The national Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the US Department of Education’s online database of all federal student loans. This is where you can go to look up how much you owe in federal student loans as well as a lot of other great information including where to send your payments, how much your payments are, when your first payment is due, etc.
Look up yourself in NSLDS and submit a short paragraph describing how easy or difficult it was to find your file and anything you learned when you found your account. If you do not have federal student loans, lookup where you can find detailed information about any private loans you currently have, and if you have no loans at all, please look up what the current average rates are for each of the four primary types of federal student loans.
Do a Google search using the terms of balanced scorecard images. Review the many different formats of the balanced scorecard currently being used by organizations. Decide on three formats that you believe are particularly effective. Why do you think they are effective?
Pieces of your Business Plan
Executive Summary: This section should briefly summarize each section of the business plan. The executive summary should provide an overview of the business and should outline and describe key points and issues.
Business Description: This section should provide a description of the business or idea, and should incorporate the following elements:
Company’s Mission, Vision, Goals, Values and Objectives
Reasons for Starting the Business
Description of Product or Service Offered
Business Model
Industry Analysis: This section should provide a description and analysis of (i) the industry in which the company will be operating, (ii) the target market, and (iii) the company’s major competitors. The section should incorporate descriptions and analyses of the following elements:
Industry Size, Segments, and Maturity
Industry SWOT
Major Competitors
Overall Trends and Outlook for the Industry
The Company’s Competitive Advantages and their impacts on its Success
Management Team Plan: This section should provide a description of the proposed organizational structure of the company and the ways in which the company will be managed. The description should incorporate the following elements:
Form of Ownership and Reasons for Choice of Ownership Form
Organizational Structure/Chart
Qualifications, Experience, Expertise, and Roles of Members of the Management Team
Other Stakeholders (e.g., Board of Directors, Advisory Boards, etc.)
Professional Service Firms Providing Management Support (e.g., accounting, customer service, legal counsel, etc.)
Location Analysis and Manufacturing Plan: This section should provide a description of the resources and processes needed (i) for the day-to-day functioning of the company and (ii) in order to support the company’s strategic goals and objectives. The description should incorporate the following elements:
Human Resource Needs
Physical Facilities Requirements
Technological Resource Needs
Logistics and Supply Chain Management Plan
Implementation Timetables
Marketing Plan: This section should provide a description of the ways in which the company will market its good or service. The description should incorporate the following elements:
Target Market and Consumer Demographics, including Market Niche in which the Company Will Operate
Overall Marketing Strategy
Marketing Mix (Product, Pricing, Place, Promotion, Advertising, Distribution Channels, Media Usage, Public Relations, Web/Social Media Presence, etc.)
Sales Management, including Sales Planning, Sales Approach, and Sales Force
Marketing Plan Budget
Financial Plan: This section should provide a description and analysis of both the initial and ongoing financing and financial management of the company. The section should incorporate descriptions and analyses of the following elements:
Possible Sources of Initial Financing
Sales Forecasts
Income Projections
Break-Even Analysis
Capital Budget
An Organized Workforce
Labor unions have been in place in the U.S. for many years. Oftentimes, unions are able to secure additional protections that non-union members cannot obtain. We will discuss labor unions further in our case study below. For additional context, please watch the following video that details the history of labor unions Links to an external site.. This video discusses the emergence and recent downswing of labor unions across the U.S. Keep this video in mind as you work through the case study.
Is Management Compensation Fair?
We have explored what constitutes a fair wage for employees, but what about for management? There have often been situations where the CEO of a company earns a significant pay raise while employees are subject to pay cuts. This can create division between employees and upper management. While it is important that a CEO is adequately compensated so that they do not leave for another company, you also want to ensure that their earnings are not so excessive that it causes dissent among employees.
The following video explains the rationale behind CEO salaries and describes how many U.S. executives can abuse their power to continue to raise their pay. As you learn about how CEOs increase their salary, think about how this impacts the company’s different stakeholders.
Cases from the Real World [from the textbook, pp. 183–184, section 6.3]
“More than forty thousand Verizon workers went on strike in 2016 (Figure 6.13). The strike was eventually settled, with workers getting a raise, but bitter feelings and distrust remained on both sides. Workers thought management salaries were too high; management thought workers were seeking excessive raises. To continue basic phone services for its customers during the strike, Verizon called on thousands of non-union employees to perform the strikers’ work. Non-union staff had to cross picket lines formed by fellow employees to go to work each day during the strike. Enmity toward these picket-line crossers was exceptionally high among some union members.
The following articles provide additional details about the Verizon strike. The first article Links to an external site.https://money.cnn.com/2016/04/13/technology/verizon-strike/?iid=EL focuses on why Verizon workers felt they were not getting fair treatment. As you read the article, consider the reasons the Verizon workers went on strike and determine whether their demands were just.
The second article Links to an external site. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/business/verizon-reaches-tentative-deal-with-unions-to-end-strike.html discusses the aftermath of the strike. Identify what the employees were able to obtain and consider whether that outcome seems fair for both the employer and employees.
Respond to the following questions:
Put yourself in the manager’s shoes, who is responsible for mending all the fences after the strike is resolved. How would you begin to repair all the relationships affected by the strike? In particular, make sure to detail how you would repair the relationships of union and non-union workers.
What are some practical steps that Verizon could have taken to avoid this situation?
How can issues like employee dissatisfaction and equal pay be managed with large corporations like Verizon so that situations do not get out of hand, as in the case above?
The Workplace Environment and Working Conditions
For this assignment, you will be looking at some of the highest-ranked places to work in the U.S. It is important to look at examples of successful businesses creating highly desirable workplaces for employees so that we can see which benefits and workplace conditions make employees happy. Is it just a matter of giving employees more vacation time or higher pay? Or is employee satisfaction achieved through a positive workplace culture? Recall the example of Google from the textbook, a company that provides a surplus of workplace amenities and employee benefits.
Read this Glassdoor article Links to an external site., which covers some of the best ideas for improving employee satisfaction in the workplace. Keep these ideas in mind when you land a managerial position or become a high-level executive someday, as you may want to institute some of these at your company. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/100-best/2021
Instructions
Review the following article Links to an external site. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/100-best/2021 detailing the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2021.
Choose five companies out of the 100 listed that stand out as places you would like to work.
Identify the five companies you chose and explain why you chose each one. What aspects of the company’s culture were most attractive to you? Did they have any unique benefits or perks that intrigued you?
Conduct some additional research on the five companies that you identified. Looking further into each company, which one stands out to you as the company you would most want to work for? What information helped you narrow the list down?
Introduction
“Entrepreneurs must determine what to sell, to whom and how often, on what terms and at what price, and how to get the product or service to the customer. In short, a marketing plan identifies a company’s target customers and describes how it will attract and keep them. The process does not have to be complex.” (1).
Overview
With this assignment, you will address some of the basic areas within a marketing plan and help to refine your strategies for creating a successful business.
Instructions
Using the business from the assignment, Feasibility Analysis, write a 3–4 page paper in which you:
Identify its primary target market. Explain your response.
Specify three methods you will use to research customer needs and wants.
Describe the marketing mix: a) product, b) pricing strategy, c) promotion, and d) placement or distribution.
Create a one-year advertising budget and plan that incorporate the use of various advertising media and publicity.
Include at least two references outside the textbook. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the Strayer Library or review Bachelor of Business Administration Library Guide.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Create a marketing plan to help a business effectively promote its products and services.
Sources
Norman M. Scarborough. 2015. Entrepreneurship and Effective Small Business Management. p. 274.
