You are required to write 2 separate substantive replies to the 2 discussion threads below. Each reply must be a minimum of 300 words and include at least 4 scholarly resources.

Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, outside scholarly articles, etc.

Substantive replies, in contrast to perfunctory replies, add value to the discussion, enhance learning, and contain references to any new concepts or ideas presented.

The following suggestions will aid you in successfully composing substantive responses:
– Compare/contrast the findings of others with your research.
– Compare how the findings of others relate/add to the concepts learned in the required
readings.
– Share additional knowledge regarding the key topic that relates to the thread

– All citations and references must be in current 7th edition APA format (see attached)

DISCUSSION THREAD 1 (JD)

Discussion Board: Balanced Scorecard

Key Concept Explanation

Robert Kaplan and David Norton first introduced the concept of the balanced scorecard in 1992. They conducted a year-long research project with 12 companies to develop the balanced scorecard, which gives managers a balanced presentation of both financial and operational measures of success (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). The balanced scorecard considers four perspectives on success. The perspectives are an internal business perspective, an innovation and learning perspective, a customer perspective, and a financial perspective. In my position in the military, I am not setting out to achieve financial goals. I oversee 5 other people with a specific operational function. Therefore, I chose to research the balanced scorecard in order to learn more about operational measures of success versus purely financial objectives.

Comparison

The balanced scorecard uses operational measures of success instead of antiquated methods that only measured financial objectives. It has been used as a tool to help organizations transform their business strategy into applicable performance measures to monitor business success (Meredith & Shafer, 2019). One of the keys to developing the balanced scorecard is creating a strategy map linking the causes and effects of strategy actions. There has been some debate over the years if those cause-and-effect relationships actually exist between the operational measures of the balanced scorecard method. In their research, Kober and Northcott (2020) established statistical evidence that cause-and-effect relationships do, in fact, exist in the balanced scorecard in the public sector.

The balanced scorecard tool has been widely adopted across businesses, industry, government, and non-profit organizations around the world. Some organizations have applied a balanced scorecard approach and expanded it to include a corporate social responsibility aspect (Hansen & Schaltegger, 2016). The balanced scorecard specializes in translating organizational strategy into actions that can be measured with key performance indicators (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2020). The balanced scorecard uses a diversified set of indicators to reflect the strategy of the organization. Clearly defining a balanced set of objectives helps the business to meet the needs and expectations of the relevant stakeholders (Quesado et al, 2018). Some organizations have used cascading balanced scorecards to refine the organization-level scorecard for use at the team and even individual level (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2020).

Article Summary

Robert Kaplan and David Norton wrote the definitive work that introduced the balanced scorecard in the 1992, and later revised it in 1996, in their article “The Balanced Scorecard-Measures That Drive Performance.” Kaplan and Norton assert that simply tracking financial accounting measures can be misleading when pursuing continuous improvement and innovation. In today’s modern business environment, businesses must track operational objectives as well in order to maintain a competitive edge in the market. Instead of just tracking return on investment or earnings per share, companies should track things like cycle times and defect rates. The balanced scorecard incorporates a financial perspective, as well as an internal business perspective, and innovation and learning perspective, and a customer perspective. This balanced scorecard can give management a succinct, overview of the organization’s total performance by focusing on a small group of the most critical metrics. Another advantage of the balanced scorecard method is that it prevents information overload by focusing on a small set of critical metrics. At the same time, the balanced scorecard causes top management executives to view the success of the business through various operational measures beyond just finances. Considering the customer perspective causes the organization to have to think about what kinds of metrics the customer cares about. The internal business perspective causes the organization to consider what they must excel at to meet customer expectations (Kaplan & Norton, 1992).

Biblical Integration

1st Peter 5:8 says to “be sober minded; be watchful” (New International Version, 2011). And that is the goal of the balanced scorecard: to be watchful over the success of an organization. Being sober minded is to think clearly about the objectives of the organization and a balanced scorecard is one tool that can help with that.

Proverbs 25:11 tells us, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (New International Version, 2011). This verse is about clear communication, and the balanced scorecard clarifies and communicates the goals of the organization by translating the mission into actions.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” Proverbs 16:3 (New International Version, 2011). Whatever business endeavor one undertakes, it should be committed to the Lord and one should work as if working for the Lord and not for men.

Application

The balanced scorecard is more applicable than ever before. It arose out of a need for a better way to measure organizational success beyond financial measures as stakeholder needs became more diversified and customers became more informed than ever before. According to a recent global study, the balanced scorecard was ranked 5th of the top ten most widely used management tools in the world (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2020). It is used by more than half of all major companies in the U.S. Europe and Asia. The balanced scorecard tool is growing in other areas such as Africa and the middle east as well.

