For the purpose of this assignment, each student must choose one of the following Strategic Management (SM) concepts:

1000 Words

I have attached a powerpoint briefly explaining the meaning of each strategy (CHOOSE ONE)

I recommend scenario planning!

• Strategic Groups and Strategic Group Mapping
• Scenario Planning
• Best Cost Provider Strategy

• Refer to the textbook and lecture notes to clarify the exact meaning of the chosen by you Concept. How do we (or your text) define the Concept? Please, note that using random Internet sources for the purpose of this initial task can potentially lead you in a very wrong direction, so avoid doing this. Instead, use the seminal literature on this topic to clarify and expand on the meaning of the concept. Seminal literature consists of books or academic articles published in high quality journals some time ago. These seminal publications have proposed and outlined the concept for a first time. For example, The Concept of the 5 Forces Analysis was proposed by Michael Porter in his article “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy”, Harvard Business Review, March/April 1979.
• If unsure about the seminal literature related to the Concept, please consult with your Tutor. You need to locate and read these seminal articles and to present a more augmented, and thorough view of the Concept in your paper. This will involves some literature search. While reading the seminal literature, make sure you understand why the concept is an important part of SM and how it is related to the SM process, where does it fit within this process? To which other important SM concepts does the Concept relate and how? (200 words)
• After clarifying the exact meaning and the origin of the Concept, search the electronic databases in ACU Electronic library (e.g. Business Source Complete, Emerald, ProQuest ABI/Inform, etc.) using your Concept as a search term. This will provide you with a large number of entries (articles). Choose several of these using the following selection criteria:
  • Quality of the journal that published the article. Only the best journals should be used, please check the list of recommended journals in your Unit Outline;
  • Date of publication: the article has to have been published in the last 4-5 years; if there are no suitable articles published recently (i.e. in the last 4-5 years), search literature published up to 8-9-12 and even more years ago.
  • The articles should be peer-reviewed, this means that low quality sources, such as trade journals, are totally unsuitable for the purposes of this assignment;
  • The nature of the article – use your judgement of whether or not the article is helpful in providing recent thinking and new insight about the concept, criticism of the concept, new linkages with other SM concepts, new views about its usefulness, or its new applications in SM.
• Finally, you need to write your essay incorporating the new knowledge derived from your research. That is, you need to show how the original concept has evolved over time and to indicate clearly in what ways it has evolved, what new extensions, developments, applications and criticism of the concept have been proposed recently, synthesising all this into a very carefully composed essay. This will take you some time, as you will need to write a couple of drafts before you end up with a clear, interesting, insightful and useful discussion about the new developments in the Concept. (600-700 words).
• To finish the paper, please provide a conclusion, which needs to summaries the main findings of your research and outline why the content of the paper is important for scholars of SM. (100 words).
• Structure of the assignment:
  • Introduction
  • Body of the essay
    • Clarify the meaning and origin of the concept (discerned from the seminal literature)
    • Provide a discussion of recent developments in academic thought related to your chosen Concept.
  • Conclusion
  • Type thewordcount
  • Ref. list, arranging the references in alphabetical order; using Harvard referencing style

All you need is 5-8 carefully selected articles of this type, to provide you with material, which you will then analyse, in order to identify how it relates to your concept and you will then synthesise the new insight on the concept, derived from these articles. If you aim to obtain a D/HD, then more articles (e.g.10-12) should be analysed and discussed.

BELOW I HAVE ATTACHED RESOURCES

Please at least have one or two references from the text – Strategic management;an integrated approach, 12th edn by Hill,CWL, schilling,M &Jones

• What is Strategic Management and Strategic Management Process?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD7WSLeQtVw

What is a fixed variable expense?

a cost that stays the same each month

a cost that you do not have to pay each month

a cost that you pay every month but the price can change from month to month

a cost that changes from week to week, but you do not have to pay

What’s a good way to reduce food costs?

buying items on sale

making a shopping list and sticking to it

making sure you go to the store on a full stomach

all of the above

Which of the following types of accounts should you not put money into that is being saved for a down payment on a house?

CD

savings account

stock market account

interest bearing account

Which of the following would typically not be considered a financial emergency?

car repair

emergency medical bill

losing your job

buying a new outfit for prom

Mr. France was just laid off from his job. Which of the following positions should he be in if he was prepared for a financial emergency?

all of his credit cards are maxed out

he is late on all of his monthly bill payments

he is getting calls from his mortgage company due to not paying his mortgage

he is using savings to temporarily pay for his necessary costs

Which of the following is the best way to prepare for a financial emergency?

