1.

Noted psychologist David McClelland once said, “They say you can teach a squirrel to
fly. But it’s easier to hire the eagle.” What did McClelland mean by his metaphor?
Assuming the statement is true, what implication does the statement have for staffing and
human resource management?
McClelland meant that hiring people with the right aptitude and skills is more effective
than starting from scratch in attempting to train an employee. The implication is that
selecting the right people for a given job remains an effective human resource
management strategy.
2. Some managers express the thought: "Why should you have to go out of your way to
motivate people to do what they are paid to do?" To what extent do you agree or disagree
with this thought?
We can summarize by saying that motivation is important both to an individual and a
business. Motivation is important to an individual as:
1. Motivation will help him achieve his personal goals.
2. If an individual is motivated, he will have job satisfaction.
3. Motivation will help in self-development of individual.
4. An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team.
Similarly, motivation is important to a business as:
1. The more motivated the employees are, the more empowered the team is.
2. The more is the team work and individual employee contribution, more profitable
and successful is the business.
3. During period of amendments, there will be more adaptability and creativity.
4. Motivation will lead to an optimistic and challenging attitude at work place.
3. “Instead of thinking out the box, get rid of the box.” – Deepak Chopra, American
author, public speaker. To what extent do you agree or disagree? What implications does
the statement have for managers?
When you say that you think out the box, you’re unquestionably confirming the presence
of an enclosure. Whatever you can do in a ‘box’ or closed environment limits your ideas
to certain dimensions, and this doesn’t constitute ‘thinking’ at all. Thinking implies that
one at least tries to take all relevant factors into consideration, and as there's usually no
way to tell which factors are and which are not relevant. This self-imposed imaginary
space constricts your thought process by first leading you to make assumptions about
what’s contained inside the box only to reject them so that you can take opposing actions
against these assumptions.
So what if you decide to overthrow the whole notion of the existence of a bordered area?
What if you imagined a vast immeasurable cosmos from which you could derive
unconventional inspiration for the next breakthrough business idea? What if you decide
not to enter the box? You are then neither required to ponder about what the box contains
nor come up with solutions that are only limited to opposing what’s inside the box. By
not stepping inside the box, you’re allowing yourself a world of possibilities without any
sort of obstacles. This in turn allows you to design new strategies and approaches which
could turn out to be truly revolutionary.
4. Governments in the US and the EU are considering legislation to stop food companies
advertising junk food to children. How far should the food industry be held responsible
for people's health problems? If you were the CEO of McDonald's, what would you see
as the risks ahead for your company and what would be its social responsibility?
However, fast food restaurant should not be the only one that causing obesity in children.
There are parents who should be responsible for their children. Parents are the ones who
take care of their children most of the time, but sometimes parents are too busy with their
jobs and do not care about their children health.
Parents are the one who taught children about food for the first time. Parents can
introduce their children to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits instead of taking their children
to fast food restaurant. In addition, lifestyles in family also contribute for children health
condition, it is better if parents do not put television in their children bedroom and give
rules about limited hours for watching television.
Government could also play role to decrease the number of children obesity. The
increases fee of taxes for fast food restaurant can make the spread of fast food restaurants
in some cities. Banned fast food restaurants advertisements that could be found easily in
the street also can reduce attracted children to go to fast food restaurants.
In conclusion, obesity of children caused by fast food restaurant mostly because they
attract children with toys. However, there are several things parents and government can
do to prevent obesity. Parents can give their children fruits and vegetable. Governments
can participate by increasing tax fees and banned advertisements.
6. If BKAV were to launch the new BPhone, what factors should the firm consider when
setting prices?
There are several factors a business needs to consider in setting the price:
Objectives – what are the marketing objectives of the firm?
Competitors – this is really important. Competitor strength influences whether a
business can set prices independently, or whether it simply has to follow the normal
market price
Costs – a business cannot ignore the cost of production or buying a product when it
comes to setting a selling price. In the long-term, a business will fail if it sells for less
than cost, or if its gross profit margin is too low to cover the fixed costs of the business
The state of the market for the product – if there is a high demand for the product, but
a shortage of supply, then the business can put prices up.
The state of the economy – some products are more sensitive to changes in
unemployment and workers wages than others. Makers of luxury products will need to
drop prices especially when the economy is in a downturn
The bargaining power of customers in the target market – who are the buyers of the
product? Do they have any bargaining power over the price set? An individual consumer
has little bargaining power over a supermarket (though they can take their custom
elsewhere). However, an industrial customer that buys substantial quantities of a product
from a business may be able to negotiate lower or special prices.
Legislation in the market – some businesses operate in markets where prices are
regulated by government legislation – e.g. the rail industry
Other elements of the marketing mix – it is important to understand that prices cannot
be set without reference to other parts of the marketing mix. The distribution channels
used will affect price – different prices might be charged for the same product sold direct
to consumers or via intermediaries. The price of a product in the decline stage of its
product life-cycle will need to be lower than when it was first launched
7. Uber’s Southeast Asia operations have been acquired by its Singapore-based rival
Grab. What is the type of acquisition and what are the motivations behind this deal?
