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Changing Customer’s Needs and Customer Focused Supply Chains
Figure 9.1.Comparitive Accounting Systems. Reprinted from Small Business for the 21st Century (Chapter 11, p. 10), by Anonymous, 2014, Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Foundation. Non-copyrighted, 2014 by Creative Commons. Reprinted with permission under the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ guidelines.
The authors of your textbook report the following:
No business—small, midsize, or large—survives for more than a century without successfully identifying changing
customer needs and adapting its processes and technologies. The adoption of new technologies is not limited to
advanced manufacturing or web-based business. New technologies can be crucial to any business, even a business as
seemingly prosaic as the local hardware store. However, successfully running a business with an inventory between
twentyfive thousand and thirty thousand different items is anything but prosaic. (Small Business for the 21st Century,
2014, Chapter 11, p. 2)
Choose three businesses you have patronized for at least several years for this discussion. Describe how each organization has adapted to changing customer needs in regard to their processes and technologies. In your discussion be sure to include:
- The changes as mentioned above
- Effects of these changes on the survival and/or increased success of the business
- Some of the challenges faced by the organization when implementing changes – an employee, manager, or store owner should be able to provide you with a good overview.
Reference
Small Business for the 21st Century (2014).Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Foundation
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Topic 2 – Leadership
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The authors of your textbook sum up that, “different situations call for different leadership styles. The three major styles are autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. Bad leaders typically stick with one style” (Small Business for the 21st Century, 2014, Chapter 12, p. 7).
In your own words, define each of the three basic styles of leadership. Then locate current real-world examples of each type of leader and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. These can be previous or even current employers (but please maintain their anonymity), small business leaders, well-known heads of massive conglomerations, etc. If applicable cite your sources of information. Finally, discuss the type of leader you believe you are or would like to be and why.
Reference
Small Business for the 21st Century (2014).Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Foundation
Evidence of critical thinking (analysis, synthesis, evaluation and reflection) of class reading material and discussion0.75 points
analysis, synthesis, evaluation and reflection is strongly present across all posts; rich in content
full of thought, insight,
and analysis (0.675 – 0.75)
0.65 points
analysis, synthesis, evaluation and reflection is present in most posts – substantial information thought, insight, and analysis has taken place (0.6 – 0.6725)
0.57 points
attempts analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and reflection but not strongly evident or only partially evident – generally competent information is thin and commonplace (0.525 – 0.59)
0.5 points
analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and reflection is poorly demonstrated or does not exist; rudimentary and superficial; no analysis or insight is displayed (0 0. 0.524)
Responses to classmates and instructor reflect a substantive understanding of course material0.75 points
responses to instructor/classmates are complete and meaningful as required; responses are relevant and advance the level and depth of the discussion consistently using course material in the responses (0.675 – 0.75)
0.65 points
responses to instructor/classmates are complete and meaningful as required; responses are relevant and advance the level and depth of the discussion occasionally using the course material in the responses (0.6 – 0.6725)
0.57 points
responds to instructor/classmates meet requirements but either a) responses lack some detail to explain answer; b) responses do not add to the conversation; c) student does not use course material; d) student does not respond to as many peers as required or e) lacks consistency in responding to others (0.525 – 0.59)
0.5 points
fails to respond to classmate and/or instructor as required; responses are superficial (I agree statements, restating what other student stated; response that evaluates the quality of a student’s post adding no substantial comment) (0 – 0.524)
Relevance of participation to topic under discussion0.75 points
contributions are relevant and demonstrates outstanding understanding of material; uses various course material/resources in responding, and consistently and accurately ties to activity (0.675 – 0.75)
0.65 points
contributions are relevant and mostly demonstrates a good understanding of material; uses some course material/resources in responding and attempts to ties to activity (0.6 – 0.6725)
0.57 points
contributions are somewhat relevant and demonstrates some understanding of the material; rarely uses course material/resources in responses and occasionally ties to activity (0.525 – 0.59)
0.5 points
contributions are off topic, distracting; does not use relevant course material/resources in responses (0 – 0.524)
Writing mechanics and APA usage0.75 points
consistently uses grammatically correct posts with no misspellings and no APA style errors (0.675 – 0.75)
0.65 points
few grammatical or spelling errors are noted in posts/ attempts in-text citations and reference list but errors are present (0.6 – 0.6725)
0.57 points
errors in spelling and grammar evident; attempts in-text citations or reference list but omits the other; paraphrases or uses source material without consistently citing/referencing (0.525 – 0.59)
0.5 points
poor spelling and grammar in most posts; no evidence of proofreading; no attempt at APA (0 – 0.524)
Overall ScoreOutstanding
2.7 or moreSuperior
2.4 or moreGood
2.1 or moreSubstandard
0 or more
