Assignment Prompt & Instructions
see attached
– 2 years ago
**files (3)**
– ## HRA549_WrittenAssignmentRubric.pdf
– ## Wk1AssignAMC2025.docx
– ## AMCENTERTAINMENTINCEBSCO-ASSIGN1HRA2025.pdf
**## HRA549_WrittenAssignmentRubric.pdf**
HRA 549 Expectations for Written Assignments and Papers
1. FORMAT of assignments should conform to the following criteria:
Margins should be 1” in all directions
Papers should be double-spaced and in a single highly readable, black 12-point font (Arial,
Times New Roman, Cambria, or Verdana are recommended). Headings may be larger
The paper must follow the academic research format (APA) where applicable
Format for any in-text citations and reference pages should also follow APA style
2. GRADING RUBRIC
Criteria
Exceeds Expectations
up to
20% of max grade
Meets
Expectations
up to
15% of max grade
Fails Expectations
up to
10% of max grade
Content
Position or thesis is
very credible, logical,
research sources are
credible and sufficient
to support arguments
Position or thesis is
credible, sources
are credible
Position or thesis lacks
credibility, arguments are
not clear or not well
supported, sources are
not credible or do not
support arguments
Clarity and
Organization
Concepts presented are
clearly organized and
easy to understand,
early information leads
to later information,
coherently summarized
Concepts presented
are not organized
logically, no
coherent summary
Concepts presented are
unclear or difficult to
understand, paper is
disorganized and does not
follow logical progression
Creativity and
Interest
Presents new ideas
and/or old ideas in
interesting ways, writing
style is formal but
maintains interest,
includes real-world
applications
Presents widely
accepted ideas or
discusses topics
that are already well
known without much
attention to original
content or reader
interest
Presents ideas that are
clichéd or imitative, does
not make topic interesting
for reader
Critical
Thinking
Clearly identifies
assumptions, considers
all implications and
consequences of
outcomes, and includes
more than one point of
view on the topic
Treats some
assumptions as fact,
and/or considers
some implications
but not others,
and/or does not fully
consider point of
view
Fails to identify
assumptions, and/or does
not consider implications
of outcomes, and/or is
fixed on a single point of
view without any opposing
information
Correctness:
(Grammar,
Spelling,
Punctuation,
Formatting)
Grammar is
appropriate, spelling,
punctuation, and
formatting accurate
Grammar is
appropriate, few
spelling,
punctuation, or
formatting errors
Grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and/or
formatting are
inappropriate, incorrect,
and unprofessional
**## Wk1AssignAMC2025.docx**
1
4
**Assignment 1…. Please cite references and in APA format.**
After reading Cascio & Aguinis' article, read this interview of Craig Ramsey, former EVP of AMC Theatres, the second-largest U.S. theater chain (and one of LCC's direct competitors)! It contains valuable insight into trends and future directions for the movie theater/entertainment industry.
**Read the article.** See attached
As the new Director of Talent Management, your first task is to write a brief email to the CEO of LCC detailing three specific plans to make strategic staffing decisions to address these industry trends. For example, it might be important to note trends toward a global audience and how your recruiting and hiring practices will support that based on changing demographics in the workforce.
Expect to take approximately 2-3 pages to explain your plans. Your work will be graded on content, clarity, creativity, correctness, and, above all, critical thinking per the
HRA Written Assignment Rubric.
**Reference guides:**
Cascio, W., & Aguinis, H. (2008). Staffing 21st century organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 133-165.
· United States Government websites:
· U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
· U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
· Ladd, S. (2012). Dinner and…The Changing World of Movie Theaters, Financial Executive, October, 20-24.
**Department of Labor Statutes and Definitions**
**•****EEOC Statutes and Definition**
**•****EEOC List of Prohibited Practices**
**## AMCENTERTAINMENTINCEBSCO-ASSIGN1HRA2025.pdf**
CFO Interview
Craig R. Ramsey is executive vice
president and chief financial officer
for AMC Entertainment Inc.
In his 17 years with AMC, he
has seen dramatic changes in
the industry — and offers
his perspectives about its
evolution and future.
FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 21
When Craig R. Ramsey started working with AMC Entertainment Inc. in 1995 (as direc-
tor of financial reporting), the theatre-going experience was moving through a time of
transformation. The era of the megaplex and stadium seating — affording greater comfort and
improved sight lines to patrons — was emerging in a growing number of new and bigger
multiplex venues.
At that time, the business was mostly movie-focused and movie-centric. As Ramsey, now
AMC’s executive vice president and chief financial officer and FEI member of the Kansas City
Chapter, recalls: “The consumer thinking was, ‘I’m going to see a movie and this
theater happens to be the closest to me.’ We as an industry marketed the
film; we didn’t market the theatre or the brand, AMC.”
The industry focus has evolved. In the intervening years, it
has gone through some equally transformative events — a
series of recessions and economic slowdowns, the changing
nature of the film industry and, perhaps most challenging, the
rise of new technologies and a new crop of competitors for the
viewing dollar.
North American theatre receipts have dropped in recent
years. According to an analysis of 2011 U.S. and global movie-
going revenues by the Motion Picture Association of America, the
box office for all films released worldwide reached $32.6 billion in
2011, while receipts during the year for U.S. and Canadian theatres
was $10.2 billion, down four percent from 2010.
©
H
EM
ERA
/ iSTO
C
K
/ TH
IN
K
STO
C
K
DINNER & …
TheChangingWorld
of MovieTheatres
By Scott Ladd
Still, Ramsey notes, there are
approximately 39,000 movie screens in
use in U.S. and Canada currently. Going
back 20 years, it was close to 26,000.
The existing and potential market for the
theatrical window is strong, though con-
tending with myriad forms of new
media, technological advances and so-
cial media outlets means the effort to
keep movie-going relevant and attractive
requires new strategies.
Growth of a Company
AMC was launched in 1920 in Kansas
City, Mo. It was the first to promote multi-
plex cinemas after Stanley Durwood, son
of one of the original owners, saw one
screen in one building as limiting and
believed viewers wanted more choices.
