Week 1 Discussion Before beginning work on this discussion forum, please review the link Doing Discussion Questions Right, the expanded grading rubric for the forum, and any specific instructions for this topic.In both the academic (student) and professional (career) domains, critical thinking is a valued skill. Your professors assess the depth of critical thinking and might urge you to consider concepts more deeply. Similarly, hiring managers might ask about your critical thinking skill and ask you to provide examples of how you have demonstrated such skill.Select any one of the following starter bullet point sections. Review the important themes within the sub questions of each bullet point. The sub questions are designed to get you thinking about some of the important issues. Your response should provide a succinct synthesis of the key themes in a way that articulates a clear point, position, or conclusion supported by research. Select a different bullet point section than what your classmates have already posted so that we can engage several discussions on relevant topics. If all of the bullet points have been addressed, then you may begin to re-use the bullet points with the expectation that varied responses continue. What does it mean to think critically? What are the various dimensions of critical thinking? That is, what do critical thinkers do or how do we assess the quality of critical thinking? Analyze one of the critical thinking dimensions. How does critical thinking apply to leaders? Managers? Organizations? Review the material you’ve read in course lectures and the assigned textbook selections. What is a unique and challenging critical question you would like to raise about this material? (Your question may be about something controversial, about which you have your doubts. It may suggest that a theory or a model has weaknesses, challenge the truth of proposed relationships between variables, or assess the value of a suggested practice.) Defend your perspective. South University has four specific objectives called Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). SLOs include: Specialization expertise (content and competency), critical thinking, information literacy, and communication. Briefly define each of those objectives and assess how they might interact with or influence one other. Summarize a development plan you might use for yourself to enhance your skill for each objective. How might mastery of the objectives enhance your career path? The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to 2- single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.Submission Details: Submit your posting to the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Follow-up posts need to be completed by the end of the week. Submit your response in the Discussion Area, using the lessons and vocabulary found in the readingWeek 2 discussionWeek 2 Discussion Contains unread posts Discussion Before beginning work on this discussion forum, please review the link Doing Discussion Questions Right, the expanded grading rubric for the forum, and any specific instructions for this topic.In the digital age, new channels of communication have developed that simply did not exist a few decades ago. Cell phones, e-mail, text messaging, Facebook, Twitter… who knows what might develop next? However, not every channel of communication is right for different types of messages or communication needs.Select any one of the following starter bullet point sections. Review the important themes within the sub questions of each bullet point. The sub questions are designed to get you thinking about some of the important issues. Your response should provide a succinct synthesis of the key themes in a way that articulates a clear point, position, or conclusion supported by research. Select a different bullet point section than what your classmates have already posted so that we can engage several discussions on relevant topics. If all of the bullet points have been addressed, then you may begin to re-use the bullet points with the expectation that varied responses continue. Given that employees are essentially accessible 24/7, organizations should create some best practices for using the variety of digital communications available for business. Research tips and advice on how to best use channels of electronic communication. Justify your own list of three best practice recommendations. You have carefully drafted a message to inform employees of a change to the attendance tracking system in your organization that will launch next week. The change only pertains to some technical matters, but may be misunderstood by the workforce. A virus threat shuts down internal e-mail just before your message is ready. You now have a choice of communicating with employees through Facebook or postponing the communication. Justify your choice. Two employees of your organization took their work-related disagreements to Twitter, and disciplinary action has been taken against both according to company policy. However, their public quarrel was seen by employees and customers. Should the company respond? If yes, through which channel of digital communication should it respond? Defend your choice. Create an annotated reference list of three sources that provide tips and advice on how to best use channels of electronic communication. An annotated reference page means that each reference is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph to inform the reader of key points, relevance, accuracy, and quality of the cited source. The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to 2- single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.Submission Details: Submit your posting to the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Follow-up posts need to be completed by the end of the week. Submit your response in the Discussion Area, using the lessons and vocabulary found in the readingWeek 3DiscussionDiscussion Before beginning work on this discussion forum, please review the link Doing Discussion Questions Right, the expanded grading rubric for the forum, and any specific instructions for this topic.Although studying theory might seem to be an effort separate from practice (e.g., professional activities), good theories emerge from assessing practice. Accordingly, theories can possess some usefulness in prescribing positive actions for leaders and organizations.Assume you are the manager of a department in an organization. Select two of the theories you learned about this week that you believe will be most useful in managing your staff. (Be sure to review the supplemental readings as well). Select different theories or different combinations of theories than your classmates select. Address the following: Assess why you find the two theories you selected most practical or helpful. Evaluate how the two theories might interact with each other. Analyze whether you anticipate needing different motivational methods applying your selected theories according to the ages, races, national origins, cultures, genders, and educational backgrounds of your subordinates. Provide appropriate citations to support your conclusions. Justify three best practices that emerge from your selected theories (three best practices total. You do not need three best practices for each theory). The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to 2- single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length. Submission Details: Submit your