markets questions and answers

The cloud provider estimates that, based on historical data of the cloud environment, over the next 24 months there is a 22% chance that the physical server hosting the cloud service will crash and that such a crash would 3 days before the cloud service could be restored. It is further estimated that, over the course of a 24 month period, there will be various attacks on the cloud service, resulting in a total of 36 hours of downtime. Based on these estimates, what is the availability rating (Up to one decimal place) of the cloud service that should be published in the SLA? Show your calculations.

How might a service blueprint be used for marketing, human resource, and operations decisions? Focus on one of the blueprint examples shown in the text as a context for your answer.

Question: Volkswagen: The scandal explained

What is Volkswagen accused of?

It's been dubbed the "diesel dupe". In September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many VW cars being sold in America had a "defeat device" - or software - in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results. The German car giant has since admitted cheating emissions tests in the US.

VW has had a major push to sell diesel cars in the US, backed by a huge marketing campaign trumpeting its cars' low emissions. The EPA's findings cover 482,000 cars in the US only, including the VW-manufactured Audi A3, and the VW models Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat. But VW has admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide, including eight million in Europe, are fitted with the so-called "defeat device".

The company has also been accused by the EPA of modifying software on the 3 litre diesel engines fitted to some Porsche and Audi as well as VW models. VW has denied the claims, which affect at least 10,000 vehicles.

This 'defeat device' sounds like a sophisticated piece of kit.

Full details of how it worked are sketchy, although the EPA has said that the engines had computer software that could sense test scenarios by monitoring speed, engine operation, air pressure and even the position of the steering wheel.

When the cars were operating under controlled laboratory conditions - which typically involve putting them on a stationary test rig - the device appears to have put the vehicle into a sort of safety mode in which the engine ran below normal power and performance. Once on the road, the engines switched out of this test mode.

The result? The engines emitted nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times above what is allowed in the US.

What has been VW's response?

"We've totally screwed up," said VW America boss Michael Horn, while the group's chief executive at the time, Martin Winterkorn, said his company had "broken the trust of our customers and the public". Mr Winterkorn resigned as a direct result of the scandal and was replaced by Matthias Mueller, the former boss of Porsche.

"My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group - by leaving no stone unturned," Mr Mueller said on taking up his new post.

VW has also launched an internal inquiry.

With VW recalling millions of cars worldwide from early next year, it has set aside 6.7bn (4.8bn) to cover costs. That resulted in the company posting itsfirst quarterly loss for 15 years of 2.5bn in late October.

But that's unlikely to be the end of the financial impact. The EPA has the power to fine a company up to $37,500 for each vehicle that breaches standards - a maximum fine of about $18bn.

The costs of possible legal action by car owners and shareholders "cannot be estimated at the current time", VW added.

How widespread are VW's problems?

What started in the US has spread to a growing number of countries. The UK, Italy, France, South Korea, Canada and, of course, Germany, have opened investigations. Throughout the world, politicians, regulators and environmental groups are questioning the legitimacy of VW's emissions testing.

VW will recall 8.5 million cars in Europe, including 2.4 million in Germany and 1.2 million in the UK, and 500,000 in the US as a result of the emissions scandal.

No wonder the carmaker's shares have fallen by about a third since the scandal broke.

Will more heads roll?

It's still unclear who knew what and when, although VW must have had a chain of management command that approved fitting cheating devices to its engines, so further departures are likely.

Christian Klingler, a management board member and head of sales and marketing is leaving the company, although VW said this was part of long-term planned structural changes and was not related to recent events.

In 2014, in the US, regulators raised concerns about VW emissions levels, but these were dismissed by the company as "technical issues" and "unexpected" real-world conditions. If executives and managers wilfully misled officials (or their own VW superiors) it's difficult to see them surviving.

Are other carmakers implicated?

That's for the various regulatory and government inquiries to determine. California's Air Resources Board is now looking into other manufacturers' testing results. Ford, BMW and Renault-Nissan have said they did not use "defeat devices", while other firms have either not commented or simply stated that they comply with the law.

The UK trade body for the car industry, the SMMT, said: "The EU operates a fundamentally different system to the US - with all European tests performed in strict conditions as required by EU law and witnessed by a government-appointed independent approval agency."

But it added: "The industry acknowledges that the current test method is outdated and is seeking agreement from the European Commission for a new emissions test that embraces new testing technologies and is more representative of on-road conditions."

That sounds like EU testing rules need tightening, too.

Environmental campaigners have long argued that emissions rules are being flouted. "Diesel cars in Europe operate with worse technology on average than the US," said Jos Dings, from the pressure group Transport & Environment. "Our latest report demonstrated that almost 90% of diesel vehicles didn't meet emission limits when they drive on the road. We are talking millions of vehicles."