So he began remodeling several
large single-screen Kansas City theatres
into smaller buildings with multiple au-
ditoriums. By 1968, Durwood’s multi-
screen theater chain had expanded
nationwide. He was also credited with
bringing stadium seating to U.S. and
Canada theatres in late 1990. During the
most recent fiscal year, the company
reported revenues of $2.6 billion.
Earlier this year, AMC Entertainment
Holdings Inc. was bought for $2.6 bil-
lion by one of China’s largest private
companies, Dalian Wanda Group. It was
described by Bloomberg News as the
largest-ever buyout of a U.S. enterprise
by a Chinese company. Nearly half a
billion is slated for reducing company
debt and improving AMC’s theatres, and
Ramsey says that will provide a boost to
AMC’s plans to upgrade and expand the
company’s theatre circuit.
Additionally, because of changing
consumer demographics and demands,
Ramsey sees a time of financial chal-
lenge and business opportunity for his
company and the industry he’s served
for nearly two decades. AMC is the sec-
ond-largest movie theatre company in
the United States and now with Wanda,
the largest in the world.
Ramsey notes the company recently
hired a new CEO, has broadened the
skillset of its management team to have
more customer centric focus and has
undertaken a number of new innovations
in order to compete successfully with its
competitors, both within the exhibition
industry and from new outlets.
“We’ve done a lot as a company to
try to stay relevant and focus on the
guest — to make movie-going distinc-
tive. We’ve always worked to make the
experience safe, clean and distraction-
free, because movie-going is an
escape,” he says.
The strategy has evolved to one of
“thinking about consumers and their
changing needs, tastes and preferences.
Movie delivery has evolved; people can
download it onto their computers, they
can watch it on their phone,” he says.
“So we started competing with the other
screens in the world, and other forms of
competition, such as gaming. There are
more demands now than ever for the
consumer entertainment discretionary
spend and our value proposition has to
be distinctive.”
Dinner and a Movie?
Among the technical innovations AMC
has implemented are deployment of dig-
ital projection — which accommodates
the increase in 3D films — and adapting
theaters to handle this new wave of
movies. AMC is also the largest operator
of IMAX screens and has benefited from
the recent proliferation of IMAX movies.
To remain relevant and meet these myr-
iad challenges, AMC has consciously
made an effort to grow the movie-going
22 OCTOBER 2012•FinancialExecutive www.financialexecutives.org
The existing and potential
market for theatrical film
patronage is strong,
though contending with
myriad forms of new
media, technological
advances and social
media outlets means the
effort to keep movie-going
current and attractive
requires new strategies.
AMC Company Facts
www.financialexecutives.org FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 23
experience into something that tran-
scends simply going to a movie.
“We have substantially broadened
our food and beverage offerings. For ex-
ample, today we offer a dinner and a
movie concept,” Ramsey says. “That used
to be considered separate events. Today,
patrons can do both at the same time.”
The rationale for expanding food
and beverage offerings, he says, was
rooted in simple economics. “We found
that 70 million people walked by our
concession stands every year and didn’t
buy anything, roughly the attendance of
major league baseball in a given year.”
Offering to consolidate the “evening
out” experience — for adult parents en-
joying a night out or teenagers whose
eating options may be limited — pro-
vided a more beneficial approach, ex-
plains Ramsey. “So our thinking went
along the lines of: ‘What if we combined
both in one place?’ ‘
In making the decision, Ramsey
says: “As we sat back and thought about
it, we’ve introduced stadium seating,
IMAX and 3D, to rejuvenate the onscreen
experience. But we had not delivered the
same level of innovation to our food and
beverage offerings beyond popcorn, soda
and candy. We had not responded to
changing consumer behavior and were
one of the few industries that hadn’t
evolved its food offerings.”
It’s not a five-star restaurant, he says.
“We aren’t targeting that.” What it is, is
“good food and quick service — what
you can get at a fast casual dining es-
tablishment.” Ramsey says the company
identified some older theatres “that
were in need of an upgrade. We were
convinced the concept had great poten-
tial if we could master the operating
challenges, which we’ve done, and
we’re getting very good returns” on the
investment.
Tapping a Global Audience
With global viewership on the rise, and
U.S. patronage in slight decline, AMC
has taken a more active role in the area
of programming, especially when it
comes to the production and promotion
of movies aimed at diverse audiences.
“We find pockets of diversity among
our audiences — Hispanic, African-
American, Indian, Asian,” Ramsey says.
“While each of those segments enjoys
Hollywood content, they also want to see
content that is more specific to them.”
AMC has forged alliances and
partnership with other companies that
specialize in making and marketing
films that appeal to more diverse audi-
ences, he says.
“Tyler Perry, for example, or Bolly-
wood productions for our Indian view-
ers. There are a lot of movies produced
in a year, not all of them big block-
busters,” he continues.
“Sometimes you have to find a
niche studio that’s developing that kind
of content. So we’re thinking of our pro-
gramming in different ways, focused on
our guest. We’re proactive to find con-
tent that will satisfy our consumers.”
The basic formula for success, he
adds, is providing a social experience
that brings people out of the house —
and not just relying on new computer
programs for all of their entertain-
ment needs.
“While we compete with TV and the
computer screen, ultimately we are dif-
ferent because we have the largest
screens, a social setting and it’s a chance
to get out of the home,” he says.
The Future for Movie Theatres
Does Ramsey envision significant
changes on the horizon for the industry?
“I didn’t when people asked me that 10
years ago, underestimating the creative
talents of our industry,” he replies. “It’s a
great business, with a great future, and
given its creative talent, I don’t see us
venturing into other businesses.”
“We’ll expand and do more in the
business we know. We’ll continue to
evolve movie-going, with more enhance-
ments to projection and screen technolo-
gies, the in-auditorium experience,
innovate to enhance the lobbies,
broaden the food offerings to be more
fresh and appealing and seek out more
sources of content,” he says.
“We don’t have to get into another
entertainment business to be successful.”
Ramsey adds: “People want to get out of
the house, and we’re affordable. As long
as we keep doing what we do well, at a
fair price, we should be okay.”
