The Index of Small Business Optimism

1.  According to a National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report, “The Index of Small Business Optimism,” the level of optimism declined in February 2016 to 92. The report’s Optimism Index contains questions on employment, capital outlays, inventories, the economy in general, sales, credit, expansion, and earnings, among others. None of the 10 index components posted a gain, six posted small declines from January, and four were unchanged. How would you report this information to members? Justify your choices

2.  What might support the use of a multiple rating list scale for the development of a survey measurement instrument?

3.

“There is an ‘unhealthy correlation’ between the building of skyscrapers and subsequent financial crashes,” according to Barclays Capital. Examples include the world’s first skyscraper, the Equitable Life building in New York (completed in 1873 and coincided with a five-year recession), the Empire State building (the Great Depression was under way), Chicago’s Willis Tower—formerly known as the Sears Tower—in 1974 (during an oil shock and when the U.S. dollar’s reliance on gold was abandoned), and Malaysia’s Petronas Towers in 1997 (corresponding to the Asian financial crisis). Currently, the world’s tallest skyscraper is the Burj Khalifa (built just before Dubai’s financial troubles). China is the biggest builder of skyscrapers, with 53 percent of all the tall buildings in the world. JPMorgan Chase said that the Chinese property market could drop by as much as 20 percent in value in the country’s major cities within the next 12 to 18 months. “Often the world’s tallest buildings are . . . [a reflection of] a widespread misallocation of capital and an impending economic correction,” Barclays Capital analysts said.

Examine the correlational finding and provide plausible alternatives for their findings. (Hint: Just answer the question based on your own views. There are answers to this question online; however, many of them are correct.)

4.  In your company’s management development program, there was a heated discussion between some people who claimed, “Theory is impractical and thus no good,” and others who claimed, “Good theory is the most practical approach to problems.” What position would you take and why?

Instructions:  As a reminder, all written work should be conducted with ethical scholarship. This means that you will write what you are trying to say in your own words and that you will give credit to the person from whom you learned the concept. If you learned a concept from your textbook, the appropriate in-text citation. Please make sure to write each question up to 200 words and make sure to mark them to identify.