SUGGESTED TOPICS

1. Noted psychologist David McLelland onced said, "They say you can teach a squirrel to
fly. But it's easier to hire the eagle". Assuming the statement is true, what implications
does the statement have for staffing and human resource management?
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?
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?
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?
5. 'Marketing is the art of making something better than it really is' - Suso Baderas (pen name
of Mark Krenz, American writer). To what extent do you agree or disagree with the quote.
Give exampes.
6. If BKAV were to launch the new BPhone, what factors should the firm consider when
setting prices?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
13. Should Vietnam automobile industry be protected until it has a comparative advantage?
14. Picture yourself as a corporate president who is about to decide on making a foreign direct
investment. What questions would you ask yourself?
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?
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"?