• AMC is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., where it has been
since its founding in 1920.
• Revenue: approximately $2.6 billion.
• In September 2012, AMC was acquired for approximately US$2.6
billion by the Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group, a leading pri-
vately held entertainment conglomerate.
• The company employs about 17,000 full- and part-time employees.
• AMC has interests in 338 theatres with 4,865 screens in 32 states
and the District of Columbia, as well as three countries outside
the United States (Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom).
• 99 percent of the company’s screens are located in the United
States.
• Theatres welcome almost 200 million guests annually.
• More than 46 percent (2,275) of AMC’s screens have 3D capability
and 125 of its screens are IMAX.
• At an average of 14.4 screens per theatre, AMC has the highest
screen per theatre count among the major U.S. exhibitors — well
above the 2011 calendar year industry average of 6.8.
• AMC’s food and beverage sales exceed the domestic food service
sales generated from 17 of the top 75 ranked restaurant chains in
the U.S.
Copyright of Financial Executive is the property of Financial Executives International and its content may not
be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
**## AMCENTERTAINMENTINCEBSCO-ASSIGN1HRA2025.pdf**
CFO Interview
Craig R. Ramsey is executive vice
president and chief financial officer
for AMC Entertainment Inc.
In his 17 years with AMC, he
has seen dramatic changes in
the industry — and offers
his perspectives about its
evolution and future.
FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 21
When Craig R. Ramsey started working with AMC Entertainment Inc. in 1995 (as direc-
tor of financial reporting), the theatre-going experience was moving through a time of
transformation. The era of the megaplex and stadium seating — affording greater comfort and
improved sight lines to patrons — was emerging in a growing number of new and bigger
multiplex venues.
At that time, the business was mostly movie-focused and movie-centric. As Ramsey, now
AMC’s executive vice president and chief financial officer and FEI member of the Kansas City
Chapter, recalls: “The consumer thinking was, ‘I’m going to see a movie and this
theater happens to be the closest to me.’ We as an industry marketed the
film; we didn’t market the theatre or the brand, AMC.”
The industry focus has evolved. In the intervening years, it
has gone through some equally transformative events — a
series of recessions and economic slowdowns, the changing
nature of the film industry and, perhaps most challenging, the
rise of new technologies and a new crop of competitors for the
viewing dollar.
North American theatre receipts have dropped in recent
years. According to an analysis of 2011 U.S. and global movie-
going revenues by the Motion Picture Association of America, the
box office for all films released worldwide reached $32.6 billion in
2011, while receipts during the year for U.S. and Canadian theatres
was $10.2 billion, down four percent from 2010.
©
H
EM
ERA
/ iSTO
C
K
/ TH
IN
K
STO
C
K
DINNER & …
TheChangingWorld
of MovieTheatres
By Scott Ladd
Still, Ramsey notes, there are
approximately 39,000 movie screens in
use in U.S. and Canada currently. Going
back 20 years, it was close to 26,000.
The existing and potential market for the
theatrical window is strong, though con-
tending with myriad forms of new
media, technological advances and so-
cial media outlets means the effort to
keep movie-going relevant and attractive
requires new strategies.
Growth of a Company
AMC was launched in 1920 in Kansas
City, Mo. It was the first to promote multi-
plex cinemas after Stanley Durwood, son
of one of the original owners, saw one
screen in one building as limiting and
believed viewers wanted more choices.
So he began remodeling several
large single-screen Kansas City theatres
into smaller buildings with multiple au-
ditoriums. By 1968, Durwood’s multi-
screen theater chain had expanded
nationwide. He was also credited with
bringing stadium seating to U.S. and
Canada theatres in late 1990. During the
most recent fiscal year, the company
reported revenues of $2.6 billion.
Earlier this year, AMC Entertainment
Holdings Inc. was bought for $2.6 bil-
lion by one of China’s largest private
companies, Dalian Wanda Group. It was
described by Bloomberg News as the
largest-ever buyout of a U.S. enterprise
by a Chinese company. Nearly half a
billion is slated for reducing company
debt and improving AMC’s theatres, and
Ramsey says that will provide a boost to
AMC’s plans to upgrade and expand the
company’s theatre circuit.
Additionally, because of changing
consumer demographics and demands,
Ramsey sees a time of financial chal-
lenge and business opportunity for his
company and the industry he’s served
for nearly two decades. AMC is the sec-
ond-largest movie theatre company in
the United States and now with Wanda,
the largest in the world.
Ramsey notes the company recently
hired a new CEO, has broadened the
skillset of its management team to have
more customer centric focus and has
undertaken a number of new innovations
in order to compete successfully with its
competitors, both within the exhibition
industry and from new outlets.
“We’ve done a lot as a company to
try to stay relevant and focus on the
guest — to make movie-going distinc-
tive. We’ve always worked to make the
experience safe, clean and distraction-
free, because movie-going is an
escape,” he says.
The strategy has evolved to one of
“thinking about consumers and their
changing needs, tastes and preferences.
Movie delivery has evolved; people can
download it onto their computers, they
can watch it on their phone,” he says.
“So we started competing with the other
screens in the world, and other forms of
competition, such as gaming. There are
more demands now than ever for the
consumer entertainment discretionary
spend and our value proposition has to
be distinctive.”
Dinner and a Movie?
Among the technical innovations AMC
has implemented are deployment of dig-
ital projection — which accommodates
the increase in 3D films — and adapting
theaters to handle this new wave of
movies. AMC is also the largest operator
of IMAX screens and has benefited from
the recent proliferation of IMAX movies.
To remain relevant and meet these myr-
iad challenges, AMC has consciously
made an effort to grow the movie-going
22 OCTOBER 2012•FinancialExecutive www.financialexecutives.org
The existing and potential
market for theatrical film
patronage is strong,
though contending with
myriad forms of new
media, technological
advances and social
media outlets means the
effort to keep movie-going
current and attractive
requires new strategies.
AMC Company Facts
www.financialexecutives.org FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 23
experience into something that tran-
scends simply going to a movie.
“We have substantially broadened
our food and beverage offerings. For ex-
ample, today we offer a dinner and a
movie concept,” Ramsey says. “That used
to be considered separate events. Today,
patrons can do both at the same time.”
The rationale for expanding food
and beverage offerings, he says, was
rooted in simple economics. “We found
that 70 million people walked by our
concession stands every year and didn’t
buy anything, roughly the attendance of
major league baseball in a given year.”
Offering to consolidate the “evening
out” experience — for adult parents en-
joying a night out or teenagers whose
eating options may be limited — pro-
vided a more beneficial approach, ex-
plains Ramsey. “So our thinking went
along the lines of: ‘What if we combined
both in one place?’ ‘
In making the decision, Ramsey
says: “As we sat back and thought about
it, we’ve introduced stadium seating,
IMAX and 3D, to rejuvenate the onscreen
experience. But we had not delivered the
same level of innovation to our food and
beverage offerings beyond popcorn, soda
and candy. We had not responded to
changing consumer behavior and were
one of the few industries that hadn’t
evolved its food offerings.”
It’s not a five-star restaurant, he says.
“We aren’t targeting that.” What it is, is
“good food and quick service — what
you can get at a fast casual dining es-
tablishment.” Ramsey says the company
identified some older theatres “that
were in need of an upgrade. We were
convinced the concept had great poten-
tial if we could master the operating
challenges, which we’ve done, and
we’re getting very good returns” on the
investment.
Tapping a Global Audience
With global viewership on the rise, and
U.S. patronage in slight decline, AMC
has taken a more active role in the area
of programming, especially when it
comes to the production and promotion
of movies aimed at diverse audiences.
“We find pockets of diversity among
our audiences — Hispanic, African-
American, Indian, Asian,” Ramsey says.
“While each of those segments enjoys
Hollywood content, they also want to see
content that is more specific to them.”
AMC has forged alliances and
partnership with other companies that
specialize in making and marketing
films that appeal to more diverse audi-
ences, he says.
“Tyler Perry, for example, or Bolly-
wood productions for our Indian view-
ers. There are a lot of movies produced
in a year, not all of them big block-
busters,” he continues.
“Sometimes you have to find a
niche studio that’s developing that kind
of content. So we’re thinking of our pro-
gramming in different ways, focused on
our guest. We’re proactive to find con-
tent that will satisfy our consumers.”
The basic formula for success, he
adds, is providing a social experience
that brings people out of the house —
and not just relying on new computer
programs for all of their entertain-
ment needs.
“While we compete with TV and the
computer screen, ultimately we are dif-
ferent because we have the largest
screens, a social setting and it’s a chance
to get out of the home,” he says.
The Future for Movie Theatres
Does Ramsey envision significant
changes on the horizon for the industry?
“I didn’t when people asked me that 10
years ago, underestimating the creative
talents of our industry,” he replies. “It’s a
great business, with a great future, and
given its creative talent, I don’t see us
venturing into other businesses.”
“We’ll expand and do more in the
business we know. We’ll continue to
evolve movie-going, with more enhance-
ments to projection and screen technolo-
gies, the in-auditorium experience,
innovate to enhance the lobbies,
broaden the food offerings to be more
fresh and appealing and seek out more
sources of content,” he says.
“We don’t have to get into another
entertainment business to be successful.”
Ramsey adds: “People want to get out of
the house, and we’re affordable. As long
as we keep doing what we do well, at a
fair price, we should be okay.”
• AMC is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., where it has been
since its founding in 1920.
• Revenue: approximately $2.6 billion.
• In September 2012, AMC was acquired for approximately US$2.6
billion by the Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group, a leading pri-
vately held entertainment conglomerate.
• The company employs about 17,000 full- and part-time employees.
• AMC has interests in 338 theatres with 4,865 screens in 32 states
and the District of Columbia, as well as three countries outside
the United States (Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom).
• 99 percent of the company’s screens are located in the United
States.
• Theatres welcome almost 200 million guests annually.
• More than 46 percent (2,275) of AMC’s screens have 3D capability
and 125 of its screens are IMAX.
• At an average of 14.4 screens per theatre, AMC has the highest
screen per theatre count among the major U.S. exhibitors — well
above the 2011 calendar year industry average of 6.8.
• AMC’s food and beverage sales exceed the domestic food service
sales generated from 17 of the top 75 ranked restaurant chains in
the U.S.
Copyright of Financial Executive is the property of Financial Executives International and its content may not
be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
**## HRA549_WrittenAssignmentRubric.pdf**
HRA 549 Expectations for Written Assignments and Papers
1. FORMAT of assignments should conform to the following criteria:
Margins should be 1” in all directions
Papers should be double-spaced and in a single highly readable, black 12-point font (Arial,
Times New Roman, Cambria, or Verdana are recommended). Headings may be larger
The paper must follow the academic research format (APA) where applicable
Format for any in-text citations and reference pages should also follow APA style
2. GRADING RUBRIC
Criteria
Exceeds Expectations
up to
20% of max grade
Meets
Expectations
up to
15% of max grade
Fails Expectations
up to
10% of max grade
Content
Position or thesis is
very credible, logical,
research sources are
credible and sufficient
to support arguments
Position or thesis is
credible, sources
are credible
Position or thesis lacks
credibility, arguments are
not clear or not well
supported, sources are
not credible or do not
support arguments
Clarity and
Organization
Concepts presented are
clearly organized and
easy to understand,
early information leads
to later information,
coherently summarized
Concepts presented
are not organized
logically, no
coherent summary
Concepts presented are
unclear or difficult to
understand, paper is
disorganized and does not
follow logical progression
Creativity and
Interest
Presents new ideas
and/or old ideas in
interesting ways, writing
style is formal but
maintains interest,
includes real-world
applications
Presents widely
accepted ideas or
discusses topics
that are already well
known without much
attention to original
content or reader
interest
Presents ideas that are
clichéd or imitative, does
not make topic interesting
for reader
Critical
Thinking
Clearly identifies
assumptions, considers
all implications and
consequences of
outcomes, and includes
more than one point of
view on the topic
Treats some
assumptions as fact,
and/or considers
some implications
but not others,
and/or does not fully
consider point of
view
Fails to identify
assumptions, and/or does
not consider implications
of outcomes, and/or is
fixed on a single point of
view without any opposing
information
Correctness:
(Grammar,
Spelling,
Punctuation,
Formatting)
Grammar is
appropriate, spelling,
punctuation, and
formatting accurate
Grammar is
appropriate, few
spelling,
punctuation, or
formatting errors
Grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and/or
formatting are
inappropriate, incorrect,
and unprofessional
**## Wk1AssignAMC2025.docx**
1
4
**Assignment 1…. Please cite references and in APA format.**
After reading Cascio & Aguinis' article, read this interview of Craig Ramsey, former EVP of AMC Theatres, the second-largest U.S. theater chain (and one of LCC's direct competitors)! It contains valuable insight into trends and future directions for the movie theater/entertainment industry.
**Read the article.** See attached
As the new Director of Talent Management, your first task is to write a brief email to the CEO of LCC detailing three specific plans to make strategic staffing decisions to address these industry trends. For example, it might be important to note trends toward a global audience and how your recruiting and hiring practices will support that based on changing demographics in the workforce.
Expect to take approximately 2-3 pages to explain your plans. Your work will be graded on content, clarity, creativity, correctness, and, above all, critical thinking per the
HRA Written Assignment Rubric.
**Reference guides:**
Cascio, W., & Aguinis, H. (2008). Staffing 21st century organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 133-165.
· United States Government websites:
· U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
· U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
· Ladd, S. (2012). Dinner and…The Changing World of Movie Theaters, Financial Executive, October, 20-24.
**Department of Labor Statutes and Definitions**
**•****EEOC Statutes and Definition**
**•****EEOC List of Prohibited Practices**
**## AMCENTERTAINMENTINCEBSCO-ASSIGN1HRA2025.pdf**
CFO Interview
Craig R. Ramsey is executive vice
president and chief financial officer
for AMC Entertainment Inc.
In his 17 years with AMC, he
has seen dramatic changes in
the industry — and offers
his perspectives about its
evolution and future.
FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 21
When Craig R. Ramsey started working with AMC Entertainment Inc. in 1995 (as direc-
tor of financial reporting), the theatre-going experience was moving through a time of
transformation. The era of the megaplex and stadium seating — affording greater comfort and
improved sight lines to patrons — was emerging in a growing number of new and bigger
multiplex venues.
At that time, the business was mostly movie-focused and movie-centric. As Ramsey, now
AMC’s executive vice president and chief financial officer and FEI member of the Kansas City
Chapter, recalls: “The consumer thinking was, ‘I’m going to see a movie and this
theater happens to be the closest to me.’ We as an industry marketed the
film; we didn’t market the theatre or the brand, AMC.”
The industry focus has evolved. In the intervening years, it
has gone through some equally transformative events — a
series of recessions and economic slowdowns, the changing
nature of the film industry and, perhaps most challenging, the
rise of new technologies and a new crop of competitors for the
viewing dollar.
North American theatre receipts have dropped in recent
years. According to an analysis of 2011 U.S. and global movie-
going revenues by the Motion Picture Association of America, the
box office for all films released worldwide reached $32.6 billion in
2011, while receipts during the year for U.S. and Canadian theatres
was $10.2 billion, down four percent from 2010.
©
H
EM
ERA
/ iSTO
C
K
/ TH
IN
K
STO
C
K
DINNER & …
TheChangingWorld
of MovieTheatres
By Scott Ladd
Still, Ramsey notes, there are
approximately 39,000 movie screens in
use in U.S. and Canada currently. Going
back 20 years, it was close to 26,000.
The existing and potential market for the
theatrical window is strong, though con-
tending with myriad forms of new
media, technological advances and so-
cial media outlets means the effort to
keep movie-going relevant and attractive
requires new strategies.
Growth of a Company
AMC was launched in 1920 in Kansas
City, Mo. It was the first to promote multi-
plex cinemas after Stanley Durwood, son
of one of the original owners, saw one
screen in one building as limiting and
believed viewers wanted more choices.
So he began remodeling several
large single-screen Kansas City theatres
into smaller buildings with multiple au-
ditoriums. By 1968, Durwood’s multi-
screen theater chain had expanded
nationwide. He was also credited with
bringing stadium seating to U.S. and
Canada theatres in late 1990. During the
most recent fiscal year, the company
reported revenues of $2.6 billion.
Earlier this year, AMC Entertainment
Holdings Inc. was bought for $2.6 bil-
lion by one of China’s largest private
companies, Dalian Wanda Group. It was
described by Bloomberg News as the
largest-ever buyout of a U.S. enterprise
by a Chinese company. Nearly half a
billion is slated for reducing company
debt and improving AMC’s theatres, and
Ramsey says that will provide a boost to
AMC’s plans to upgrade and expand the
company’s theatre circuit.
Additionally, because of changing
consumer demographics and demands,
Ramsey sees a time of financial chal-
lenge and business opportunity for his
company and the industry he’s served
for nearly two decades. AMC is the sec-
ond-largest movie theatre company in
the United States and now with Wanda,
the largest in the world.
Ramsey notes the company recently
hired a new CEO, has broadened the
skillset of its management team to have
more customer centric focus and has
undertaken a number of new innovations
in order to compete successfully with its
competitors, both within the exhibition
industry and from new outlets.
“We’ve done a lot as a company to
try to stay relevant and focus on the
guest — to make movie-going distinc-
tive. We’ve always worked to make the
experience safe, clean and distraction-
free, because movie-going is an
escape,” he says.
The strategy has evolved to one of
“thinking about consumers and their
changing needs, tastes and preferences.
Movie delivery has evolved; people can
download it onto their computers, they
can watch it on their phone,” he says.
“So we started competing with the other
screens in the world, and other forms of
competition, such as gaming. There are
more demands now than ever for the
consumer entertainment discretionary
spend and our value proposition has to
be distinctive.”
