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Please answer the following questions clearly and conscisely: How are the four building blocks of competitive advantage related to each other? What role can top management play in helping a company achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers? Over time, will the adoption of Six Sigma quality improvement processes give a company a competitive advantage, or will it be required only to achieve parity with competitors? What is the relationship between innovation and competitive advantage?

Make a contract based off of the internship KickStock ( a shoe/clothing retail store in San Diego). My Job at the internship is to be in charge of the marketing ideas on their instagram, and social medias. Their instagram account is kickstocksd. My boss/CEOs name is Stavro Saka. make the contract on excel or on a spreadsheet. MARKETING AND SALES INTERNSHIP Learning experience To ensure the quality of the internship experience, each student and site supervisor needs to identify a project(s) and/or learning activities that will provide opportunities for training. The internship must provide an opportunity to complete a project or a series of learning activities in business setting, such as applying what you have learned in school and analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of these applications. Routine tasks, such as data entry or clerical work that are not in support of specific analysis or data-driven decision-making, do not match this criteria. An internship supervisor’s active involvement in defining your learning experience is critical, s/he must agree to support your learning experience and later provide an evaluation of your accomplishments. Managers are always concerned with how to reduce costs, increase revenues, improve processes, or improve the quality of their product or service so these will often be agreed upon outcomes of the internship. Your project LEARNING CONTRACT should lay out something that adds value to the organization for which you are interning. Projects involve solving business problems and providing a deliverable to the organization. You must outline specific learning activities that are consistent with the activities listed below. Outcomes should detail significant learning not engagement with routine tasks, unless these task are required for data collection, analysis, or activity implementation. Your learning activities must be substantial and challenging. Plan to provide weekly evidence of your learning relative to these activities. YOU WILL HAVE COURSE DELIVERABLES RELATED TO ALL FIVE COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES. HOWEVER, YOUR LEARNING CONTRACT SHOULD ADDRESS AT LEAST THREE "ACTIVITIES" DESCRIBED AS THEY RELATE TO THE LEARNING OUTCOMES AS DESCRIBED IN THE SYLLABUS, which are: Apply fundamentals of business education (including management theory, finance, accounting) with a focus on marketing and sales in a real-world context. Employ effective oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, including listening, and audience-centered messaging while engaging in marketing or sales Employ effective technology/information management, leverage research/analytics, or engage project management skills while engaging in sales or marketing activities. Explain how marketing, consumer behavior and sales theory relate to internship activities, and where possible describe how marketing and sales activities work in complement. Integrate the experience or knowledge gained during the internship experience into career decision-making, career planning and the job search process. This contract is drawn up in writing by the student and supervisor. The final contract must be signed by the student and supervisor. Please ensure your name is also printed at the signature line of the contract. Format: Please, refer to template posted on Blackboard. Type your name on your contract OVERVIEW-Provide a brief description of your organization, what it does, and your role. SCOPE of WORK/DELIVERABLES-Give a clear project description of what you will accomplish, why, and what deliverables you will provide to your organization. - What will you do or be responsible for (e.g., content creation and analysis of social media campaigns, development of client pitch decks, insides sales etc.) - Discuss what activities you will complete and what information will be provided. Examples below as related to learning outcomes. Marketing Activities Related to Learning Outcomes Define customer/determine key customer segment Identify competitors Describe positioning product/service against competitors Outline a target plan for key customer segments through omni-channel touchpoints and integrated marketing communications -- promotions, search, social content, events, direct Describe the execution of marketing strategy and provide explanation of how data was used to inform strategy plans and implementation Report on key performance outcomes and analytics in order to assess the performance of marketing campaigns and tactics; a plan for performance tracking may be sufficient Develop plans regarding how to interact with other departments to achieve common goals (discuss valuable interaction with other department to achieve common goals or discuss communication challenges that inhibit interaction with other departments) Sales Activities Related to Learning Outcomes Describe use of CRM systems and/or make territory plans/execute territory planning Explain use of different social styles when interacting with potential and current customers Indicate number of cold calls for new prospects/telephone calls to set appointments/follow-up calls Provide example of product presentations and demos Develop plans regarding how to interact with other departments to achieve common goals (discuss valuable interaction with other department to achieve common goals or discuss communication challenges that inhibit interaction with other departments) Indicate when and how many sales reports are processed/provide example of sales report VALUE-Provide an explanation of how this project will add value to the organization. The value must be measurable and verifiable and lead to improvements in the organization. Consider near-term value added (within time frame of class) and long-term value added. You will be held accountable for the near-term value added in your final report. Be sure that you can implement something and obtain results that can verify this near-term value added. SUPERVISOR SUPPORT/SCHEDULE-Clarify any critical materials or input you require from your supervisor. Agree upon deliverable and event dates when applicable.

Read the Tiana's Tires homework outline (Word doc) that asks you to complete a sales forecast for a number of accounts. Complete your analysis using the Excel file. Feel free to use whatever forecasting model you like, just document. Submit as an Excel file, showing your calculations. Also provide a quick summary of your recommendations on how Tiana's Tires should move forward.

Assignment: For this assignment, please locate (and read) an article or case study of your choice (from the topic list below). You may also use an internet search using a search engine such as Google Scholar to locate an article. Write a summary of the article and contrast its content with the processes described in the course reading assignments. Base your opinion and analysis upon your own experiences, readings from the text, or any other reference you deem appropriate. Your submission should be approximately the equivalent of at least two double-spaced pages (~500-650 words ). Your summary should include APA 7.0 compliant citations and references. Critical Success Factors for Risk Management in Projects The Role of Uncertainty Management in Project Management Individual Risks and Overall Project Uncertainty Implementing a Risk Management Plan The Project Manager's Role in Project Uncertainty & Risk Management or any other article relevant to project uncertainty & risk management (Please include the title at the top of your initial post) If you are new to locating articles in the online library and or APA style, you may want to complete the QEP Tutorials: Citation Styles and Locating Articles in conjunction with this assignment. Response Guidelines: For full credit, please respond to the questions above by posting a discussion essay by Saturday of Week-4 @ 11:59 PM USCT. The essay should be a substantive post of approximately 550-650 words or more, demonstrating your achievement of the discussion question requirements/intent. Read the assignment due dates carefully; late submissions may not be accepted for credit.

Having read the assigned reading, complete the following: Complete the assignment in a Word Document, and then submit the file to the Drop Box provided, according to the due date on the Calendar. 1) Review Delivery Performance Domain: outline the meaning of “Delivery of Value”; define deliverables. 2) During Project Delivery: outline quality; list suboptimal outcomes. There is no requirement with regards to length or word count for each short answer, simply convey a clear understanding of the assigned reading material and convey that understanding through the required assignment. The assignment will be graded for understanding the topic, providing a clear discussion of such, as well as utilizing correct grammar. Grade: 10% of total grade, including proper grammar

ANNOTATEDBIBLIOGRAPHY:FOLLOWER,MENTORING ANDCOACHING ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS OVERVIEW In the strategic leadership process, one of the goals that leaders should embrace is maximizing follower performance. The leader/follower dynamic is a team process, and it is in the leader’s interest to see that followers do their best. Two of the avenues available to support this end are mentoring and coaching. It is important for leaders to understand the distinctions and similarities between the two and how they could potentially be used in conjunction. The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize the student with scholarly content that could potentially be applied directly in current workplace responsibilities along with future research studies. INSTRUCTIONS Write an annotated bibliography on how leaders can support follower performance through mentoring and coaching. The purpose of this bibliography is to analyze scholarly sources regarding follower performance in general and, specifically, the effect that leaders can have on it. You can take this topic in whatever direction is most relevant to your research interests. For example, if your research interest is the role of HR leaders in minimizing employee turnover, you can search for articles more specific to that context and application. • Bibliography should be a minimum of 4-5 pages in length, not including the title and reference pages. • Include a minimum of 8 peer reviewed articles with a 150-200-word summary for each article. • All bibliography sources should also be listed in a separate reference page at the end of the document without any annotations present. • The quality of the bibliography should support academic level standards as specified in grading rubric, which includes current APA formatting, depth of analysis, clarity of writing, and organization of content. No table of contents is required for this assignment. • As per current APA formatting requirements, be sure that your annotated bibliography is organized alphabetically. Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool. The tool is a starting point for instructors to check overall Academic Integrity and higher scores generally indicate a higher probability of Academic Misconduct. The higher a score the higher the probability that there are too high a percentage of quotations included in the narrative, and/or there are passages that have not been properly cited.