DISCUSSION THREAD 2 (JB)

Discussion Board: Project Life Cycle

Key Concept

There are many types of projects that can be undertaken in business. These projects have many different forms and scales. In order to better study project life cycles, it is easier to break them into a few common categories. Meredith and Shafer (2019) describe the stretched S and exponential project life cycles. The stretched S model is very common and shows a slow start during planning, which slowly picks up speed and then tapers off at the end as resources begin to be directed elsewhere. The exponential form, however, sees basically no return until the project is completed. It is critical to understand where in the project lifecycle output will be produced so as not to misunderstand performance compared to resources invested.

Comparison

There are many things to consider when studying the life cycle of a project. Measham et al. (2019) focus on the impact that supply chain can have on managing the project life cycle. A delay in the delivery of one component could delay the project output. That could make it appear that the project is no longer successful. It is important to remember, however, that the relationship between the percentage of inputs used and the percentage of output created is rarely linear. If one input component is missing for a time, other parts of production could still be continuing, allowing a sharp increase in production when that final input is received. Of course, this type of flexibility is dependent on the project at hand. This is why it is important for managers to understand their project life cycle, so they can tell the difference between a shuffling of steps and an actual impact to production. Galli (2020) describes just how important this understanding can be by pointing out that these projects are one of the key driving factors of the world economy. Conversely, the economic environment can impact the project as costs of supplies vary as does the demand for the product. It is critical, therefore, for managers to forecast these changes and time their projects accordingly. This type of planning can be quite involved. Zheng et al. (2021) lay out some of the many variables that can impact managing a project life cycle and it is a very complex issue.

Article Summary

Cha and Maytorena-Sanchez (2019) raise some very good points about the effective management of project life cycles. In the stretched S model, it is likely that managerial inputs will be mor necessary during the project initiation and project termination phases. These are the times when plans are being drawn up and decisions are being made about where resources should be allocated. Compare this with the project implementation phase, which hopefully can just be monitored and not require as much hands-on management. An effective manager will realize this difference in demand for attention during the project life cycle. This is important because many managers will have multiple projects at one time. It is important to prioritize and deconflict these projects so that each can be given the attention that it requires. This concept applies not only to managerial attention, but to other resources as well. For exponential projects, it may be more difficult for a manager to oversee multiple projects. This is because exponential projects require a more constant level of attention throughout the process. Furthermore, Cha and Maytorena-Sanchez (2019) define project management competences that can help to identify what type of oversight is required during which phase of the lifecycle. For some companies, it may be beneficial to have different leadership on projects during different life cycle phases according to what that leader’s strengths are.

Biblical Integration

Life cycle management is all about planning and understanding deviations from that plan. Proverbs 21:5 teaches, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (English Standard Version). Luke 14:28 says, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it” (ESV). It is also important to realize that, no matter how much planning and preparation is done, it is still important to trust in the Lord. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (ESV).

Application

Planning a life cycle of a project has many benefits. One of the main things is to understand the relationship between resources used and output produced. I have spent a great deal of time and money working on my MBA, and yet I have nothing tangible to show for it. If I expected to have eighty percent of the benefit because I have put in eighty percent of the time and effort, this endeavor would be deemed a failure and I would have to quit. Instead, I recognize that grad school is an exponential life cycle and only after completing one hundred percent of the work will the benefit of a degree be realized.

Please respond to each student 200-300 words use references

First one is responding to teacher

This is what the teacher asked me

Time Management can definitely impact the WBS. For example, if the estimated time of activity A was 10 days yet it took 15 days you would need to update the WBS to show the overall impact to the project. Can you give an example of how cost management might impact the WBS?

Student 1 is Belinda

After reading and watching this week’s material, engage in an active discussion regarding how cost and time management impact the WBS. Review the following information and answer the following questions:Cost and time management can impact many aspects of the project. One of the major deliverables that cost, and time can impact is the WBS. In this week’s teamwork, your team will be reviewing the current cost and time estimates and updating the WBS with more realistic information based on feedback and comments from the professor and the other various team members. Discuss the potential items to review and if you think there are any major updates to the WBS after reviewing the time and cost management chapters. Do your thoughts differ from your teammates? Why and what will you do to resolve?