Dinner and a Movie?
Among the technical innovations AMC
has implemented are deployment of dig-
ital projection — which accommodates
the increase in 3D films — and adapting
theaters to handle this new wave of
movies. AMC is also the largest operator
of IMAX screens and has benefited from
the recent proliferation of IMAX movies.
To remain relevant and meet these myr-
iad challenges, AMC has consciously
made an effort to grow the movie-going
22 OCTOBER 2012•FinancialExecutive www.financialexecutives.org
The existing and potential
market for theatrical film
patronage is strong,
though contending with
myriad forms of new
media, technological
advances and social
media outlets means the
effort to keep movie-going
current and attractive
requires new strategies.
AMC Company Facts
www.financialexecutives.org FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 23
experience into something that tran-
scends simply going to a movie.
“We have substantially broadened
our food and beverage offerings. For ex-
ample, today we offer a dinner and a
movie concept,” Ramsey says. “That used
to be considered separate events. Today,
patrons can do both at the same time.”
The rationale for expanding food
and beverage offerings, he says, was
rooted in simple economics. “We found
that 70 million people walked by our
concession stands every year and didn’t
buy anything, roughly the attendance of
major league baseball in a given year.”
Offering to consolidate the “evening
out” experience — for adult parents en-
joying a night out or teenagers whose
eating options may be limited — pro-
vided a more beneficial approach, ex-
plains Ramsey. “So our thinking went
along the lines of: ‘What if we combined
both in one place?’ ‘
In making the decision, Ramsey
says: “As we sat back and thought about
it, we’ve introduced stadium seating,
IMAX and 3D, to rejuvenate the onscreen
experience. But we had not delivered the
same level of innovation to our food and
beverage offerings beyond popcorn, soda
and candy. We had not responded to
changing consumer behavior and were
one of the few industries that hadn’t
evolved its food offerings.”
It’s not a five-star restaurant, he says.
“We aren’t targeting that.” What it is, is
“good food and quick service — what
you can get at a fast casual dining es-
tablishment.” Ramsey says the company
identified some older theatres “that
were in need of an upgrade. We were
convinced the concept had great poten-
tial if we could master the operating
challenges, which we’ve done, and
we’re getting very good returns” on the
investment.
Tapping a Global Audience
With global viewership on the rise, and
U.S. patronage in slight decline, AMC
has taken a more active role in the area
of programming, especially when it
comes to the production and promotion
of movies aimed at diverse audiences.
“We find pockets of diversity among
our audiences — Hispanic, African-
American, Indian, Asian,” Ramsey says.
“While each of those segments enjoys
Hollywood content, they also want to see
content that is more specific to them.”
AMC has forged alliances and
partnership with other companies that
specialize in making and marketing
films that appeal to more diverse audi-
ences, he says.
“Tyler Perry, for example, or Bolly-
wood productions for our Indian view-
ers. There are a lot of movies produced
in a year, not all of them big block-
busters,” he continues.
“Sometimes you have to find a
niche studio that’s developing that kind
of content. So we’re thinking of our pro-
gramming in different ways, focused on
our guest. We’re proactive to find con-
tent that will satisfy our consumers.”
The basic formula for success, he
adds, is providing a social experience
that brings people out of the house —
and not just relying on new computer
programs for all of their entertain-
ment needs.
“While we compete with TV and the
computer screen, ultimately we are dif-
ferent because we have the largest
screens, a social setting and it’s a chance
to get out of the home,” he says.
The Future for Movie Theatres
Does Ramsey envision significant
changes on the horizon for the industry?
“I didn’t when people asked me that 10
years ago, underestimating the creative
talents of our industry,” he replies. “It’s a
great business, with a great future, and
given its creative talent, I don’t see us
venturing into other businesses.”
“We’ll expand and do more in the
business we know. We’ll continue to
evolve movie-going, with more enhance-
ments to projection and screen technolo-
gies, the in-auditorium experience,
innovate to enhance the lobbies,
broaden the food offerings to be more
fresh and appealing and seek out more
sources of content,” he says.
“We don’t have to get into another
entertainment business to be successful.”
Ramsey adds: “People want to get out of
the house, and we’re affordable. As long
as we keep doing what we do well, at a
fair price, we should be okay.”
• AMC is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., where it has been
since its founding in 1920.
• Revenue: approximately $2.6 billion.
• In September 2012, AMC was acquired for approximately US$2.6
billion by the Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group, a leading pri-
vately held entertainment conglomerate.
• The company employs about 17,000 full- and part-time employees.
• AMC has interests in 338 theatres with 4,865 screens in 32 states
and the District of Columbia, as well as three countries outside
the United States (Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom).
• 99 percent of the company’s screens are located in the United
States.
• Theatres welcome almost 200 million guests annually.
• More than 46 percent (2,275) of AMC’s screens have 3D capability
and 125 of its screens are IMAX.
• At an average of 14.4 screens per theatre, AMC has the highest
screen per theatre count among the major U.S. exhibitors — well
above the 2011 calendar year industry average of 6.8.
• AMC’s food and beverage sales exceed the domestic food service
sales generated from 17 of the top 75 ranked restaurant chains in
the U.S.
