Resources: The Art and Science of Leadership, Ch. 4 & Ch. 6 and Leadership Newsletter Template.

Select someone in a leadership position at your organization or at a local company where you might seek employment. This individual could be a director, manager, supervisor, or CEO of the organization.

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word profile of the individual that you interviewed for your company’s newsletter, and include the following:

• Identify the individual and their position within the company, and briefly describe the organization.
• Interpret the individual’s leadership style based on the Five-Factor personality model, and offer one or more examples of the management and leadership roles of this individual.
• Explain one incident where this individual had to solve a difficult problem or situation because things did not go as planned.
• Describe the lessons that she/he learned from being able to problem solve, even when what she/he had been taught did not work.

Format your profile in the form of a newsletter (the final format may vary depending upon the company’s style; please feel free to use either the provided template or to check the Internet or Microsoft^® Word for additional newsletter templates).

Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.

Discussion Questions

1. Please analyze and list the critical strengths and weaknesses of Cowgirl Chocolates? Do you believe the weaknesses can be overcome by the strengths of the business? Why or why not? (20 points)

2. Please comment on Marilyn’s current promotional efforts. In order for Marilyn to increase the sale of her chocolates, should she use a push or pull marketing? Why? (20 points)

3. For a small business like Cowgirl Chocolates, what benefits and/or potential problems does a Website offer? If Marilyn insists on emphasizing on promotion through her website, please list your recommendations to her. (20 points)

4. Use information in Exhibit 5, attempt to compute the breakeven revenue for three different conditions: (1) assumes Marilyn wants to cover only the annual fixed costs through operations, and without paying a salary for herself; (2) assumes Marilyn wants to cover the annual fixed costs, and charges a modest $30,000 in salary and benefits, to cover her cost of inventory, her previous year’s loss and some other personal expenses; (3) assumes Marilyn can manage to cut the Cost of Sales by 10%, and she wants to cover the annual fixed costs and charges a modest $30,000 in salary and benefits. (20 points)

Hints: The key is to identify fixed and variable costs from Exhibit 5, because

Breakeven Sales Revenue = Fixed Operating Costs/ 1 – (Variable Costs/Net Sales)

You may opt to provide detailed explanations, justifications and computation step by step. This will help you to earn partial points.

5. Please attempt a “percentage of sales” pro forma analysis and conduct a Cowgirl Chocolates Financial Forecasts. (20 points)

Marilyn has two proposals (A and B) for her business expansion in 2001. Proposal A is a modest one. The numbers in column 1 and column 2 of Table 1 can be rationalized by simply assuming that Marilyn is successful in obtaining a large regional or national distributor contract that would yield $140,300 in sales. Please study the % numbers and the $ values carefully to understand the rationale and inter-relationship among these numbers. Then, try to finish the unknown ?%s and $?s for Proposal B in column 3 and column 4, for which Marilyn is attempting to achieve an ambitious $300,000 in sales.

After you finish your computation, just replace the ?%s and $?s in the table with your answer. During the process, please make your reasonable assumptions. It is recommended to think about some basic ?%s, define them first, and then finish the computation for the $?s. Your recommendation will help Marilyn to make the final decision for business development. For your ease, some numbers are provided already.

Hints: Besides filling the unknowns, you may opt to provide additional explanations, justifications and computations to me in writing. This will help you to earn partial points.

Table 1. Cowgirl Chocolates Financial Forecast with Assumed National Contract and in Operating Improvements in Operating Cost Percentages

