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Question 1: (300 words) EVALUATION OF P/E RATIO Step 1: Read the articles. These articles contain examples of evaluating P/E ratio. You will be using these examples to answer the questions listed at the bottom of the topic description. 1) Does Chicago Rivet & Machine Co's (CVR) PE Ratio Signal A Buying Opportunity? by Kelly Murphy, Simply - Wall St. October 5, 2017 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/does-chicago-rivet-machine-co-201613354.html 2) Is Cynergistek Inc's (CTEK) PE Ratio A Signal To Buy For Investors? by Mary Ramos Simply, Wall St. October 5, 2017 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cynergistek-inc-ctek-pe-ratio-144611055.html 3) Does Katana Capital Limited's (ASX:KAT) PE Ratio Signal A Selling Opportunity? by Kyle Sanford , Simply Wall St. October 5, 2017 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/does-katana-capital-limited-asx-074409705.html Step 2: Use Cummins Inc. for the project. Your assignment: Please also note that your answers should be written in your own words. Don't use quotes from the articles. For this question we will be using P/E ratio. Use www.morningstar.com or www.marketwatch.com, enter the desired stock symbol to get to the company's front page. Find P/E ratio is listed on the company's page or calculate it. Compare the P/E ratio of your company with the industry average or with major competitors. Is there a difference between these numbers? Is the stock overvalued, undervalued, or properly valued? Why? In accordance with your findings, is it reasonable to buy the stock? Please explain your answers. Reflection – the students also should include a paragraph in the initial response in their own words reflecting on specifically what they learned from the assignment and how they think they could apply what they learned in the workplace. Question 2: ( 500 words,250 words for each topic) Instructions: Supporting your views with references: When you make an assertion of fact, state that it is based on your own experience or provide an in-text citation for the reference source you used to support your response. A minimum of two sources is required .You do not need two sources for each topic, but you do need two sources across your main topic responses. For maximum credit, you will need three or more. You will also need a minimum of two references to support your reply responses to classmates. For maximum credit, you will need three or more. TOPIC 1: Connecting with Customers PROMPT: Describe a story (from a novel or even a TV show) that held your attention where you couldn't wait to see what happened next. Now, consider how the elements of a brand tell a story. How do you connect with perceptions of your favorite brands? Do they tell a story? TOPIC 2: Branding and Positioning PROMPT: Case Study: Coke vs. Pepsi This case study discussion is about branding. Formulate a response responding to the specific questions below rather than those within in the case study. Review this case study: Coke vs. Pepsi: 100 Years of Contention · Coke and Pepsi offer products that are close substitutes. How do the companies position their brands to differentiate their products? · Each of the brands have used celebrity endorsers. Name a celebrity endorser for each brand and how they reflect a different position in the market. · How are Coke and Pepsi positioning themselves to be the dominant choice of the younger generations such as Generation Z and Alpha? Question 3: (350 words) For this question use this reference and refer to attachment “case discussion smithfield” for more insights https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141208083651-79170293-leading-motivating-as-a-manager/ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/communication-in-the-management-function/ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/putting-it-together-communication/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-management/managing-change-for-organizations/ https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/boundless-management/managing-change-for-employees/ This week's discussion continues with the Smithfield Custom Furniture case. Your posting should answer the questions posed using the course materials to support your answers. It is important to write concisely and to follow the detailed instructions provided below. Include in-text citations and references in a reference list. Case Discussion: Smithfield Custom Furniture (Part 3) It is now 2015, and Smithfield's Custom Furniture has continued to grow. Its new product line of lower-priced furniture was an immediate sensation in the marketplace. The company now has 344 stores and 21,000 employees. The company now has a total of 12 international retail stores evenly divided among Spain (3), France (3), Germany (3), and England (3). Margot Smithfield, Jonas Smithfield III's only heir, is now running the company. She has a master's degree in design and an MBA degree. She has been running the company for 3 years. Margot Smithfield and the 12-member board of directors have been assessing an opportunity to acquire You Figure it Out, a moderately profitable 51 store chain of ultra-modern furniture. You Figure it Out's furniture and furniture-related accessories are all made in China and sold only 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). Margot and her board have reasoned that the company has excess capacity at their 5 manufacturing plants. They know that producing a new line of furniture would mean retraining several hundred of their workers in the new production process. However, if this change is successfully executed, it would significantly increase the profitability of the You Figure It Out brand. The company also sees a market for the ultra-modern style of furniture in Smithfield's existing foreign markets and believe the current Smithfield stores in Spain, France, Germany, and England could display some of the new furniture along with their traditional lines of furniture and take orders that would be produced in the US plants. Other than that, the Smithfield Custom Furniture product line and the You Figure It Out brand would operate as they currently do. They have decided to conclude the purchase with You Figure It Out executives and want to announce the decision to their workforce as soon as possible. The Management Issue: Margot Smithfield is concerned she will overlook something important in her communications to employees and the board's decision-making. Your Task for Your Initial Post Margot Smithfield is asking for your input to help her understand and ensure she does not overlook anything important to introducing a new furniture product line to the current Smithfield product line. She has requested that you send her a single-spaced summary, using only course readings and proper citations, that addresses (in the order they are listed) the issues she believes she needs to be aware of related to communications and decision making. 