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a description of the work that will be completed for a project. It is a hierarchy of tasks that represents the project team’s understanding of the composition of work, and of the size, cost, and duration of each component or task. A WBS has three major purposes:

• Describe the breakdown or composition of work in tasks.
• Schedule the project work.
• Estimate the cost of each task (Yowelle et al, 2022).

The items to review to establish if there are any needed changes on the current WBS are your cost and time management estimates. There are several methods to cost estimation and we chose to use the bottom-up approach. More specifically we will use parametric estimation which compares past projects costs and times with our current project. After reviewing estimates of each it is important to realize if you choose to change the WBS in any way it can change the scope of the project. There are other considerations such as resource allocation, budgeting, and risk management all ride on a properly broken-down project. If you change something, no matter how small it seems, you could wind up creating greater costs, needing a different resource, or worse—project failure due to a risk associated with the change (Mathis, 2019). The last reason to be cautious when changing the WBS is that it serves as a part of your change control and changes may cause the deliverables that follow to fail and cause scope creep. When considering changing the WBS the Project team needs to consider the scope, schedule and budget. If it is determined that there needs to be a change in the WBS it needs to go through the formal approval process. If the change is going to cause problems with any of the three considerations, then the request should be denied.

Fortunately, all team members are on the same page for the WBS update. Our project’s estimates for the time and cost management are on point and we feel there are no needed changes.

Mathis, Micah. (2019). Work breakdown structure (WBS) purpose, process, and pitfalls. Retrieved April 20,2022 from https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/work-breakdown-stru…

Yowelle et al., (04/13/2022) Work breakdown structures overview, https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/proje…

Student 2 is Will

Hello,

After considering the impacts costs and time management has on the WBS, my team felt it was important that we reviewed the project’s schedule, critical and non-critical paths, and the budget. Every project has its own unique attributes. These attributes create variances in projects that are similar to one another. “Project teams can also factor in the time and cost of project management processes. Processes that are not tailored may add little value to the project or its outcomes while increasing cost and lengthening schedule. Tailoring their approach along with appropriate processes, methods, and artifacts can help project teams make decisions about process related costs and the related value contribution to project outcomes.” (Project Management Institute, 2021, p. 45) Time and cost management is the act of planning for the variables that feed these variances and budgeting both time and money so that the project meets it required goals. With this information in mind, our team discussed how scheduling work to be completed during weekends and holidays would impact the schedule and the budget. To do this we needed to modify our WBS to act as both a WBS and a project calendar. This allowed us to identify what days and shift were available for scheduled activities.

After identifying the weekends and holidays over the course of our project, we accepted the fact that working holidays and weekends would increase costs. This trade off seemed to be acceptable to many members of our team because it ensured that we would meet the project deadline, while also remaining on budget. PMBOK describes the project schedule as, “An output of a schedule model that present linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones, and resources.” (Project Management Institute, 2021, p. 246) This schedule is vital to project management because it allows the project manager to control the project schedule and predict the expenditure of funds.

A group of students at Franklin University found that by applying project management time and cost principles they were able to improve the value of course instruction. “In many cases, we also used a course manuscript…that provides consistency among all courses. Essentially, the template provides a structure for all instructional designers…By implementing the manuscript, the content editors were able to significantly decrease their build time, which decreases the overall budget for the project.” (Gardner, Bennett, Hyatt, & Stoker, 2017) Failure to meet a project’s deployment date can result in significant revenue loss and costs related to the extension of the project. At the start of every project, management must conduct a critical analysis of all activities to identify their associated risks. From there management can use a decision tree analysis to determine whether the schedule or the budget is of a higher value/importance to the success of the project. Knowing this helps the project team build the WBS and shapes actions at decision points. This shaping helps project managers to establish contingency reserves for both time and money.

Student 3 Marjan

Marjan Kia

Department of Business, Park university

PM691DLS2P2022 Time and Cost Management

Professor Lashawn Johnson

Apr 20, 2022

Week 6 Discussion

WBS provides a framework as a basis for other planning processes, including the process of defining activities in the field of scheduling management knowledge, the process of estimating costs in the field of project cost management knowledge, the process of estimating resources in the field of resource management knowledge? The risk identification process should be in the field of project risk knowledge. The last level of the work breakdown structure is called work packages, in which a work package can be timed, cost, and monitored. If you cannot define the scope of the project, then you will certainly not be able to define the schedule, resource planning, or budgeting for your project. WBS first helps you define the scope of the project and then acts as a framework for defining project details in planning, scheduling, estimating, budgeting, outsourcing, cost aggregation, and more. This framework is developed by the project manager and team in the operations necessary to achieve the project objectives. Allows the project manager to interpret the project plan.

