It is now 2015, and Smithfield’s Custom Furniture has continued to grow. Its new product line of lower-priced furniture was an immediate sensation in the marketplace. The company now has 344 stores and 21,000 employees. The company now has a total of 12 international retail stores evenly divided among Spain (3), France (3), Germany (3), and England (3). Margot Smithfield, Jonas Smithfield III’s only heir, is now running the company. She has a master’s degree in design and an MBA degree. She has been running the company for 3 years. Margot Smithfield and the 12-member board of directors have been assessing an opportunity to acquire You Figure it Out, a moderately profitable 51 store chain of ultra-modern furniture. The furniture and furniture-related accessories of You Figure it Out are all made in China and sold only in the United States. Their retail stores are located in Texas (6), California (13), New York (15), Nevada (4), Florida (9), and North Carolina (4).Margot and her board have reasoned that the company has excess capacity at their 5 manufacturing plants. They are aware that producing a new line of furniture would mean retraining several hundred of their workers in the new production process. However, if this change is successfully executed it would significantly increase the profitability of the You Figure It Out brand. The company also sees a market for the ultra-modern style of furniture in Smithfield’s existing foreign markets and believe the current Smithfield stores in Spain, France, Germany, and England could display some of the new furniture along with their traditional lines of furniture and take orders that would be produced in the US plants. Other than that, the Smithfield Custom Furniture product line and the You Figure It Out brand would operate as they currently do.They have decided to conclude the purchase with You Figure It Out executives and want to announce the decision to their workforce as soon as possible.The Management Issue: Margot Smithfield is concerned she will overlook something important in her communications to employees and the decision making of the board. Your Task for Your Initial Post Margot Smithfield is asking for your input to help her understanding and ensure she does not overlook anything important to the success of introducing a new furniture product line to the current Smithfield product line. She has requested that you send her a single-spaced summary, using only course readings and proper citations, that addresses (in the order they are listed) the issues she believes she needs to be aware of related to communications and decision making. Explaining to her, using not more than 4 sentences, why employees need to understand the need for Smithfield to continue to be innovative. Selecting the 3 “noise” factors that are most likely to interfere with the successful launch of the new product line. Using not more than 4 sentences for each of your 3 noise factors, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 noise factors you selected, including its potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced.Identifying for Margot Smithfield the 3 most significant obstacles to change that you believe will make the acceptance of the new product line difficult for employees to support. Using not more than 4 sentences for each obstacle to change you identified, you will explain to Margot why you selected each of the 3 obstacles to change you selected, including each obstacle's potential negative impact on a new product launch if it is not eliminated or reduced. Selecting for her and explaining, using not more than 4 sentences, the one specific change management technique or tool you think is most likely to pave the way for a successful launch of the new product line. Explaining to her, using course readings on decision making and in no more than 4 sentences, the most likely decision-making oversight the board could make in the launch of a new product line. Note: You are expected to use in-text citations and create a reference list in answering the above 5 issues. Format for Your Initial PostYou must use the following numbers and corresponding headings for each part of your response to a particular issue. 1. Understanding the Need for Innovation.2. Significant "Noise" factors3. Obstacles to the Acceptance of Change 4. An Effective Change Management Technique 5. Possible Decision-making Oversight ONLY USE THE SOURCES ATTACHED BELOW!

Your response to this Assessment should: Reflect the criteria provided in the Rubric. Adhere to the required length. Conform to APA style guidelines. You may use Walden Writing Center's APA Course Paper Template. This Assessment requires submission of two (2) files. Save your files as follows: Save Parts I, II, and IV as SP001_PartI_II_IV_firstinitial_lastname (for example, SP001_PartI_II_IV_J_Smith). Save Part III (a PowerPoint) as SP001_PartIII_firstinitial_lastname (for example, SP001_PartIII_J_Smith).Part I: Components and Categories of Information Systems List and describe the key components and categories of information systems. (1–2 paragraphs)Part II: Roles of Business InformationRead and evaluate each of the 10 provided business scenarios, and then respond to the following prompts for each business scenario to convey your understanding of the type of business system needed to support each scenario. (The response for each scenario should be 1–2 paragraphs.) Identify and describe the key issues or problems that need to be addressed in the scenario. Choose an appropriate type of business information system to resolve the issues in the scenario. Provide supporting reasons for the selection. Describe how this business would benefit from implementing the selected system. Part III: Optimizing Business Value with Information SystemsRead the “WestJet Airlines Case Study.” Create a 5- to 6-slide PowerPoint presentation and include speaker notes for supporting details on every slide as follows: Recommend two business information systems that should be implemented by this company. (1 slide) Create a cost-benefit analysis for the business information systems selected. (1–2 slides) Describe how each recommended system applies to Porter’s Five Forces and Value Chain. (1–2 slides) Explain how the two recommended systems align with WestJet Airlines’ business strategy. (1 slide) Part IV: Trends in Business Information SystemsUsing the “WestJet Airlines Case Study,” create a management report on Emerging Trends Analysis and Recommendations with responses to the following prompts: Compile a list with descriptions of four emerging trends in business information systems that should be considered by WestJet Airlines. Then, choose two emerging trends that you would consider the most important for WestJet to implement. (3–4 paragraphs) Explain why you have selected these trends for the company. How do the trends you selected apply to this particular business? (2–3 paragraphs) What business benefits do you expect these selected trends to deliver to the company? (2–3 paragraphs)

