Partial ProductivityA construction supervisor for a large homebuilder is interested in seeing whether there are ways of improving the profitability of the company through making better use of the people and equipment that are used to construct homes.Respond to the following:Research the construction industry to learn what the inputs are that are used by such a homebuilder to build homes (the homes are obviously the output that is being produced by the homebuilder). Be sure to include some inputs that are not strictly labor (in other words, include things that are pieces of equipment or resources other than people).Give at least two examples of what a partial productivity statistic would be for some of the inputs that you identified.Give an example of something that would cause the partial productivity of a particular input to be reduced.Give an example of something that could be done to improve the partial productivity of some particular input.Describe how the overall productivity of the homebuilder would be calculated. In other words, how could the total productivity of all inputs be incorporated in a total productivity calculation?

INSTRUCTIONS: EACH DISCUSSION ANSWER SHOULD BE AT LEAST 250 WORDS AND HAVE 2 REFERANCES each. For a total of 8 responses please label each response according the module and week Module 1 Week 1 DISCUSSION: What is the difference between “Strategic Leadership” and “Strategic Management”? Using an actual organization in which you now work – or have worked previously – give several examples as to how the processes differ. Week 2 DISCUSSION: How does the Five Compass Model (see Wilson’s 1996 article included in the Background readings) inform our understanding of “Strategic Leadership” generally, and the role of top leadership in setting the long-term strategic direction of an organization more specifically? Module 2 Week 1: Do some research in the library/ internet, and choose a Fortune 500 company that is of interest to you. Then, identify 3-4 key external environmental forces that you believe are most influential to your organization's success. Why are the 3-4 forces you’ve identified most salient? Be specific. Week 2: How should your company respond to the environmental threats and opportunities you have identified? Be specific! Module 3 Week 1: Visit the following page: http://www.slideshare.net/garyma_sharma/popular-strategy-diagrams and read about the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix, or GSSM. Note: The GSSM should not be confused with the Grand Strategy Matrix (GSM) (http://mba-lectures.com/management/strategic-management/1129/grand-strategy-matrix.html) which we will explore further in Week 2 of this Discussion (see below). (be sure that you take note of the differences in the X and Y axes of both tools). Then, apply the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix to the company you selected for your SLP, discussing the rationale for your choice of: Overcome weaknesses vs. maximize strengths; and Direction of resources (i.e., internally vs. externally focused). Which quadrant does your chosen company fit within? What grand strategy (or strategies) would you choose? Why? Be specific. Week 2: Now, apply the GSM to your organization. Is your choice of grand strategy different from the results from your use of the GSSM (in Week 1 above)? Discuss. Module 4 Week 1 In the Module 3 Discussion, you used the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix (GSSM) to determine your selected organization’s grand strategy. After describing several of the most salient/notable characteristics of the culture of the organization you have selected for the SLP, respond to the following (Week 1): Does the organization’s culture “fit” the grand strategy you selected in the Module 2 Discussion? Explain. Even if the culture fits the strategy well, is there anything you would change in order to better ensure the success of the grand strategy you selected in the Module 2 Discussion? Assuming that the culture does not fit the strategy well, what specifically would you change, and how would you go about doing so? Week 2 In the Module 2 Discussion, you used the GSSM to choose a grand strategy for your target (SLP) organization. In Week 2 of the Module 4 Discussion, respond to the following: Describe your organization’s stated values. Discuss how well your organization’s values align with the grand strategy you chose in the Module 2 Discussion (using the GSSM). Discuss the implications that an organization’s values have for strategic choice.