This week the assignment is the case study, Hotel California (see below).  All cases and problems must use Excel QM. ALL CALCULATIONS MUST BE SHOWN.  Spreadsheets must accompany a formal analysis in in Word and APA format and submitted through Assignment.  No credit will be given to submissions without a formal written analysis in APA format. Please read the rubric (below case) before starting your assignment . Do not recopy the case or any significant portion of the case in your document. 

Case

Dawn Henlee, manager of the Hotel California, is considering how to restructure the front desk to reach an optimum level of staff efficiency and guest service. At present, the hotel has six clerks on duty, each with a separate waiting line, during the peak check-in time of 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. Observation of arrivals during this time show that an average of 90 guests arrive each hour (although there is no upward limit on the number that could arrive at any given time). It takes an average of 3 minutes for the front-desk clerk to register each guest. 

Dawn is considering three plans for improving guest service by reducing the length of time guests spend waiting in line.  The first proposal would designate one employee as a quick-service clerk for guests registering under corporate accounts, a market segment that fills about 30% of all occupied rooms.  Because corporate guests are preregistered, their registration takes just 2 minutes. With these guests separated from the rest of the clientele, the average time for registering a typical guest would climb to 3.4 minutes. Under plan 1, non-corporate guests would choose any of the remaining five lines.

The second plan is to implement a single-line system. All guests could form a single waiting line to be served by whichever of six clerks became available. This option would require sufficient lobby space for what could be a substantial queue. 

The third proposal involves using an automatic teller machine (ATM) for check-ins. This ATM would provide approximately the same service rate as a clerk would. Given that initial use of this technology might be minimal, Dawn estimated that 20% of customers, primarily frequent guests, would be willing to use the machines. (This might be a conservative estimate if the guests perceive direct benefits from using the ATM, as bank customers do. Citibank reports that some 95% of its Manhattan customers use its ATMs.) Dawn would set up a single queue for customers who prefer human check-in clerks. This would be served by the six clerks, although Dawn is hopeful that the machine will allow a reduction to five.

Discussion Questions

1. Determine the average amount of time that a guest spends checking in. How would this change under each of the stated options?
2. Which option do you recommend?

Analysis fully addresses all three questions listed in the case. Analysis is consistent and supported by Excel QM spreadsheets as a separate document. 

 Paper must be in APA format including: 

 

Cover Page,

Running Head,

Titles

References

 

Learning Activity: Pricing Strategy

Research

Research on the Strayer University Library and/or the Internet to identify a company that manufactures products or offers a service. Then take some time to investigate the company and their business.

Note: In the Strayer University Library, students can look at competitor information using Nexis Uni.

Specifically you should research for the following:

• What products or services do they sell?
• Is the company a market leader? At the bottom? Or somewhere in between? What is your justification?
• What is the company’s key objective (that is, are they focused on profits, market share, growth, brand positioning, etc.)?
• How do their products or services differ from those offered by the competition?
• What are some of their major expenses (fixed and variable) they incur on the products manufactured or services provided?

Summary Instructions

After you have researched the questions above, you will then choose a pricing strategy (competitive analysis, cost-based pricing, or value-based pricing) that the company you are analyzing should use to forecast its costs on items or services it will sell.

Once you have identified a pricing strategy, and have come up with a price for a product or service, complete the cost + profit formula.

Submit a 1-page summary in which you:

• Identify the pricing strategy selected.
• Provide 2–3 sentences on why that strategy was selected.
• Share the cost + profit formula using the information you gathered from your investigation and the results. Be sure you are able to explain how you came up with the cost based on the information from your investigation.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font, 12 point. 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 is not included in the required assignment page length.

