Case Study 2: Sabrina is a twenty-seven-year-old woman who recently underwent a corpus callosotomy. Initially after surgery, when given a verbal command, Sabrina demonstrated marked apraxia of the left hand. However, the extent of this issue diminished over time. Answer the following questions about this client:

• What disorder was most likely being treated by this operation, and how is the surgery performed?
• In what way is the surgery expected to help Sabrina?
• What are the risks and benefits of the surgery? Compare these to the risks and benefits of an alternative treatment. If the decision were yours, which would you recommend? Explain your decision.
• What was the cause of the apraxia?
• What does the reduction in apraxia symptoms tell us about hemispheric specialization?

Click here to follow tips on creating a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. For this assignment and all Dropbox assignments, you are required to cite, at a minimum, the online course and the textbook for the course. Additional sources are welcome. Scholarly sources are preferred and can be found in the Argosy University online library. For reputable web sources, look for .gov or .edu sites as opposed to .com sites. Do not use Wikipedia.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Described the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Discussed what parts of the brain this disease affects.	24
Discussed hereditary and environmental factors thought to contribute to Parkinson’s disease.	24
Analyzed the reasons why selegiline was prescribed instead of L-dopa.	28
Discussed the disorder being treated by the corpus callosotomy and how the surgery is performed. Explained how the surgery will help Sabrina.	20
Analyzed the risks and benefits of the surgery and an alternative treatment and explained your recommendation.	24
Explained the cause of the apraxia.	16
Analyzed what the reduction in apraxia symptoms reveals about hemispheric specialization.	20
Used standard presentation components.	44

Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center.

Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.

Assignment 2: Operations Decision

Due Week 6 and worth 300 points

Using the regression results and the other computations from Assignment 1, determine the market structure in which the low-calorie frozen, microwavable food company operates.

Use the Internet to research two (2) of the leading competitors in the low-calorie frozen, microwavable food industry, and take note of their pricing strategies, profitability, and their relationships within the industry (worldwide).

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Outline a plan that will assess the effectiveness of the market structure for the company’s operations. Note: In Assignment 1, the assumption was that the market structure [or selling environment] was perfectly competitive and that the equilibrium price was to be determined by setting QD equal to QS. You are now aware of recent changes in the selling environment that suggest an imperfectly competitive market where your firm now has substantial market power in setting its own “optimal” price.
2. Given that business operations have changed from the market structure specified in the original scenario in Assignment 1, determine two (2) likely factors that might have caused the change. Predict the primary manner in which this change would likely impact business operations in the new market environment.
3. Analyze the major short run and long cost functions for the low-calorie, frozen microwaveable food company given the cost functions below. Suggest substantive ways in which the low-calorie food company may use this information in order to make decisions in both the short-run and the long-run.

TC = 160,000,000 + 100Q + 0.0063212Q2

VC = 100Q + 0.0063212Q2

MC= 100 + 0.0126424Q

4. Determine the possible circumstances under which the company should discontinue operations. Suggest key actions that management should take in order to confront these circumstances. Provide a rationale for your response. (Hint: Your firm’s price must cover average variable costs in the short run and average total costs in the long run to continue operations.)
5. Suggest one (1) pricing policy that will enable your low-calorie, frozen microwavable food company to maximize profits. Provide a rationale for your suggestion.

(Hints:

• In Assignment 1, you determined your firm’s market demand equation. Now you need to find the inverse demand equation. Having found that, find the Total Revenue function for your firm (TR is P x Q). From your firm’s Total Revenue function, then find your Marginal Revenue (MR) function.
• Use the profit maximization rule MR = MC to determine your optimal price and optimal output level now that you have market power. Compare these values with the values you generated in Assignment 1. Determine whether your price higher is or lower.)

6. Outline a plan, based on the information provided in the scenario, which the company could use in order to evaluate its financial performance. Consider all the key drivers of performance, such as company profit or loss for both the short term and long term, and the fundamental manner in which each factor influences managerial decisions.

(Hints:

• Calculate profit in the short run by using the price and output levels you generated in part 5. Optional: You may want to compare this to what profit would have been in Assignment 1 using the cost function provided here.
• Calculate profit in the long run by using the output level you generated in part 5 and cost data in part 3 and assuming that the selling environment will likely be very competitive. Determine why this would be a valid assumption.)

