Discussions.docx

Based on examples from one of the recommended articles selected by you, the lecture notes, the text, and other sources, discuss one or several of the themes: decision making process as a step-by-step analytical approach, types of decision-making environments, decision tree analysis. With the help of one or several of the recommended tutorials and decision methods covered in Lectures 5 and 6, discuss your experience and plans for applying analytical methods in your Assignment 2 or in your current (or targeted) profession.

Based on examples from one of the recommended articles selected by you, the lecture notes, the text, and other sources, discuss one or several of the themes: quantitative analysis and decision making, quantitative analysis models, application of quantitative analysis in real situations, the role of computers and spreadsheet models in the quantitative analysis approach.

Based on examples from one of the recommended articles selected by you, the lecture notes, the text, and other sources, discuss one or several of the themes: strategic decision making in organizations, strategic decision success in organizations, evaluation of strategic decisions – the VRIO framework, management cycles and business decisions in organizations

Discuss Two of the following questions:

What implications can be drawn for the launch of a microbrewery service?

Evaluate the proposed new draft beer products (business running case, attachment 1) and discuss important factors to be considered in the process of selection of the successful combination of existing (offered by other breweries) and the new (in-house made) products.

At what price should the new products be sold? Why?

Evaluate the placement alternatives (in-house and through local wholesalers), including the sales needed to break even for the new microbrewery.

What distribution strategy do you recommend for the new microbrewery unit?

Design a promotion strategy for the new draft beers. Include how the restaurant owner should advertise and what message she/he should convey.

In preparation for your Assignment 3 PART 1, explain your initial plan for selection and application of decision support tools and methods.

Select ONE important from your prospective topic from ONE of the articles, recommended for L7 & L8

Discuss two of the following questions:

Explain the model of competitive advantage and economic value created, and the causality among value, cost, and price

Explain how companies are planning to increase their intrinsic value

Explain one of the five steps of the financial planning process and clarify its importance with examples from your Team Assignment 3 PART1

Discuss one of the three components of the corporate finance plan (sales forecast, forecasted financial statements, and methods for raising any external financing), and demonstrate its importance with an example from your Team Assignment 3 PART 1

Demonstrate with an example from your Team Assignment 2 PART 1 the main items need for the calculation of the free cash flow.

Explain the process of implementing, managing, and control of the financial programs with the help of an example related to your Team Assignment 3 PART 1

Financial Management Process & Corporate Business Strategy: explain the horizontal and vertical integration of the decision making with the help of an example from your Team Assignment 3 PART 1

In preparation for your Team Assignment 3 PART 1, explain your initial plan for selection and application of decision support tools and methods needed for the functional area financial management

Select ONE important from your prospective topic from ONE of the articles, recommended for L7 & L8

Discuss two of the following questions:

Explain what operations managers do

Explain the importance of capacity and constrain management in a corporation with the help of short business cases covered in the text book chapter on capacity management

Demonstrate the concept of capacity and constrain management, explained with the help of the production cut-off point (used in the business simulation, input table "Operations Management")

In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, demonstrate with examples the four process strategies

In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, demonstrate with examples the main characteristics of process analysis and design of the microbrewery production system

In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, describe the process of brewing and distributing of beer in the new BrewPub and analyze the opportunity for improvement of this process

In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, describe how optimization analysis in Solver can help your team preparing and implementing realistic assumptions for key parameters (such as revised prices per products and/or new assumptions for targeted market size per products and fiscal years)

In preparation for the team project Assignment 3 Part 2, describe how you are planning to prepare and present an implementation plan for the new investment project

Explain the process of implementing, managing, and control of the operations management programs with the help of an example related to your Team Assignment 3 PART 2

Operations Management Process & Corporate Business Strategy: explain the horizontal and vertical integration of the decision making with the help of an example from your Team Assignment 3 Part 2

In preparation for your Team Assignment 3 Part 2, explain your initial plan for selection and application of decision support tools and methods needed for the functional area operations management

Select ONE important from your prospective topic from ONE of the articles, recommended for L9 & L10

Discuss two of the following questions:

>>>Demonstrate the innovation process of a company with examples from the business running case;

>>>How disruptive innovation is changing the characteristics of the restaurant industry in US;

>>>Use as an example the microbrewery revolution to explain the efforts of bridging old and new technology in the restaurant industry;

>>>In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, demonstrate with examples the closed and or the open innovation model of a company;

>>>In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, demonstrate with examples the types of >>>innovation by combining market (restaurant industry) and technologies (in-house microbrewery);

>>>In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, demonstrate with examples the players in the platform ecosystem (use as a business the restaurant with an in-house microbrewery);

>>>In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, demonstrate with examples from the beer industry (conventional versus in-house draft beer manufacturing) how innovation and competition are contributing to the progressive shrinkage of the three life cycles: demand, technology, and product;

>>>In preparation for your team project Assignment 3 Part 2, demonstrate with examples from the functional area “Innovation Management” how technology innovation on material level is affecting the overall output parameters of the draft beer production (you may explain the innovation on technology level, as presented in Demo Exercise PART 2, slides 24-37)

>>>Select ONE important from your prospective topic from ONE of the articles, recommended for L9 & L10