 The health policy I selected for this week’s discussion is H.R.2975 – Women’s Health Protection Act of 2019. In short, this policy was introduced in house in May of 2019 with the goal to allow women to have the right to choose to bear children or end an unwanted pregnancy and to protect the health care providers’ involvement in providing abortion services (Congress.gov, n.d.). The conversation of abortion, like many health topics, can be a sensitive subject and due to the controversial nature of this medical intervention there is poor data to look at actual rates of abortion in the United States (Ahrens & Hutcheon, 2020). Along with occurrence rates and trends it is also important that research is looking at safety and accessibility related to abortion (Ahrens & Hutcheon, 2020). One piece that really stands out for me is the importance of safety for medical providers to feel comfortable providing this medical procedure. Violent threats and harassment can be very stressful and create a dramatic decrease in accessibility of care for patients and providers do not feel safe practicing abortion (Hall, 2020). I believe the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2019 plays an important role in creating better data, safety and accessibility for women of our country in need of medical assistance for unwanted births.  

Assignment 2: Internal Environmental Scan/Organizational AssessmentThis section provides the opportunity to develop your course project. Conducting an internal environmental scan or organizational assessment, provides the ability to put the strategy audit together.In this module, you will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the internal environment at your business unit or organization you are working with for this project, also known as an organizational assessment, and present your findings in a report. In your report, you should analyze the operating characteristics and assets of your business unit.The SWOT model is one of the most common business tools used during organizational assessment. Another is developing a balanced scorecard based on a prescribed or planned set of performance objectives that will be measured and evaluated regularly. In this assignment, based on the external environmental scan you conducted in M2: Assignment 2 and the internal environmental scan in this assignment, you will develop a SWOT analysis and a balanced strategic scorecard.Part I: Internal Environmental Scan (2–3 pages)The internal environmental scan or organizational assessment should include the following:Mission, vision, and values: Assess the organization’s understanding of the mission, vision, and values, and how they relate the business strategy. Is there consensus on the mission and vision of the organization? What are the shared values of the organization? What are the behaviors espoused by these values?Strategy clarification: Assess the organization’s understanding of the business strategy through the interview with a mid-level or senior manager. Assess his or her understanding and agreement of the business unit’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage.Cultural assessment: Explain the unwritten rules and shared values that govern behaviors in the organization. Do they act as enablers or blockers to the strategy? For example, is there a culture of information sharing and collaboration that enables the organization to respond quickly across structural boundaries to solve problems for customers? On the other hand, do groups not share important information through informal mechanisms, thus slowing response times?Value chain analysis: Identify the primary (direct) and support (indirect) activities that create and deliver your product or service to your customers. Assess each activity’s contribution to competitive advantage through cost or differentiation. Identify any areas where the business may be at a competitive disadvantage.Summary of findings: Using these different analyses, identify the organizational strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the business strategy. Organizational strengths are assets, capabilities, and resources that contribute directly to the organization’s strategic fit, differentiation, and competitive advantage relative to competing organizations. Organizational weaknesses are characteristics and capabilities (often lacking) that place the organization at a disadvantage relative to competitors.Part II: SWOT Analysis (1–2 pages)Your SWOT analysis should summarize the opportunities and threats from the external environmental scan with the strengths and weaknesses from your organizational assessment or internal environmental scan.Your output should include a matrix depicting strengths or weaknesses on the horizontal axis and opportunities or threats on the vertical axis. This matrix will reveal a set of strategy forces that can be used to assess the current strategy and identify important potential changes to the strategic direction of the company.In creating your SWOT analysis, look for natural pairings of internal and external factors that match internal resources and capabilities to the external environment. Internal strengths and external opportunities depicted in the upper-left quadrant on your matrix might form complementary pairs that suggest necessary strategic focus for the business unit to pursue opportunities that fit its competitive strengths. Conversely, internal weaknesses and external threats shown in the lower right quadrant of the matrix may combine to illustrate the need for a defensive strategy to avoid becoming highly susceptible to competitive threats.Your matrix should not simply be a collection of four lists compiled together in a matrix. Your analysis should combine factors and explain why specific strengths complement specific opportunities, and selected weaknesses are amplified by external threats. In addition to your matrix, provide a brief narrative that summarizes the main findings in your analysis and the implications for the current and projected strategy.Part III: Balanced Strategic Scorecard (1–2 pages)Use the balanced scorecard or another similar tool to recommend indicators and measurements that will tell you if the company is successful or unsuccessful in progressing toward your vision through execution of strategy.A balanced scorecard presents organizational performance on four primary groups of measures:FinancialCustomer (external stakeholder)Learning and growthInternal processYou should develop a strategy scorecard that ties the performance of your business unit in these areas to its overall business strategy. The challenge you face is selecting two-to-three measures in each of the four areas that give a measurable and reliable indication of the business unit performance in the key activities that promote strategic fit, customer value, and sustained competitive advantage.Write an 5–7-page report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.The paper should include a cover page, executive summary/abstract, table of contents, body of paper—proper headers (mission, vision, and values assessment; strategy clarification; cultural assessment; value chain analysis; summary of key findings; SWOT analysis; balanced strategic scorecard; and references).

