Author: admin

Analytical Paper
Read the Case Study below. Your assignment has 3 deliverables.  
1. You are to perform a Stakeholder Analysis.  You are encouraged to research comprehensive models of Stakeholder Analysis, describe in your analysis the components of the analysis you choose to use, and to cite all sources used for this assignment.  This assignment requires you to submit a complete, thorough, and thoughtful analysis of all Stakeholders, identifying each and discussing the interests each may have in the decision called for in the case.
2. You are to recommend and justify a specific decision in this case.  State clearly what you would do and why.
3. You are to analyze your recommended decision according to one of the Ethical Rules identified in your text (Utilitarian, Moral Rights, Justice or Practical, see chapter 3).  This analysis does not have to support your decision, but be a complete analysis (i.e., both pros and cons) of the decision you propose based on the ethical rule.  
The submission has to be 5 – 7 pages double spaced with 1- inch margin on all sides. You will be evaluated on your logical thinking, mastery over materials & orderly, coherent persuasive presentation of ideas supported by evidence. Please pay attention to spelling, punctuation & grammar.
Please feel free to discuss with me your strategies and questions in order to insure your confidence in a higher grade.  
Also, a visit to Writing Center and discussion with Consultants is a necessary step as it can go a long way in enhancing your final submission. Please plan accordingly as appointment at Writing Centre get full pretty quickly!
I recommend a proactive approach versus procrastination.
The assignment is due 24th April ‘24 at 11:30 pm  
Cite your sources in the text and provide a reference page at the end.  I prefer APA formatting for in-text citation and reference page.  You can find more information about APA from one of the following web sites:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
http://apastyle.apa.org/
The Case of the Plant Relocation
By Karen Musalo
You are the chief executive of Electrocorp, an electronics company, which makes the onboard computer components for automobiles. In your production plants, complex hydrocarbon solvents are used to clean the chips and other parts that go into the computer components. Some of the solvents used are carcinogens and must be handled with extreme care. Until recently, all of your production plants were located in the United States. However, the cost of production has risen, causing profits to decline. 
A number of factors have increased production costs. First, the union representing the workers in your plant waged a successful strike resulting in increased salary and benefits. The pay and benefits package for beginning employees is around $15/hour. A second factor has been stringent safety regulations. These safety procedures, which apply inside the plant, have been expensive in both time and money. Finally, environmental regulations have made Electrocorp’s operations more costly. Electrocorp is required to put its waste through an expensive process before depositing it at a special disposal facility. 
Shareholders have been complaining to you about the declining fortunes of the company. Many of Electrocorp’s competitors have moved their operations to less-developed countries, where their operating costs are less than in the United States, and you have begun to consider whether to relocate a number of plants to offshore sites. Electrocorp is a major employer in each of the U.S. cities where it is located, and you know that a plant closure will cause economic dislocation in these communities. You know that the employees who will be laid off because of plant closures will have difficulty finding equivalent positions and that increased unemployment, with its attendant social costs, will result. However, you are aware of many other corporations, including your competitors, that have shut down their U.S. operations, and it is something that you are willing to consider. 
You have hired a consultant, Martha Smith, to investigate the sites for possible plant relocation. Ms. Smith has years of experience working with companies that have moved their operations to less-developed countries to reduce their operating costs. Based on your own research, you have asked Ms. Smith to more fully investigate the possibility of operations in Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa. A summary of her report and recommendation for each country follows: 
Mexico
A number of border cities in Mexico would be cost-efficient relocation sites based on labor, and health and safety/environmental factors. Workers in production plants comparable to Electrocorp’s earn about $3 per day, which is the prevailing wage. There is frequent worker turnover because employees complain that they cannot live on $3/day, and they head north to work illegally in the United States. However, a ready supply of workers takes their place. 
Mexican health and environmental laws are also favorable to production. Exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace is permitted at higher levels than in the United States, allowing corporations to dispense to some degree with costly procedures and equipment. Mexico’s environmental laws are less strict than those of the United States, and a solvent recovery system, used to reduce the toxicity of the waste before dumping, is not required. 
The only identifiable business risk is possible bad publicity. The rate of birth defects has been high in many Mexican border towns where similar plants are in operation. Citizen health groups have begun protests, accusing the companies of contamination leading to illness. 
Philippines
Conditions in the Philippines are more favorable than those in Mexico in terms of labor and health and safety/environmental factors. 