Car analysts at the financial research firm Bernstein agree that European standards are not as strict as those in the US. However, the analysts said in a report that there was, therefore, "less need to cheat". So, if other European carmakers' results are suspect, Bernstein says the "consequences are likely to be a change in the test cycle rather than legal action and fines".

It's all another blow for the diesel market.

Certainly is. Over the past decade and more, carmakers have poured a fortune into the production of diesel vehicles - with the support of many governments - believing that they are better for the environment. Latest scientific evidence suggests that's not the case, and there are even moves to limit diesel cars in some cities.

Diesel sales were already slowing, so the VW scandal came at a bad time. "The revelations are likely to lead to a sharp fall in demand for diesel engine cars," said Richard Gane, automotive expert at consultants Vendigital.

"In the US, the diesel car market currently represents around 1% of all new car sales and this is unlikely to increase in the short to medium term.

"However, in Europe the impact could be much more significant, leading to a large tranche of the market switching to petrol engine cars virtually overnight."

Answer please

1.Identify the key facts of the case. (10 points)

2. Identify all of the stakeholders in the case ( individuals and groups) discuss and rank each in terms of their power and choices in the circumstances described in the case. (10 points)

3.Briefly list the logical assumptions that you have made. (5)

4. Identify and briefly discuss the ethical issues identified in the case (bribery; coercion, deception, theft, unfair discrimination, collusion, conflict of interest, negligence, etc.) (10 points)

5. a) Identify the decisions that were made that you find morally unacceptable and explain why. (10 points)

b) Briefly discuss what values may have been in conflict (5)

6. Consider alternative courses of action that might have served the stakeholders better under the following ethical theories; discuss what process the decision makers would have taken when applying each of these theories and explain what decision would have resulted from following this process. Make sure to explain each theory and your application of it to this case (30 points)

The healthy soul - Socrates Deontological (Duty/rule based) Ethics Teleological (Consequential/Utilitarianism) Ethics

7. What forces (beliefs, assumptions, values, duties, societal or corporate cultural norms etc.) were affecting and influencing the key decision makers in this case, and may have kept them from acting in an ethical manner? (10 points)

8. What steps and process would you recommend decision makers use to ensure this doesn't happen in the future or to resolve the ethical dilemma(s) referenced in this case? (10 points)

Q1. Kinds of Creativity: Evolution Remember the 5 kinds of creativity? This combines brainstorming with evolution. Brainstorm a list of at least 35 ideas for how to improve a set of headphones. Brainstorming is an essential creative skill.

Q2. If I were... Fill in the blanks to complete the following sentences (see below). Note the difference between #1, an animal that you are like, and #2, and animal that you wish you were like. For example, #1: I'm like an owl because I'm awake a lot at night. Versus #2: I'd like to be a dolphin because they are amazing swimmers and they are very playful.

If I were an animal, I would be a ___ because _________ If I were an animal, I'd like to be a ____ because ______ If I were a vegetable, I'd be (a) ______ because ______ If I were a fruit, I'd be (a) ______ because ________ If I were an element (like from the periodic table), I'd be _______ because _______ If I were a type of material for making clothing, I'd be _______ because _______ Q3. Create a Playlist According to Lara Pearse in an article on the Huffington Post Australia site, listening to happy music makes you more creative (but doesn't help with logical problem solving). Need a playlist of at least 6 songs that make you happy. Give Song tile, artist/group, and a brief explanation for why you've included each one. Reference: https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/09/07/listening-to-happy-music-makes-you-more-creative-new-study-suggests_a_23198204/,

Q4. Ringtones Cell phone users can program their phones with a different ring tone for each caller - one for Mom, one for work, one for best friend... Using this feature, you get auditory caller ID. Pick at least 10 different people you know, and identify a popular song which you could use as a ringtone for when they call you. Explain (briefly) why you chose each ringtone, and how it matches the caller's personality.

Q5. An Autobiographical Poem MY name is Pema Lamu Sherpa. I am from kathmandu city, Nepal. Can you help me to make poem of my name.

