Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for Tuesday, April 4th

 For our Tuesday session, please do the following: 

- send me your Teilleistung consent form, if you haven't done so already.

- read the NY Times article posted on Ilias under the file name "Crocs" and identify 1) what the secrets to the company's current success is, 2) predict whether Crocs will have the same success in India and other Southeast Asian countries that it has had in the US (be specific about your reasoning here), and 3) make sure you know what the terms operating margin and diversification mean. 

- watch this "The Economics of Crocs" video from the Wall Street Journal after reading the article above: Crocs: How the Polarizing Footwear Brand Became a Fashion Statement | The Economics Of | WSJ - YouTube The general tone of both the NY Times article and the WSJ video is positive. If you were creating a SWOT analysis of Crocs, what would you feature in the Weaknesses and Threats quadrants (i.e. where are potential blind spots)? Jot down at least one bullet point for each. 

- watch a second Wall Street Journal "The Economics of ..." video of your choice from this playlight and jot down at least one key takeaway from the video's analysis: The Economics Of | WSJ - YouTube  

- consult a second source connected to what you think might/will pursue for your first Teilleistung. (Again, this doesn't have to be a source that will ultimately make it into your works cited/bibliography page, but it needs to be something that will at least help you narrow down what your business/application will address/the need(s) it will meet.)

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Thursday Group), Homework for April 13th

***Please bring a laptop, a tablet, or an electronic device on which you can access files to our next class. Photocopiers will not be available to staff or students as of Thursday, March 30th and I would like for you to be able to access and work with materials that I upload as a result of not being able to make photocopies.*** 

For homework, please: 

1. make sure to fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and to send it to me via email by the deadline, if you haven't already done so. 

2. read Unit 11 of Destination and complete exercises A-J (pp. 88-91). 

3. read Unit 10 of Destination and complete exercises E-O (pp. 80-83).  

4. have a look at this video, which is a nice, quick review of conditionals: A review of conditionals: BBC English Class - YouTube ...and this one for for mixed conditionals: Grammar: Mixing conditionals - BBC English Masterclass - YouTube

(The BBC Learning English channel is an excellent YouTube channel to subscribe to.There are videos there for all levels of English learning.)

5. make sure that you have met with your partner in the week of March 27th-31st, in the week of April 3rd-7th, and in the week of April 10th-14th. Send them the reading and listening links at least 48 hours in advance of your meeting. Complete a log entry for each session.

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Wednesday Group), Homework for April 5th

***Please bring a laptop, a tablet, or an electronic device on which you can access files to next week's class. Photocopiers will not be available to staff or students as of Thursday, MArch 30th and I would like for you to be able to access and work with materials that I upload as a result of not being able to make photocopies.***  

For homework, please: 

1. make sure to fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and to send it to me via email by the deadline, if you haven't already done so. 

2. read Unit 11 of Destination and complete exercises A-J (pp. 88-91). 

3. read Unit 10 of Destination and complete exercises E-O (pp. 80-83).  

4. have a look at this video, which is a nice, quick review of conditionals: A review of conditionals: BBC English Class - YouTube ...and this one for for mixed conditionals: Grammar: Mixing conditionals - BBC English Masterclass - YouTube

(The BBC Learning English channel is an excellent YouTube channel to subscribe to.There are videos there for all levels of English learning.)

5. make sure that you have met with your partner in the week of March 27th-31st. Send them the reading and listening links at least 48 hours in advance of your meeting. Complete a log entry for this session.

6. Contempate the following question and bring some arguments (and some clear examples) connected to it along with you to our next session: Is gossip always bad?

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for Thursday, March 30th

***Please bring a laptop, a tablet, or an electronic device on which you can access files to our Thursday class and next week's classes. Photocopiers will not be available to staff or students as of this Thursday and I would like for you to be able to access and work with materials that I upload as a result of not being able to make photocopies.*** 

For our session this Thursday, please: 

- submit the Teilleistung consent form to me before the deadline, if you haven't done so already. 

- bring in your notes on the ChatGPT article from my post from last week, since we didn't have to address it in our Tuesday session.

