Questions:
1) Management Finance and Control
Critique Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) concepts, why is WACC an important tool in the evaluation of capital expenditure programs, financial structuring strategies, capital projects, equity recapitalization, dividend determination, financing working capital expansions, and evaluate WACC methods comparing other financial analysis applications used with WACC. Critique Internal Rate of Return and compare to Return on Assets, Investment, Capital, and defend best practice in assessing overall financial performance. Recommend method(s) to justify additional debt critiquing advantages and disadvantages of debt versus equity with special considerations for various debt instruments and alternative equity financing. Predict new trends in finance as applied to cost of rating drops, refinanced liabilities, restructured long term notes, working capital draws, and other new financing methods becoming more important in today’s economic environment. Assess the value of warrants, options, hedge instruments, and the methods of pricing a new equity issue describing what key factors are requisite to launch a successful new stock.
2) Advanced Measurement and Statistics for Business
Appraise what new statistical methods are used in the evaluation of conceptual theories outlining specific advantages these methods provide. Compare Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques providing advantages of using SEM to other conventional methods outlining some of the various statistical techniques that SEM is able to perform. Evaluate sampling techniques used to conduct hypothetical studies and asses the benefits of each sampling method based on best fit to application. Critique validity and reliability methods for appropriate constructs and compare advantages and disadvantages of each method describing what methods to use with different operational techniques. Compare and evaluate factor analysis for confirmatory versus exploratory methods and assess when each is appropriate proving examples and application usages. Assess the differences of various regression analysis methods and demonstrate by examples what regression methods are most appropriate for different application. Finally discuss and recommend best statistical techniques and methods to operationally use for means comparisons, nonparametric evaluation, bivariate correlation, ANOVAs, Chi Square, regression, and other techniques as appropriate. Assess the overall concept of statistical power, why it has import to statistical evaluations, and what SPSS contributes to statistical analysis in today’s research.
3) Ethnography of Corporate Culture
Evaluate the overall importance of cultural influences within an organization providing examples and critical concepts for the various attributes of organizational culture in a company. Compare differing cultures, providing examples, that demonstrate the various cultural types and how these cultural differences can and do affect organizational performance. Asses the uses of ethnographic research in the development of improved segmentation schemes and how these segmented market delineations offer more precise strategic direction for companies seeking to build new revenue streams. Predict the evolutionary changes in the ethnographic research, what impact it will have on future business models, what trends will prevail for new product designs, and what impacts companies will experience applying cultural design to the operation of their companies both domestic and internationally.
4) Global Business Strategic Management
International business has accelerated significantly over the past decade, assess the global phenomenon comparing the pre and post evolutionary changes critiquing various milestones that have caused and accelerated the new global age. Justify why more companies are moving out of their domestic markets to establish overseas business operations listing both reasons and explanations for such decisions. Critique the Hofstede cultural dimensions, the importance of theses concepts and the applications used in global strategies comparing the Globe dimensions to create new products, develop new markets, establish import and export strategies and evaluate best logistic and lower cost operational opportunities. Evaluate how environmental analysis is critical to the segmentation strategies used in comparing various global locations for best multinational partnerships. Compare best international attributes when deciding what characteristics fit specific choices for alliance with an international partner providing a list of attributes and reasons why these attributes are best for a specific criterion. Appraise and evaluate what are the critical economic imperatives managers must consider in the selection of a global strategy including financial implications affecting profitability of the enterprise.
5) Information, Organization and Strategy
Evaluate best organizational constructs to support an IT framework that is a “brick and click” B2B industrial global manufacturer of automotive parts. Critique what software will support both the online parts business and the traditional distribution selling channel business. Compare both organizational concepts outlining and assessing the installation differences and provide what aspects of each business model can be shared, and unique to the differing methods of sale. Evaluate the customer service software needed to support both operations and specifically choose what aspects of each environment are critically necessary to provide best practice. Assess the hardware and software characteristics of each business model platform and recommend most economical and effective methods to provide 24/7 global operations demands. Recommend what communications systems, security, manpower, contingency, and performance aspects needed to operate both business models. Predict the most important skill sets needed to organize and operate the configured IT installation and provide comparisons between both business models in the creation and ongoing evolution and growth of each business. Project the future critical needs of each business model and what IT, organization, and strategies will be needed to assure best service quality highlighting what service quality dimensions are most important in the created IT organization created.