What are the main differences between a low-cost strategy and a differentiation strategy? Why is market segmentation such an important step in the process of formulating a business-level strategy? How can a business-level strategy of (a) low cost and (b) differentiation offer some protection against competitive forces in a company’s industry? What is required to transform a business-level strategy from a concept to a reality? What is meant by the term value innovation? Can you identify a company not discussed in the text that has established a strong competitive position through value innovation?

INSTRUCTIONS Exam 2: 1.This is an individual take-home exam. 2.The exam contains 5 pages. 3.You may use class lecture materials, the textbook, and personal notes. 4.Show all calculations clearly and label each step for full credit using Excel to submit your calculations. In the document, separate the questions by "sheets" for easy readability. 5.For open-ended strategic questions, justify your reasoning with data, course concepts, or logical arguments. 6.Clearly label your answers and ensure they are well-organized. AI & EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE POLICY 1.You may NOT use ChatGPT, Bard, Bing AI, or any other AI-based tools to generate, refine, or verify your responses. 2.Your answers must be your own and reflect your critical thinking and understanding of the course material. 3.Exams that show patterns inconsistent with coursework or closely resemble AI-generated content will be flagged for review. 1.CP1 is a startup specializing in plant-based protein drinks, recently launched its first product in Austin, TX. With positive word-of-mouth and strong sampling at local retailers, the company is seeing early momentum—but needs to evaluate performance and make data-driven decisions about production, marketing, and customer retention strategies. You’ve been hired as a product marketing consultant to analyze customer acquisition and retention during the first year and help CP1 forecast future demand. From market data, CP1 estimates a total addressable market (TAM) of 500,000 households. In Q1, 25,000 households tried CP1 for the first time, and 30% of those trial users made at least one repeat purchase that quarter. By the end of Year 1, CP1 has a customer base of 100,000 households, of which 60,000 are still active. The average active customer makes 3 purchases per quarter, buying 6 bottles per purchase. Market research indicated that the average retention rate in the alternative protein market is 50%. Calculate CP1’s trial rate for Q1 (the number of households that tried the product as a percentage of TAM). What does this tell you about the initial market response? Why is this metric important for evaluating customer acquisition and product-market fit? (6 points) What is CP1’s customer retention rate after one year? Explain how this differs from the trial rate and what it tells you about long-term customer value. (4 points) Using the number of active customers, estimate CP1’s quarterly unit sales volume. Show your work. (2 points) 2.CREATE is a children's arts and crafts studio that offers weekly summer camps. To increase enrollment and attract new families, CREATE recently ran a marketing promotion for one month before school ended to market its summer program. The goal was to boost signups without damaging the studio’s premium brand image or long-term customer value. As CREATE’s marketing analyst, you’ve been tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of the promotion and recommending whether and how similar promotions should be used in the future. The summer camp is priced at $495 per student per week. Based on historical data, baseline enrollment before the promotion averaged 150 students per week. During a one-week promotion period, a total of 400 students enrolled. The company spent $10,000 on marketing the promotion, and 35% of promotion buyers re-enrolled for a second week. Calculate the incremental sales volume generated by the promotion. Why is incremental volume important when evaluating promotion effectiveness? (4 points) Calculate the percentage lift in sales during the promotion compared to baseline. Why might this number be misleading if considered in isolation? (4 points) Based on the repeat purchase rate, estimate the number of promotion-driven customers likely to return. How does this insight influence your view of the promotion’s short-term versus long-term impact? (4 points) Calculate the cost per incremental student acquired through the promotion. Then, calculate the advertising elasticity of demand (AED) using CREATE’s baseline weekly ad spend of $1,250 and promotion month spend of $10,000. What does this tell you about the promotion’s efficiency and demand responsiveness? (4 points) 3.H2O Pure is preparing to launch a new home water filtration system designed to attach directly to standard kitchen faucets. The company is currently evaluating two product models: a single-use monthly disposable filter made with sustainable materials and offered at a lower price, or a reusable filter system that requires a higher upfront investment but includes lower-priced