Copyright of Financial Executive is the property of Financial Executives International and its content may not
be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
**## HRA549_WrittenAssignmentRubric.pdf**
HRA 549 Expectations for Written Assignments and Papers
1. FORMAT of assignments should conform to the following criteria:
Margins should be 1” in all directions
Papers should be double-spaced and in a single highly readable, black 12-point font (Arial,
Times New Roman, Cambria, or Verdana are recommended). Headings may be larger
The paper must follow the academic research format (APA) where applicable
Format for any in-text citations and reference pages should also follow APA style
2. GRADING RUBRIC
Criteria
Exceeds Expectations
up to
20% of max grade
Meets
Expectations
up to
15% of max grade
Fails Expectations
up to
10% of max grade
Content
Position or thesis is
very credible, logical,
research sources are
credible and sufficient
to support arguments
Position or thesis is
credible, sources
are credible
Position or thesis lacks
credibility, arguments are
not clear or not well
supported, sources are
not credible or do not
support arguments
Clarity and
Organization
Concepts presented are
clearly organized and
easy to understand,
early information leads
to later information,
coherently summarized
Concepts presented
are not organized
logically, no
coherent summary
Concepts presented are
unclear or difficult to
understand, paper is
disorganized and does not
follow logical progression
Creativity and
Interest
Presents new ideas
and/or old ideas in
interesting ways, writing
style is formal but
maintains interest,
includes real-world
applications
Presents widely
accepted ideas or
discusses topics
that are already well
known without much
attention to original
content or reader
interest
Presents ideas that are
clichéd or imitative, does
not make topic interesting
for reader
Critical
Thinking
Clearly identifies
assumptions, considers
all implications and
consequences of
outcomes, and includes
more than one point of
view on the topic
Treats some
assumptions as fact,
and/or considers
some implications
but not others,
and/or does not fully
consider point of
view
Fails to identify
assumptions, and/or does
not consider implications
of outcomes, and/or is
fixed on a single point of
view without any opposing
information
Correctness:
(Grammar,
Spelling,
Punctuation,
Formatting)
Grammar is
appropriate, spelling,
punctuation, and
formatting accurate
Grammar is
appropriate, few
spelling,
punctuation, or
formatting errors
Grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and/or
formatting are
inappropriate, incorrect,
and unprofessional
**## Wk1AssignAMC2025.docx**
1
4
**Assignment 1…. Please cite references and in APA format.**
After reading Cascio & Aguinis' article, read this interview of Craig Ramsey, former EVP of AMC Theatres, the second-largest U.S. theater chain (and one of LCC's direct competitors)! It contains valuable insight into trends and future directions for the movie theater/entertainment industry.
**Read the article.** See attached
As the new Director of Talent Management, your first task is to write a brief email to the CEO of LCC detailing three specific plans to make strategic staffing decisions to address these industry trends. For example, it might be important to note trends toward a global audience and how your recruiting and hiring practices will support that based on changing demographics in the workforce.
Expect to take approximately 2-3 pages to explain your plans. Your work will be graded on content, clarity, creativity, correctness, and, above all, critical thinking per the
HRA Written Assignment Rubric.
**Reference guides:**
Cascio, W., & Aguinis, H. (2008). Staffing 21st century organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 133-165.
· United States Government websites:
· U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
· U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
· Ladd, S. (2012). Dinner and…The Changing World of Movie Theaters, Financial Executive, October, 20-24.
**Department of Labor Statutes and Definitions**
**•****EEOC Statutes and Definition**
**•****EEOC List of Prohibited Practices**
**## AMCENTERTAINMENTINCEBSCO-ASSIGN1HRA2025.pdf**
CFO Interview
Craig R. Ramsey is executive vice
president and chief financial officer
for AMC Entertainment Inc.
In his 17 years with AMC, he
has seen dramatic changes in
the industry — and offers
his perspectives about its
evolution and future.
FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 21
When Craig R. Ramsey started working with AMC Entertainment Inc. in 1995 (as direc-
tor of financial reporting), the theatre-going experience was moving through a time of
transformation. The era of the megaplex and stadium seating — affording greater comfort and
improved sight lines to patrons — was emerging in a growing number of new and bigger
multiplex venues.
At that time, the business was mostly movie-focused and movie-centric. As Ramsey, now
AMC’s executive vice president and chief financial officer and FEI member of the Kansas City
Chapter, recalls: “The consumer thinking was, ‘I’m going to see a movie and this
theater happens to be the closest to me.’ We as an industry marketed the
film; we didn’t market the theatre or the brand, AMC.”
The industry focus has evolved. In the intervening years, it
has gone through some equally transformative events — a
series of recessions and economic slowdowns, the changing
nature of the film industry and, perhaps most challenging, the
rise of new technologies and a new crop of competitors for the
viewing dollar.
North American theatre receipts have dropped in recent
years. According to an analysis of 2011 U.S. and global movie-
going revenues by the Motion Picture Association of America, the
box office for all films released worldwide reached $32.6 billion in
2011, while receipts during the year for U.S. and Canadian theatres
was $10.2 billion, down four percent from 2010.
©
H
EM
ERA
/ iSTO
C
K
/ TH
IN
K
STO
C
K
DINNER & …
TheChangingWorld
of MovieTheatres
By Scott Ladd
Still, Ramsey notes, there are
approximately 39,000 movie screens in
use in U.S. and Canada currently. Going
back 20 years, it was close to 26,000.
The existing and potential market for the
theatrical window is strong, though con-
tending with myriad forms of new
media, technological advances and so-
cial media outlets means the effort to
keep movie-going relevant and attractive
requires new strategies.
Growth of a Company
AMC was launched in 1920 in Kansas
City, Mo. It was the first to promote multi-
plex cinemas after Stanley Durwood, son
of one of the original owners, saw one
screen in one building as limiting and
believed viewers wanted more choices.
So he began remodeling several
large single-screen Kansas City theatres
into smaller buildings with multiple au-
ditoriums. By 1968, Durwood’s multi-
screen theater chain had expanded
nationwide. He was also credited with
bringing stadium seating to U.S. and
Canada theatres in late 1990. During the
most recent fiscal year, the company
reported revenues of $2.6 billion.
Earlier this year, AMC Entertainment
Holdings Inc. was bought for $2.6 bil-
lion by one of China’s largest private
companies, Dalian Wanda Group. It was
described by Bloomberg News as the
largest-ever buyout of a U.S. enterprise
by a Chinese company. Nearly half a
billion is slated for reducing company
debt and improving AMC’s theatres, and
Ramsey says that will provide a boost to
AMC’s plans to upgrade and expand the
company’s theatre circuit.
Additionally, because of changing
consumer demographics and demands,
Ramsey sees a time of financial chal-
lenge and business opportunity for his
company and the industry he’s served
for nearly two decades. AMC is the sec-
ond-largest movie theatre company in
the United States and now with Wanda,
the largest in the world.
