Category: Business and Management

Balanced Scorecard Analysis
– APPLE INC
This milestone activity corresponds to CLO12 and is
featured in the Final Assessment Project. Practice using a balanced scorecard
approach to analyzing strategic performance.
What do I want you to
do? 
Take a balanced scorecard approach to evaluating strategic performance by
assessing these dimensions of your selected company:
Safety – Has your
company recently been noted for loss of life related to its business? That
could include employee deaths, customer deaths, injuries, endangering
others, toxins, hazards, environmental destruction, or other
safety-related issues.
Quality – What is the
area in greatest need of improvement for your company in terms of
delivering value to the customer? In what ways might they be weak at
meeting customer needs, defective (other than ways already noted in the
safety section), or involved in scandal that harms its reputation?
Productivity – In what ways
might your company be more productive? Consider how it might use energy,
water, or materials more efficiently or how it might minimize waste and
implement a circular economy. Look for best practices in the industry to
surpass.
Cost – How might the
product or service be made more affordable? Lowering price can only work
if costs are lowered, but how might your company do that specifically? Do
you see any ways to simplify or make their product easier to purchase
without damaging quality (a higher-level priority)?
Human
Development – What is a way to improve the company’s employees’ professional or
personal lives that could make a meaningful difference beyond simply
giving them higher wages? (Remember, cost is a higher-level priority in
this design. That is not to say that you can never pay your employees more
or give them something that would cost the company, only that the value
provided to them should “balance” with other gains from it, such
as more productive workers since they are happy.)
For each of these dimensions, include at least one professional source or
unbiased news source related to the case.
Why do I want you to do
it? 
It is good to evaluate a company from a multidimensional approach and in
ways that other stakeholders can appreciate. That is a quality-based form of
strategic management. Often, this more operationally focused approach to
management can be a springboard to greater customer focus and a more favorable
orientation toward sustainability.
How do I want you to do
it? 
What format(s)
should the assessment be in? A short essay including the five sections
requested and list of citations in APA 7 format.
What tools or
resources might be needed/useful? See the examples provided in the module
and benchmark competitors to imitate best practices.
What to include in your
submission
Your assignment submission should include:
Balanced
Scorecard Analysis
Examples of Balanced Scorecards
Review these webpages for descriptions, pictures, and videos:
Creative Safety
Supply. (2018, March 22). What is QCDSM? https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/articles/what-is-qcdsm/
BPI. (n.d.).
SQDC. https://www.leansixsigmadefinition.com/glossary/sqdc-2/
Thelen, M.
(2020, March 16). Using SQDCM boards the right way for effective Gemba
walks. Isixsigma. https://www.isixsigma.com/methodology/kaizen/using-sqdcm-boards-the-right-way-for-effective-gemba-walks/
Alfra
Consulting. (2022). What is kaizen? https://www.alfraconsulting.eu/what-is-kaizen/
More theory about the concept:
Kaplan, R. S.,
& Norton, D. P. (1992, January-February). The balanced scorecard –
Measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1992/01/the-balanced-scorecard-measures-that-drive-performance-2
Balanced
Scorecard Institute. (2023). Balanced scorecard basics. https://balancedscorecard.org/bsc-basics-overview/
Tarver, E.
(2023, March 10). What is a balanced scorecard, how is it used in
business? https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/balancedscorecard.asp
American
Society for Quality. (2023). What is a balanced scorecard? https://asq.org/quality-resources/balanced-scorecard