Donating a percentage of your paycheck to your favorite charity each month.

Investing a percentage of your paycheck in the stock market each month

Depositing a percentage of your paycheck into an interest-bearing savings account each month

Using credit cards so that you can save your paycheck

What is not an example of a spending mistake?

Paying only the minimum payments on your credit card each month.

Spending more than you make.

Paying all of your bills on time.

Paying your cable bill late.

In which of the following scenarios would it typically be best to use your savings?

Paying for a financial emergency

Buying a new pair of shoes at the mall

Paying your cable bill

Paying your electric bill.

What is the typical error rate with scanners at the store?

55%

65%

5 or 6%

0%

What do companies do to try to market to teenagers?

Place newspaper ads for their products

try to establish their brand as “cool”

place their product on the bottom shelf in the grocery store

use musicians from the 1960s in their commercials

What kind of chart is a nice way to show how you should spend/distribute your income?

bar graph

pie chart

histogram

line graph

If Joe wants to spend 35% of his income on rent, what percentage of income will he be able to spend on other things?

65%

35%

100%

20%

When saving money is considered a flexible expense for someone who does not budget for savings, what typically happens?

They are not adequately prepared for financial emergencies

They do not accumulate any wealth

They do not build financial security

all of the above

The Jones family is trying to buy a new home. Which of the following would be something you would recommend for them to do?

Make saving money a priority

Invest their down payment money in the stock market

Consider savings an inconvenience

none of the above

Match each of the following words to its description.

Fixed expense

Fixed variable expense

Financial emergency

Savings

Income

Compensation

Short Term Debt

Long Term Debt

Good Debt

Bad Debt

A. An unplanned expense

B. Money received from a job

C. Synonym for income or earnings

D. Money set aside for future expenses

E. Expense that is the same from month to month

F. Debt that will help build wealth

G. Debt that is paid in full in a time period longer than one year

H.Debt that is created from things you have already consumed

I.Cost that you must pay each month but the amount can differ i.e. electric bill

J.Debt that is paid back in full within one year

One way to get out of a financial emergency is to not pay your bills and move to another state.

True

False

It is best to always have savings available.

True

False

If you went to the bank today, which type of checking account would be the most useful for you?

joint checking account

interest-bearing account

student checking account

none of the above

If you are saving money for college and plan to start attending in 5 years, which account would you most likely put your money into?

Savings Account

Money Market Account

Checking Account

CD

If you never use the ATM and wanted a higher interest rate on your savings account, where would you open a savings account?

National or Regional Bank

Credit Union

If you travel a lot for work and use cash to pay for most purchases, which type of financial institution would you probably have your account at?

National or Regional Bank

Credit Union

One financial institution is offering a 6% interest rate on home mortgages while another institution is offering a 4% interest rate on home mortgages. Out of the two financial institutions, which offer would the bank probably be offering?

6% interest rate

4% interest rate

One financial institution is offering a 7% interest rate on mortgages while another institution is offering a 5% interest rate on mortgages. Out of the two financial institutions, which offer would the credit union probably be offering?

5% interest rate

7% interest rate

Your grandma has a computer and is pretty technologically savvy. She wants to open an account at a bank that will provide her personal attention. Which bank should she choose?

brick and mortar bank

internet bank

Which type of health insurance policy do you have if your insurance company does not pay if you do not use a preferred provider?

Fee-for-service plan

High Deductible health plan

HMO

PPO

Which type of health insurance policy should you purchase if you don’t get sick that month and want to pay the lowest monthly premiums?

Fee-for-service plan

High Deductible health plan

HMO

PPO

Jenny is a full-time college student at the local university. She is debating whether to purchase renter’s insurance or not. In at least one paragraph, give Jenny 3 reasons why purchasing renter’s insurance is important. Also, give your recommendation on how much renter’s insurance she should purchase and why.

In a paragraph or more, explain to your parents some things to consider before purchasing an extended warranty. Should they always purchase an extended warranty? Why or why not?

Based on what you learned about various types of health insurance, which policy would be best for you and your family? Give at least 2 reasons why you picked this policy.

If your dad wanted to purchase a new life insurance policy, which would you recommend and why?

If you were opening a bank account, would you choose a brick and mortar bank or an internet bank? Why?

As you know, insurance companies base their policies on how much risk they perceive you to be. What are some factors that would affect your risk for your auto insurance?