Cost estimation is an approximate estimate of the financial resources needed to complete project activities based on available information and assumptions at a point in time. Usually, the accuracy of estimates at the beginning of the project is not good during the project implementation because more detailed information will be available during the project implementation, so in many projects, re-estimation is inevitable.

If the general deviation from the budget is clear, the detail of this issue means what parts of the project the deviation from the budget is related to and what are the reasons for this deviation, and therefore it is not possible for the managers of the organization and the project to make correct and effective decisions. More accurate results in the project can be achieved with precise cost and time control and using WBS. Team-building techniques are interesting and special. Just as building a sports or art team requires practice, we must use the normal activities of the project as team-building events. Our team did well in creating the WBS structure. People who do the work are allowed to do the job definition work. This is a great opportunity to build trust and relationships through teamwork.

Our team took the time to review the WBS again. We reviewed it again and made sure it made sense. We asked team members to submit their scenarios to the rest of the team for review and discussion. In this way, we were able to understand the whole effort of the team. We worked on re-examining the time and correcting it. We re-examined the costs according to our budget and tried to eliminate the extra costs. There is no disagreement in our team. We review the cost, time, quality, and scope of the project together and finally make a summary of each other’s opinions and continue the project. I think if my teammates’ thoughts were different, we would still be able to continue our work by talking in business meetings and getting ideas from each other, and using it as a challenge.

References

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project Management: The Managerial Process. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures (2001). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute Inc.

Globerson, Shlomo, Cohen, Izack, Vardi, Sivan. (2016). Identifying the Criteria Used for ESTABLISHING WORK PACKAGE SIZE FOR PROJECT WBS. (Park University).

Buchtik, Liliana. (2013). Secrets to Mastering the WBS. (Park University).

Here is the original directions for reference you DO NOT have to do this it is to help you.

Directions

After reading and watching this week’s material, engage in an active discussion regarding how cost and time management impact the WBS. Review the following information and answer the following questions:

Cost and time management can impact many aspects of the project. One of the major deliverables that cost and time can impact is the WBS. In this week’s team work, your team will be reviewing the current cost and time estimates and updating the WBS with more realistic information based on feedback and comments from the professor and the other various team members. Discuss the potential items to review and if you think there are any major updates to the WBS after reviewing the time and cost management chapters. Do your thoughts differ from your teammates? Why and what will you do to resolve?

Please find an additional reference source and cite the source in your discussion post. Sources must be used to enhance the learning experience. By finding a referenced source, you are enhancing the learning experience by searching for another source of information on the topic. Also, please ensure you are using a source that is peer reviewed to ensure accuracy of information (select peer-reviewed journal articles in the Park Library search engine)

Your original post should be in the format of an executive summary (must contain verbiage and bullet points to name the key points). Use APA formatting.

Q1-Think of a job that requires very high levels of certain cognitive abilities. Can you think of a way to redesign that job so that people who lack those abilities could still perform the job effectively? Now respond to the same question with regard to emotional and physical abilities.

Q2- Consider the personality dimensions included in the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory and the RIASEC model. If you had to “slot” those dimensions into the Big Five, would you be able to do so? Which dimensions don’t seem to fit?

Q3-Think about a highly successful team with which you are familiar. What types of task, goal, and outcome interdependence does this team have? Describe how changes in task, goal, and outcome interdependence might have a negative impact on this team.

Q4-Think of a team you’ve worked in that performed poorly. Were any of the causes of the poor performance related to the forces that tend to create process loss? If so, which force was most problematic? What steps, if any, did your team take to deal with the problem?

Q5- Who is the most influential leader you have come in contact with personally? What forms of power did they have, and which types of influence did they use to accomplish objectives?

Q6-You are required to reply to at least two peer discussion question post answers to this weekly discussion question and/ These post replies need to be substantial and constructive in nature.

1- My first colleague’s post:

1- There is no human being in the world that has all the abilities i.e. cognitive, physical and emotional abilities. People with different abilities can achieve the goals of an organization.

Let us take the example of car manufacturing. People who have higher cognitive ability design the parts of the car and the assembly plan. People who have physical ability assemble a car using machines and psycho-motor skills. People who have emotional abilities organize the people in the factory floor and administer sales of cars. Every organization requires human abilities to achieve its goals; it is impractical to replace human abilities with their systems, which includes job redesign.

2- Personality assessments tools helps to understand people based on their personality make up.

