Reference no: EM133187470
1. Toyota executives did a calculation about how much money they spent on steel sheets from Nucor Corporation over the last ten years. The expenditure on steel sheets was indeed a significant recurring cost to Toyota. So, Toyota has decided to build their own steel plant. Our Assistant Professor, Olena Dovzhenko, declares that this is a totally bad idea for many reasons, the main one, in her view, is the problem of capacity matching. Now, you explain clearly and fully how indeed Assistant Professor, Olenko, could be correct.
2. Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001. General Electric had been a conglomerate since the 1960's. Jack Welch and his executive team at the corporate office would insist that their divisions (such as jet engines division, power generation division, medical equipment division, and others) must be the No. 1 or No. 2 in their industries or else they would be sold off. Also, Jack Welch and his executive team would insist that the divisions must attain a return on investment of 18% per annum or else .... To what specific topic in Chapter 8 of your textbook would these matters relate? A brief explanation would be in order.
3. If a bank or an insurance company were to simplify matters for frontline employees (all College and University graduates!) with the stipulation of just one rule to be followed in the conduct of their daily business operations, which is to say, Use Your Judgment at All Times, would this be a good idea? Please present a well-articulated answer that reflects a comprehensive understanding of your textbook's exposition on the matter of executing strategy.
4. Our Assistant Professor, Vincent Kwan, has been making elaborate notes in preparation for this Test. One entry in his notes reads as follows. "Hourly compensation for manufacturing workers in 2016 averaged about $3.27 in India, $2.06 in the Philippines, $3.60 in China, $3.91 in Mexico, $9.82 in Taiwan, $8.60 in Hungary, $7.98 in Brazil, $10.96 in Portugal, $22.98 in South Korea, $23.67 in New Zealand, $24.46 in Japan, $30.08 in Canada, $39.03 in the United States, $43.18 in Germany, and $60.36 in Switzerland". Professor Vincent shared his notes with another colleague last night, and that very knowledgeable colleague told Prof. Vincent that he was just wasting his time as that entry in his notes bears no relevance to the Test. What is your opinion on this matter? Please elaborate upon your answer fully and clearly.
5. If the totality of management (for all managers in a corporation) is captured by the classic formulation of POLC, (a) In which very specific element of POLC is the matter of corporate culture located and why do you think that your answer is indeed correct? (b) How many specific dimensions of corporate culture are stipulated in your textbook? In this regard, please state one memorable point about John Mackey of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (c) What specific and better diagnostic tool could be utilized to discover the corporate culture of a given and well-established corporation? Please present your answers in separate paragraphs, with suitable headings.
6. According to the authors of the 2022 book, CEO Excellence, "Microsoft's Satya Nadella ... instructs his board members: 'Your job is to pass judgment on my judgment. That's what your job really is. So, don't go around thinking you're going to somehow understand everything that we're doing'." (a) How do you evaluate what Satya Nadella said, as a student of this course, MGMT 702? (b) Then, which one of the many actions identified in Chapter 9 (the pdf chapter) that, if pursued, might enable Microsoft board members to counteract the stance taken by Satya Nadella? And do explain why you think that your answer to the latter question is very correct