1. Explaining to her, using not more than 4 sentences, why employees need to understand the need for Smithfield to continue to be innovative. 2. Selecting the 3 "noise" factors that are most likely to interfere with the successful launch of the new product line. Using not more than 4 sentences for each of your 3 noise factors, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 noise factors you selected, including their potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced. 3. Identifying for Margot Smithfield the 3 most significant obstacles to change that you believe will make the acceptance of the new product line difficult for employees to support. Using not more than 4 sentences for each obstacle to change you identified, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 obstacles to change, including each obstacle's potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced. 4. Selecting for her and explaining, using not more than 4 sentences, the one specific change management technique or tool you think is most likely to pave the way for a successful launch of the new product line. 5. Explaining to her, using course readings on decision making and in no more than 4 sentences, the most likely decision-making oversight the board could make in the launch of a new product line. Note: You are expected to use in-text citations and create a reference list in answering the above 5 issues. Format for Your Initial Post You must use the following numbers and corresponding headings for each part of your response to a particular issue. 1. Understanding the Need for Innovation. 2. Significant "Noise" Factors 3. Obstacles to the Acceptance of Change 4. An Effective Change Management Technique 5. Possible Decision-Making Oversight Question 4 (400 words) For this question, use references provided in red below: Do not use any other references. https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_law-for-entrepreneurs/s16-form-and-meaning.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/electronic-signatures-online-contracts-29495.html https://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-201 Instructions General Instructions for Learning Activities · Cite to assigned materials in all responses in Learning Activities · Use only assigned materials to complete Learning Activities; do not use the internet unless otherwise instructed · Include in-text citations and a Reference List for in-text citations · Write in correct, complete sentences, in paragraph format unless otherwise instructed Tips for Formatting and Structuring Analysis: · Write in complete sentences in paragraph format. · Use in-text citations citing to relevant assignment materials. · Double-space; 12-point Arial or Times Roman font. · Introductory Sentence: Begin with an introductory sentence or very brief paragraph that states your conclusion to the questions asked. · Concluding Sentence: End the discussion with a concluding sentence or a very brief paragraph that summarizes your conclusion/what you discussed. · Support Arguments and Positions: Please refer to the module in Content, "How to Support Arguments and Positions". · Use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation format for all citations. General Background: The Viral Clean ("Clean") owners have questions and need clarification about several contract concepts and issues related to their new business. Specifically, they have questions about: · the Statute of Frauds "writing requirement" and · electronic contracts Clean will be selling products via the internet, and the owners wonder whether these electronic contracts are valid and enforceable. TLG discusses the following case with the owners to explain the Statute of Frauds. Background Facts You Need To Know: Company X, a company in Illinois, contracted via the internet with Windows Bright, a small window washing business in Missouri, to purchase four cases of Shiny Lite window cleaning solution at $200 per case. Company X paid via the internet with a company credit card, and an electronic contract was created. The electronic contract stated that the four cases of Shiny Lite would be shipped to Company X's place of business in Illinois via UPS. Once UPS delivered the Shiny Lite, the contract required Windows Bright to clean Company X's windows. Instructions: Winne and Ralph have concerns about the Statute of Frauds and electronic contracts. To respond to their concerns, you must address the following questions: A. Discuss whether the contract between Company X and Windows Bright is subject to the requirements of the Uniform Commercial Code Statute of Frauds. B. Analyze and explain whether the electronic internet contract between Company X and Windows Bright satisfies the "writing" requirements for the Statute of Frauds? If so, how and why? Number each section as: A. B. Question 5: (300 words) In 2002 a U.S. court of appeals imposed remedies relating to a lower court’s findings that Microsoft had a monopoly in personal computer (PC) operating system and had maintained its monopoly through illegal actions. At the U.S. Justice Department’s Web site, www.usdoj.gov, Click on the Agencies on the top of the window, Click on Antitrust Division and then on website Click on Antitrust Case Filings Find U.S. vs. Microsoft case filings. Scroll down