Though these tools attempt to understand personality of a person, they are based on distinct theoretical model and empirical research. The context of development and the theoretical basis of each assessment tool is different.

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Big five Personality factors and Holland’s RIASEC model are taxonomies of personality characteristics. Each of these is developed based on distinct theoretical foundations and empirical research. Though some factors appear to be similar in all taxonomies, many are unique for interpretation. It would be ideal to use the tools independently rather than comparing their commonality.

3- A team is a group of individuals who are interacting, influencing and are interdependent on each other with the target and commitment of achieving the common goals of the organization as whole.

The example of a successful football team can be where all the players are interdependent Interdependence removes the redundancies of work efforts and is therefore very efficient. The team has a task interdependency of scoring a goal against the opposition to achieve an outcome interdependence of winning the match. Therefore, their task is a collective interdependence, and the effort is a collective one with constant interaction.

If any change in the interdependence occurs, each individual player would think about personal achievements and therefore only play for himself. But working in teams require proper coordination and cooperation among the members, which makes teamwork challenging. The outcome interdependence will change and even if the player scores high number of goals, still there is a little probability the team would succeed.

4- Researchers have identified two kinds of team processes i.e. one that enhances the outcomes of the teamwork and the other one which diminishes the outcomes of team work. The scholar calls the former outcome as ‘process gain’ and the latter is called ‘process loss.

The student had the experience of working in a team whose teamwork process lead to a process loss. The team was a community volunteering group, and it had the following characteristics:

other as rivals

about rival members

meetings

The team leaders should have taken the following steps to avoid the process loss:

Suggestions Teamwork process has moderate contribution to outcome but has tremendous effect on the commitment of team members.

5- True leaders enjoy the art of persuading and motivating other individuals and controlling their thought process through consultation, appeals, and various tactics of ingratiation, coalition pressure and exchange and therefore leading and guiding them to achieve the common goal.

The immediate reporting manager of the current organization is a perfect example of the most influential leader who inveigled her subordinates to identify their potentials. Being the manager,

she promotes basic individual rights and freedom of speech, privacy and thought processes through the legitimate power and even foster integrity and fair treatment to every individual by being just, honest, and reasonable by exerting the required coercive power. The power tactics complementing the legitimate power to meet the deadlines on time is through legitimating and imposing pressure tactics by using the authoritative power or even coercive power. At times exchange tactics are used to motivate the employees to enhance their productivity through reward power.

Having an insatiable learning agility can leverage her analyzing skills, decision making abilities, thereby nurturing her expert power. Even being an avid learner by approaching and learning from those who already possess the knowledge even if they are subordinates is the best way to gain expert power as per her ideology. She has a modern and positive outlook towards the employees. She believes in democratic leadership rather than autocratic one.

Confidence is one of her important traits and has adequate zeal and conviction on herself. By being an effective communicator, she exchanges ideas and suggestions with every level of subordinate of the organization but acts strategically applying personal intellect. She is demanding but at the same time maintains sociability. She is a true enthusiast towards her job and maintains integrity, loyalty, and competency and has the best decisiveness.

My second colleague’s post:

Part 1. Should be between 300-500 words. Use websites that are based in the United States and use at least 2 references. Please use in text citations.

Identify an incentive conflict in your firm, or one you have read about, that reduced firm value. As part of your answer, discuss whether or not one or more of the legs of the organizational stool was unbalanced, and if so, how that contributed to the conflict.

Part 2(a) For both parts this is the response for discussion post. Use websites that are based in the United States and use at least 2 references. Please use in text citations. Please add on to what was already talked about. Don’t repeat what was basically already said.

The federal government employee rewards and incentives system has long been scrutinized. It is common knowledge that firing a federal employee is can be nearly impossible, and at times even puts the supervisor at risk due to union grievances or other such complaints. This organizational architecture has created a system to allows for free riders develop within the firm, creating a marginal cost to the taxpayer much greater than the realized marginal benefit produced by the employee. Secondly, bonuses and rewards offered to top-performing government employees are minimal compared to the private sector, creating an organizational architecture with high levels of decision rights at some positions compared to their much weaker incentives and rewards systems, leaving the organizational stool unbalanced. The chair consists of three legs, assignments of decision rights, the firm’s reward system, and the performance evaluation system (Brickley, J.A., Smith, C.W. & Zimmerman, J.L. (2021).

