Individual Assurance of Learning Excercise 1

Individual Assignment – D02-IALE1-Johnson 1. Assurance of Learning Exercise  1A, Step 4, page 37 Strengths: 1: Highly successful and recognized worldwide (Ronald McDonald and the Golden Arch) 2: Strongest Brand Image as the number-1 fast-food company by sales, with more than 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries. 3: Consistently solid financial performance. * Sales revenue up 3. 8% in 2009, global comparable sales up 6. 9%. * Net income up 9% from 2008. Weakness: 1: 80% of restaurants are franchise owned, placing image and reputation in other’s hands. 2: Not in sync with health and lifestyle : Struggles with fluctuations in operating and net profits:    * Operating profits $4,433M (2006), $3,879M (2007), $6443M (2008). * Net profits $3,544M (2006), $2,395M (2007), $4,313M (2008). Opportunities: 1: Healthier food, such as low fat, low cal. 2: Increased beverage options with McCafe have been shown to increase customer visits in Europe (+7. 2%). 3: Joint ventures with re tailers (Wal-Mart, etc. ) can place new locations in high traffic areas at lower capital cost. (Such as the Wal-Mart located in Roanoke, VA) Threats: 1: More health conscious customers. : Intense price pressure from competitors like Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, KFC and any mid-range sit-down restaurants. 3: As a multinational food operation, variations in the currency of other countries becomes a problem. 2. Assurance of Learning Exercise 1B, p. 326 1. Buying competitors’ garbage: U & L 2. Dissecting competitors’ products: U & L 3. Taking competitors’ plant tours anonymously: E & L 4. Counting tractor-trailer trucks leaving competitors’ loading bays: E & L 5. Studying aerial photographs of competitors’ facilities: E & L 6. Analyzing competitors’ labor contracts: U & I . Analyzing competitors’ help-wanted ads: E & L 8. Quizzing customers and buyers about the sales of competitors’ products: E & L 9. Infiltrating custom ers’ and competitors’ business operations: U & I 10. Quizzing suppliers about competitors’ level of manufacturing: U & L 11. Using customers to buy out phony bids: U & I 12. Encouraging key customers to reveal competitive information: U & I 13. Quizzing competitors’ former employees: E & I 14. Interviewing consultants who may have worked with competitors: E & L 15. Hiring key managers away from competitors: E & L 16.Conducting phony job interviews to get competitors’ employees to reveal information: E, U, L, and I. (depends on what information) 17. Sending engineers to trade meetings to quiz competitors’ technical employees: E & L 18. Quizzing potential employees who worked for or with competitors: E & L 3. Assurance of Learning Exercise  1B, Steps 1-2, page 37 Strengths: 1: Students can either earn their degrees at the campus or online. 2: Is the largest private, non-profit school in the country and the largest four-year school in Virgini a. * Between 1992 and 2009, fall enrollment increased from 8,500 to 46,949. With more than 80,000 taking classes online. 3: The fiscal contributions alone are making an impact on local business, Liberty staff, employees and staff was responsible for $268 million in direct spending to Lynchburg area in 2009. * A net $180 million remained in the state * Creating close to $283 million in activity * Every Liberty dollar spent in Virginia in 2009 ultimately generated $1. 57 in overall economic activity. 4: Diverse student body and faculty. 5: Liberty University’s ranking in the 2013 edition of Best Colleges is Regional Universities (South), 65. Weakness: : Employers are threatened by Liberty and think less of their degrees. 2: With the high growth of the student body, they will have to supply and improve technology 3: High student to faculty ratio * 25:1 Resident Undergraduate * 17:1 Online * 19:1 Combined 4: 70% Full-time faculty hold terminal degrees 5: The graduation rate at Li berty University is low, 44%. Opportunities: 1: The University offers 148 undergraduate, 53 graduate and one post masters program as its Lynchburg campus, and 43 undergraduate, 66 graduate, 3 post masters, and 6 doctoral programs through Liberty University Online. : Liberty has an opportunity to expand its use of classroom instruction to incorporate the Christian worldview into all courses. 3: Participation in learning activities increased from 38% of those in the population age 18 or older in 1991 to 50% in 1999. 4: The University can expand its market by offering more traditional and distance courses for all ages of students, particularly those beyond the traditional college age of 18-21 years. 5: Technology in the Distance Learning Program (DLP) could be particularly effective in Liberty’s University’s mission of reaching the world for Christ. Threats: : Funding sources are needed to maintain success and growth. 2: Dramatic business growth creates data upsurge 3: Ne ed for better security and transportation 4: Terrorism 5: Becoming more worldly as the University grows 4. Assurance of Learning Exercise  1D, Steps 1-2, page 38 (Note: Please replace the use of † SMCO†, in the assignment instructions, with the use of www. ceoexpress. com or Standard and Poor's. Standard and Poor's can be accessed via LU's Online Library. ) Standard and Poor’s has been up and running since 1916. It has been helping investors and creditors analyze the credit risk that one is taking. Standard 2011) The changes in credit ratings can be determined by many different obstacles in life such as the changes in economy, the changes in the lifestyle of a business, or more specifically focused on profit, entity and individual debt issues. These obstacles can determine whether to purchase bonds and other investment opportunities. Being able to use the information that Standard and Poor has available, gives the investors the opportunity to figure out why rati ngs have fallen and when creditors should be looking to improve.The creditability of this company allows many investors to use these analyses to grow and evaluate the upcoming obstacles for their company and/or person investments. References American School Search (2009-2013). Liberty University – Review ; Ranking. Retrieved March 21, 2013 from Web site: http://www. american-school-search. com/review/liberty-university Liberty University (2013). Liberty University. Retrieved March 21, 2013 from Web site: http://www. liberty. edu/index. cfm? PID=21240 Liberty University. (2013). Retrieved March 21, 2013 from Web site: http://colleges. usnews. rankingsandreviews. om/best-colleges/liberty-university-10392 Skinner, J. (2010). Annual Report 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2013 from, Web site: http://www. aboutmcdonalds. com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/C-%5Cfakepath%5Cinvestors-2009-annual-report. pdf Standard ; Poor's (2011). Understanding Ratings. Retrieved March 21, 2013 from , Web site: http://img. en25. com/Web/StandardandPoors/SP_CreditRatingsGuide. pdf Q1 Labs (2010). Dramatic growth creates need for advanced detection of threats and minimizing risks. Retrieved March 21, 2013 from, Web site: http://www. liberty. edu/media/1155/Liberty-University-Case-Study. pdf