Match the following words to its correct definition.

Rule of 72

Dividend

Mutual Fund

Bond

Stock Market

Rate of Return

Inflation

Pension

Retirement

Social Security

IRA

Roth IRA

401(k)

403(b)

Investment

A.General and progressive increase in prices

B.Investment in which you are loaning money for a certain time period to the issuer

C.Individual retirement account in which a person can set aside after-tax income up to a specified amount each year, earnings are tax-free, and tax-free withdrawals may be made after age 59 1/2

D.Distributions of property a corporation pays you because you own stock in that corporation

E.Supplemental retirement system in the United States

F.Individual Retirement Account

G.The amount of money you make on an investment in relation to the amount of time your money is invested stated as an annual percentage

H.Quick and easy way to estimate how long it will take for you to double your money

I.Type of tax-qualified deferred compensation plan in which an employee can elect to have the employer contribute a portion of his or her cash wages to the plan on a pretax basis

J.Retirement plan for certain employees of public schools, employees of certain tax-exempt organizations, and certain ministers

K.An exchange where security trading is conducted by professional stockbrokers

L.The age at which someone stops working permanently

M.Asset purchased for profit

N.An arrangement to provide income to people when they are no longer earning income.

O.Collection of financial securities (stocks, bonds, cash) that is managed by a company or a person on behalf of many investors

Why are bonds known as fixed income investments?

There is a fixed principle

There is a fixed rate of return

There is a fixed option of investing part of the bond

All of the above

Based on what you learned, how do most people plan to use their Social Security income in the future?

As supplemental retirement income

As their only retirement income

They plan to start collecting at 56

All of the above

What steps can you take to prevent yourself from being affected by a market correction? Explain.

What type of investments should you choose if you are not very financially risky?

List two facts about 403(b) plans.

Give two differences between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA

How can one prepare for retirement to prevent worrying about living in poverty once one hits retirement age?

What are some factors to consider when creating a retirement plan? Explain.

Explain how to use the Rule of 72.

Artificial Intelligence

Exercises:

2.5: If the current target location were to be moved, the middle layer of Example 2.5 travels to the original position of that target and does not try to go to the new position. Change the controller so that the robot can adapt to targets moving.

2.6: The current controller visits the locations in the to_do list sequentially.

(a) Change the controller so that it is opportunistic; when it selects the next location to visit, it selects the location that is closest to its current position. It should still visit all the locations.

(b) Give one example of an environment in which the new controller visits all the locations in fewer time steps than the original controller.

(c) Give one example of an environment in which the original controller visits all the locations in fewer time steps than the modified controller.

(d) Change the controller so that, at every step, the agent heads toward whichever target location is closest to its current position.

(e) Can the controller from part (d) get stuck and never reach a target in an example where the original controller will work? Either give an example in which it gets stuck and explain why it cannot find a solution, or explain why it gets to a goal whenever the original can.

2.9: Suppose you have a new job and must build a controller for an intelligent robot. You tell your bosses that you just have to implement a command function and a state transition function. They are very skeptical. Why these functions? Why only these? Explain why a controller requires a command function and a state transition function, but not other functions. Use proper English. Be concise

Textbook: https://artint.info/2e/html/ArtInt2e.Ch2.html for reference.

Using the attached IRP Research Question and Data Set Template 2018, add the following information into the document.

1. Your research question for your IRP. ANOVA example: “Is there a statistically significant difference between these groups (identify the groups) based on this characteristic (identify the characteristic)? Simple Linear Regression (SLR) example: “Is this factor (identify the factor) a statistically significant predictor of a characteristic (identify the characteristic) based on this data sample?
2. The statistical question that you hope to answer by analyzing the data set you picked.
   • ANOVA Example:
     • H0: μ1 = μ2 = … = μn
     • HA: Not all means are equal (i.e. μ1 ≠ μ2 or μ2 ≠ μ3 … μ1 ≠ μn)
   • Simple Linear Regression Example:
     • H0: β1 = 0
     • HA: β1 ≠ 0
3. The name, source, and a link to your data set. Also, include the number of records and attributes in the data set. You do not have to use all of the attributes or records in your analysis. Submit a copy of your data set at this time as an Excel File so I can give you hints on what you may have to do with your data to make it useful in answering your research question.
4. Submit your completed IRP Template file with information 1 & 2 above as a PDF file. Then, submit your Excel Data File as a separate submission to this assignment so I can review and provide comments.