In 2017, the federal government only fired 11,046 persons out of the 2.1 million workforce (not including the military). This was 0.5% removal rate with the federal government (York, J.W., 2018). The low removal rate is in part due to the burdensome process of trying to remove a federal employee. Federal employees are not only protected by collective bargaining agreements but also through intensive federal regulation designed to protect the government worker. However, the burdensome process leaves management with the burden of following stringent federal regulations when addressing performance or disciplinary issues with the employee.

In addition to burdensome disciplinary procedures, the federal government’s awards and incentives system does not create a policy that motivates employees to perform at high levels. A federal employee often seeks. The stereotypical “lazy government worker” exists due to the federal government’s organizational architecture. The federal government pay charts consist of several pay bands; however, the General Schedule (GS) pay band is the most common. There are 15 pay grades within the GS system, and each pay grade consists of 10 steps. Each step averages a 3 percent raise, and the raises are automatically based on longevity. Steps 1-4 occur each year, then two years between steps 4-6, and finally three years between steps 7-10 (Office of Personnel Management, N.D.). This creates an incentive system that automatically provides employees the marginal benefit of increased salary based on longevity without increasing the marginal costs of increased or superior performance, fueling the “lazy government worker.” It is apparent that the federal government’s organizational stool is left unbalanced when realizing the primary pay scale rewards system is not performance-based.

REFERENCES

Brickley, J.A., Smith, C.W. & Zimmerman, J.L. (2021). Managerial Economics and

Organizational Architecture. 7^th Ed. McGraw-Hill Education

Office of Personnel Management. (n.d.). General Schedule Classification and Pay.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leav…

York, John W. (19 July, 2018) The Heritage Foundation. Firing a Bad Federal Employee May

Get a Little Easier. https://www.heritage.org/government-regulation/commentary/firing-

bad-federal-employee-may-get-little-easier

Part 2(b) For both parts this is the response for discussion post. Use websites that are based in the United States and use at least 2 references. Please use in text citations. Please add on to what was already talked about. Don’t repeat what was basically already said.

Several years ago, I worked as the accounting manager for a local bank. The bank was located in a rural area, and the majority of the stock was owned by one family. The president of the bank was a member of that family, and he was responsible for the day to day operations of the bank.

Incentive conflict is the divergence between what is in the firm’s best interest, specifically profit maximization, and maximization of other’s utility. In this case, one of the causes of conflict was perquisite-taking (Brickley et al., 2021). Perquisites may be described as benefits awarded to certain employees, often executive-level, that are not provided to all other employees (Executive perquisites negotiation, 2021). The president often took extended time off during the year, above and beyond to what he was entitled as a senior leader of the bank. In addition, the bank paid for remodeling of the president’s home, as well as the furnishing of his home office. While it was in the best interest of the bank to appropriately compensate the president, and perquisites are often included in executive compensation, the bank president’s perks were excessive and were in conflict with the firm’s goal of maximizing profit (Veritas Executive Compensation Consultants, 2020).

According to Brickley et al., the three legs of the organizational stool are the assignment of decision rights within a firm, the methodology of individual rewards, and evaluation of performance (2021). Ultimate decision rights in the firm very clearly belonged to the president; lower level employees had no authority to challenge his decisions, and the board was seemingly not aware of the impact of the additional expenditures or perks. Appropriate evaluations of performance did not occur, as the board of directors looked to the bank president for bank status. If the bank made money at a sufficient level, the directors were satisfied that all was well. In this example, all three legs of the organizational stool were wobbly. While the bank was profitable, better designed architecture would have maximized profits.

References

Brickley, J. A., Smith, C. W., & Zimmerman, J. L. (2021). Managerial Economics and organizational architecture (7th ed.). McGraw Hill LLC.

Executive perquisites negotiation. Carey & Associates P.C. (2021, September 28). https://capclaw.com/executive-perquisites-negotiation/#:~:text=Executive%20Perquisites%20are%20those%20benefits,provided%20to%20all%20other%20employees

Veritas Executive Compensation Consultants. (2020, August 25). What are perquisites and what role do they play in executive compensation packages? Veritas Executive Compensation Consultants. https://veritasecc.com/insights/what-are-perquisites-and-what-role-do-they-play-in-executive-compensation-packages/

Part 3. Should be between 750-100 words. Use websites that are based in the United States and use at least 2 references. Please use in text citations. And be very in depth with this response.

eBay operates the world’s largest online auction. It is a multi-billion-dollar business, which in 2018 generated nearly $11 billion in revenue from its operations in about 33 countries. Sellers pay a small fee to eBay to list their items. They provide a description of the item, photographs, the minimum acceptable bid, accepted forms of payment, and other relevant information. Items can be sold at a fixed price or through an auction. In an auction, bidders submit electronic bids over the Internet. After the auction closes (auctions usually last several days), the high bidder received an e-mail. The high bidder must contact the seller within three business days to claim the item and arrange payment and delivery. eBay provides other support services:

