1.From a management perspective, do you think Target made any mistakes?  Justify your answer.

2.Which of the four principal managerial functions were exhibited by CEO Greg Steinhafel and describe the seven managerial challenges Target is facing.  Discuss how Target is handling these challenges.

3.What is your evaluation of Steinhafel’s ability to effectively execute the three key managerial roles – interpersonal, information, and decisional?

4.If you were a consultant to Target, what advice would you give to senior management about handling a crisis like this?

Threats to the Global Environment

Congratulations! The United Nations has hired you as a consultant on global issues.

Many of the UN members are not satisfied with the progress of the Millennium Development Goals. They believe that the goals focus on the wrong issues. There is a disconnect between the types of issues the developed countries in the UN believe are priorities versus the issues that developing countries of the UN want to prioritize. For example, the country of Burundi has requested that one of the goals be focused on food security. However, Austria is adamant that the major current global issue is to mediate ceasefires within countries experiencing a civil war.

You have been asked to provide an unbiased perspective and identify the four issues that have the biggest impact on the global environment.

Of the eight major threats listed below, choose the four that you consider the most critical.

Energy sources

Civil war

Globalization

Poor health of entire populations

Lack of educational opportunities

Cultural taboos

Inappropriate uses of technology

Climate change

You will present your findings at the next UN General Assembly. Your goal is to provide a brief history of each issue, the number of countries affected, and the effects of this threat on the world population.

The completed version of this assignment will include the following:

• A PowerPoint presentation containing relevant information for the UN General Assembly on four of the eight threats listed above.
  • The order of your slides should reflect the order of priority you assign to the four threats you have chosen.
• Create a minimum of four slides per threat (for a minimum 16 slides total) on the following topics:
  • A brief history of the threat
  • The number of countries affected, and how they are affected (giving examples)
  • The effects of this threat on the world population as a whole
  • Include a chart or graph (see #4 below).
• Each of the four slides will include:
  • A paragraph in the notes section to explain how the details you have provided in the slide is pertinent to the UN’s discussion on selecting and prioritizing goals.
• For each of the four threats, include one visual (graph or chart) to represent the data you have collected. The visual should be incorporated into the information/topics presented in the slides.
• Cite at least five credible sources excluding Wikipedia, dictionaries, and encyclopedias.

For information on how to complete the required assignment deliverables in PowerPoint, please refer to your Lynda.com account or reach out to your instructor ahead of time.

The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Examine the factors that account for why the growth in the world’s population can negatively affect the global society.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the presentation, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric: