Description

PURPOSE AND GOALS OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The main purpose of this assignment is for students to gain exposure to business/trade publications that report on industry concepts and strategies.  This assignment will assist students with their business writing, as well as give them an opportunity to see course concepts in action. In addition, it will expose students to viewpoints and information from sources other than those of the professor and textbook authors.

 

THE BASIC TASK

The basic task for the student is to read the assigned articles and to answer the questions at the end of the articles. A link to the assigned readings and questions will be posted on Elearning.

All assignments are to be submitted on Elearning.

 

There will be 8 Current Events assignments (each assignment involves 3 articles) during the semester. There are no make-up assignments.

 

EXAMPLES:

 

The First and Second articles will be assigned by Instructor.  Examples of responses to questions:

1. What is different about new iPhone? Apple is offering many upgrades in the new phone, such as battery life, better camera, more storage, and brighter screens. I believe that these enhancements are incremental versus revolutionary. This is one of the first times in recent history that the iPhone has not under gone a major design change.
2. How are pricing strategies of wireless carriers affecting sales? Pricing strategies of wireless carriers have resulted in declining iPhone sales recently. The strategy that affected this is that it is more expensive to upgrade your phone and people are keeping their old iPhones longer because they do not see big improvements in newer versions. This could have long lasting consequences on the industry.
3. What is WAZE? Google acquired WAZE in 2013. WAZE provides real time driving conditions from other drivers. Google is planning on having different drivers from the same companies communicate with each other regarding morning and after work commutes. They are able to share information relatively easily through WAZE.
4. Talk about role of driverless cars. The role of driverless cars at Google and Uber are attempting to revolutionize the way we use transportation. One of the main goals of driverless cars is safety. There still is much testing to be done until driverless cars are in the marketplace on a regular basis. Other companies who are pursuing this technology include GM, Ford, and Tesla.

 

 

 

 

The Third article of the exercise will be selected by Student.

• Read 1-2 page recent article (within the last 12 months) from a business publication
• Explain why it should be read, summarize the article, and include your thoughts about the article
• Must be in your own words (do not copy & paste)
• Written in memo format – see below

To:  Your Instructor

From:  Your Name

Date:  Due Date

Re:   Current Events Exercise #_____

• MUST include reference
• Submit your paper to the appropriate drop box on eLearning

 

Example:

To:  Bonnie Gabriel

From:  Bonnie Gabriel

Date:  September 13, 2018

Re:  Current Events Exercise #1

 

I just read a great article in The New York Times about the gender pay gap that I think you should read.  I wanted to bring this to your attention so you are aware that salary gaps in the technology industry still exist today.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/technology/google-salaries-gender-disparity.html

 

The article discusses the pay gap between men and women at Google.  Google has long been thought of as one of the more progressive companies in the technology sector.   The New York Times was able to attain a spreadsheet created by a former Google employee documenting the wage differences.  The employee started compiling the data in the hopes of helping future employees better negotiate salary.  Google stated that the data is not totally accurate and only a subsection of employees.  Nevertheless, I am a bit shocked and saddened to see the pay differences, especially at the midcareer levels.  I hope that this article brings to light these facts and that corrections will come about at Google quickly.

 

 

Reference

WAKABAYASHI, DAISUKE. “At Google, Employee-Led Effort Finds Men Are Paid More Than Women.” The New York Times, 8 Sept. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/technology/google-salaries-gender-disparity.html. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

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