• The Feedback Forum is a place where eBay users leave comments about each other’s buying and selling experiences. If you are a bidder, you can check the seller’s Feedback Profile easily before you place a bid to learn about the other buyers’ experience. If you’re a seller, you can do the same thing to check out buyers. Each participant is given a Feedback Score based on the number of positive and negative ratings they have received. Participants with sufficient positive ratings are flagged by colored stars. The highest rating is the “Red shooting star.” eBay has created a set of policies to guard against “feedback manipulation” and “feedback abuse.”
• eBay users are encouraged to settle transactions through PayPal. PayPal provides free insurance of up to $2,000 on some items to protect buyers in cases where they do not receive the item, or it was less than expected.
• Participants sign user agreements that specify the trading rules and expectations. eBay’s safety staff investigates alleged misuses at eBay such as fraud, trading offenses, and illegally listed items. Potential resolutions include such things as banning a person from future trading on eBay.

• How does eBay create value?
• What potential contracting problems exist on eBay?
• How does eBay address these problems?
• What are the contracting costs at eBay?
• eBay claims that it has only a small problem with fraud and misuse of the system. Does that imply that it is overinvesting in addressing potential contracting problems? Underinvesting? Explain?

1. Homepage / Title Page

Your homepage or title page should creatively showcase the essence of the wedding. At the bottom of this page, be certain to include the following statement: This project details a hypothetical wedding for a university-level wedding planning course.

2. Consultant Page

Include your name(s) and the overall business name for your wedding planning company. Include any experience you have and/or write a statement that sells your company to potential clients, keeping your target audience in mind. Be certain to include the locations you serve and your contact information, which can be hypothetical. Incorporation of photo(s) is encouraged to personalize the consultant page. Any message to potential clients regarding your response time to inquiries should be 24 hours or less. Otherwise, they will move on to the next consultant!

3. The Couple

Create a hypothetical couple. Separate the information by client (e.g., bride and groom, groom and groom, bride and bride). Create a profile of each and give a synopsis of who they are. Include their names, hometown, current residence (they may or may not live in the same location), cultural background, religious background, age, education, occupation, hobbies, family specifics (e.g., names, ages and other relevant details of parents, siblings, etc.) and any additional information that is pertinent to the couple. Narrative detail is encouraged to bring the couple to life, showcasing each person’s background, interests and personality. Incorporation of a photo of each (and/or together as a couple) is required. You can use stock online photos to find individuals who meet the characteristics of your clients. Below their individual profiles, include the section on how and where they met, followed by their engagement story.

While the couple is hypothetical, you should include sufficient detail so that they come across as real. Make sure the facts are consistent and clear. For example, with educational background, indicate where each went to school, and major / degree(s) earned. If they are in the workforce, be specific about the name of the company and job title. The specificity should follow with all areas. Note: Be certain that the details regarding your clients originate from your own imagination! Do not under any circumstances use photos and/or details that are specific to actual or media-based celebrities.

4. Focus on Diversity / Unique Situations

Every couple is diverse in their own ways and weddings allow couples to celebrate their uniqueness! These unique situations influence the wedding planning process in positive ways and may also present planning challenges. List and thoroughly explain a minimum of two diverse aspects that are unique to this couple. Some examples might include: cultures or subcultures represented, religions represented, LGBTQ+ couple, age cohort, specialized needs such as a disability, second marriage, blended family, family dynamics, etc.

The unique situations should be distinct – do not lump them into a single paragraph. Ground the diversity by covering areas that are salient. pertinent to your clients and that are clearly embedded in the planning process. Be certain to have at least two unique situations, presented and discussed separately and thoroughly. This is an extremely important aspect of the project that will guide many of the other decisions.

5. Theme and Vision

Provide a summary of the theme for the wedding and the inspiration (vision) behind the theme. Clearly and thoroughly explain how the theme is relevant to this couple. Give a minimum of three detailed examples of how the theme is incorporated in the wedding. Be sure that the theme makes sense in light of the details that you shared about the couple’s background. Make sure that you clearly separate the three examples of how the theme is incorporated in the wedding, and discuss each.

6. Number of Guests

The couple can have between 20 and 200 guests. Select the number of guests and clearly and thoroughly give at least two reasons why this number was appropriate for this couple, their theme and vision, unique elements, budget, etc. Clearly separate the two reasons why the number of guests made sense in light of the couple, their theme and vision, unique elements, budget, etc.

