What are the benefits of aligning with a professional mentor?

Part I
What are the benefits of aligning with a professional mentor?

After
conducting research about mentors, what are the most important criteria that
you will use in selecting a mentor?

Who
will you select as your professional mentor?

Part II

Describe what you think it takes to be an effective leader.
Support
your answers with examples.

Part III

Please read the case and
answer the questions at the end. Do you agree or disagree?
Collegiate Promotions
distributes products that are marketed to students and alumni of major
universities. High-selling products include coffee mugs and T-shirts that bear
collegiate logos. In order to distribute its products, Collegiate Promotions
has adopted an independent sales representative model. The sales
representatives work for themselves and are not actual employees of Collegiate.
They have independent contractor status.
Becoming an independent
sales representative is easy. An interested person pays a $300 fee to obtain
catalogs and other literature needed to advertise and sell the line of
products. The sales representative then begins to write orders for products. A
sales representative can sell to anyone through any channel. This means that
there are no protected territories, so several sales representatives are often
working in the same geographic location. Many representatives also sell through
Internet websites.
Collegiate Promotions does
not set an absolute price for its products. Instead, it uses a wholesale plus
pricing strategy that allows sales representatives to sell within a relatively
broad range. The range is normally 30 to 50 percent higher than wholesale. For
instance, if the wholesale price of a coffee mug is $10, then the
representative can choose to sell the mug at a price anywhere between $13 and
$15. The sales representative receives a commission of half the amount charged
over the wholesale price. If the mug sells for $13, the representative receives
$1.50. If the mug sells for $15, the representative receives $2.50. Because
they are independent contractors, the sales representatives receive no other
compensation.

Questions:
1. Do you
think the compensation system at Collegiate Promotions is effective?
2. Why would
a sales representative try to sell at the top of the price range? Why at the
bottom of the price range? Do you predict that most sales are made at the top
or bottom of the range of possible prices?
3. How does
the lack of geographically protected sales areas affect salespersons’ behavior?
4. How
committed do you think the independent contractors are to Collegiate
Promotions? What are some positive features of the independent contractor
status for the organization? What might be some positive features for the
independent representatives? Would you expect sales representatives to have
long-term associations with the company?

Part IV

Please read the case and answer
the questions at the end. Please respond to two of your peers. Do you agree or
disagree?
Joe’s Hamburger Grill has been
doing business in the same location for the past 20 years. The Grill is located
in Phoenix, Arizona, and caters to college students by providing some of the
world’s biggest hamburgers in a fun and casual dining atmosphere. Joe looks
back with fondness on the 20 years that have passed since he first opened the
grill. His primary motivation for starting the business was the opportunity to
work for himself. When he graduated from college, Joe took a job as an
accountant and worked for a number of different companies. When he turned 40,
Joe decided he was tired of working for a boss, so he began looking for an
alternative opportunity. Knowing his love for cooking and his flair for
providing great customer service, Joe’s wife and friends encouraged him to open
the hamburger stand. After taking some time to decide what he wanted to do, Joe
followed their advice and founded the business. By all accounts, his efforts
can be seen as a success. He has made a good living doing something that he
truly enjoys.
When Joe turned 60 several years
ago, he decided it was time to slow down and let someone else deal with the
day-to-day hassles of running the business. He hired a manager to oversee
operations at the Grill. After three months, the manager quit and started
classes at the local university. Joe was then able to hire a manager who stayed
for 18 months but left to work at a bigger store in Dallas, Texas. For the last
three months, Joe has been trying to hire a new manager. He hasn’t been able to
find someone he thinks will be a successful manager. Joe wonders if part of the
problem is his compensation package.
When Joe hired the first manager,
he decided to pay a monthly salary that included full health benefits. He
didn’t know how much to pay for a salary, so he asked the first manager how
much she was making. He then offered her a $500 per month increase to work for
him. The second manager seemed fine with the amount, but a few recent
candidates have told him that he needs to pay more.
One day a customer of Joe told
him that she was taking a human resource management class where they were
discussing compensation issues. Joe described his dilemma about trying to
decide how much to pay a store manager. The customer offered to do some
research and learn more about pay levels for managers. A few days later she
brought Joe a graph that had information about pay practices. She told Joe that
she had been unable to locate specific information about pay for restaurant
managers. However, she had found some information about food service
supervisors. Just looking at the information she felt that the amount for the
supervisor position was probably too low for someone who actually managed the entire
restaurant. She thus found some additional information about the wages for
general managers. She also looked at compensation figures for people who owned
sales-related businesses. Knowing that Joe had lost one manager to a job in
Dallas, she included information about compensation in Dallas and another large
city—Los Angeles.

Joe looks at the information in
the graph and wonders what to do with it. He wonders how important it is to
take into account pay in other cities. Will he need to pay wages similar to
what is being paid to managers at larger companies? Joe’s goal is to find a
manager who will treat the Grill like an owner. He wants the manager to commit
to several years of building and maintaining profitability. If things work out,
he might even be willing to sell the Grill to a high-performing manager who
shows loyalty.