- watch the following video on ramen in US prisons and answer these two questions: 1) Why is ramen so valuable in US prisons? 2) What does this data tell us about how markets work?: Why ramen is so valuable in prison - YouTube

- read the article "Consider the lobster roll" posted on Ilias and answer the question in COMPLETE sentences (pretend it is the reading comprehension section of the exam). In addition, come up with precise language to describe the graph featured on the second page (consulting the resources in the "Second Teilleistung - language resources for graphs and presentations" might help). 

- finally, please read/listen to at least one source connected to helping you narrow down what you'll be presenting in your application/business proposal (i.e. the first Teilleistung). You do not have to feature this source in your works cited page/bibliography in your final proposal; the idea is to get you thinking seriously about the first Teilleistung before April :-).  

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for April 3rd

Have a look at either Simon Pokagon's The Red Man's Rebuke (first link) or Ida B. Wells' The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World's Columbian Exposition (second link; just to let you know in advance, there are two images of lynchings in this text) and comment on interesting features concerning 1) how these publications are constructed and 2) the language(s) used in them. (Bring in your knowledge of communication studies here: who is/are the intended audience(s) of these texts? How does the content included in them align or not align with the intended audiences' expectations of what they would read and find at the Exposition?)

The red man's rebuke (si.edu)

Frederick Douglass Papers: Speech, Article, and Book File, 1846-1894; Speeches and Articles by Douglass, 1846-1894; 1893; The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World's Columbian Exposition, manuscript and printed copy | Library of Congress (loc.gov)

978-0-226-46850-1_excerpt.pdf (uchicago.edu) (this is some background information on Ida B. Wells and her work)

Pokagon | Lapham’s Quarterly (laphamsquarterly.org) (this is some background information on Simon Pokagon)

Links of interest: 

Edward Curtis’ Epic Project to Photograph Native Americans | History| Smithsonian Magazine

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday Group), Homework for April 3rd

For homework, please: 

1. make sure to fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and to send it to me via email by the deadline, if you haven't already done so. 

2. read Unit 11 of Destination and complete exercises A-J (pp. 88-91). 

3. read Unit 10 of Destination and complete exercises E-O (pp. 80-83).  

4. have a look at this video, which is a nice, quick review of conditionals: A review of conditionals: BBC English Class - YouTube ...and this one for for mixed conditionals: Grammar: Mixing conditionals - BBC English Masterclass - YouTube

(The BBC Learning English channel is an excellent YouTube channel to subscribe to.There are videos there for all levels of English learning.)

5. make sure that you have met with your partner in the week of March 27th-31st. Send them the reading and listening links at least 48 hours in advance of your meeting. Complete a log entry for this session.

6. Contempate the following question and bring some arguments (and some clear examples) connected to it along with you to our next session: Is gossip always bad?

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for Tuesday, March 28th

 - watch this short video on risk management and jot down the six risk management questions outlined in the video: Risk management basics: What exactly is it? - YouTube

- read the article "African Business ChatGPT and the future of African AI" and imagine the following: you're working in the PR department at OpenAI and a recent article in African Business has caught your attention. Using the first four risk management questions from the video above, sketch an outline of a presentation you would give to your coworkers at OpenAI about the risks the training datasets and OpenAI's data-labelling practices pose to OpenAI's brand image and CSR (corporate social responsibility).   

- create a SWOT analysis featuring a company from a country you've studied abroad in, have visited or are otherwise familiar with and a company from the same sector but from a different country (e.g. Reserved and Zara; Hello Fresh and Blue Apron). Bring this SWOT analysis with you to our next class.

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Thursday Group, Homework for March 30th

Welcome back!

For homework, please: 

1. read through the files "Guide to the Teilleistung" and "Teilleistung agreement" on Ilias and make sure you have understood it

2. fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and send it to me either via scan or in person in class. (Do NOT put this form in my letterbox at the Institute.) This MUST be submitted to me by email by April 13th.

3. read Unit 9 in Destination (pp. 70-71) and complete all of the accompanying exercises (A-J). Bring any questions you have to our session on March 30th

4.  read Unit 10 in Destination (pp. 76-77) and complete exercises A-D. Bring any questions you have to our session on March 30th. 

