Oscar Ramirez, an employee at the Whole Nine Yards Construction & Landscaping Company, has been assigned to manage the remodel of Mayor Lawrence's family estate, which locals call ""Lawrence Lair."" One member of his team is his nephew, Martin Fuentes, who is in need of both summer work and a mentor. When Fuentes arrives at Lawrence Lair for one of his final days of work, Poppy Lawrence, the mayor's wife, asks him to accompany her on her errands. As the two make their way to different department stores, Fuentes tries to convert numbers he notices into algebraic expressions and equations. At the end of the day, Fuentes receives a text from Ramirez telling him to hurry back to Lawrence Lair, and Fuentes needs to figure out how quickly he has to drive in order to make it back in time. This case is designed to be taught in a math literacy course for non-MBA audiences. Although it can be used alone, it was created as the fifth in a module of five cases total. It builds on the learnings in "What Are the Odds?" (UVA-G-0655).
Oscar Ramirez, an employee at the Whole Nine Yards Construction & Landscaping Company, has been assigned to manage the remodel of Mayor Lawrence's family estate, which locals call ""Lawrence Lair."" One member of his team is his nephew, Martin Fuentes, who is in need of both summer work and a mentor. In this case, Fuentes is running late to work because he stayed up late the night before trying to compute several descriptive statistics using the temperature data he's collected from his uncle's ion machine. He tries to figure out the quickest route to work given the traffic light cycles. Once Fuentes makes it to work, he's introduced to Mayor Lawrence, who asks him to calculate several probabilities about his upcoming debate and his likelihood of winning the next election. This case is designed to be taught in a math literacy course for non-MBA audiences. Although it can be used alone, it was created as the fourth in a module of five cases total. It builds on the learnings in "The Living Roof" (UVA-G-0654) and is followed by ""How to Become a Minus"" (UVA-G-0655).
Oscar Ramirez, an employee at the Whole Nine Yards Construction & Landscaping Company, has been assigned to manage the remodel of Mayor Lawrence's family estate, which locals call ""Lawrence Lair."" One member of his team is his nephew, Martin Fuentes, who is in need of both summer work and a mentor. Francesca Hugo, the head architect for the project, is addressing two major redesigns to her original blueprint that the Lawrence family has requested: the roof of the house now needs to include both a turret and a garden-a living roof. Hugo runs into Fuentes as she's considering how to handle these redesigns and asks him to shadow her as she works. Hugo explains to Fuentes the role of measurement in mathematics and the different attributes of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) figures. When Ramirez joins them in figuring out the additional costs of the turret and the living roof, Fuentes also tries to calculate everything so he can help his uncle and the architect solve the problems they are facing. This case is designed to be taught in a math literacy course for non-MBA audiences. Although it can be used alone, it was created as the third in a module of five cases total. It builds on the learnings in "It's All in the Signs" (UVA-G-0653) and is followed by ""What Are the Odds?"" (UVA-G-0655).
Oscar Ramirez, an employee at the Whole Nine Yards Construction & Landscaping Company, has been assigned to manage the remodel of Mayor Lawrence's family estate, which locals call ""Lawrence Lair."" One member of his team is his nephew, Martin Fuentes, who is in need of both summer work and a mentor. After showing Fuentes the machine he's been engineering, Ramirez explains positive and negative (signed) numbers to his nephew. Then Fuentes accompanies Ramirez to his first meeting with all the contractors for the Lawrence Lair project, where Ramirez learns that there are two potential setbacks. Fuentes takes the opportunity to try to help his uncle by crunching the numbers to find solutions. This case is designed to be taught in a math literacy course for non-MBA audiences. Although it can be used alone, it was created as the second in a module of five cases total. It builds on the learnings in "A Universal Language" (UVA-G-0652) and is followed by ""The Living Roof"" (UVA-G-0654).