This type Of poem follows a particular format - please follow this outline... Line 1: Your first name Line 2: Four adjectives that describe you Line 3: a member of your family, and how you are related to that person (ie. sister of Mary, son of Brent, sibling of Jody, child of Thomas...) Line 4: Lover of (add three things you really love) Line 5: Who feels (list three feelings you have) when (one time when you have those feelings) Line 6: Who fears (three things you're afraid of) Line 7: Who would like to (three things you'd like to do or see) Line 8: Resident of (where you live) Line 9: Your last name

Here's my example:

Mary Organized, reflective, introverted, direct Child of Samantha Lover of dogs, flowers and being by the water Who feels excited, challenged, and tired when teaching Who fears being late, forgetting things, and NOT knowing Who would like to travel to Vienna, Paris and Venice Resident of Toronto Trant

Part 1: Climate change denial (40 points) Climate change arrives tomorrow. It will either be very bad (event A) or very, very, very, very, very, very bad (not A). Today, it is common knowledge that climate change will only be "very bad" with probability p 2 [0, 1]. Charles is the President of France. Elections are the day after tomorrow. Charles discounts with a constant daily factor 2 (0, 1) and his utility depends only on his re-election. If he is re-elected, Charles obtains utility of 4 (it is hard work to be president!). If he loses the election, Charles obtains 8. His Facebook advertising team has used sophisticated machine learning techniques to determine that he will be reelected if climate change is very bad, but not if climate change is very, very, very, very, very, very bad (his key constituents are located in coastal regions). 1. (5 points) What is Charles's expected utility today? 2. (12 points) Charles always tells the truth. He knows he will get questions today in the presidential debate about his view on the probability p of very bad climate change. These questions aect his utility today, which is now given in expectation by f(p) + 2E[u(election result)]. In particular, he knows that if climate change seems likely to be very, very, very, very, very, very bad, Charles will get a lot of touch questions about his current government's response. So f(p) is increasing in p. MIT climate researchers in Building 54 have discovered whether climate change will be very bad or very, very, very, very, very, very bad. Their Nature paper is embargoed until tomorrow, but Charles can email them this morning to fnd out the results of their discovery. Suppose f(p) = ln(1 + p). Will Charles email the MIT researchers? Does this depend on ? Does this depend on Charles's payos from re-election? 3. (5 points) Now suppose instead f(p) = (1 + p)2. Will Charles email the MIT researchers? Does this depend on ? Does this depend on Charles's payos from re-election? 4. (5 points) Now suppose Charles can lie. He may announce whichever p he likes at the presidential debate to alter his payo f(p). Because the news cycle is only twenty-four hours, voters will not remember which p he announced when they go to the polls (i.e., they cannot punish him for being wrong or reward him for being right). Which p does Charles choose? 5. (8 points) As in question 4, Charles is no longer necessarily truthful and can announce any p in the debate. Now suppose that his announcement of p aects Congress' decision today about whether or not to set up sea walls to protect the coast. The sea walls are free, will guarantee Charles's re-election, but will only be installed if climate change is likely to be very, very, very, very, very, very badspecifcally, if and only if Charles's announcement satisfes p < 1. Taking p as given, for which values of will Charles announce p = ? 6. (5 points) Fix and the (true) p. Show that if Charles's discount factor is low enough (low ), he will always lie and report p = 1 no matter what.

Based on inspiration of the movie "The Founder", carry out a strategic analysis and evaluation of current situation (especially the digital economy), focusing on the themes of business model innovation or entrepreneurship. Use appendices to provide detailed supporting evidence and make sure that you integrate key points from the appendices into your answers. Your analysis should include as a minimum: i. The characteristics of digital economy and its differences compared with the industrial economy. ii. The basis of competition in certain industry (Porter's generic as a minimum). iii. Target customer analysis. iv. Feasible business model. v. Risk analysis.

Assignment Instructions

Reference no: EM132518968

Let's start with three givens: (1) college students love chocolate chip cookies, (2) you have a special talent for baking cookies, and (3) you're always broke. Given these three conditions, you've come up with the idea of starting an on-campus business-selling chocolate chip cookies to fellow students. As a business major, you want to do things right by preparing a business plan. First, you identified a number of specifics about your proposed business. Now, you need to put these various pieces of information into the relevant section of your business plan. Using the business plan format described in this chapter, indicate the section of the business plan into which you'd put each of the following: 1. You'll bake the cookies in the kitchen of a friend's apartment.2. You'll charge $1 each or $10 a dozen.3. Your purpose is to make the best cookies on campus and deliver them fresh. You value integrity, consideration of others, and quality.4. Each cookie will have ten chocolate chips and will be superior to those sold in nearby bakeries and other stores.5. You expect sales of $6,000 for the first year.6. Chocolate chip cookies are irresistible to college students. There's a lot of competition from local bakeries, but your cookies will be superior and popular with college students. You'll make them close to campus using only fresh ingredients and sell them for $1 each. Your management team is excellent. You expect first-year sales of $6,000 and net income of $1,500. You estimate start-up costs at $600.7. You'll place ads for your product in the college newspaper.8. You'll hire a vice president at a salary of $100 a week.9. You can ship cookies anywhere in the United States and in Canada.10. You need $600 in cash to start the business.11. There are six bakeries within walking distance of the college.12. You'll bake nothing but cookies and sell them to college students. You'll make them in an apartment near campus and deliver them fresh.