Capital budgeting is utilized to determine if a project is worthwhile. The net present value (NPV), payback period, and internal rate of return (IRR) methods are used to rank and select which project to undertake. The following video outlines the NPV and IRR method of capital budgeting:
Net Present Value (NPV)
In this assignment, you are required to prepare a PowerPoint presentation reviewing 3 projects. You will calculate the NPV, IRR, and payback period for each project. Utilizing the capital budgeting calculations, you will need to select the best investment for the company. These calculations will be based on the following scenario:
AIU Industries has 3 potential projects to consider, all with an initial cost of $1,250,000. The company prefers to reject any project with a 4-year cut-off period for recapturing initial cash outflow. Given the cost of capital rates and the future cash flow for each project, determine which project the company should accept.
Cash Flow
Project A
Project I
Project U
Year 1 250,000 450,000 250,000
Year 2 250,000 450,000 400,000
Year 3 250,000 450,000 600,000
Year 4 250,000 450,000 800,000
Year 5 400,000 400,000 200,000
Year 6 400,000 400,000 800,000
Year 7 400,000 400,000 600,000
Year 8 400,000 400,000 200,000
Cost of Capital
4%
6%
8%
Please submit your assignment.
Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, you will need the following:
Title slide: Remember the running head. The title should be in all capitals.
Length: 15 slides minimum
Body slides: This begins on the slide following the title slide and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The typeface should be 12-pt. Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics, except as required for APA-level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your presentation for this assignment is 15 slides. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. A variety of academic sources is encouraged.
Reference slide: References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final slide of your presentation. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hanging indent, italics, and uppercase and lowercase usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember, the Reference slide is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation.
Please submit your assignment.
For assistance with

Monitoring and Controlling Projects
Subscribe
Considering all we have learned about project management, create a thoughtful yet concise post in a NEW THREAD for the following prompt:   In your own words, what is the main purpose of monitoring and controlling? Can a project really be “Controlled?”   Consider a project you have taken part in or research a real-life project. Describe the monitoring and controlling purpose in that particular project.

Capital budgeting is utilized to determine if a project is worthwhile. The net present value (NPV), payback period, and internal rate of return (IRR) methods are used to rank and select which project to undertake. The following video outlines the NPV and IRR method of capital budgeting:
Net Present Value (NPV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFFkFMfotT0
In this assignment, you are required to prepare a PowerPoint presentation reviewing 3 projects. You will calculate the NPV, IRR, and payback period for each project. Utilizing the capital budgeting calculations, you will need to select the best investment for the company. These calculations will be based on the following scenario:
AIU Industries has 3 potential projects to consider, all with an initial cost of $1,250,000. The company prefers to reject any project with a 4-year cut-off period for recapturing initial cash outflow. Given the cost of capital rates and the future cash flow for each project, determine which project the company should accept.
Cash Flow
Project A
Project I
Project U
Year 1 250,000 450,000 250,000
Year 2 250,000 450,000 400,000
Year 3 250,000 450,000 600,000
Year 4 250,000 450,000 800,000
Year 5 400,000 400,000 200,000
Year 6 400,000 400,000 800,000
Year 7 400,000 400,000 600,000
Year 8 400,000 400,000 200,000
Cost of Capital
4%
6%
8%
Please submit your assignment.
Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, you will need the following:
Title slide: Remember the running head. The title should be in all capitals.
Length: 15 slides minimum
Body slides: This begins on the slide following the title slide and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The typeface should be 12-pt. Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics, except as required for APA-level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your presentation for this assignment is 15 slides. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. A variety of academic sources is encouraged.
Reference slide: References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final slide of your presentation. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hanging indent, italics, and uppercase and lowercase usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember, the Reference slide is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation.
Please submit your assignment.
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.
Grading Rubric: Maximum 175 Points
Grading Criteria Points          
Deliverable requirements addressed; understanding of material and presenter’s message and intent are clear  70 points Followed assignment guidelines and criteria 35 pts Yes/Complete Mostly Not at all
Overall quality 35 pts Excellent Satisfactory Needs Improvement
Scholarly research that supports the presenter’s  position is properly acknowledged and cited, and direct quotations may not exceed 10% of the word count of the body of the assignment deliverable  45
points Title slide, agenda, tables, exhibits, appendices or reference slides included 25 pts Yes Partially Not at all
Content is original with less than 35% match 20 pts Yes 36–50% 51% or over
Critical thinking: Position is well-justified; there is logical flow and examples   20 points Position is justified with examples 10 pts Excellent Satisfactory Needs Improvement
Presentation flows logically 10 pts Excellent Satisfactory Needs Improvement
Structure: Includes introduction and conclusion slides, proper slide format, and reads as a polished, academic or professional presentation, as appropriate for the required assignment deliverable   10 points Includes introduction and conclusion slides 3.5 pts Excellent Satisfactory Needs Improvement
Slides are formatted properly with 5 lines of text 3.5 pts Excellent Satisfactory Needs Improvement
Reads as polished academic or professional presentation 3 pts Excellent Satisfactory Needs Improvement
Mechanical: No spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors  20 points Spelling and grammar are accurate 10 pts Yes Partially Not at all
Punctuation is accurate 10 pts Yes Partially Not at all
APA: Deliverable is cited properly according to the APA Publication Manual  10 points References are cited in accordance with APA formatting 5 pts Yes Partially Not at all
Reference slide is included 5 pts Yes Partially Not at all