Oscar Ramirez, an employee at the Whole Nine Yards Construction & Landscaping Company, has just been awarded his first major contract. Ramirez has been assigned to manage the remodel of Mayor Lawrence's family estate, which includes the design and remodeling of the family home as well as the landscaping of the surrounding land. As project manager, Ramirez is in charge of hiring and managing a team of contractors; one member of his team is his nephew, Martin Fuentes, who is in need of both summer work and a mentor. Ramirez spends his first day with Fuentes exposing him to the beauty of mathematics. Fuentes, who once saw mathematics as nothing but rote memorization and a series of nonsensical procedures, begins to see mathematics as a language that can be used to describe relationships that exist in the world around us. As Fuentes develops an appreciation and excitement for mathematics that mirrors Ramirez's love of the subject, Ramirez decides to share with his nephew a new machine that he has been designing and engineering. This case is designed to be taught in a math literacy course for non-MBA audiences. Although it can be used alone, it was created as the first in a module of five cases total. Each subsequent case builds on the material in this one. For the next case in the series, please see Safiya Sinclair, Kimberly Corum, and Gregory B. Fairchild, "It's All in the Signs" (UVA-G-0653).
This case follows Heather Grant as she begins her new role as manager of the Staunton, Virginia, branch of Loom & Ferris, a mid-sized call center specializing in printing, branding, and logos for corporate clients. As the new manager, Grant's role is to increase morale among her employees and to improve sales and productivity. She decides to spend her first week observing the call center and getting to know her new employees before making any decisions. Her arrival is not welcome to most of her employees, and she knows that because the company's sales are falling, she may have to fire some of them. Marcus Feeny, one of the employees, arrives late and unruly on Grant's first day, of which she takes notice. She recognizes him because he has the best sales numbers of anyone in the branch by far. Throughout the week, she observes Feeny to be consistently late, unkempt, and disruptive to his colleagues. His bad attitude does not go unnoticed by his colleagues. After a heated argument between Feeny and another employee, Grant calls him into her office to speak with him. She brings up his behavior and appearance at work, and he is immediately defensive and brings up his sales numbers. She recognizes that he sees himself as in the right, even though his colleagues believe that he is getting special treatment by being allowed to flout the office rules. At the end of her first week, Grant realizes that she will have to let some employees go to keep the branch afloat. She must decide the best course of action and whether or not Feeny should stay.
This case focuses on how to think about personal and business ethical dilemmas. The case presents three ethical dilemmas: two hypothetical scenarios presented to Kiara in her ethics class, and one real situation in her personal life. While dilemmas one and two may be unethical but legal, dilemma three involves an actual crime. Kiara has been working as a cosmetologist at her aunt's salon for three years, and she has just discovered illegal business activity there.
Supplement to case UV8051 Sam Washington is a young single mother looking to get back into the workforce six months after giving birth to her daughter, Kiki. Sam has lined up an interview for a secretarial position at Glass & Duvall, an accounting firm. The A case covers the morning of the interview from Sam's perspective, including details about what she does in the waiting room as well as her actual answers to the interviewer. This B case details the following day when Sam gets a phone call from the interviewer, Marva Thompson, who asks Sam to come in for a follow-up meeting. Sam is very excited and rushes over, only to find out that Marva really called her in to give her feedback about her interview, not to offer her the job. Marva recognizes that Sam did not have an accurate idea of the expectations of working in a corporate setting, and she wants to provide constructive criticism to help Sam perform better in her next interview.
Sam Washington is a young single mother looking to get back into the workforce six months after giving birth to her daughter, Kiki. Sam has lined up an interview for a secretarial position at Glass & Duvall, an accounting firm. The A case covers the morning of the interview from Sam's perspective, including details about what she does in the waiting room as well as her actual answers to the interviewer. Sam leaves the interview hopeful that she will get the offer. The B case details the following day when Sam gets a phone call from the interviewer, Marva Thompson, who asks Sam to come in for a follow-up meeting. Sam is very excited and rushes over, only to find out that Marva really called her in to give her feedback about her interview, not to offer her the job. Marva recognizes that Sam did not have an accurate idea of the expectations of working in a corporate setting, and she wants to provide constructive criticism to help Sam perform better in her next interview.
