Innovative Business Strategies Text Activities
Order ID 53563633773 Type Essay Writer Level Masters Style APA Sources/References 4 Perfect Number of Pages to Order 5-10 Pages Description/Paper Instructions
Innovative Business Strategies Text Activities
Biesenbach-Lucas 8
Advanced RWR
FEP Theme: Innovative Business Strategies Text Activities
Complete the reading packet in the order in which it is presented. You will read two texts as you complete the activities.
ACTIVITIES FOR TEXT #1
Write an APA Reference citation for the text:
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Pre-Reading Task A: Background
Every business/company strives to make a profit. This becomes more difficult in times of an economic recession when people have less money to spend.
What do you think consumers do more of or less of when they have less money to purchase goods and services?
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What do you think companies need to do in times when consumers do not want to – or cannot afford – to spend as much money as they used to on various items or services?
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What do you think the following types of companies might do?
- A department store: ___________________________________________________
- An electronics store: ___________________________________________________
- An upscale restaurant: ___________________________________________________
- A bookstore: ___________________________________________________
The title of the first reading, from Business Week, is “Innovative Ways to Grow During the Downturn”. Scan the text for names of companies about which the texts reports; then, write what kind of product/s or service/s each company sells; and finally, predict what innovative ways these companies might use:
Company Product/s & Service/s Innovative ways Now, scan the text for subheadings and sub-subheadings; then, make a prediction about what these subheadings might mean.
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Reading, Comprehension, and Critical Thinking
Read the first part of the text “Innovative Ways to Grow During the Downturn” from Business Week (up to “$200 million in revenue this year” = end of p.1/top of p.2) and complete the questions below.
What are some trends among consumers when the economic situation worsens?
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What is the impact of these trends on businesses?
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How are specific companies taking these consumer trends in an economic downturn into consideration?
What is the company’s innovative move? To which consumer trend from above does the move react? Walmart Proctor & Gamble Hulu.com Now read the second part of the text “Innovative Ways to Grow During the Downturn” and complete the questions below .
Well-timed innovations: What 3 strategies should companies consider, according to the text (= check the sub-subheadings)? Explain each in your own words!
The 3 strategies Your explanation Extend your thinking: How might an “upscale” coffee bar like Starbucks take these aspects into account?
The 3 strategies How might Starbucks react? Now think about another company/business that you know: How might this company react to an economic crisis?
_________________________________ [company name]
The 3 strategies How might this company react? Describing Graphs
One aspect that companies need to monitor continuously – not only during economic hard times – is market performance; that is, what the sales numbers are and with that, the income obtained from sales of a certain product or service. Market performance needs to stay at a certain level for a company to remain profitable.
Read the texts that accompany each graph (examples 1,2,3) below.
Pay attention to the structure/organization of the descriptions and the verb forms that are used.
Figure 1: Sales of Microwave Ovens – 2004-present
(in thousands)
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20042005200620072008present
Figure 1 shows sales of microwave ovens between 2004 and 2009. From 2004 to 2005, sales increased slightly from 20,000 to 25,000 units. Over the course of the next year, sales rose steeply to 45,000 units and then remained stable in 2007. Between 2007 and 2008, sales decreased dramatically to 15,000 units. Since 2008, sales have gradually increased to 21,000 units. The implication is that the current marketing campaign is working.
Figure 2:
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Sales of Video Games – 1995-present
(in thousands) Figure 2 shows sales of video games
between 1995 and the present time.
From 1995 to 1998, sales increased
slightly from 20,000 games to 27,000
games. Between 1998 and 2001, sales
remained stable. Between 2001 and
2009, sales fluctuated between 24,000
and 40,000 video games. Since 2009,
sales have decreased until the present
time. This might indicate that people
are finding other means of e entertainment.
Figure 3: Sales of Corn Flakes – 1900-present
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Figure 3 shows the change in sales of
breakfast cereals (corn flakes) as a
percentage of other breakfast meals between 1900 and the present time. Between 1900 and 1930, corn flakes sales went down from 53% to 35% of breakfast foods. Sales went up slightly to 45% in 1940. Since World War II, sales have remained stable at about 40%. It can be seen that breakfast cereals remain a staple in the breakfast food industry.
Practice
- Select the best verb form for describing the information from the graphs.
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200020042005present
(1) Production increased / has increased from 2000 to 2004.
It then fell / has fallen sharply, but since 2005 it
stabilized / has stabilized.
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5
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25
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1990199520002005present
(2) Sales of designer jeans were / have been stable
in the early 1990s. Since then, sales increased /
have increased steadily.