=> Các chi nhánh của Uber tại ĐNÁ đã được mua lại bởi cty đối thủ Grab, trụ sở ở Sing.
Đây là loại hình mua lại gì và động cơ cho việc mua lại này (việc Grab mua lại UBer sẽ
đem đến điều gì tốt cho Grab)?
8. Imagine you have just come from a secret meeting of a company's board of directors,
which has made a decision that you know will financially ruin some close friends of yours
unless they can sell some shares before the board's decision becomes known. You are
having dinner at their home that same evening. Should they expect you to warn them?
Should you do so?
=> Hãy tưởng tượng bạn vừa bước ra từ một cuộc họp bí mật của ban giám đốc công ty,
và cuộc họp quyết định rằng bạn sẽ hủy hoại tài chính một số người bạn thân của bạn trừ
khi họ có thể bán một số cổ phần trước khi quyết định của hội đồng quản trị được biết. Bạn
đang ăn tối cùng những người bạn đó. Bạn có nên cảnh báo họ về quyết định của cuộc họp
không?
9. Recently there was a case of a mail-order company selling televisions over the Internet
where the price of a top-line television was shown as $3 instead of $300. The web page
was seen in many countries and several customers placed orders for the 'cheap TV', but the
company said they had no obligation to supply as the price was a mistake. What do you
think? Should the company honour the orders? Was it a contract? If it was, where was it
made - in the country of origin or where the customer lives and ordered the goods? Is this
a case for arbitration?
=> Gần đây đã có một trường hợp của một công ty đặt hàng qua mail bán TV qua Internet,
nơi giá của một TV chất lượng hàng đầu được hiển thị là $ 3 thay vì $ 300. Trang web đã
được nhìn thấy ở nhiều quốc gia và một số khách hàng đã đặt hàng cho 'TV giá rẻ', nhưng
công ty cho biết họ không có nghĩa vụ cung cấp vì có sai sót trong việc hiển thị giá. Bạn
nghĩ như thế nào về việc này? Công ty có nên chấp nhận những đơn hàng đó không?
10. Suppose an African American couple opens a restaurant that serves African cuisine,
hoping to appeal mostly to people of African descent. The restaurant is a big success, and
the couple finds that about 50 percent of its clientele is Caucasian or Asian. Should the
restaurant owners hire several Caucasians and Asians so the employee mix will match the
customer mix?
11. Dwight Eisenhower said: plan is nothing; planning is everything. What are some
implications of the quote for management practice?
=> Tạm dịch: Điều quan trọng không nằm ở kế hoạch như thế nào mà là quá trình/ cách
thức bạn lập ra một kế hoạch. Từ câu nói này, bạn hiểu như thế nào về việc thực hành quản
lí. Ý là câu quote đó nhắm chỉ điều gì trong việc quản lí.
12. “Anything that can be said can be said clearly.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein. Do you agree
or disagree with the statement? What are some communication problems at workplaces
and what are the solutions?
=> “Bất cứ điều gì có thể nói/diễn đạt bằng lời nói thì đều có thể được diễn đạt một cách
rõ ràng”. Bạn có đồng ý với quan điểm này không? Hãy nêu ra một số vấn đề giao tiếp tại
môi trường làm việc và đề ra giải pháp.
13. Should Vietnam automobile industry be protected until it has a comparative advantage?
=> Ngành công nghiệp ô tô Việt Nam có nên được bảo vệ cho đến khi nó có lợi thế so sánh
không?
14. Picture yourself as a corporate president who is about to decide on making a foreign
direct investment. What questions would you ask yourself?
- What kinds of products would my company manufacture?
- What kinds of people and culture would our product be suitable for?
- Which countries have good investment incentives?
- How are the labor force, infrastructure and input materials in the country?
- Is their legal system strict or not?
- What about the financial system?
- Are there many competitors in the target market?
- How much should I pump into the project?
15. Should speculators be prevented or discouraged from trading in currencies - over 1.8
trillion dollars are traded every day - or should the have the right to do whatever they like
with their assets?
Currency trading has emerged as a popular career, especially for people with a financial
background. Being your own boss with the comforts of making money using your
laptop/mobile when its convenient for you is enough motivation for both young graduates
and experienced professionals to consider forex trading as a career. However, currency
trading has its disadvantages, as well as its advantages.
Pros: Low Costs; Suits Varying Trading Styles; Offers Very High; Liquidity; No
Central Exchange; Volatility Is a Trader’s Friend; Variety Of Pairs To Trade; Low
Capital Requirements; Ease.
Cons: Lack of Transparency; Complex Price Determination Process; High Risk,
High Leverage; Self- Directed Learning; High Volatility
Often perceived as easy moneymaking career, currency trading is actually quite difficult,
though highly engaging. Perseverance, continuous learning, efficient capital management
techniques, the ability to take risks, and a robust trading plan are needed to be a
successful forex trader.
16. A cocoa grower thinks the price might drop and a chocolate manufacturer thinks the
price might rise. What could they do suing futures and derivatives? Are the financial
instruments in your answer what people call "win-win situations" or "zero-sum games"?