Objective
To prepare a presentation of their business plans appropriate for presentations to investors or other key stakeholders
To select appropriate audiences for their business plan presentations
Description
Students will develop an effective business plan presentation that can be used with investors and other key stakeholders.
Instructions
Prepare a ten-to-fifteen-minute narrated presentation using PowerPoint to present your business ideas. Your plan should identify the intended audience and discuss the main points of your idea in a persuasive presentation. If you are having difficulty recording audio, you may include your notes on the PowerPoint Slides.
Your presentation should be engaging and easy to follow.
It should take your audience to the next step of understanding beyond your executive summary, but it does not need to cover your plan in the depth of your written business plan. Your slides should introduce your topics and subtopics, but they should not be so wordy that the slides become the presentation.
If possible and appropriate, include graphics that will engage the viewers and add to their understanding.
Examples might be pictures of your product, graphs illustrating your timelines, and charts of your financial figures.
The presentation should be about 10-15 minutes in length.
To ensure that you meet this requirement, you should practice making your presentation out loud and, preferably, in front of at least one other person.
Your presentation should include your speaking notes.
The best way to accomplish this is to add your narrative to the slides, assuming you are using a package like PowerPoint that permits this. If you choose this option, be certain that the audio is incorporated into slides. If it is not, the audio will not accompany the presentation file when you submit it.
Another way is to make a video of you doing your presentation live. If you choose either of these options, practice your presentation several times so that it sounds lively and is engaging.
Alternatively, you may add your speaking notes to the notes section of your presentation package or submit a text file with your notes for each slide.
Review the rubric for this assignment.
Evaluation and Feedback
Funding Source Presentation will be marked in its entirety out of 100. The following rubric indicates the criteria students are to adhere to, and their relative weights to the assignment overall.
Activity/Competencies Demonstrated % of Final Grade
a. Describe the funding source that will see your business plan presentation. /20
b. Review your draft plan, identifying those areas that will be of greatest concern to the viewers of your presentation. /20
c. Create slides of your presentation using PowerPoint or other presentation software and Include graphics, tables, and other illustrations which will visually communicate your message. /25
d. Describe your presentation in text in the notes section of your presentation, in an accompanying text document, or by adding audio to your presentation. /20
f. Demonstrate good organization, including a strong introduction and conclusion. /15
Total /100

Use this link for any research: https://irsc.libguides.com/c.php?g=824505
How important is understanding; demography, culture, ideology and history of people from
other countries when doing business there? An argument is that cultures are merging and all
people want what we have, our tastes have converged. Here are some universal products;
McDonalds, Calvin Klein Jeans, Apple Phones, Ray Ban sunglasses. Defend an argument for
converging or is the majority of our buying behavior local to our region etc.   

Instructions
Discuss how you would integrate ERP systems internal and external across your entire organization or an organization of your choice? Describe how you would structure the implementation of your ERP system using the project management framework. Then discuss the positive impact that an ERP will have on the organization that you work for or one of your choices especially the impact on operations and project management. Support your details with in-depth research.
Your assignment should be 5-7 pages in length, which does not include the cover sheet or reference page. Acceptable outside sources include at least three peer-reviewed journal articles besides your text. Your assignment should follow APA formatting.