Ramsey notes the company recently
hired a new CEO, has broadened the
skillset of its management team to have
more customer centric focus and has
undertaken a number of new innovations
in order to compete successfully with its
competitors, both within the exhibition
industry and from new outlets.
“We’ve done a lot as a company to
try to stay relevant and focus on the
guest — to make movie-going distinc-
tive. We’ve always worked to make the
experience safe, clean and distraction-
free, because movie-going is an
escape,” he says.
The strategy has evolved to one of
“thinking about consumers and their
changing needs, tastes and preferences.
Movie delivery has evolved; people can
download it onto their computers, they
can watch it on their phone,” he says.
“So we started competing with the other
screens in the world, and other forms of
competition, such as gaming. There are
more demands now than ever for the
consumer entertainment discretionary
spend and our value proposition has to
be distinctive.”
Dinner and a Movie?
Among the technical innovations AMC
has implemented are deployment of dig-
ital projection — which accommodates
the increase in 3D films — and adapting
theaters to handle this new wave of
movies. AMC is also the largest operator
of IMAX screens and has benefited from
the recent proliferation of IMAX movies.
To remain relevant and meet these myr-
iad challenges, AMC has consciously
made an effort to grow the movie-going
22 OCTOBER 2012•FinancialExecutive www.financialexecutives.org
The existing and potential
market for theatrical film
patronage is strong,
though contending with
myriad forms of new
media, technological
advances and social
media outlets means the
effort to keep movie-going
current and attractive
requires new strategies.
AMC Company Facts
www.financialexecutives.org FinancialExecutive •OCTOBER 2012 23
experience into something that tran-
scends simply going to a movie.
“We have substantially broadened
our food and beverage offerings. For ex-
ample, today we offer a dinner and a
movie concept,” Ramsey says. “That used
to be considered separate events. Today,
patrons can do both at the same time.”
The rationale for expanding food
and beverage offerings, he says, was
rooted in simple economics. “We found
that 70 million people walked by our
concession stands every year and didn’t
buy anything, roughly the attendance of
major league baseball in a given year.”
Offering to consolidate the “evening
out” experience — for adult parents en-
joying a night out or teenagers whose
eating options may be limited — pro-
vided a more beneficial approach, ex-
plains Ramsey. “So our thinking went
along the lines of: ‘What if we combined
both in one place?’ ‘
In making the decision, Ramsey
says: “As we sat back and thought about
it, we’ve introduced stadium seating,
IMAX and 3D, to rejuvenate the onscreen
experience. But we had not delivered the
same level of innovation to our food and
beverage offerings beyond popcorn, soda
and candy. We had not responded to
changing consumer behavior and were
one of the few industries that hadn’t
evolved its food offerings.”
It’s not a five-star restaurant, he says.
“We aren’t targeting that.” What it is, is
“good food and quick service — what
you can get at a fast casual dining es-
tablishment.” Ramsey says the company
identified some older theatres “that
were in need of an upgrade. We were
convinced the concept had great poten-
tial if we could master the operating
challenges, which we’ve done, and
we’re getting very good returns” on the
investment.
Tapping a Global Audience
With global viewership on the rise, and
U.S. patronage in slight decline, AMC
has taken a more active role in the area
of programming, especially when it
comes to the production and promotion
of movies aimed at diverse audiences.
“We find pockets of diversity among
our audiences — Hispanic, African-
American, Indian, Asian,” Ramsey says.
“While each of those segments enjoys
Hollywood content, they also want to see
content that is more specific to them.”
AMC has forged alliances and
partnership with other companies that
specialize in making and marketing
films that appeal to more diverse audi-
ences, he says.
“Tyler Perry, for example, or Bolly-
wood productions for our Indian view-
ers. There are a lot of movies produced
in a year, not all of them big block-
busters,” he continues.
“Sometimes you have to find a
niche studio that’s developing that kind
of content. So we’re thinking of our pro-
gramming in different ways, focused on
our guest. We’re proactive to find con-
tent that will satisfy our consumers.”
The basic formula for success, he
adds, is providing a social experience
that brings people out of the house —
and not just relying on new computer
programs for all of their entertain-
ment needs.
“While we compete with TV and the
computer screen, ultimately we are dif-
ferent because we have the largest
screens, a social setting and it’s a chance
to get out of the home,” he says.
The Future for Movie Theatres
Does Ramsey envision significant
changes on the horizon for the industry?
“I didn’t when people asked me that 10
years ago, underestimating the creative
talents of our industry,” he replies. “It’s a
great business, with a great future, and
given its creative talent, I don’t see us
venturing into other businesses.”
“We’ll expand and do more in the
business we know. We’ll continue to
evolve movie-going, with more enhance-
ments to projection and screen technolo-
gies, the in-auditorium experience,
innovate to enhance the lobbies,
broaden the food offerings to be more
fresh and appealing and seek out more
sources of content,” he says.
“We don’t have to get into another
entertainment business to be successful.”
Ramsey adds: “People want to get out of
the house, and we’re affordable. As long
as we keep doing what we do well, at a
fair price, we should be okay.”
• AMC is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., where it has been
since its founding in 1920.
• Revenue: approximately $2.6 billion.
• In September 2012, AMC was acquired for approximately US$2.6
billion by the Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group, a leading pri-
vately held entertainment conglomerate.
• The company employs about 17,000 full- and part-time employees.
• AMC has interests in 338 theatres with 4,865 screens in 32 states
and the District of Columbia, as well as three countries outside
the United States (Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom).
• 99 percent of the company’s screens are located in the United
States.
• Theatres welcome almost 200 million guests annually.
• More than 46 percent (2,275) of AMC’s screens have 3D capability
and 125 of its screens are IMAX.
• At an average of 14.4 screens per theatre, AMC has the highest
screen per theatre count among the major U.S. exhibitors — well
above the 2011 calendar year industry average of 6.8.
• AMC’s food and beverage sales exceed the domestic food service
sales generated from 17 of the top 75 ranked restaurant chains in
the U.S.
Copyright of Financial Executive is the property of Financial Executives International and its content may not
be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.