Let's Get Down to Business...

There's a Lot to Do - Here's the Eighth Week's Study Guide

Your list of things-to-do hasn't gotten shorter. Now's the time for your "big push."

Don't fall behind in your textbook reading. Stay focused on submitting a Business Plan that will land in the Hall of Fame. Study the Blog Posts.

Tell everyone that you're taking a "Rain Check" (not hard to do in Oregon) for a couple of weeks. Say that you're on your way to launching a successful business career.

Remember that the sky's the limit. How far you go and how much you achieve is up to you. That's the best part. You're the one who decides what you'll do.

Here's your Study Guide for the Course's Eighth Week. Download Eighth Week Study Guide

Official Rules of Engagement

 WELCOME TO

 THE PSU ELEVATOR PITCH/BUSINESS PLAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

proudly sponsored by

 

This Post explains the "Official Rules of Engagement." 

What is the Elevator Pitch Championship?

It's an opportunity for each team to earn extra-credit points.  The opportunity is available only to each team, not individual students.  It's not a mandatory requirement; competing in the championships is strictly optional.  The championships are a chance for each team to show off the hard work they've put into their business plans.  You'll get to do that by making a two-minute "Elevator Pitch" to an audience of your classmates and celebrity judges.

When

The competition is scheduled for the Course's 10th week. 

The Semi-Final Round will be on Tuesday and the Championship Round will be on Thursday.

HR - It's where the Action is

Our journey's stop in "Human Resources" won't last long and deserves more time than we've got. 

When your busy schedule permits, go back and take another look at what's happening in what used to be called the "Personnel Department."  There isn't another part of the business world that, over the past 20 years, has become so complex and essential to 21st century firms. 

And you'll want to note this for future career planning purposes; HR executives are becoming some of the best-paid members of the management team.

Chapters 10 and 11 from your Textbook should be read together even though we split them between Weeks 7 and 8.  But before discussing some of the key terms and ideas from your reading, here are my Lecture Notes and PowerPoint slides for our HR "stop": 

• Download Human Resources (Week 8)

NOTE:  To find the "International Commerce" materials, first open the "Week 8: Human Resources and Globalization" category.  Page down three or four posts.  What you're looking for starts with the Post titled "Globalization: Something New or Something Old?"

 

How about doing something "meaningful?"

I've suggested the following trio for starting to figure out what you'll do with your "work life."

Do What You're Good At

Do It With Passion

Do It With People You Like and Respect

I think all of us want to do something that makes us feel good about what we're doing. In other words, that we're accomplishing something useful and valuable. Whether it's important or not is obviously a question that will never have the same answer twice.

Here's an interview that will give you a different perspective on being "satisfied" with what you're doing. In it, Matthew Crawford, who earned a Doctorate from the University of Chicago in Political Philosophy, discusses what he did for awhile, why he's not doing it now and what's he up to these days. You'll be surprised at how he's using his high-powered education. You may be even more surprised at who is doing the interviewing. Enjoy.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Matthew Crawford
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

A Harassment-Free Workplace

As we learned, discrimination in any aspect of the employment relationship based on age, disability, national origin, race, religion, marital status, military status, sexual orientation or being a whistleblower is legally prohibited.

One type of illegal discrimination is sexual harassment, which takes two forms:

• Quid pro quo Harassment.  Existence and elements include (a) Employer conditions favorable employment decisions (promotion or pay raise, for example) or threatens unfavorable employment decisions (demotion or no pay raise, for example) upon submission to unwelcome sexual advances and (b) Subordinate either submits to sexual conduct or refuses to submit and Employer takes tangible adverse employment action. 
• Hostile Workplace Harassment.  Existence and elements include (a) unwelcome, sexually-charged, verbal or physical workplace behavior or conduct that demeans or shows hostility or aversion towards a person or their relatives, friends or associates because of their gender or sexual orientation or (b) behavior or conduct that has the purpose or effect of creating a hostile, intimidating work environment, unreasonably interfering with work performance or adversely affecting employment opportunities. 

Here's a Good Idea: Get Rid of Performance Reviews

If things are running smoothly, there's nothing like the dreaded "Annual Performance Review" to throw a wrench in the works.