posting to the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Follow-up posts need to be completed by the end of the week.Week 4 DiscussionDiscussionBefore beginning work on this discussion forum, please review the link Doing Discussion Questions Right, the expanded grading rubric for the forum, and any specific instructions for this topic.You have been asked to lead a ten-person team within your department. You know that several of these team members have not worked well together on previous group projects, so you have decided to put the team through a series of team-building activities.Select any one of the following starter bullet point sections. Review the important themes within the sub questions of each bullet point. The sub questions are designed to get you thinking about some of the important issues. Your response should provide a succinct synthesis of the key themes in a way that articulates a clear point, position, or conclusion supported by research. Select a different bullet point section than what your classmates have already posted so that we can engage several discussions on relevant topics. If all of the bullet points have been addressed, then you may begin to re-use the bullet points with the expectation that varied responses continue. Define your top three goals or objectives for the team-building activities for the scenario. Defend why those goals are appropriate. Also assess at least two other possible goals and justify why they did not make your top-three list. Select two articles that discuss whether team-building activities really help. Briefly note what you learned from the articles. Did they guide you to select the best activities, or did they warn you away from certain activities? Justify three best practices for team building activities that emerge from the articles. Team dynamics include both productivity (task) and cohesiveness (relationship) components. Identify three team building activities and assess the extent each influences on productivity and cohesion. Evaluate how cohesion and productivity are linked. The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.Your posting should be the equivalent of 1 to 2 single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.Submission Details: Submit your posting to the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Follow-up posts need to be completed by the end of the week. Submit your response in the Discussion Area, using the lessons and vocabulary found in the reading.Week 5 DiscussionDiscussion Before beginning work on this discussion forum, please review the link Doing Discussion Questions Right, the expanded grading rubric for the forum, and any specific instructions for this topic.Assume you are the manager of the department where you currently work. If you are not currently working, use a past situation or a hypothetical situation; be sure to describe it. Select two leadership theories that you believe will be most useful in managing your staff. Select different theories or different combinations of theories than your classmates select. Respond to the following: Assess why you think these theories will be most practical or helpful. Evaluate how the two theories might interact with one another. Analyze whether you anticipate needing different leadership methods (based on your two selected theories) according to the ages, races, national origins, cultures, genders, educational backgrounds, or job types of your subordinates. Provide necessary illustrations and citations to justify your conclusions. Justify three best practices that emerge from your selected leadership theories (three best practices total. You do not need three best practices for each theory). The final paragraph (three or four sentences) of your initial post should summarize the one or two key points that you are making in your initial response.Your posting should be the equivalent of 1- to 2-single-spaced pages (500–1000 words) in length.Submission Details: Submit your posting to the Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Follow-up posts need to be completed by the end of the week. Submit your response in the Discussion Area, using the lessons and vocabulary found in the reading.

Example of Functional Area Questions on Shoprite Holdings Case Study and Evidence Required General Management Questions Evidence Required Analyse the vision and mission of Shoprite Holdings. Do you think this vision and mission is appropriate for Shoprite Holdings, taking their values and strategic drivers into consideration? Checkers, a subsidiary of Shoprite Holdings, wants to revise their mission but would still want it to be in line with that of Shoprite Holdings vision and mission. Develop an alternative mission for Checkers. Analyse the existing Vision and Mission of Shoprite Holdings.Comment on whether it is applicable to Shoprite Holdings.Develop an alternative mission statement for Checkers.Show how this links to Shoprite Holdings while addressing the unique situation of South Africa. Conduct a SWOT analysis for Shoprite Holdings. Analyse the internal environment and identify strengths and weaknesses.Analyse the external environment and identify opportunities and threats. What impact can a change in leadership have on Shoprite Holdings? Type of leadership styles and their impact on organisations.The effect that the appointment of someone outside of Shoprite Holdings as the new CEO may have on an organisation. What could Shoprite Holdings’ managers do to support, promote and encourage cultural awareness among the various global locations? Explain. Research on the various global locations that Shoprite Holdings is presently in.Comment on some of the differences and how that can be addressed by policies. What role do you think organisational structure plays in an organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness? Explain. Discussing the effect of organisational structure on efficiency and effectiveness.Comment on the contingency factors determining what will be the most appropriate structure.Research on these aspects.Application to Shoprite Holdings. Explain the different challenges that Shoprite Holdings may have in communicating to their employees, taking into consideration the need to reduce office waste and various COVID-19 policies. Research on and discussion of challenges of managing communications in an internet world. Research on and discussion of challenges of managing communications amidst a pandemic. Application to Shoprite Holdings. Today’s workplaces present considerable control challenges for managers. What do you think will be the workplace concerns that Shoprite Holdings’ managers may face? Research on present workplace concerns (workplace privacy, internet and e-mail usage, employee theft, employee violence, organisational change, etc.) and the concerns faced in global organisations. Comment on the concerns related to Shoprite Holdings. Comment on Shoprite Holdings’ commitment to their social responsibility and the environment. Research on social responsibility and environmental responsibility. Comment on Shoprite Holdings’ efforts with regards to social responsibility and environmental responsibility. Comment on the impact of COVID-19on Shoprite Holdings customers and their efforts to combat the impact. The global pandemic in 2020 impacted all areas of business. Comment on the impact of COVID19 on the business operations of Shoprite Holdings. Comment on the impact of COVID-19 on the business operations of Shoprite Holdings.