7. Recommend two (2) actions that the company could take in order to improve its profitability and deliver more value to its stakeholders. Outline, in brief, a plan to implement your recommendations.
8. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia does not qualify as an academic resource.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Analyze short-run and long-run production and cost functions.
• Apply macroeconomic concepts to changes in global and national economies and how they affect economic growth, inflation, interest rates, and wage rates.
• Evaluate the profit-maximizing price and output level for given operating costs for monopolies and firms in competitive industries.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in managerial economics and globalization.
• Write clearly and concisely about managerial economics and globalization using proper writing mechanics.

uppose you are the Information Security Director at a small software company. The organization currently utilizes a Microsoft Server 2012 Active Directory domain administered by your information security team. Mostly software developers and a relatively small number of administrative personnel comprise the remainder of the organization. You have convinced business unit leaders that it would be in the best interest of the company to use a public key infrastructure (PKI) in order to provide a framework that fosters confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and nonrepudiation. Email clients, virtual private network (VPN) products, Web server components, and domain controllers would utilize digital certificates issued by the certificate authority (CA). Additionally, the company would use digital certificates to sign software developed by the company in order to demonstrate software authenticity to the customer.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

1. Analyze the fundamentals of PKI, and determine the primary ways in which its features and functions could benefit your organization and its information security department.
2. Propose one (1) way in which the PKI could assist in the process of signing the company’s software, and explain the main reason why a customer could then believe that software to be authentic.
3. Compare and contrast public and in-house CAs. Include the positive and negative characteristics of each type of certificate authority, and provide a sound recommendation of and a justification for which you would consider implementing within your organization. Explain your rationale.
4. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment (no more than 2-3 years old) from material outside the textbook. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Explain how businesses apply cryptography in maintaining information security.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in information systems security.
• Write clearly and concisely about network security topics using proper writing mechanics and

uppose you are the Information Security Director at a small software company. The organization currently utilizes a Microsoft Server 2012 Active Directory domain administered by your information security team. Mostly software developers and a relatively small number of administrative personnel comprise the remainder of the organization. You have convinced business unit leaders that it would be in the best interest of the company to use a public key infrastructure (PKI) in order to provide a framework that fosters confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and nonrepudiation. Email clients, virtual private network (VPN) products, Web server components, and domain controllers would utilize digital certificates issued by the certificate authority (CA). Additionally, the company would use digital certificates to sign software developed by the company in order to demonstrate software authenticity to the customer.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

1. Analyze the fundamentals of PKI, and determine the primary ways in which its features and functions could benefit your organization and its information security department.
2. Propose one (1) way in which the PKI could assist in the process of signing the company’s software, and explain the main reason why a customer could then believe that software to be authentic.
3. Compare and contrast public and in-house CAs. Include the positive and negative characteristics of each type of certificate authority, and provide a sound recommendation of and a justification for which you would consider implementing within your organization. Explain your rationale.
4. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment (no more than 2-3 years old) from material outside the textbook. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Explain how businesses apply cryptography in maintaining information security.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in information systems security.
• Write clearly and concisely about network security topics using proper writing mechanics and

Option #1: Case Study Analysis: New Kind of Structure

Read and respond to a case study to demonstrate your understanding of, and ability to apply, the concepts of organizational design and culture.

review a case study of Pfizer in the 9th edition of the course textbook.

Write an integrated essay that addresses the following items:

1. Describe and evaluate how Pfizer is allowing employees to be more productive with its PfizerWorks.
2. Analyze an organization for which you work, or are familiar with, by considering the structural implications—good and bad—that the PfizerWorks approach would have in the specifics of productivity. (Think in terms of the six organizational design elements.)
3. Compare this arrangement with other types of organizations (including nonprofit, volunteer, etc.) and whether this structure would work.
4. Discuss the global aspect of adapting a structure similar to Pfizer and how the culture of the organization may, or may not, be impacted.

Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:

• 3-4 pages in length

Option #1: Case Study Analysis: New Kind of Structure

Read and respond to a case study to demonstrate your understanding of, and ability to apply, the concepts of organizational design and culture.

review a case study of Pfizer in the 9th edition of the course textbook.

Write an integrated essay that addresses the following items:

1. Describe and evaluate how Pfizer is allowing employees to be more productive with its PfizerWorks.
2. Analyze an organization for which you work, or are familiar with, by considering the structural implications—good and bad—that the PfizerWorks approach would have in the specifics of productivity. (Think in terms of the six organizational design elements.)
3. Compare this arrangement with other types of organizations (including nonprofit, volunteer, etc.) and whether this structure would work.
4. Discuss the global aspect of adapting a structure similar to Pfizer and how the culture of the organization may, or may not, be impacted.

Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:

• 3-4 pages in length

All organizations have internal politics. However, most organizations keep their political battles private and it is rare that the public will know the details about political intrigue within the major corporations. However, Hewlett-Packard (HP) is rare in that its political battles were waged publicly. HP will make for an ideal case study both because of the intense political behavior occurring at the top and because many articles have been written about these political battles.