for this assignment, you will apply decision-making to the process of international human resource management as you determine which of the four final applicants to hire into a global executive position. You are a member of the management committee of a MNE that conducts business in 23 countries. While your company’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands, your regional offices are located fairly evenly throughout the four hemispheres. Primary markets have been in the European Union and North America; the strongest emerging market is the Pacific Rim. Company executives would like to develop what they see as a powerful potential market in the Middle East. Sales in all areas except the Pacific Rim have shown slow growth over the past two years.At present, your company is seeking to restructure and revitalize its worldwide marketing efforts. To accomplish this, you have determined that you need to hire a key marketing person to introduce fresh ideas and a new perspective. There is no one currently in your company who is qualified to do this, and so you have decided to look outside. The job title is “Vice President for Global Marketing”; an annual salary of $250,000-$300,000, plus elaborate benefits, an unlimited expense account, a car, and the use of the corporate jet. The person you hire will be based at the company’s headquarters in the Netherlands and will travel frequently.A lengthy search has turned up four people with good potential. It is now up to you to decide whom to hire. Although all the applicants have expressed a sincere interest in the position, it is possible that they may change their minds once the job is offered. Therefore, you must rank them in order of preference so that if your first choice declines the position, you can go on to the second, and so on.First, read the biographies of each applicant. As you are doing this, rank each of them from 1 to 4, with 1 being your first choice, and explain your reasons for their ranking.For your essay this week, respond to the following questions using the decisions you have made with your rankings.The first section of your paper should be an overview of your rankings and reasons for your decisions.Did your decision include any culturally based biases you may have—for example, feelings, personality traits, or politics in your rankings?Did you make any observations that you feel would have been fully acceptable in your own culture, but were not accepted in other cultures? If so, explain.What implications do you believe any of the applicant’s cultural differences would have in business dealings? In what countries or cultures?What expatriate adjustments for the candidate need to be considered? How will the company handle these?Explain the decision-making process you used to make your decisions.Park L.Park L. is currently senior vice president for marketing at a major South Korean high-technology firm. You have been told by the head of your Seoul office that his reputation as an expert in international marketing is outstanding. The market share of his company’s products has consistently increased since he joined the company just over 15 years ago. His company’s market share is now well ahead of that of competing producers in the Pacific Rim.Park graduated from the University of Seoul and has worked his way up through the ranks. He does not have a graduate degree. In addition to his native tongue, Park is able to carry on a reasonably fluent conversation in English and has a minimal working knowledge of German and French.Saya K.Saya K. is a woman living in Malaysia. She began her teaching career while finishing her DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) at the Harvard Business School and published her first book on international marketing ten months after graduation. Her doctoral dissertation was based on the international marketing of pharmaceuticals, but she has also done research and published on other areas of international marketing.Two months after the publication of her book, Saya went to work in the international marketing department of a Fortune 500 company, where she stayed for the next ten years. She returned to teaching when Maura University offered her a full professorship with tenure, and she has been there since that time. In addition, she has an active consulting practice throughout Southeast Asia. In addition to fluency in Malay, English, and Japanese, Saya speaks and writes German and Spanish and can converse in Mandarin.Peter V.Peter had worked in a key position in the international marketing division of a US Fortune 100 company until the company pulled out of his country South Africa eight months ago. Peter has a long list of accomplishments and is widely recognized as outstanding in his field. Peter has a PhD in computer science from a leading South African university and an MBA from Purdue’s Krannert School of Business.Peter speaks and reads English, Dutch, Afrikaans, and Swahili and can converse in German.Joe P.Joe is currently job hunting. His former job as head of marketing for a single-product, high-technology firm—highly specialized workstations for sophisticated artificial intelligence applications—ended when the company was bought out by Texas Instruments.Joe has both his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Stanford University. In addition, he was a Rhodes Scholar and won a Fulbright scholarship, which he used to support himself while he undertook a two-year research project on the marketing of high-technology equipment to Third World countries. In addition to his native English, Joe has a minimal command of French—which he admits he hasn’t used since his college days. Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:Be 6-8 pages in length, which does not include the title page, abstract, or required reference page, which are never a part of the content minimum requirements.Use Saudi Electronic University academic writing standards and APA style guidelines.Support your submission with course material concepts, principles, and theories from the textbook and at least two scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.Review the grading rubric to see how you will be graded for this assignment. RequiredChapter 14 in International Management: Culture, Strategy, and BehaviorChapter 14 PowerPoint slides in International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behavior“Personal Skills Building Exercises: Whom to Hire” (p. 596) in International Management: Culture, Strategy, and BehaviorOppong, N. (2018). Human resource management transfer challenges within multinational firms. Management Research Review, 41(7), 860-877.Rizwan, T. (2018). Expanding horizons and expatriate adjustment. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 25(3), 401-424.Tsai, C., Carr, C., Qiao, K., & Supprakit, S. (2017). Modes of cross-cultural leadership adjustment: Adapting leadership to meet local conditions and/or changing followers to match personal requirements? The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-28.RecommendedKokt, D., & Dreyer, T. (2018). Expatriate mentoring: The case of a multinational corporation in Abu Dhabi. South African Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(2).Weisheit, J. (2018). Should I stay or should I go? A systematic literature review about the conceptualization and measurement of international relocation mobility readiness. Journal of Global Mobility, 6(2), 129-157.