monthly cartridge replacements. As a startup committed to sustainability, accessibility, and long-term profitability, H2O Pure must carefully weigh customer experience, brand positioning, and financial outcomes. You have been brought on as a marketing and strategy consultant to help the company determine which model is best suited for launch. For the Reusable Model, the product is priced at $45 for the reusable base unit and $5 for each monthly cartridge. In Year 1, the company projects sales of 12,000 base units, with 10% annual growth compounded over time. The cost of goods sold (COGS) is $20 for the base and $1.50 per cartridge. Fulfillment and marketing expenses are estimated at $5 per base unit and $1 per cartridge. Based on early testing, 75% of customers are expected to remain subscribed for at least two years. The Single-Use Model is priced at $18 per filter, which must be replaced monthly. The company anticipates 20,000 customers in the first year, with 5% annual growth thereafter. The COGS is $6 per filter and fulfillment and marketing costs are $3 per unit. Customer retention is expected to be strong, with 70% of users remaining subscribed for at least two years. As part of your analysis, H2O Pure has asked you to evaluate both financial performance and strategic alignment with the brand’s values and growth goals. Please answer the following questions supporting your responses with calculations, clear assumptions, and strategic reasoning. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the reusable and single-use models. Consider how each aligns with customer behavior, brand positioning, sustainability, and growth potential. (5 points) Using the data provided, calculate the Year 1 total revenue, total cost, and total profit for each model. Clearly show your calculations. You may assume that customers begin purchasing at the start of the year. (4 points) Based on the subscription retention estimates, calculate the expected customer lifetime value (CLV) for each model over 2 years. Use a basic definition of CLV as revenue minus cost per customer over the 2-year subscription period. How do these values affect the long-term business potential of each approach? Assume no discounting is necessary and ignore CAC. (6 points) Which product model would you recommend H2O Pure launch? Justify your answer with both financial analysis and strategic alignment with the company’s values and goals. (5 points) 4.You’ve just been hired as the Lifecycle Marketing Strategist at a fast-growing wellness startup called GlowBar, which sells functional skincare products designed to support hormonal balance. Until now, GlowBar’s growth has been driven mostly by founder-led social media posts, a few press mentions, and word-of-mouth referrals. The leadership team is eager to scale customer acquisition and increase customer lifetime value but is unclear about which marketing metrics truly matter. They’ve been tracking vanity metrics like Instagram likes, total website visits, and brand mentions — but they’re struggling to tie those numbers to customer acquisition, revenue, or ROI. Your job is to develop a marketing strategy rooted in the right metrics and explain how those metrics will support sustainable growth. Based on the 8-stage marketing funnel framework discussed by Natalie Rodriguez https://www.canva.com/design/DAGiAAcvcwc/zwHW7M9CF... (e.g., Awareness ? Advocacy), choose the three most important stages for GlowBar given their objectives, and identify one key metric you would track each of the stages you identify. For each metric, explain why it matters, how you would measure it, and what business decision it would make. (6 points) GlowBar has $25,000 to allocate across marketing experiments for Q2. Using principles from Natalie’s lecture, propose two to three tactics you would test and the metrics you’d track to evaluate success. Explain why these choices are strategic based on the company’s current stage. (4 points) The founders insist on increasing Instagram followers as a top goal. If the founders continue to push for vanity metrics, what risks could GlowBar face? How can your recommendation help mitigate those? How can you reframe the conversation to shift focus on more impactful growth metrics? (4 points)

Dear All, Assignment 2 at Blackboard requires 1500 words, 1.5 spacing and font 12 Arial. Each question requires 500 words. Make sure to submit in time otherwise you get 25% reduction of mark. In addition, DO NOT use ChatGPT as will be discovered via the system. You will get Zero if you use ChatGPT!. its better to be simple writing not too complex so my professor thinks i did it.

Please offer a business update (BU) in the weekly BU Discussion. Identify relevant current marketing issues/trends related to the ASSIGNED TOPIC - VIDEO MARKETING. Research the trend and Fill out the article note template (attached) and share your findings in a discussion post. Use a US based article A brief summary explanation of the article content (e.g., what were the key issues and/or insights) and a rationale for why the student chose this article and recommended it in connection to the topic for the week. (300 - 400 words)