Small-Group Exercise 1 Your classmates are a group of friends who have decided to open a small retail shop. The team is torn between two storefront ideas. The first idea is to open a high-end antique store selling household items used for decorations in upscale homes. Members of the team have found a location in a heavily pedestrian area near a local coffee shop. The store would have many items authenticated by a team member’s uncle, who is a certified appraiser. I n discussing the plan, however, two group members suggest shifting to a drop-off store for online auctions such as eBay. In this business model, customers drop off items they want to sell, and the retail store does all the logistics involved—listing and selling the items on eBay, and then shipping them to buyers—for a percentage of the sales price. They suggest that a quick way to get started is to become a franchisee for a group such as “I Sold It” ( www.877isoldit.com ). 1. What is the business strategy for each store concept? 2. How would the organizational structure be different for the concepts? 3. What would likely be the cultural differences in the two store concepts? 4. How would the control-and-reward systems be different?
//// Small-Group Exercise 2 (Ethical/Social Issues) T he chapter describes Daniel Pink’s ROWE theory of motivation, in which he argued that the most powerful motivation occurs when there is an interest in the work and the work itself has meaning. Intrinsic motivation is highest when an employee has autonomy (about what to do), mastery (how to do it), and purpose (why to do it). Assume your group has been asked by your university to brainstorm ways that the university might apply the ROWE theory. Discuss whether you would be more motivated and better educated if you had more autonomy in designing your program of study, could determine the best way for you to learn and gain mastery, and could develop your own statement of purpose as to why you were pursuing a particular program of study. 1. How might this change the university’s allocation of resources (e.g., would more trained advisers and career counselors be required, and how would they be evaluated)? 2. If large numbers of students decided they would learn some of the core materials best by taking an online course, how might this affect the university’s revenue stream? How might this change the way professors teach courses? 3. Have each group member explain how this approach might change his/her program of study. 4. Consider the potential pitfalls of such an approach and how these might be addressed.