Questions:
1. What are some
suggestions that might help Joe as he thinks about changing the way he pays
someone to manage the Grill?
2. Do you think
Joe’s approach to determining how much to pay a manager was successful? Would
you recommend that he do something different?
3. How might
agency theory guide Joe as he thinks about finding a manager who might someday
become the owner of the Grill?
4. How can the
concepts of equity theory guide Joe’s decisions concerning comparisons with pay
in other cities and for other jobs?
5. How might FLSA
standards apply to Joe’s compensation decisions?

Part V

80/20 Rule
Discussion Question
“A renowned business magnate Warren Buffett once
said: ”You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long
as you don’t do too many things wrong.” ”

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eisenhower Matrix
How Leaders Make Decisions Using 80-20 Rule.pdf
download
The Pareto 80/20 rule,
which states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, applies to
the economy just as well as it does to time management and any other field of
work. The trick is not to get bogged down by numbers and percentages but to understand
the core law of the Pareto 80/20 rule. That is the distribution of cause and
effect.
There are 4 quadrants in this matrix. Starting clockwise,
Quadrant 1 is named Urgent and Important. Those are the things you should do
right now. They can be unexpected, so be ready to reschedule something to open
up a time slot.
Quadrant 2, Urgent but Not Important, lists items that you
should delegate or reschedule. It’s not up to you to do them. Instead, you can
train other people to solve them.
Quadrant 3 is Not Urgent but Important. You have to spend enough
time to do this thing, or they will become urgent. Items in Quadrant 4, Not
Urgent and Not Important, are simply distractions. Ignore them or drop them
altogether.
In this discussion question, think of 10 things you must
complete this week and put them in a quadrant using the Eisenhower Matrix.
How important are they?
Write them in the discussion questions in 2 to
3 paragraphs

Part VII

‘X-Y Theory’ Questionnaire
This discussion question is the X-Y Theory questionnaire.
Take the test and explain your results and discuss it amount
your peers.
The interpretation of the questionnaire is attached.
In 2-3 paragraphs, respond to the following.
The initial post should be substantive and be
supported by course concepts and posted by Wednesday.
Respond to your peers with meaningful
responses by Sunday.

Score the statements
(5 = always, 4 = mostly, 3 = often, 2 = occasionally, 1 = rarely, 0 = never)

To indicate whether
the situation and management style is ‘X’ or ‘Y’:

1. My boss asks me
politely to do things, gives me reasons why, and invites my suggestions.
2. I am encouraged to
learn skills outside of my immediate area of responsibility.
3. I am left to work
without interference from my boss, but help is available if I want it.
4. I am given credit
and praise when I do good work or put in the extra effort.
5. People leaving the
company are given an ‘exit interview’ to hear their views on the organization.
6. I am incentivized
to work hard and well.
7. If I want extra
responsibility my boss will find a way to give it to me.
8. If I want extra
training my boss will help me find how to get it or will arrange it.
9. I call my boss and
my boss’s boss by their first names.
10. My boss is
available for me to discuss my concerns or worries or suggestions.
11. I know what the
company’s aims and targets are.
12. I am told how the
company is performing on a regular basis.
13. I am given an
opportunity to solve problems connected with my work.
14. My boss tells me
what is happening in the organization.
15. I have regular
meetings with my boss to discuss how I can improve and develop.

Total score
60-75 = strong
Y-theory management (effective short and long term)
45-59 = generally
Y-theory management
16-44 = generally
X-theory management
0 -15 = strongly
X-theory management (autocratic, may be effective short-term, poor long-term)

To indicate whether
the person prefers being managed by ‘X’ or ‘Y’ style:

1. I like to be
involved and consulted by my boss about how I can best do my job.
2. I want to learn
skills outside of my immediate area of responsibility.
3. I like to work
without interference from my boss but be able to ask for help if I need it.
4. I work best and
most productively without pressure from my boss or the threat of losing my job.
5. When I leave the
company I would like an ‘exit interview’ to give my views on the organization.
6. I like to be
incentivized and praised for working hard and well.
7. I want to increase
my responsibility.
8. I want to be
trained to do new things.
9. I prefer to be
friendly with my boss and the management.
10. I want to be able
to discuss my concerns, worries, or suggestions with my boss or another
manager.
11. I like to know
what the company’s aims and targets are.
12. I like to be told
how the company is performing on a regular basis.
13. I like to be given
opportunities to solve problems connected with my work.
14. I like to be told
by my boss what is happening in the organization.
15. I like to have
regular meetings with my boss to discuss how I can improve and develop.

Total score
60-75 = strongly
prefers Y-theory management
45-59 = generally
prefers Y-theory management
16-44 = generally
prefers X-theory management
0 -15 = strongly
prefers X-theory management

Most people prefer
‘Y-theory’ management. These people are generally uncomfortable in ‘X-theory’
situations and are unlikely to be productive, especially long-term, and
are likely to seek alternative situations. This quick test provides a broad
indication as to management style and individual preference, using the
‘X-Y Theory’ definitions. This assessment tool was developed by Alan Chapman
and you may use it personally or within your organization provided copyright
and www.businessballs.com is acknowledged. Not to be sold or published. The
user accepts sole risk; Alan Chapman assumes no liability.

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