For my money, they're a lose-lose. Managers somehow try to improve an employee's performance by pointing out all the mistakes he or she made over the past year. The employee, believing they've done nothing but great work, wants to talk about a pay-raise and a promotion.

Is it any wonder that what should be a productive discussion quickly becomes defensive and tense?

Attached is an article from the October 20, 2008 Wall Street Journal written by a UCLA Business School Professor who has the right idea: get rid of performance reviews that destroy morale and kill teamwork and replace them with ongoing dialogue where both sides learn and grow: Download get_rid_of_the_performance_review.pdf

What's an "Early-Stage Development Process?"

The Fifth Section (Financial Controls and Management Practices) of the Financial Plan asks you to discuss "prototype and early-stage development processing."  You're probably wondering what that is and where you can find it.

Other (and shorter) terms for describing what's needed could be "trial run" or "dry-lab."  In other words, how are you going to make sure your product or service "works" before you "go live?"

Will you "test-market" the product before distributing it to your market segment?  Will you be doing some training before opening day?  How will you be sure, when you cut the ribbon at the grand opening, that everyone knows (1) what are the things they're supposed to do and (2) how to do them in the way you want them done?

All those questions answer the requirement's first part (what are we going to do to know our product "works).  The key word for the second part is "controls."  The question here is, "How are you going to know you're ready to launch?"  When and how will you know that the product is "right?"  It's probably impossible to get all the "bugs" out of a system, but you'll want to be sure things work pretty well when your first customer comes through the door. 

Distill your ideas down to paragraph or two that answers these questions.  Needless to say, this part is easy to overlook but can make all the difference in the end.  So, think about what you're going to do to be certain your product is right and ready to go and how you're going to know that.

Keep up the good work!    

Final Details and Finishing Touches

As you round the final turn and head for the finish line, here are a few items to check off your list.

Difference between the "Key Concept" and the "Executive Summary"

These two requirements are not the same thing.  There's a difference between them that's important.

First, the "Key Concept" should take no more than one-third of a page.  It will describe, in your best business writing style, what makes your product or service "compelling."  In other words, why will customers want to try your new product or service?  What makes it "better?"  And after they try it, how will your product or service earn the customer's loyalty.  What will bring them back for more?  The requirement here is to answer the "So what?" question:  What makes your product a big deal?

The "Executive Summary" shouldn't take more than two-thirds of a page and will concisely tell your readers everything they need to know about your business:  What's your product and its market?  Who are the people behind it and why will they make it successful?  How does the business work?  Who answers the phone and does the work?  When and how do your customers pay you?  And do the sources and uses of cash end up with a positive balance in your checkbook (that's also called being profitable)?

When you're done with both these requirements, you'll have produced a one-page "blurb" that investors, bankers and customers can copy and use to help your business be a roaring success!

Financial Controls and Management Practices: Two Important Uses of Information

Section 5 of the Financial Plan asks for a description of your business's "financial reporting and performance measurement systems."

The requirement might also be phrased as, "How will you use the information produced by your firm's financial reports?"

You will be interested in your business's performance from two perspectives.

There are Warranties, and then there are Warranties

Remember that Warranties come in at least two flavors.

First, there is what's called an "Express Warranty."  This usually takes the form of a written disclosure (it is "expressed") and is time- or use-specific (36 months or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first, for example).  This form of warranty defines what the Seller (or manufacturer) will repair or replace during the warranty's term.  There usually are also exclusions or conditions that might void the warranty or excuse the seller from having to repair or replace something.

Don't get the "Budget Blues"

Fighting the Budget Battle is one of the Final Plan's bigger challenges.  Here are some weapons to help you emerge victorious. 

The most frequent problem is the Capital Budget's Sources and Uses of Funds don't balance.  The total of each has to be identical, otherwise your budget won't behave. 

Next on the list is understanding the difference between (1) your capital budget's initial inventories and (2) your operating budget's periodic replenishment of those inventories.  Doesn't that sound exciting?

I'll bet you can't wait to read more.

A Parable to Consider...

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was that the Japanese team had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.