book/movie review

This first assignment is a required orientation assignment for the course.

Some optional extra credit assignments are on the next page.

15 points:

Step 1: Watch videos 1 and 2. (7 minutes)

Step 2: Read, A Fish Story in Canvas.

Step 3: Think about how these three inspirational messages relate to your success in college and in life and in this course.

Step 4: Focus on the statement: I get to go to class… I get to do homework…. (not I have to) and relate it to the A Fish Story assignment and this class. Focus on the Admiral’s messages about the importance of doing tasks despite of the fact that they seem mundane. And if you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never do the big things right.

Step 5: Relate all three of these to this class and what you will do to succeed.

Exceed one paragraph = 5 points

Exceed a half page = 10 points

Exceed a full page = 15 points.

1)

LEARNING OPTIMISM FROM ADVERSITY—JOHN JACOBS (APB Speakers, 10/27/2016, 5:15)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYuCwh9_0XU

In his video segment about learning optimism from adversity, John Jacobs—co-founder and CCO (Chief Creative Optimist) of Life is Good—spreads the power of optimism through inspiring art, a passionate community, and groundbreaking nonprofit work. John and his brother Bert launched their business with $78 in their pockets, selling T-shirts in the streets of Boston. Today, Life is Good is a $100 million positive lifestyle brand sold by over 2,000 retailers across the United States and Canada.

2)

THIS ADMIRAL'S INSPIRING SPEECH WILL CONVINCE YOU TO MAKE YOUR BED EVERY MORNING (Business Insider, 2/25/2016, 1:36)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKZRFDCbGTA

In a commencement address at the University of Texas at Austin, Admiral William McRaven shares why it's critical to make your bed every morning.

Admiral McRaven’s interview in this chapter highlights principles like leadership and integrity that are essential for every effective organization. This video could be used to teach that even high-level decision makers still need to do the little things right—like make their beds each morning. It’s the little things that get people (and companies) off to a great start. And if you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never do the big things right.

Continued next page.

Other things you can do to earn extra credit points:

Step 6: 5 points: Apply the same guidelines for grading as mentioned above.

Write about any of the other videos below that you want to watch. Use material from the text to support your answer. Make sure you list the name of your video(s) and use citations and references so I can grade accordingly.

Step 7: 5 points:

Send me the link to your most inspirational video with some comments about why it is inspirational and if I choose to use it for personal or class use you will earn 5 points.

OPEN THE BOOKS APP - INTRODUCTION (OpenTheBooks.com, 10/7/2015, 3:51)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVDo9E77TyQ

OpenTheBooks.com shows how its app allows users to track government spending in any ZIP code across America or in a current GPS location. Nearly all federal spending since 2000, 48/50 states’ checkbooks, and 34,000 local units of government salaries populate its database—over 2.3 billion government expenditures. The app won the 2013 Best App Award by the prestigious Web Marketing Association. *** This is a great tool for everybody, but especially interesting for finance, accounting, and economics majors.

INFOSYS TO HIRE 10,000 WORKERS AMID VISA CRACKDOWN (Bloomberg Technology, 5/2/2017, 4:25)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WVf7TqIrpw

Techonomy CEO David Kirkpatrick and Bloomberg's Cory Johnson discuss Infosys Ltd.'s plans to hire 10,000 Americans in the next two years amid the United States’ visa crackdown. They speak with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on "Bloomberg Technology."

India’s software industry is front and center, y et, as the video segment demonstrates, government—which sets the rules of the game—is also a factor present in the U.S. demand conditions. And government seems to be the key reason behind Infosys’s decision to hire 10,000 workers in Indiana—Vice President Mike Pence’s home state, coincidently—rather than hire workers in India.

THE RISE AND FALL OF TOYS R US (CNBC, 3/16/2018, 5:23)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Actdg5JcM8

CNBC reports that Toys R Us is closing its doors for good. The toy emporium that Charles P. Lazarus envisioned has been reduced to dusty floors and empty shelves.

Learning from mistakes ….

(watch the video below at the same time – counts as one summary)

WHOLE FOODS' CO-CEO EXPLAINS THE COMPANY'S FRESH APPROACH TO GROWTH (Bloomberg, 2/12/2016, 5:56)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU3zvmj64nA

Walter Robb, co-chief executive officer at Whole Foods, explains how the company is benefiting from a change in strategy with 365 stores, efforts to restructure costs and transform the company, and adjustments to the organic food market. He speaks on Bloomberg GO.

Whole Foods is one example of a firm enacting ambidextrous organizational designs. Whole Foods is known as a mature grocery store chain. Yet as the video explains, Whole Foods is trying to become more relevant to Millennials. Robb relates that Whole Foods is reducing margins in conjunction with reducing costs internally and expanding its presence on digital platforms. And with the introduction of Whole Foods 365—a grocery store with a smaller footprint—the company is adapting to a new market it otherwise could not reach.

(watch the video above at the same time – counts as one summary)

IMPACT OF AMAZON BUYING WHOLE FOODS (CBS This Morning, 6/17/2017, 3:42)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiLNiqFJvxg

As an update on the Whole Foods video segment above, Amazon is purchasing the more than 400 locations of Whole Foods. CBS News contributor and Wired editor-in-chief Nicholas Thompson joins CBS This Morning: Saturday to discuss the e-commerce giant's strategy and the acquisition's impact on the industry.

This video segment explains that Amazon is not only buying over 400 stores, but also Whole Foods’ distribution centers located in affluent areas. Amazon has been struggling to compete with Walmart in the grocery industry, and with this purchase, it appears that the grocery chain will go even further to appeal to the Millennial demographic and reduce prices as well. This segment shows that in the grocery industry having a brick-and-mortar presence seems to be a necessity, even for digital goliaths like Amazon.