Questions and Answers of Contemporary business

What are the two time-related production processes?
Could a reduction in the weight of an airplane from 3D-printed parts also translate to a reduction in the cost of fuel and, ultimately, airline fares? Discuss the future impact of 3D-printing
Choose two firms to compare using information from their annual reports, which can be typically found on their website. One firm should provide a good benchmarking opportunity for its production
List some of the reasons businesses invest in robots.
What are some of the ways 3D printers are serving the consumer market? When do you foresee the routine use of 3D printers in the home?
How can retailers that sell supplements increase transparency and regain the trust of their customers?
What are the major benefits of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)?
Are GNC’s rigorous quality control procedures enough to convince consumers that the dietary supplements they’ve been purchasing do not contain contaminants and are now labelled accurately? Why or
How does an environmental impact study influence the location decision?
How could Toyota’s competitors draw from kaizen to gain efficiencies in their supply chain management?
What human factors are relevant to the location decision?
What problems might a manufacturing firm face when trying to implement and use the just-in-time systems successfully used at Toyota?
How must employees’ concerns fit in with production tinkering at Toyota?
Given the bad news from Consumer Reports, what customer relationship management initiatives would you suggest Toyota undertake?
What is the difference between a traditional manufacturing structure and a team-based structure?
What five steps are involved in controlling the production process?
What factors affect the make, buy, or lease decision?
Toyota has to face the same quality challenges that its North American competitors (GM, Chrysler, and Ford) have been facing. Do some investigation on how automobile manufacturers are incorporating
Empowerment is having the power and authority to make decisions. For this project, the teacher steps back and allows the class to plan and carry out a day of classes. The students might appoint a
The Web site Teampedia is “a collaborative encyclopedia of free team-building activities, free icebreakers, teamwork resources, and tools for teams that anyone can edit!” You want to select a
What might be lost when it comes to employee engagement when using social collaboration tools? What might be gained?
How can managers empower employees?
Divide the class into teams of relatively equal size. Each team can select one of the following two problems to solve or use another problem: arranging for a speaker or expanding the vegetarian menu
Assume you would like to improve your business letter-writing ability. Using a search engine, such as Google or Bing, search the Web for sites with tips and suggestions to improve letter-writing
Social collaboration tools allow multiple streams of information and multiple users to be updated at the same time on an ongoing basis. Discuss the impact of real-time updates to multiple users,
How do employee share ownership plan and stock options reward employees and encourage empowerment?
Try this listening exercise with a partner. First, spend a few minutes writing a paragraph or two about the most important thing that happened to you this week. Second, read your paragraph out loud
Visit the website of ESOP Association Canada (www.esopcanada.ca). Click on “About ESOPs.” Print out the material and bring it to class to participate in a class discussion on employee share
Reflect back on the COVID-19 pandemic. Did you need to work or attend classes virtually without ever meeting co-workers or classmates face to face? In what ways did you build trust or manage
On your own or with a classmate, visit your school’s library, a mall, or anywhere that people gather. Take 10 or 15 minutes to observe the nonverbal cues that people give each other: Does the
“It is a well-known fact that people who are members of virtual teams can suffer from isolation and a lack of personal interactions.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Describe
Choose a company you are familiar, or whose products you use. Research the company’s products and its socially responsible and sustainability initiatives (e.g., see whether the firm has set a goal
Discuss situations in which you have witnessed gender or cultural bias at work or at school. What could have been done to prevent the situation?
Explain team level and team diversity.
Provide specific examples of what Sandberg refers to when she says that we need the talents of the entire labour force and not just half. What other solutions can you propose for companies to deal
Discuss the ways companies can provide incentives to employees and customers for innovative and cost-saving ideas. Should Starbucks have a similar incentive as part of its My Starbucks Idea program?
Can you think of other ways Starbucks can listen to customer feedback and suggestions while also engaging them?
How does cohesiveness affect teams?
What is a team norm?
Does the Ritz-Carlton work environment sound like the type of place you would like to work? Why or why not?
What is cognitive conflict, and how does it affect teams?
What is the role of external communication? Why is it so important to companies?
In an environment that acknowledges mistakes and encourages open communication, discuss the types of risks a team member might take to accommodate a guest.
Explain affective conflict and its impact on teams.
Discuss how the same openness that can increase innovation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing in an open office environment can also undermine it.
What is the difference between communication in low-context and high-context cultures?
How do you think COVID-19 has affected or will affect workplace design? What types of features might employees demand in co-shared work environments?
In the context of the communication process, what is noise?
Define the four common listening behaviours.
What is external communication?
What is the first thing a company should do when a public crisis occurs?
IKEA continually looks for ways to get the most out of the wood it uses by designing products that minimize the amount of wood needed while increasing manufacturing efficiencies. What do you think
Imagine that you recently became the owner of a popular ice cream shop. You want to attract more customers and expand the business. What type of production process—continuous or intermittent—is
Go to the Web sites listed below to learn more about just-in-time inventory management systems. Make some notes on what you learned and bring them to class to participate in a class
What is mass production?
IKEA’s suppliers must comply with the company’s forestry standard to ensure that wood has not been grown or harvested in a way that harms the environment. How can this practice be applied to
On your own or with a classmate, imagine that you’ve been hired to help a business group design a shopping mall. Using the location factors discussed in the chapter, recommend where the mall should
Using an Internet news service, such as Google news http://news.google.com or Yahoo! news http://news.yahoo.com, search for news about a recent decision on a plant location. An example is Toyota’s
How does this business boom in Mexico impact the future of autoworkers in the United States and Canada?
What is the difference between flexible production and customer-driven production?
On your own or with a classmate, select one of the following businesses and sketch out or describe the layout that would be best for attracting and serving customers:a. A Mexican restaurantb. A home
Visit the Web site of the International Organization for Standardization http://www.iso.org. Click on “standards development” and then “processes and procedures.” What are some of the
What are the two main production systems?
What opportunities does globalization create for today’s entrepreneurs?
With its goal of becoming more like a software company, how might GE, a century-old company with over 300,000 employees, embrace a cultural shift within its organization?
Identify the educational factors that help expand current opportunities for entrepreneurs.
How should EA be reorganized to deal with its new plan?
Should EA include partnerships with other firms or organizations in its new plan?
Casper Mattress has turned the mundane activity of buying a mattress into a conversation on social media. Company co-founders are basking in the unexpected free publicity. Discuss how traditional
How do entrepreneurs create new businesses?
Interview an entrepreneur. You can do the interview in person, by e-mail, or by phone. The person can be a local shop or restaurant owner, a hair salon owner, a pet groomer, a consultant—any field
American Express has established something it calls “Open Forum” to allow entrepreneurs and small business owners to communicate with one another and share ideas. Visit the Open Forum Web site
Casper wants to expand past the bed-in-a-box idea and become a sleep lifestyle brand. Discuss steps the company might take to continue catering to the needs of its targeted demographic.
How do entrepreneurs differ from managers?
Certain demographic trends can represent opportunities for entrepreneurs—the aging of the North American population, the increasing diversity of the population, the growth in population of some
Venture capital firms are an important source of financing for entrepreneurs. Most actively solicit funding proposals. Go to the Web site shown below to learn more about venture capital. What are
List and discuss additional ethical issues facing entrepreneurs.
What is the difference between a classic entrepreneur and a serial entrepreneur?
Review the eight characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Which characteristics do you have? Do you think you would be a good entrepreneur? Why or why not? Create an outline of the traits you
Visit the Web site of Entrepreneur magazine and click on “Starting a Business.” How should you go about researching a business idea? What are the steps involved in getting a product to
Are ethical dilemmas faced by entrepreneurs more difficult to manage than those faced by others? Why or why not?
Describe a social entrepreneur.
Many entrepreneurs turn a hobby or an area of interest into a business idea. Others get their ideas from situations or daily problems when they believe they have a solution—or a better solution
Discuss ways Bakaya can partner with other recyclers across North America. How might the recycling opportunities differ based on location?
What are the four main reasons people choose to become entrepreneurs?
Enterprise zones are designed to revitalize economically distressed areas. Choose an area you are familiar with. It may be as close as a local neighbor-hood, or as far away as a city, where you might
If you had a clean tech idea, how would you go about gaining visibility and establishing relationships within the industry?
What is a lifestyle entrepreneur?
A central theme in the business startup environment is striking it rich. How might large companies deal with this issue when they create startup organizations within their organizational structure?
Describe Bruce Poon Tip’s personality? How does his personality influence the company’s culture and its core values?
Describe current demographic trends that suggest new goods and services for entrepreneurial businesses.
Describe how Poon Tip’s personality has had an influence on his company’s success.
What is meant by an entrepreneur’s vision?
What is intrapreneurship? How does it differ from entrepreneurship?
In what specific ways does G Adventures’ low staff turnover directly impact the organization’s revenue and profits?
Why is it important for an entrepreneur to have a high energy level and a strong need for achievement?
What type of customer does G Adventures most appeal to? Do you think this focus would have an effect on its potential to broaden and diversify its user base?
How do entrepreneurs generally feel about the possibility of failure?
How might another company—one that is having difficulty retaining its employees—draw from G Adventures’ approach to develop a company “personality” that is as equally engaging?
What are the two most important considerations in choosing an idea for a new business?

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