5. make sure that you have met with your partner by the end of this week. Your first log entry should record 1) when you met (i.e. specific times), 2) notes concerning what was discussed, and 3) notes concerning your goals/objectives for your five future meetings. 

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Wednesday Group, Homework for March 29th

Welcome back!

For homework, please: 

1. read through the files "Guide to the Teilleistung" and "Teilleistung agreement" on Ilias and make sure you have understood it

2. fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and send it to me either via scan or in person in class. (Do NOT put this form in my letterbox at the Institute.) This MUST be submitted to me by email by April 12th.

3. read Unit 9 in Destination (pp. 70-71) and complete all of the accompanying exercises (A-J). Bring any questions you have to our session on March 29th.

4.  read Unit 10 in Destination (pp. 76-77) and complete exercises A-D. Bring any questions you have to our session on March 29th. 

5. make sure that you have met with your partner by the end of this week. Your first log entry should record 1) when you met (i.e. specific times), 2) notes concerning what was discussed, and 3) notes concerning your goals/objectives for your five future meetings. 

Kuturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for Thursday, March 23rd

 In advance of our Thursday session this week, please do the following:

- read and sign the Teilleistung consent form (uploaded to Ilias) after reading the First Teilleistung description and the Second Teilleistung description and submit the signed consent form to me either via email or in person in class by April 11th. Do NOT place this form in my letterbox at the Institute. 

- read the file "brands and branding" and complete the accompanying exercises (28.1, 28.2, and 28.3)

- create your own brand/product positioning map (see section B on the "brands and branding" sheet for assistance). Remember that brand/product positioning maps require two variables, one of them being price. Be ready to present and discuss this map in small groups on Thursday.

- read the Economist article "Why mission statements matter" and jot down two reasons why the author mentions that "investors can learn a lot from the way that companies describe their goals". In addition to this, look up at least two words/phrases from the article that are new to you. 

- watch the following short video and identify 1) how Burger King rebranded and 2) why this has caught the attention of advertisers: Burger King goes retro with its rebrand, and General Motors misses the mark on its new logo - YouTube

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for March 27th

 For homework, please: 

- read pp. 5-8 (starting with "Photographs furnish evidence" and ending with "...so the reaction against these uses reinforced the self-consciousness of photography-as-art.") of On Photography featured in the "Reading for April 11th" folder on the Ilias Inhalt page. Sontag's language can be difficult, so take your time with her sentences and bring in any questions you might have to our next session.

- In On Photography, Susan Sontag writes, "From its start, photography implied the capture of the largest possible number of subjects. Painting never had so imperial a scope. The subsequent industrialization of camera technology only carried out a promise inherent in photography from its very beginning: to democratize all experiences by translating them into images" (pg. 7). Select 3-5 US photographs taken between 1890 and 1950 and consider whether this quote applies to them. Bring your findings with you to class. (There are two links below which might help you in finding images.)

The website "artnet" has a great search feature in which you can search by photographer and get their photographs in your search results. Clicking on their name will take you to the hyperlinked biography: Buy, Sell, and Research Contemporary Art Online: Artnet

The US National Gallery of Art has a fantastic page on which you can browse their thousands of photographic holdings here: Photography at the National Gallery of Art (nga.gov)

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday Group, Homework for March 27th

 Welcome back!

For homework, please: 

1. read through the files "Guide to the Teilleistung" and "Teilleistung agreement" on Ilias and make sure you have understood it

2. fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and send it to me either via scan or in person in class. (Do NOT put this form in my letterbox at the Institute.) This MUST be submitted to me by email by April 10th.

3. read Unit 9 in Destination (pp. 70-71) and complete all of the accompanying exercises (A-J). Bring any questions you have to our session on March 27th

4.  read Unit 10 in Destination (pp. 76-77) and complete exercises A-D. Bring any questions you have to our session on March 27th. 

5. make sure that you have met with your partner by the end of this week. Your first log entry should record 1) when you met (i.e. specific times), 2) notes concerning what was discussed, and 3) notes concerning your goals/objectives for your five future meetings. 