6) Business Research Methods
Compare the differences between qualitative versus quantitative research method providing comparisons concerning techniques, operation, methods, sources, and constructed theory. Assess the development of theory explaining how theory is formulated and evaluate the various types of methods needed to construct sound qualitative (nomological) metaphors and paradigms compared to the quantitative aspects of hypotheses design and the scientific methods used to build different types of theories. Recommend what research tools provide best practice in the identification, acquisition, evaluation, and application of different data types, outlining survey methods, use of primary versus secondary data and how third part data sources can augment both quantitative and qualitative research. Judge best sources of journals, the quality of these journals, and why these journals make the best primary sources of research. Create a new theory process and evaluate each stage in the theory development as described above offering critique to best practice in building new paradigms and hypotheses. Finally assess the concepts of truth in the scientific research process and how researchers must deal with truth in the structuring of new or extended theories providing proofs to the new theory compared to the definitions of truth.
7) Quantitative Research Methods
Evaluate the scope of quantitative research methodology comparing each method and critique each technique, model, metaphor, and paradigm. Select the best quantitative method and assess the strengths and weaknesses of that selected method defending why the selected quantitative method is the best. Compare various quantitative methods and how each method enables researchers to design the correct series of questions and eventually hypotheses to prove the theories. Recommend best methods to solve different types of analysis and provide a table that outlines each method, what type variables are used, best applications, and what findings to expect. Critique different regression analysis methods and determine what methods fit each analysis type. Assess the best procedure to develop a new construct starting from using a text analysis method, provide each stage of the process proposing what objective must be met for each stage developing a final best quantitative construct. Estimate the importance of data types in the selection and performance of measurements, the creation of survey instruments, and the application of specific findings coupled with best methodology. Assess the progress of structural equation modeling (SEM) and the new applications that SEM now offers researchers in the creation of improved constructs and theories. Judge the value of latent variable measures and how SEM is able to evaluate path analysis using conventional measures such as factor analysis, regression, correlation, and comparative means techniques.
8) Managing, Organizing & Negotiating for Value
Compare various tactics used in negotiation strategy providing details of each strategy as to application, innovation, balance, desired result, and overall best use of tactic. Judge best methods to prepare and assess desired effects using negotiation preparation, research, and application techniques. Describe and defend best practice in the overall management and organization of negotiation of various types of exchanges. Using a union contract as the event, describe what research and preparations are necessary to build a solid strategy, create a good exchange of data, build a solid organizational focus, develop a logical and comprehensive series of conclusions based on ultimate results, and provide a clear measurement path for both parties to vision best outcomes for all parties. Using the previous scenario descriptors, establish a table for the following events: Hostage release; Divorce; Employment Contracts; Mortgage; Car Purchase; Raise. Assess for each of the previous events the critical balance of power issues outlining what unique solution for both parties is a “win-win” agreement. Finally assess what makes for the payoff of value, what definition is used for value, how is value derived, how can negotiations help clarify what value should be mutual to both parties, and why and where should value be positioned in the negotiating process.
9) Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains
Evaluate the economic impacts of supply chain management (SCM) and how the development of supply sources, vendors, and logistics builds overall company value into the enterprise. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of SCM and what aspects are most important with the following types of businesses (please prepare a table): global company B2B; Domestic B2C service provider; Web supplier of automotive parts; Consulting services offered worldwide; Construction company; Mineral Commodity Exporter; Import jewelry reseller. Judge what role is played by marketing, finance, engineering, customer service, operations, and legal in the creation and foundation of SCM. Critique various SCM schemas based on vendor quality, price, delivery, inventory, and support and weight selection criteria for best overall vendor selections. Choose vendors based on network, flexibility, design capability, customizable depth, unique support services, overall quality standards, location, national resource attributes, economics and financial offerings, and rank each aspect of these vendors to each of the following scenarios: raw material supplier, electronic sub contractor, machinery manufacturer for resale, appliance provider for resale, service resource for systems support, educational institution, specialty hardware IT provider; please provide rationale for each vendor type and defend selection criteria.