- Write an appropriate sentence to describe the graph – use past tense and present perfect correctly.
Sales of News Magazines at School Bookstore
It is Friday evening.
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MonTuesWedThurFri
Describe the graph information from
Tuesday to Wednesday.
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Now describe the information from
Thursday through Friday (=today).
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0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
19992002200520072008present
SUV production in the U.S.
Describe SUV sales between 1999 and 2006.
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Describe sales between 2006 and 2007.
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Describe sales between 2007 and today.
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20
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199520002005present
regular coffeefair trade coffee
specialty coffee
Coffee Sales at Gourmet Coffee Shop
Describe sales of regular coffee.
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Describe sales of fair trade coffee.
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Describe sales of specialty coffee drinks.
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- Now, research the market performance of a specific company, create a line graph, and describe the trends.
Company: ____________________________________
Product/s: ____________________________________
Market performance: [paste graph here] – give the graph a number and title
Your description of the graph – pay attention to structure and verb forms:
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Vocabulary: Complete the parts of speech grid:
Noun Verb Adjective Adverb Synonym of the bolded word innovative to exploit to explore to invest instability strategic Paraphrases of Sentences from the Text:
Write paraphrases of the sentences below. Try to use a different sentence structure by using different parts of speech of the words in the sentences.
- “Companies should invest the time and money to unearth unmet customer needs.”
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- “Innovation needs to be a strategic priority if corporations hope to do more than merely survive.”
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FEP Reading Evaluation – Text #1 Summer 2014
Name: ________________________ Date: ____________________________
4 = excellent 3 = good 2 = satisfactory 1 = weak 0 = unsatisfactory
Text 1:
___ Responses indicate comprehension of text content.
___ Responses to questions are complete and thorough.
___ Responses show critical thinking about the issues from the readings.
___ Responses accurately address the questions.
___ Responses are correct in those cases where there are correct/incorrect answers.
___ Responses to graph activities show understanding of graph description structure and
language use.
___ Vocabulary parts are completed accurately.
___ Paraphrases show attempts at changing original sentence structure and result in
meaningful paraphrases.
___ Responses are free of grammar errors.
___ Responses are free of spelling and mechanics errors.
___ Forbidden words are avoided.
_______ / 40 points
ACTIVITIES FOR TEXT #2
Write an APA Reference citation for the text:
__________________________________________________________________________
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Pre-Reading Task A:
Now turn to the second reading, which presents a particular innovation to boost a company’s image, attract customers, and thus increase profits. What particular aspect does this text discuss?
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How can company logos become “warmer” and “fuzzier”? What do you think this means?
Warmer: _____________________________________________________________
Fuzzier: ______________________________________________________________
How can company logos become “refreshed”? What do you think this means?
____________________________________________________________________
Looking over the images that you see on the page, what can you predict are some of the aspects in which company logos are apparently changing? After you read the text, write in the right column any corrections to your predictions:
Predict: How are company logos changing? Corrections after reading: What do the following colors mean to you? After you read the text, write in the right column what the text says about the meaning of these colors:
Colors Meaning to you? Meaning according to the text? navy/dark blue Light blue yellow red purple orange green Compare the before/after logos of various companies. Use sentences from the short descriptions next to the logos. Follow the examples that are already in the grid.
After that, explain what the common trends in the changes are.
Before After Trends in Change Walmart all capital letters lower case, light blue letters with an added “spark” Lower case Soft color
Friendly image
Kraft Cheer Stop & Shop Sysco Quick Chek Blackwater Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking:
After you read “Warmer, Fuzzier: The Refreshed Logo”, answer the questions below:
How is a logo important for a company/business? Why?
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Why have some companies begun to change their logos?
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What are the characteristics of these new logos?
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Find a company (other than the ones mentioned in the article!!) that has changed its logo recently. Show the before and after below:
Old logo New logo What message did the old logo send?
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Describe the change:
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What message does the new logo send?
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Then, identify what the advantage of this new logo is.
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RUBRIC
QUALITY OF RESPONSE NO RESPONSE POOR / UNSATISFACTORY SATISFACTORY GOOD EXCELLENT Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. 20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. 30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. 40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. 50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). Zero points: Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. 5 out 20 points: Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. 10 out 20 points: References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated. Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. 15 out 20 points: Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors. There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. 20 points: Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. 5 points out of 20: The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors 10 points out 20: The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors 15 points out of 20: The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. 20 points: The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. 3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. 5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. They can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements. The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper 7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. 10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally, the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper. GET THIS PROJECT NOW BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK TO PLACE THE ORDER
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