M&A event? (Hint: This requires TWO chapters.)
- Given forced divestiture, why do you think the M&A event occurred? What did the companies, boards, and shareholders gain by selling off segments and committing to the M&A event? What was in it for them?
- After reading the story, do you think people got what they wanted out of the M&A event? (Consider management, shareholders, and other people in the story!)
- What is your opinion of the survivor and can you propose measures before and after the M&A event as to gauge whether the M&A effort was worthwhile?

Part -2:

Read case study on Integrating Supply Chains: Coty Cosmetics Integrates Unilever Cosmetics International.

Write a 5 page paper (1500 or more words) in APA format in response to the questions listed below:
- What were the incentives on addressing customer-facing aspects first?
- What were the drawbacks on addressing customer-facing aspects first?
- What would you have recommended and why?

(Note: Do not include references that are not cited in the text of your paper)

Part -3:

Read Panda Ethanol Goes Public in a Shell Corporation.

Write a 5 page paper (1500 or more words) in APA format in response to the questions listed below:
- What are the pro and cons of a reverse merger (RM)?
- Why would a company reverse split (RS) a stock? (Think of three reasons.)
- After learning about the RM and RS, do you think shareholders received consideration for their investments? (Did they get something out their ownership? Did they profit? Were they washed out?)

Part- 4:

Read The General Motors' Bankruptcy-The Largest Government-Sponsored Bailout in U.S. History.

Write a 5 page paper (1500 or more words) in APA format in response to the questions listed below:

- Previous chapters indicated that M&A activity (even government sponsored ones) should try to preserve and provide jobs for the community. In your opinion, did the creation of the New GM save or create jobs? Why or why not?
- The US government behaved as a DIP financier. What is a DIP financing package and is it a responsible/ethical use of public funds? (Check the video for the discussion for hints about DIPs.)
- Why was a 363 sale used? Was it the logical choice? (There is a lot of debate on this topic.)
- Has GM been a successful restructuring? Why or why not?

Part -5:

Read Sara Lee Attempts to Create Value through Restructuring.

Write a 5 page paper (1500 or more words) in APA format in response to the questions listed below:

- Sara Lee is often considered one of the worst managed companies in existence. A sign of their underperformance is their dividend growth rate. If you were a shareholder that weathered all the divestitures, restructuring and other events, would have considered them a success? Keep in mind that you care about stock price and dividends when investing in a big board company.
- The Hanes spinoff realized profit for those who were able to get shares while being shareholders in Sara Lee. But were the gains enough to offset your holding and decrease in dividends from Sara Lee stock? (This is a bit subjective.)
- The divestitures mentioned in the story would make most shareholders scream in anger as the company gutted itself. Despite the billions obtained from divesting activities, did that cash help streamline Sara Lee?
- Now it is time for your opinion-would you have invested in Sara Lee and held through the restructuring, divesting, and spinoff? Why or why not?

Part -6:

Read the case on Overcoming Political Risk in Cross-Border Transactions:

China's CNOOC Invests in Chesapeake Energy.

Write a 5 page paper (1500 or more words) in APA format in response to the questions on page 689.

Part -7:

Assignment: The Research Paper

Create a 12-page argumentative/persuasive research paper given one of the following options:

Option 1. Argue for or against an established theory.
Option 2. Argue for or against your own theory.
Option 3. Argue for or against a business decision, organizational plan, business philosophy, policy decision, or concept related to the class.

The paper should cite approximately eight peer reviewed full text journal articles retrieved from ProQuest, BE & T, InfoTrac, and Academic OneFile. Your paper should integrate at least the following elements:

- The presentation of a firm position regarding your stance or theory.
- An offering of a strong position using evidence-based argumentation.
- An address of opposing points as to present a well-rounded argument controlling personal biases and strengthening your argument while diminishing the opposition's points.
- An effort to use evidence and argument flow as to instill a sense of trust into your reader.

Do you feel stuck while planning your argument? If so, then try jumpstarting the assignment by using the following steps:

1. Choose a stance you believe in and write down why you believe in the stance.
- Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who is my audience and which points will they be interested in?
- What kind of tone am I assuming for my argument?
- Does my tone match the audience? (If not, consider changing your tone.)
- Am I engaging in a fallacy or illogical stance? (Make sure you make sense or no one will believe you!)
- Would someone agree or disagree with me given my points? (Argue with yourself as to find the strengths and weaknesses of your stance.)
- Am I making a moral or cultural argument? (If so, you may need to reconsider a stance able to utilize scholarly literature.)
- Can I research my stance? (If not, you may need to consider a new stance.)

2. Research as to find the evidence needed to support your stance or theory. Seek the needed facts, quotes, and existing research you can use for your argument

3. Outline and write the essay starting with the evidence-supported defense of your points and slowly transition into an address of opposing points.

4. Provide a brief summary of the argument as to conclude the essay.