Hank Carlson, once a successful businessman and a well-respected member of his community, spent nearly two years in prison for check fraud. When he was caught, the community turned on him instantly, and his family suffered financially and socially as a result of his deeds. Carlson did his time grudgingly, believing himself to have been the scapegoat of a Justice Department that was overcompensating for the Enron debacle by punishing any businessperson who set a toe even slightly outside the law...even if, as Carlson imagines is true of him, they hadn't really hurt anybody. Now, Carlson is out of prison and working to repair the broken trust and relationships within his family. He has an okay job and new connections with people who don't know about his past. But when an investment banker offers Carlson a finance job, Carlson fears that accepting it would reveal what he'd done all over again, exposing himself and his family to more damage. And then a local teacher at the center of a scandal reaches out to Carlson for help and advice. What should Carlson do?
This case tracks a woman named Jodi as she dreams of going back to school in her early 30s to become a nurse. Jodi had put off higher education for 15 years after she became pregnant with her son as a junior in high school. But now, with her son only a few years away from leaving the house for college himself, Jodi wants to improve both her future and the $30,000 income she currently earns as an administrative assistant at a small health clinic. Jodi calls her friend Tameka, a cashier at a local supermarket who had recently gone back to school to become a pharmacist. Tameka suggests that Jodi meet with a college adviser to learn more about her options. This case is best used in a non-MBA course on financial literacy, or in other educational settings wherein learners are exploring resilience, especially navigating returning to the educational system as an adult.
Supplement to case UV7959 This case series simulates the quintessential "American dream:" buying and financing your first house. For most people, buying a house is the largest purchase they will experience in their lifetime. The process has both legal and economic components, and often requires that the buyer rely heavily upon a realtor to navigate all the technicalities. Along the way, the buyer may experience an emotional roller coaster with both the excitement of becoming a homeowner and the worry that comes with making a large financial commitment. Much of the worry comes from a lack of understanding, particularly when we buy that first house without any experience with such a transaction. The primary objective of these cases is to provide the key information needed to understand what is involved with the purchase and financing of a house, and to simulate the process as the students experience the cases in sequence over several class periods.
This case series simulates the quintessential "American dream:" buying and financing your first house. For most people, buying a house is the largest purchase they will experience in their lifetime. The process has both legal and economic components, and often requires that the buyer rely heavily upon a realtor to navigate all the technicalities. Along the way, the buyer may experience an emotional roller coaster with both the excitement of becoming a homeowner and the worry that comes with making a large financial commitment. Much of the worry comes from a lack of understanding, particularly when we buy that first house without any experience with such a transaction. The primary objective of these cases is to provide the key information needed to understand what is involved with the purchase and financing of a house, and to simulate the process as the students experience the cases in sequence over several class periods.
Supplement to case UV7947. This case provides two snapshots of sudden health care crises. It walks the students through how health insurance works, and what questions to ask when receiving care.
Kira Allen has moved to a new city, started a new job, and is ready to get herself a new cell phone and a phone plan as well. As she researches her options, Allen thinks about trade-offs and differentiating her wants from her needs in the purchasing process. This case is most useful in a financial-literacy or financial-capability course for non-MBA learners. Students will think about their own requirements in a cell phone, what terms in the mobile-phone sphere actually mean, how to decide on a device and a provider, and the total costs of phone ownership.
This case follows a man named Jaime as he considers options for obtaining furniture for the new apartment he and his brother, Angelo, have leased. Jaime would like a new couch, a coffee table, and a TV to improve their living room, but his $2,000-a-month income at an auto shop and lack of savings means he will have to make some difficult choices. Angelo suggests that Jaime construct a budget and only acquire one piece of furniture at a time. Because he has no bank account, credit card, or credit score (to his knowledge), Jaime believes he will not qualify for some of the furniture deals advertised in the bigger department stores. As a result, Jaime explores rent-to-own financing, which does not require a credit check.
In this case, fry cook Reggie Fuller, who wants to buy a car to ensure that he can consistently get to work on time, asks his mother if she and his sister would like to chip in with him so that he can afford a new Nissan Versa, a cheaper alternative to some of the other new cars he's been looking at. Fuller's mother responds by raising scheduling concerns along with car-related costs outside of monthly payments, such as gas, maintenance, and insurance. Staring down the realization that he just may not be able to afford a new car, Fuller wonders if he should reconsider the idea of getting a used car instead, and asks his friend, an auto mechanic, to educate him on pre-owned vehicles.