uestion 1:  Although most new businesses start out as sole proprietorships, few large businesses are organized this way.  Why is the sole proprietorship such a popular form of ownership for new businesses?  What features of sole proprietorship make it unattractive for growing businesses?  What business forms would be more appropriate for a growing business?

Question #2:  Explain how prices are determined in a free-market economy.   During the recent recession, consumers were less willing and able to purchase products they had grown accustomed to buying.  Describe how the supply and demand curves were affected by consumers’ decisions to pull back on their spending.

Question #3:  Why would a U.S. company decide to form a strategic alliance with a company in another country?  What kinds of ethical considerations might the U.S. company be faced with given possible differences in laws and standards between the two countries?

OLD DOMINION TRAIL BIKES

Case Study

In 1985 Ted Thomas took $6,000 of his savings, borrowed another $4,000 from his best friend, and opened a bike rental business in Vienna, VA, adjacent to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) that goes from Purcellville to Old Town Alexandria (45 Miles) and connects to the Mt Vernon Trail (18 Miles) and ends at George Washington’s Mt Vernon Estate.  He rented a location, bought 10 bikes and opened his first store in Vienna near an entrance to the W&OD Trail, where there is also parking, and near the historic Vienna Inn and a number of food and drink establishments.  He has since opened stores in Old Town Alexandria and Reston, VA, where he sells, rents and repairs bicycles.  The Vienna store is now his anchor store, and at 5,000 square feet, it is three to five times larger than his other stores.  Ted estimates he sells around 3,000 new bikes a year. Because of the high use of the W&OD trail, especially on weekends, he also provides tune up and maintenance services at all of his stores for the many riders from up and down the trail.

In 2012, Ted leased a store in the heart of D.C., near the Smithsonian Museums and other tourist attractions.  He uses this store to rent bikes to tourists and residents of the city, and does some repairs to his rental bicycle inventory in the back of the shop.

Although he has always made money, or he would not be in business, Ted has seen a decline in bikes sales of about 20 percent since 2008.  He attributes this to the downturn in the economy and the growth in Internet sales.  However, his rental and tune up and repair business has increased dramatically.  Over the past few years, he realized that he must be more aware of expenses and decrease them wherever practical in order to preserve profits.

Ted has thinks that the one of the most important factors is the weather, but has no data to support that thinking.  On rainy days, there are few customers in the stores, while on sunny weekends all of his locations are extremely busy.  From spring through fall, Ted keeps all his stores open seven days a week, while in the winter months he opens his stores on the weekend when the weather is good for riding.  Through observation, Ted figures his highest sales occur in May, and that June and September are his best months for rentals.  He also sells many bikes during the holiday season in December, but in January and February, he often wonders if he should close shop and go to Florida for a couple of months.

Old Dominion Trail Bikes grosses between $5 and $8 million annually and earns Ted a comfortable six-figure income.  Each year, he leaves a considerable amount of cash in the business so that he does not have to borrow money.  He sells a wide variety of bikes (from tricycles for toddlers to sophisticated racing bikes) and accessories such as helmets, speedometers, bike racks, repair kits, and clothing.  Bicycle sales have decreased to account for 25 percent of revenues.  Accessories such as helmets, bike racks, gloves, and locks amount to another 5 percent.  Rentals make up about 35 percent, and repairs make up the remaining 35 percent.

In recent years, he has noted that customers are less likely to purchase the high-end road and triathlon bikes, and are purchasing bikes in the range of $400 to $1,000.  The lower priced bikes are also easier to sell and to keep the cash flow moving.

Most of the rental business is concentrated in the D.C. store in downtown and the Alexandria store, due to the tourists and university students located near those stores.  Ted is excited about rentals, as they have a huge profit margin.  He can charge as much as $50 a day, which means the bikes pay for themselves after just a few rentals.

Ted’s expenses include the cost of goods such as new bikes and accessories, rent and payroll.  He negotiates leases for all his locations except the Alexandria store, which he owns outright.  Ted has 15 full-time employees and usually hires another 15 part-time employees during the busy months and weekends.

Until two years ago, he was spending about $30,000 a year on advertising in local papers.  Now he uses a simple website and has links on many of the local biking trail sites to provide information about his various locations, and his advertising budget is close to zero.