Creating a Visually-Friendly Presentation
As part of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Team for your organization, you have been asked to prepare a presentation for your coworkers on the influence of cultural diversity in the workplace. Too often, in the workplace, we received the canned presentations and often taking an organizational perspective and not looking at things from the employee’s perspective. I encourage you to outline your assignment (as a tool, no need to submit) to help organize your points and guide your research. In weeks 1-3, we have covered a number of areas you may want to include. I encourage you to be creative in your approach, providing that perspective which will hold your audience attention and – at the end – are convinced this is something they need to take to heart. Some of the other points, besides what we addressed in our discussions, you might include: A meaningful understanding of cultural diversity
Key attributes of the cultural diversity within the workplace that can be easily observed.
Challenges associated managing and understanding a culturally diverse workplace. You might consider sharing how you would manage your own values of the diversity and culture of others within the workplace.
When you hear the number 285 million people – that is no small number. What this number represents is the number of people who are visually impaired in this world, some are corrected but others have left their vision uncorrected. If someone is not wearing corrective lenses does not mean they are not experiencing challenges with their eyesight. All of us can name at least one person who does not want to wear corrective lenses or needs to.
Some of the common visual impairments include low vision, color blindness, and dyslexia. Objects may be out of focus. For others colors may skew what they viewing, and inhibit them from distinguishing letters, colors, and objectives. Some of the colors that are difficult for some individuals to distinguish are red, green, yellow, and blue.
There are a few things you can do to make your design visually-friendly:
Choose a legible font. This include Sans Serif, Helvetica, Arial, and Verdana
Control brightness and contrast. As many of you have already heard me say – light background and use a dark text.
Limit animations and effect. Do not use spinning or wavy slide transitions.
Stay away from dark backgrounds and slide designs.
Here are some helpful links for you to develop visually-friendly presentations:

One of the first documents in a portfolio is your “About Me” Page.
This should be well –formatted, attractively presented one page document (Single Spaced) that introduces a reader to you the Writer. The purpose of the “About Me” Page is to invite the reader into who you are as a person – prior to discovering you as a writer.
Your About Me Page typically includes the following information:
Your Background: What is relevant and pertinent to getting to know who you are?
Your Present: What are you currently doing? How does this shape who you are today? What are your “education/ learning” philosophies?
Your Visions: What are your goals and ambitions?
you will submit your ONE Page “About Me” page that will be included in your final Portfolio
This page will come at the beginning of your Portfolio and is your professional introduction to the Reader. Find a Template that appeals to you & follow guidelines discussed in class. The Content will include the following: Your Name + title of your Choice (i.e your field/ your major/ your anticipated career: ie/ Interior Designer/ History Teacher/ Nurse Practioner) Photo
1-2 Paragraphs that Highlight information about you:
Who you are, what you are currently doing and where you are headed
What you are most passionate about
What you view are your strongest skill sets.
( name: Alexzandra Runyon)
Bussiness management I work at dog training facility for 10 years
started my own dog walking Bussiness for past 4 years
want to switch over to a career into sports management
just started shadowing for a sports agent this month. always on time, hardworking, disciplined,

PowerPoint Format
Cover page (does not count as a page)
Abstract (a brief summary of the presentation)
Introduction
Main Body/Text
Conclusion
Reference Page (does not count as a page)
Instructions:
Oral Presentation of research project:  The focus of the presentation is to explain your human resource topic of your choice from the textbook. This assignment will serve as your Final Research Assignment for BUS 314. 
Your case study assignments will serve as your written assignment for the course. (This is correct you will not complete a research paper for this course, your researched “Human Resources Topic” will be put into a PowerPoint Presentation.  
Each student will give a timed (5-10 minute) PowerPoint presentation, since your course is online you will need to provide voice narration and notes/comments for each slide. Each student will complete a 10 slide (minimum) PowerPoint presentation. 
Use the link to help create the voice narration in MS PowerPoint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxhxvg__zUQ
Research Project:  Each student will pick a human resource topic that really interests you and/or is related to your everyday work life, and write a research paper on this subject.  Your PowerPoint should include resources and supporting works that will support your human resources topic. The PowerPoint Presentation should be at least ten slides.
You will use voice narration to present this assignment, this is a requirement and points will deducted if your PowerPoint Presentation does not include voice narration and notes/comments for each slide.
PowerPoint Format
Cover page (does not count as a page)
Abstract (a brief summary of the presentation)
Introduction
Main Body/Text
Conclusion
Reference Page (does not count as a page)