Imagine that you are an Organizational Leadership Consultant hired by the U.S. military to lead a key initiative to transform the military culture to embrace diversity and inclusion. To accomplish this, you will outline a plan for transforming the culture, focusing on ONE (1) of the following diversity and inclusion topics of your choice:  sex discrimination in the military,  racial discrimination in the military,  LGBT discrimination in the military, or  post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a combat-induced disability. Your Diversity and Inclusion Plan should be a minimum of 1,000 words (approximately four pages of text; the title page and references page is not included in this page count). You should use a minimum of four academic, peer-reviewed sources for your plan. Use the outline provided below for your Diversity and Inclusion Plan. Outline for the Diversity and Inclusion Plan: Your plan should include the following components. Provide headings that correspond to each of the following. 1. Title page 

2. Introduction 

3. Objective of the Diversity and Inclusion Plan 

     Indicate the focus of your topic, as an overarching problem within the military culture. 

     Describe your goals for the Diversity and Inclusion Plan 

     Introduce the process you will take to implement this plan. 

4. Evaluation of Diversity and Inclusion in the Military’s Culture 

     Describe the current and/or historical trends that relate to your topic within the military’s culture. 

     Explain the problems or trends identified by your resources. Be sure to cite each source using APA style. 

     Describe the dysfunctional thought-behavior patterns of your topic within the military culture. Analyze these patterns in terms of the cycle of Model I values, behaviors, and outcomes (A link to this model is provided in the unit readings). 

5. Transforming Stereotypes 

Using the Smith and Watson (2009) article, develop a plan for transforming stereotypes as they relate to your topic, by applying the A.R.T. approach. Provide subheadings for Awareness, Recognition, and Transformation. For each of these three stages, explain specific strategies you would use to help people overcome their stereotypes related to your topic. Which strategies might you use to honor the diversity of people from the demographic background(s) relating to your topic? Specifically, which strategies would you use to help people become aware of their Model I dysfunctions (as they relate to your topic), recognize alternatives available through Model II, and transform their stereotypes by implementing Model II values? 

6. Transforming Behaviors 

While transforming stereotypes focuses on changing thinking patterns, transforming behaviors focuses on helping people within a culture to change their words and actions. Using the Katz and Miller (2014) article, develop a plan for transforming behaviors, applying at least three of Katz and Miller’s seven From => To strategies for transforming organizations. (See the unit lesson and the Katz and Miller [2014] article for more information.) Provide subheadings for each of the three “From => To” strategies you choose to incorporate into your Diversity and Inclusion Plan. For each of these three “From => To” strategies, describe how you would apply Model II values, behaviors, and outcomes to achieve that strategy. Explain how that specific approach could help people within the military culture to transform their behaviors and achieve that “From => To” strategy. Be specific as you describe these three strategies and how you would apply Model II values, behaviors, and outcomes for each strategy. Who would be involved in the process? What would the intervention or change process look like? What would be the indicators for identifying whether or not the strategy was achieved? How would these strategies lead to change among people of all demographics related to your topic within the organization culture of the U.S. military? 

7. Conclusion 

Summarize your Diversity and Inclusion Plan, and provide any concluding remarks. Your paper should be in APA style, be sure to cite all your sources.