Current Topics in the Business World, Assignments for Thursday

**The post with the homework for the Wednesday session is one post below this one. Please scroll down.**

For our Thursday session (15:00-17:15), please complete the following:

- watch this short video on risk management and jot down the six risk management questions outlined in the video: Risk management basics: What exactly is it? - YouTube

- read the article "ChatGPT and the future of African AI" and imagine the following: you're working in the PR department at OpenAI and a recent article in African Business has caught your attention. Using the first four risk management questions from the video above, sketch an outline of a presentation you would give to your coworkers at OpenAI about the risks the training datasets and OpenAI's data-labelling practices pose to OpenAI's brand image and CSR (corporate social responsibility).   

 - do a SWOT analysis with a Polish company and another company from the same sector (your choice of companies is completely up to you, but here is a list of suggestions, just in case you aren't familiar with that many Polish companies). Each of the four categories (i.e. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) should feature at least two points. Be ready to present these analyses to your group on Thursday:

Wojas (shoes)

Hortex (frozen foods)

Tymbark (juices)

Bielenda / Soraja / Ziaja (cosmetics and beauty)

Orlen (gas stations)

Żabka (convenience stores)

Reserved (fashion)

Dr Gerard (cakes and cookies)

Herbapol (teas and syrups)

Tarczyński / Sokołów (sausages and cured meats)

Bakalland (dried fruits and cereals/granolas)

Wedel / Wawel (chocolate)

Amica (household appliances)

- concerning your final assessment, you will need to submit a proposal for an app or a business to me via email by Tuesday, April 11th at 10 am in order to receive feedback and your grade from me by April 28th. The absolute final deadline for the assignment is Monday, May 15th at 10 am. Students who submit their assignments between April 11th at 10 am and May 15th at 10 am will receive their grades by June but with no feedback.  Proposals should be between 500 and 1000 words in English. You have a lot of freedom when it comes to the design of your proposal but consider incorporating models and concepts that we discussed in class (where relevant). The application or business cannot currently exist one-to-one in the form featured in your proposal (respect intellectual property!). You are welcome to work with partners, but make sure you identify clearly in the proposal which contributions are from whom (students will receive individual grades based on their individual contribution, not a collective group grade). Proposals should feature at least 5 English-language sources in the works cited/bibliography. ANY plagiarism featured in the proposal will automatically result in a failing grade. Your grade will be composed of the following: 25% grammar and punctuation, 25% viability of the proposed application or business, 25% persuasiveness of proposal (remember: a proposal is a rhetorical text!), 25% use of specific business terminology/register. 

Current Topics in the Business World, University of Warsaw

For our Wednesday session (13:15-16:30), please prepare the following (all sheets mentioned are included in folder given to you on Monday): 

- read the sheet "28: brands and branding" and complete the accompanying exercises (28.1, 28.2, and 28.3)

- create your own brand/product positioning map (see section B on the "brands and branding" sheet for assistance). Remember that brand/product positioning maps require two variables, one of them being price. Be ready to present and discuss this map in small groups on Wednesday.

- read the Economist article "Why mission statements matter" and jot down two reasons why the author mentions that "investors can learn a lot from the way that companies describe their goals". In addition to this, look up at least two words/phrases from the article that are new to you. 

- watch the following short video and identify 1) how Burger King rebranded and 2) why this has caught the attention of advertisers: Burger King goes retro with its rebrand, and General Motors misses the mark on its new logo - YouTube

BONUS Activity (not required): 1) Have a look at the Łomża Export advertisement included in the materials distributed to you on Monday. Imagine that Łomża Export wants to create an English-language campaign inspired by this advertisement and has commissioned you to do this. What ideas would you present to them? (You might need to radically change the content/message/layout of the ad to cater to English-speaking audiences.) 2) The US fast-food chain Wendy's plans to expand to Australia but will need to change their name in the Australian market as Wendy's is already trademarked there. (This is nothing new for Australia: Burger King is known as "Hungry Jack's" in Australia as a result of a similar trademark issue.) Come up with a new name for Wendy's for the Australian market. The students with the best responses for BOTH bonus activities will win prizes on Wednesday.

Wednesday is International Women's Day and we will be celebrating by discussing negotiation for a portion of our session. Please bring in any questions regarding negotiation you wish to discuss. 

See you on Wednesday!