Assignment 1 BSL 4080 Creative thinking and problem solving (3 pages) Case Study
You are the district manager of a luxury watch producer, and sales have been steadily declining. You hold a meeting with your production and sales staff to attempt to identify the reasons for the decline, and the following reasons are offered for the decreased sales:
- slow economy, so no one is buying watches of any kind;
- salespeople are not provided adequate resources to properly market the watches;
- the quality of the watches has declined to the point that people do not want to buy them;
- the supply chain is unable to keep up with orders, so deliveries are slow, and customers are cancelling orders;
- the financial manager does not like the marketing department, so we cannot trust the numbers he produces; and
- the marketing manager should just get rid of the salespeople who are not able to hit the established sales targets.
Given this scenario, answer the following questions.
- Discuss strategies for examining claims for legitimacy or fallacy. It is not necessary to address all six bullet points above, but clearly identify which are being discussed. [Learning Outcome 4.1]
- Identify any potential fallacies in logic that might inhibit creative thinking. [Learning Outcome 4.2]
- Develop strategies for creatively overcoming identified fallacies. [Learning Outcome 4.3]
Formulate your response to these questions using APA style, and include at least two outside sources; your paper must be a minimum of three pages. The textbook may be used, but since it is part of the course, it will not be counted as one of your two outside sources. Please use the library databases to find academic journals to use as your sources.
Assignment 2 Essay (3 pages) BSL 4040 Communication Skills for leaders
For this unit assignment, write an essay on social styles following the steps below.
- Open the Identifying Social Style inventory (Word document) by clicking . Answer each question as to whether you feel each item describes you, using the scale of 1 for Strongly Disagree to 5 for Strongly Agree. On the second page of the form, use the two charts to tally your scores. For example, if you marked a question as 2 Disagree, then write two points for that question in the appropriate chart. The first chart determines your assertiveness score and the second chart determines your responsiveness score. Scores above 34 indicate high assertiveness or responsiveness. Scores between 26 and 34 indicated moderate assertiveness. Scores below 26 indicate low assertiveness or responsiveness.
- Using your scores as a jumping off point for the essay, begin your essay by describing different ways of responding to others, including what steps you would need to style flex.
- Share your scores with a family member or friend. Evaluate his or her perceptions in your essay. How did he or she consider the scores accurate or not accurate? What perceptions or suggestions did he or she have about your social style?
- Describe how your social style affects your listening skills and how you can improve as a listener. Describe how style flexing can assist with communication effectiveness.
Your essay should be a minimum of three pages, not counting the title or reference pages. Remember to use APA style with citations and references from the textbook and other sources.