When considering your discussion of the clients’ guests, remember that these are the people who are spending their time and money to attend the wedding, so be certain to do this section justice. Some things to consider:

How many total? How many from each side?

Are guests local, national and/or international?

What airport will out of town guests use?

Do they all speak the same language? If not, how will this be addressed during the wedding events?

How long are most people staying?

Are there room block(s)? Where?

Are your clients planning any special activities for out of town guests, perhaps the day before or day after the wedding?

Any specialized needs for the guests in terms of diet, mobility, etc.?

Are children invited to the wedding? Will there be onsite child care?

7. Budget

Your clients’ wedding budget can fall between $5,000 and $100,000 and should not include the engagement ring or the honeymoon. As you are creating the background information for your hypothetical clients, their story should make sense in light of the budget amount.

State the budget amount and thoroughly detail a minimum of two distinct ways (clearly separated) that the budget amount was selected and how the budget influenced decisions the clients made. Reflect on who paid for the wedding, why and any impacts that this had on the planning process.

Provide a summary budget in a graph or table format the indicates a realistic distribution of expenditures in light of your clients’ selected specific elements. Table 7.3 (p. 137) offers sample summary budgets for different price points. Remember that each couple will have areas that are particularly important to them and the budget percentages will vary accordingly. Table 7.3 offers national averages and should not be directly copied. The budget summary you create should be weighted to reflect the comparative importance of the categories to your clients.

8. Planning Timeline

Your clients’ wedding timeline can fall between 2 months and 24 months. As you are creating the background information for your hypothetical clients, their story should make sense in light of the timeline. When listing the wedding date, be sure to include the exact full date (including day of the week) and start time of the wedding as well as start time of the reception.

The timeline starts from the point of engagement, so you can determine the desired wedding date (based on your clients’ backgrounds, theme, etc.) and work backwards to the associated engagement date. For example, if the client timeline is 12 months and my clients are getting married in January 2023 to coincide with a winter theme, then the associated engagement date would be in January of 2022.

The wedding date should be based in reality, meaning that it must take place at some point after the end of this semester. You should be thinking ahead as you plan, as trends change and we want to be forward-thinking consultants.

State the amount of time that the couple had to plan the wedding and clearly detail a minimum of two ways this amount of time was needed and how the timeline affected their planning process. Clearly separate the two ways that the timeline influenced the planning process.

Additionally, reflect back on the seven phases of timelines (see Table 8.1 on pp. 150-151 with detailed explanation for each phase on pp. 151-172 in your book) and thoroughly explain which phases (at least two) presented the greatest challenges to the couple and/or planner and why. Clearly separate the challenges.

9. Specific Elements

Below is a list of elements that are common to most weddings. For each element, you should include details and photos that will clarify the selections made by your clients and how they match the theme and budget. Be certain to indicate the associated vendor’s contact information (note: all vendors should be actual businesses) and any additional citations regarding where the information was obtained. Citations may be beyond the associated vendors (e.g., where sample photos were obtained). If any given element listed below is not going to be included in the wedding, provide a paragraph clearly detailing why it was not included.

• Ceremony venue
• Reception venue
• Invitations and other stationery elements. Note: You are required to include the wording that will be used in the invitation. This can be placed next to a sample of what the invitation will look like. See pp. 280-283 for guidelines and samples of wording.
• Wedding attire (minimum: the couple and their attendants)
• Floral décor for ceremony (minimum: bride’s bouquet, wedding party bouquets and boutonnieres)
• Floral décor for reception (minimum: centerpieces)
• Music for ceremony
• Readings for the ceremony (minimum of two, include the wording for each)
• Music and other entertainment for reception
• Photography and/or videography
• Rentals, decorative elements and lighting (can be separated as applicable)
• Food and beverage
• Wedding cake / other desserts, as applicable
• Transportation and lodging
• Favors
• Gifts for wedding party members
• Wedding rings
• Wedding day preparation (minimum: hair and makeup for bride)
• Other (to be named and included as appropriate)

10. Layout, Form, Design and Grammar

The utmost professionalism is expected in terms of the layout, form, design and grammar. Treat this assignment as though it is your company and your clients. Use your creativity to showcase the theme. Make the layout easy to follow and clearly label each section. Proofread carefully to catch typographical and grammatical errors. Be careful in your usage of pronouns and verb tense. Remember, this is not your wedding that you are presenting, but that of your clients!