1.

· Using the Internet, research acquisitions that are currently underway and choose one of these acquisitions to discuss. Based on the firms’ characteristics and experiences and the reasons cited to support the acquisition, do you feel it will result in increased strategic competitiveness for the acquiring firm? Why or why not?

· Of the problems that affect the success of an acquisition, which one do you believe is the most critical in the global economy? Why? What should firms do to make certain that they do not experience such a problem when they use an acquisition strategy?

2.

GDP is the sum of all income earned in a country during a year. Alternatively, it can be thought of as the value of all production in an economy during a year. But do income and production measure happiness? The way we measure GDP can both overstate and understate people’s happiness and well-being. It understates economic activity and well-being when it doesn’t take into account production that is not exchanged in a market (grandma providing free baby-sitting) and leisure time. It overstates well-being when two otherwise identical activities are measured the same even though one produces more pollution.

· Start your discussion by responding to these questions:

. Should we continue to measure GDP as we do now? After all, the current way of measurement has been used over time, so we can make historical comparisons.

. Are there problems with GDP that should be fixed? If you don’t think GDP should be changed, explain your reasoning. If you think it should be changed, what changes would you recommend, and why?

3. You are a contracting officer in your agency, tasked with reviewing contractor proposals.

· What are three questions you would ask the contractors to help you determine whether they are qualified?

4. For this week’s discussion, apply what you’ve learned about arguments, fallacies, and ethics to the recommendation letter you wrote last week.

Complete the following:

1. Review your original letter from last week.

2. Write one additional paragraph for the letter that includes ethical reasoning for your recommendation. Post this in the discussion board.

. Refer to your webtext for information on ethical reasoning.