In the late 1990s, Ted over-expanded to six stores, including a store in Purcellville, VA, and one in Bethesda, MD.  The expansion necessitated a warehouse in Springfield, VA, the hiring of a general manager and considerable overhead expenses.  In a subsequent cost-reduction effort, Ted closed the Bethesda store, gave up the warehouse and moved his inventory to the Vienna store, and let the general manager go.  Now, he handles all the general management tasks himself, which affects the time that he has available to plan and develop strategies.

Ted further reduces his expenses by working in the Vienna store two days a week.  Since he has only one staff person in some of his stores, he has to make special arrangements if that person does not come to work, or takes a day (or week) off.

He is trying to expand the bicycle repair work, especially on the weekends, so he will be able to increase revenue from this profitable aspect of his business.  He needs to have repair capability at each store to maintain the rentals, prepare the new bikes for sale, and perform the periodic maintenance for the bikes that he has sold, as well as provide the breakdown repairs and adjustments for the riders on the Trail.

In an effort to increase profits, Ted tries to get good deals from his suppliers so he can realize a good margin on bike and accessory sales and repairs.  He looks for situations where suppliers have more bikes in a line than they need and buys those bikes at a discount for rentals and low-end sales, while maintaining a rapport with high end suppliers so that he can offer his customers the best at reasonable prices.  By doing so, he can sell bikes at a lower retail price with on-the-spot delivery while still realizing a nice profit.

Ted has no bank debt, and has long since repaid the $4,000 he borrowed from his friend to start the business.  He feels that, because he has a diverse business strategy that addresses the many different aspects of the local bike business, he will do well in the many different economic climates as long as he is able to manage his varied business.  He also feels that he is insulated from “substitutes” from the Electronic world, due to the rental and repair aspects of his business

Questions

1. List 3 strategic goals for Ted’s business and provide an explanation of each.
2. Identify 5 specific types or categories of information that Ted needs to run his business and explain why they are important to him.
3. Identify and explain three business processes that Ted likely uses in his business and explain how a technology solution could help each one of them.
4. Ted has a website with information about his stores.  Identify and explaintwo additional ways Ted could use the Internet in his business.  Tie each use to a specific e-commerce business model and explain how that model applies.
5. How could Ted combine the information he gets from in-store customers with those who purchase via the website into a single Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and what three benefits would he gain from doing so?
6. Ted would like to increase repair work and rentals as they are the highest profit aspects of his business and the Internet is not a competitor.  What are three specific ways he could use technology to accomplish this?
7. Monitor customer preventive maintenance and repair work and offer special maintenance programs and rates to previous customers. Ted is not sure if he should implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.  Identify and explain three benefits to an ERP for Old Dominion Trail Bikes.  Identify and explain two important considerations in implementing an ERP.
8. If Ted implements an ERP for Old Dominion Trail Bikes, he will need to know whether the project was a success.  List and explain three metrics (or measures) he can use to determine whether the project was a success.
9. Since neither Ted nor anyone on his staff has any experience with information technology, list and explain five things he should consider or address as he proceeds with his IT projects.

Growth of Hospitals and Health Care Systems with Benefits of Long-Term Care Facilities” Please respond to the following:

1, Analyze the transitioning of early hospitals and the medical advancements up to the present time. Justify the need for doctors with advanced medical training in the health care industry. Imagine you are an entrepreneur considering opening a medical college. Prioritize the key concepts that would be important in your decision to open the school (e.g., using emergent technologies, importing licensed physicians to train your students, etc.).

2, Predict the type of long-term care needed as the 21st Century America advances. Defend or critique the type of care patients obtain in private nursing homes as compared to public institutions. Compare the services that patients obtain within a general hospital to those of a hospice provider.e following

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper about Freud and Rogers that addresses the following:

Provide a summary of each article, highlighting the processes that contemporary psychologists use to develop the theories of Freud and Rogers.
Explain their views of human nature and their worldviews as expressed in their respective theories.
Which aspect of their theory do you think would be different if they were alive and working today?
Explain how social and cultural factors influenced the development of Freud’s and Rogers’ respective theories of personality.

Identify two research articles published in the last 5 years: one that investigates a psychoanalytic or Freudian construct and one that investigates a client-centered, humanistic, or Rogerian construct.

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper about Freud and Rogers that addresses the following:

Provide a summary of each article, highlighting the processes that contemporary psychologists use to develop the theories of Freud and Rogers.
Explain their views of human nature and their worldviews as expressed in their respective theories.
Which aspect of their theory do you think would be different if they were alive and working today?
Explain how social and cultural factors influenced the development of Freud’s and Rogers’ respective theories of personality.

Assignment 1: Research Topics with Explanation

Due Week 2 and worth 100 points

Read through the list of research topics (located in the Appendix), or by clicking the link here, on which to write a research paper. Select three (3) topics that interest you most and identify two (2) credible sources for each topic. Note: This is one (1) of several parts that will build toward a final draft of your persuasive writing research paper.

Write a one to two (1-2) page paper in which you:

Explain the reason for selecting topic one (1), identify the audience, and provide a preliminary thesis statement.
Explain the reason for selecting topic two (2), identify the audience, and provide a preliminary thesis statement.
Explain the reason for selecting topic three (3), identify the audience, and provide a preliminary thesis statement.
Identify and document six (6) credible sources (two (2) for each topic) that you would expect to use. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting guidelines:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Recognize the elements and correct use of a thesis statement.
Associate the features of audience, purpose, and text with various genres.
Recognize correct APA documentation and reasons to document and avoid plagiarism.
Write clearly and concisely about selected topics using proper writing mechanics.
Use technology and information resources to research selected issues for this course.

ENG 215 – Appendices
Appendix D: ENG 215 Topics for Persuasive Writing Research Paper These topics are to be used for Assignments 1-5.
Assignment 1: Research Topics with Explanation
Assignment 2: Research Proposal – Thesis, Major points, and Plan
Assignment 3: Persuasive Paper Part I: A Problem Exists
Assignment 4: Persuasive Paper Part 2: Solution and Advantages
Assignment 5: Persuasive Writing Part 3: Possible Disadvantages and Answers
Some topics focus on the entire county; however, other topics may focus on states, local areas, and / or businesses.

Topics / Questions
Student Name
Course Section

1) Should taxes on people making over $250,000 a year be changed?
2) Should Transportation Security (TSA) regulations be changed?
3) Should regulations for home schools be changed?
4) Should funding for the U.S. space program be changed?
5) Should changes be made to the regulations for foods that are served in public schools?
6) Should changes be made to regulations for mental health drugs for minors?
7) Should regulations be changed regarding genetically altering plants and/or animals?
8) Should the Family and Medical Leave Act be changed?
9) Should taxes on alcohol and tobacco be increased to help pay for rising medical costs?
10) Should regulations regarding the use of cell phones while driving be standardized?
11) Should the instant replay used in the NFL be applied to other sports?
12) Should regulations regarding payment of college athletes be changed?
13) Should minors who commit violent crimes be tried as adults?
14) Should child welfare regulations be changed?
15) Should DUI (driving under the influence) laws be changed?
16) Should sex offender registration laws be changed?
17) Should laws governing student laws be changed?

18) Should laws governing nursing homes be changed?
19) Should children of parents who do not allow them to be vaccinated be allowed to attend public school?
20) Should unemployment regulations and benefits be changed?
21) Should rules requiring all members of a jury to agree for conviction be changed?
22) Should financial incentives be offered to high school students to perform well on standardized tests?
23) Should the government offer tax credits for the purchase of hybrid or alternative energy vehicles?
24) Should the U.S. Government prohibit companies from outsourcing jobs to people in foreign countries that do not have unions and / or fair labor laws?
25) Should the U.S. government provide financial assistance to people whose retirement funds were invested in the stock of companies that may have used unethical accounting practices (e.g., Enron, Arthur Andersen, etc.)?
26) Should colleges and universities expel students who are caught cheating on exams and / or plagiarizing their homework assignments?
27) Should the U.S. prohibit trade with countries that have poor records on human rights?
28) Should vehicles (cars, trucks, vans, SUVs) be required to have backup cameras?
29) Should all U.S. students be required to take four years of foreign language in high school?
30) Should the state and / or federal government provide subsidies to organic farmers?
31) Should all states require motorcyclists and passengers to wear helmets?
32) Should state and local governments provide health insurance only for retirees who have served 20 years in government service?
33) Should your state or local government enact different laws regarding certain animals (e.g., pit bulls)?

DQ1

Assume you are the Marketing Manager for Target or another brand. How would you apply the four functions of the marketing management process in your role? In your answer, identify how a marketing manager might realize when it is time to focus on one function or another.

DQ2

Imagine you are consulting with a manager of a business that sells cleaning supplies to nursing homes. Your client wants to develop a marketing plan but has a small budget for marketing his business. How would you show your client the benefits of a marketing plan? If your client does not agree with your marketing strategy for his business, explain how you would respond and what approach you would use to convince the client the marketing plan can be successful.

business and management professionals are concerned with the conflict that takes place in their organizations and its destructive potential – even though conflict can be positive and useful in some situations. There are numerous conflict issues in today’s global workplace, especially with the current international economic situation. As a new business and/or HR Director, you have decided to start a new professional development and learning program for employees. You will be presenting different topics during noon lectures on issues that are relevant to your company or organization.

For the first lecture, you should select one of these topics and prepare a written report that will be distributed to everyone (25%).

Select any one of these topics for your Current Issues Report (CIR):

1. Conflict management system design (also known as resolution system design) – approaches to the design of complaint-handling (grievance) systems that emphasize interest-based over rights-based dispute resolution.
2. Managing conflict in healthcare organizations – the impact and forms of conflict in hospitals and other health care institutions.
3. Conflict and disability management – management of conflicts that arise from employee disabilities and reasonable accommodation disputes.
4. Conflict and its resolution in the construction industry – the impact of conflict and the role of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution among owners, contractors, subcontractors, architects, suppliers, lenders, insurance carriers, and bonding companies.
5. Conflict and its resolution in the religious organizations – conflict within congregations and within church hierarchy.
6. Conflict and its resolution in the real estate industry – the impact of conflict and methods of resolution of disputes among buyers, sellers, and agents.
7. Conflict and its resolution in government organizations – the forms of conflict and methods of resolution in government organizations. Government organizations include DOD, military, and federal and state government.
8. Conflict and its resolution in the financial industry – the forms of conflict and methods of resolution in financial organizations – the impact of conflict and methods of resolution of disputes among all parties.
9. Other Conflict Issues – could be as applied to a particular situation, concern, or issue. (Ask permissions first)
10. Conflict and its resolution in “my” particular company/industry – the forms and impact of conflict between managers and employees and among employees. Think about an organization with which you are currently associated. This company or organization can be the place where you work or any other organization such as a team, club, volunteer organization, etc. It must be an organization in which your involvement is significant enough to enable you to address the issues.

Select a movie from AFI’s 10 Top 10 lists and explain how three cinematic techniques and/or design elements have helped establish a major theme in that film. Note: While you are allowed to choose a film that does not come from the AFI lists, you are strongly encouraged to email your professor to receive approval before doing so.

In 800 to 1200 words

• Describe a major theme of the movie you have selected using evidence from the movie itself as well as course resources and other scholarly sources to support your position.
• Identify at least three techniques (cinematography, lighting, acting style, or direction) and/or design elements (set design, costuming, or hair and makeup), and explain how these techniques and/or design elements contribute to the establishment of the theme. Reference particular scenes or sequences in your explanations.
• State your opinion regarding the mise en scène, including
• How the elements work together.
• How congruent the design elements are with the theme of the movie.
• Whether or not other techniques would be as effective (Explain your reasoning).

Note: Remember that a theme is an overarching idea that recurs throughout the plot of a film. It is the distilled essence of what the film is about, the main design which the specific scenes and actions lead a viewer to understand.

Your paper should be organized around a thesis statement that focuses on how the elements of your chosen feature-length film both establish and maintain one of its major themes. Review the Week Three sample paper, which provides an example of a well-developed analysis as well as insight on composition.

The paper must be 800 to 1200 words in length and formatted according to APA style

You must use at least two scholarly sources other than the textbook to support your claims. Refer to the ENG225 Research Guide in the Ashford University Library for guidance and to locate your sources. Cite your sources (including the feature-length film) within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center.

Please note that if you opt to write about the same film in your Final Film Critique, applicable pieces of this assignment can be used to write that assignment. Please also note that you should reflect on and revise this assignment based on the instructor’s feedback before you incorporate it into the Final Film Critique.