CE115-2

ACTIVITY#1

1. Student A, in order to graduate on February 4, works hard to finish her

Master of Engineering report by the due date of January 8. She is planning to
return to her home country immediately thereafter and get married. If she
graduates on June 10, the next available graduation date, she will have to
pay a tuition fee to keep her student status active for one more semester.
That would be a substantial financial burden to her.
Her advisor, Professor B, is hesitant to accept the report as presented. The
report includes a major marketing activity designed by Student A to promote
the new service package of a local company. Because of logistics, the major
marketing activity is scheduled to take place on January 20. No customer
feedback data, which are required to demonstrate the value brought about by
the report, are available before January 8. Professor B cannot bend the rules
to pass the report without these data. Put your innovation hat on and
recommend a way to resolve this conflict.

2. The engineering manager of Company A proposes to install an automated

barcode scanner costing $4000. He estimates that he can save about 100
hours of labor time per month, as products can now be scanned much faster.
He reasons that at the wage of $15per hour, the benefit for using the
automated barcode scanner is $1500 per month, and the scanner can be paid
back in 2.67 months. As the president of Company A, do you agree or
disagree with the way he computes the cost-benefit ratio? Why or why not?

- I agree with the manager’s decision because installing a barcode scanner

will greatly help in reducing labor costs and it also provides them with a
more efficient solution to the task. Aside from this, the amount they used
to pay for the automated scanner can be paid back within 2.67 months
and afterwards, they can earn more monthly because of the reduction of
costs brought by the purchase of the product.
3. The new millennium imposes a number of challenges on business managers,
who are different from engineering managers and technology mangers.
Name a few such challenges.
Business Managers are individuals who are responsible for overseeing
and supervising an organization according to their skills. They focus on
Business Managers:
Business Manager: These are individuals mandated with the
responsibility of overseeing and supervising an organization or group for
particular tasks according to their skills or experience. Business managers
concentrate on matters related to the strategic direction and the financial
performance of the firm. These may include but are not limited to sales
and marketing, management of costs, capital investments, and the
deployment of human capital. This is in contrast to engineering or
technology managers who generally have their focus in technical areas
such as equipment maintenance and function, design, research and
development, and process improvement. A business manager should have
good knowledge of the company's function and be able to multitask as
well as work well with people.

Answer and Explanation:

Marketing: A business manager who is not well versed with the 21st-
century approach to marketing will have a big challenge in the marketing
of their products or service. Technology has led to the development of
new marketing strategies which are cost friendly and reach the target
group better unlike the old ones; hence, a manager without this
background information will have troubles. A good example of this is the
use of social media platforms. These provide new ways to market
products to many customers at low cost. This is an issue specific to
Business Managers but not really a concern for Technical and
Engineering Managers.
Globalization: The world is much more interconnected in the 21st
century than it was before. A Business Manager today has to keep up
with global trends, not just those in their regional market. This can
represent opportunities such as presenting cost-effective suppliers from
emerging markets and threats in the way of new competitors. This is a
challenge to the Business Manager who must oversee and craft strategy
for the entire enterprise.
Cross-Cultural Management: As a consequence of globalization business
managers today must be adept at interacting with and managing people
from different cultures. This often includes navigating language barriers
or even learning new languages. Although technical managers also have
to deal with this issue more and more as well, it is often less of an issue
since they can interact more with people in their specific area and
location. For the 21st-century business manager, however, it is vital.
Technology: Technology today is advancing faster than ever before and a
business manager may find it difficult to keep up with the advances.
While engineering and technical managers have always had to be abreast
of technology changes, today more than ever the business manager must
also keep up in order to perform his job in the 21st century. This can
present a big challenge to a business manager, unlike engineering and
technology managers who are well informed on matters concerning
technology due to their daily activities which are within this field.