Revenue	2001	% Of	2001	% Of
	Proposal A	Sales	Proposal B	Sales
	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Product Sales	$122,000	85%	$255,000	85%
Miscellaneous Income	$18,300	15%	$?	15%
Total Net Sales	$140,300	100%	$300,000	100%
Cost of Sales (shipped portion of Choc,Caramel, Packaging, and Printing)	$56,120	40%	$?	?%
Gross Margin	$84, 180		$?
(% Gross Margin)		60%		?%
Operating Expenses
Advertising/Promotion
Trade Shows	$7,500		$?
Web site	$1,500		$?
Subtotal, Advertising And Promotion	$9,000	6.40%	$?	?%
Travel	$14,030	10.00%	$?	?%
Miscellaneous	$2,806	2.00%	$?	?%
Payroll Expense/Benefits (@20%)	$23,000	Marilyn’s salary	$30,000	Marilyn’s salary
Shipping and Postage	$18,300	15% of product sales	$?	15% of product sales
Insurance, Lawyers, Prof. Memberships	$2,525	1.80%	$5,400	1.80%
Brokers	$4,209	3.00%	$6,000	2.00%
Office Expenses (phone, supplies, photography, taxes)	$4,209	3.00%	$9,000	3.00%
Total Operating Expenses	$78,079		$?
Grand Total All Expenses	$134,199		$?
Profit Before Interest and Taxes	$6,101		$?
Taxes Incurred (Credit @18% -approx tax rate)	$1,098		$?
Net Profit After Taxes	$5,002		$?
(Net Profit After Taxes / Sales)		3.57%		$?

Minimum 500-600 word paper covering all the questions in APA format

According to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Fifth Edition, a schedule baseline is “the approved version of a schedule model that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results” (2013). The output of this effort is your project schedule which, according to the PMBOK® Guide, is “an output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned – dates, durations, milestones, and resources” (2013). The project schedule should include start and finish dates for all activities. Remember, if an activity is not in the schedule, it will not be done. Establishing the schedule will allow you to estimate activity cost, and thus help you develop a budget. Therefore, a schedule helps you establish a time and a cost baseline for your project.

• Discuss how you would go about assigning or completing the schedule elements, such as dates, durations, milestones, predecessors, and resources.
• How would you go about completing resource assignments, both human and material? How would you determine to buy (acquire) or make your resources?
• Discuss the importance of building slack in your project schedule.
• Once your schedule is fully developed, what information would any of your stakeholders learn from it?
• Looking back at the agile versus waterfall methodologies, how does this traditional schedule development differ from agile schedule development?

The Discussion Board (DB) is part of the core of online learning. Classroom discussion in an online environment requires the active participation of students and the instructor to create robust interaction and dialogue. Every student is expected to create an original response to the open-ended DB question as well as engage in dialogue by responding to posts created by others throughout the week. At the end of each unit, DB participation will be assessed based on both level of engagement and the quality of the contribution to the discussion.
At a minimum, each student will be expected to post an original and thoughtful response to the DB question and contribute to the weekly dialogue by responding to at least two other posts from students. The first contribution must be posted before midnight (Central Time) on Friday of each week. Two additional responses are required after Friday of each week. Students are highly encouraged to engage on the Discussion Board early and often, as that is the primary way the university tracks class attendance and participation.
The purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question. Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.
In 1895, a report called Report from the Departmental Committee on Prisons, also known as the Gladstone Committee Report (GCR), was developed. The purpose of this report was to introduce ideas regarding rehabilitation in the United Kingdom.
An example of the impact in the United States was the creation of the standardized sentencing guidelines and the continual amendments used to assist offenders. In the United Kingdom, the GCR influenced how rehabilitation programs were being developed.
Discuss how the Gladstone Committee Report addressed conflict over the words rehabilitation and treatment. In this discussion, identify which word you would choose and the impact it has on society.
Assignment Guidelines:
•Using the course materials, textbook, and Web resources, research the Gladstone Committee Report.
•Address the following in 3–5 paragraphs: ◦How did the GCR address the use of the words rehabilitation and treatment?
◦Which word would you choose as the appropriate term for handling offenders? Why?
◦How does that word impact society? Explain.
•Post a new topic to the Discussion Board that contains your responses pertaining to the above information.
•Comment on at least 2 other students’ posts, and either provide further information to support their word choice, or thoroughly explain why you have selected the best word.
In your own words, please post a response to the Discussion Board and comment on at least two other postings. You will be graded on the quality of your postings.
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.