The prevailing wage in the Philippines is about $1/day, and young workers (under 16) may be paid even less. As in Mexico, the workers complain that the rate of pay is not a living wage, but it is the present market rate. 
The health and safety and environmental regulations are equivalent to those in Mexico, but there have been no public complaints or opposition regarding birth defects, cancers, or other illnesses. 
South Africa
Conditions in South Africa are positive in some respects, but not as favorable in economic terms as in Mexico or the Philippines. The prevailing wage in South Africa is about $10/day. Furthermore, there is a strong union movement, meaning that there may be future demands for increases in wages and benefits. 
The unions and the government have been working together on health and safety issues and environmental protections. Exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace is not permitted at as high a level as in Mexico and the Philippines. Although the equipment necessary to reduce toxic chemicals to an acceptable level is not as costly as in the United States, this expense would not be incurred in the other two countries. Furthermore, there are requirements for a solvent recovery system, which also increases operation expenses. 
YOUR TASK:
You have to decide how you would like to proceed. You should state your clear and specific decision of how to proceed after a careful, thoughtful and thorough Stakeholder Analysis.  Additionally, you are to analyze your decision according to one of the Ethical Rules as presented in your text.

Case Discussion: Smithfield Custom Furniture (Part 4 Conclusion)
This case discussion continues with the Smithfield Furniture Company. (You may desire to briefly review the facts provided to you in Discussions 1—3 to address this week’s discussion.)
It is now April 1, 2020. The 2015 purchase of You Figure it Out was culminated, and the planned integration of their manufacturing and sales, as described in Discussion 3, fully completed. The company now has 411 stores and 24,000 employees. 344 of the 411 retail outlets all sell the upscale and moderately priced lines; 51 retail outlets (Texas (6), California (13), New York (15), Nevada (4), Florida (9), and North Carolina (4) sell only the You Figure it Out brand. These 51 stores employ 2,000 of the 24,000 workers. There are 16 stores overseas, Spain (4), France (4), Germany (4), and England (4), that sell all 3 product lines. These stores employ 1,000 workers. Half of these employees work in retail stores. The other half work at various seaports in their countries, receiving furniture and delivering the furniture produced in the US to various stores and customers. In 2015, Margot Smithfield and the 12-member board of directors purchased You Figure it Out, a moderately profitable 51 store chain of ultra-modern furniture. The furniture and furniture-related accessories of You Figure it Out were all made in China. Still, with the 2015 acquisition, all furniture is manufactured at 1 of the 5 furniture manufacturing plants in the United States. Their retail stores are located in Texas (6), California (13), New York (15), Nevada (4), Florida (9), and North Carolina (4).
Financial Info:
2019 Gross Sales (all product lines) – $1.6 Billion US. 2019 Net Profit – $440 Million April 30, 2020 (Cash Reserves) – $2.8 Billion
Sixty percent (60%) of sales, gross revenues, and expenses are associated with the upscale product line.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of sales, gross revenues, and expenses are associated with the You Figure it Out product line.
Fifteen percent (15%) of sales, gross revenues, and expenses are associated with overseas outlets.
In other words, for this case activity, all 3 product lines are proportional in terms of revenue and expenses. The Management Issue: Presently, it is believed that as early as March 2020, the possibility exists for the company to be in the throes of a worldwide rapidly spreading, highly contagious, debilitating, and often fatal viral pandemic. The company must plan for this eventuality to occur. Your Task for Your Initial Post Margot Smithfield has requested you, based on the course materials you have studied the past seven weeks related to Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling, to briefly discuss (supported by course materials. in-text citations, and references) the major impact this pandemic will have on Smithfield Custom Furniture’s Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling functions. You can assume a vaccine will be available and distributed worldwide 18 months from the start of the pandemic. After you have discussed the major impact the pandemic will have on the company’s Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling functions, you must indicate for each of those functions the most significant action the company will need to take to ensure its survival, assuming the pandemic’s effects will last 18 months. Format for Your Initial Post
You must use the exact numbers and their corresponding headings for your initial post. You are required to use when appropriate in-text citations and a reference list. 1. Pandemic: Major Effects on Planning for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company 1A: Pandemic: Most Significant Planning Action for Company 2. Pandemic: Major Effects on Organizing for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company 2A: Pandemic: Most Significant Organizing Action for Company 3. Pandemic: Major Effects on Leading for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company 3A: Pandemic: Most Significant Leading Action for Company 4. Pandemic: Major Effects on Controlling for Smithfield Custom Furniture Company 4A: Pandemic: Most Significant Controlling Action for Company