HP has been through five CEOs since 2005, and each change of CEO has been controversial. The drama started in 2005 when then CEO Carly Fiorina was under attack from several members of HP’s Board of Directors. Some board members even took the dispute public by leaking information to the press. Fiorina fought back by investigating the leaks, but ultimately lost the battle and was ousted as CEO. Her replacement, Patricia Dunn, continued to investigate leaks by the board through the use of private investigators. Even more controversy emerged when it was discovered that the investigators used the method of “pretexting” in order to obtain phone records of board members.

For this assignment, make sure to first carefully review the background materials regarding the causes of political behavior, types of political behavior, and the ethics of political behavior. Examples of the causes of political behavior include competition for resources, ambiguous organizational goals, lack of trust, and performance factors. Examples of types of political behavior include blaming others, selectively distributing information, managing impressions, and forming coalitions. Regarding ethics, consider the three main factors:

• Does the political action violate individual rights?
• Does it improve the welfare of those involved?
• Does it increase distributive justice?

Review the background materials and do some research on the political dramas at HP. There is a lot written about HP’s many dramas over the years; here are some articles to get you started:

Veverka, M. (2011). The soap opera at HP continues. Barron’s, 91(39), 25.

Granelli, J. S. (2006, Sep 20). Lockyer probe of HP spying reaches to ’05; sources say the inquiry goes back to the ouster of CEO Carly Fiorina, a possible victim. Los Angeles Times [ProQuest]

Kessler, M. (2006, Sep 08). Controversial HP probe started under Fiorina; stock falls as board continues public feud. USA Today [ProQuest]

Pearlstein, S. (2011, Sep 25). How HP, silicon valley’s darling, became a soap opera. The Washington Post

Once you have finished reviewing the background materials and have completed your research on HP’s internal politics, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following issues:

1. What individual and organizational factors of HP and its senior leaders led to the intense political behavior? Refer to the background readings in your answer, and in particular, pages 370–372 of the Nair textbook in your answer.
2. What types of political behaviors did HP’s board members and CEOs exhibit? Be specific and use the types of political behaviors discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010).
3. Were the leaks to the press by members of the board ethical? Was the investigation by Patricia Dunn into the links ethical? Consider the factors of utility, individual rights, and distributive justice discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010) in your answer.

For this assignment you will be continuing to write about your own workplace experiences as they relate to power and politics. Think of one of the largest political battles you witnessed or were apart of during your career, and think carefully about how the concepts from the background materials apply to what you experienced.

In preparation for the SLP, make sure you have a thorough grasp of the terminology from the background materials including the main individual and organizational factors that lead to political behavior and the types of political behavior. Once you are comfortable with the terminology and concepts from the background materials, write a 2- to 3-page paper addressing the following issues:

1. Briefly describe a political battle that took place in your workplace. Explain who the main players were and what issues were at stake.
2. What individual and organizational factors lead to this political battle? Refer to the background readings in your answer, and in particular, pages 370–372 of the Nair textbook in your answer. Refer to Nair (2010), Aswathappa (2010), or the Pearson tutorial in your answer.
3. What types of political behaviors did your coworkers exhibit in your political battle? Be specific and use the types of political behaviors discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010).
4. Do you think any of the participants behaved unethically during this political battle? Consider the factors of utility, individual rights, and distributive justice discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010) in your answer.

utline a plan that will assess the effectiveness of the market structure for the company’s operations. Note: In Assignment 1, the assumption was that the market structure [or selling environment] was perfectly competitive and that the equilibrium price was to be determined by setting Qd equal to Qs. The market structure in the first assignment was competitive. This means that the firm does not have control over the price and it has to charge the equilibrium price. You are now aware of recent changes in the selling environment that suggest an imperfectly competitive market where your firm now has substantial market power in setting its own “optimal” price.

 

• Since the company has control over the price, it has to decide how much to charge and how much to produce to maximize profit. 
• The profit-maximizing/loss-minimizing quantity and price can be determined by setting the MR = MC. This involves the following.
  • Find the total revenue: TR = P x Q
  • Find the marginal revenue by calculating the derivative of the total revenue function.
  • Set MR equal to the provided MC function and solve for Q, and then for P.
• Based on the results, the company should make a decision to continue producing or shut down.

 

 

 

Question 2

 

Given that business operations have changed from the market structure specified in the original scenario in Assignment 1, determine two (2) likely factors that might have caused the change. Predict the primary manner in which this change would likely impact business operations in the new market environment.

 

• Consider the change in the degree of competition.
• Review the sections “Industry Performance” and “Competitive Landscape” in the IBISWorld report provided.
• Factors that might have caused change could be for example consolidation of the industry, i.e., firms become bigger and have now some control on the price.  Also, firms can differentiate their product from the products of their competitors, which again results in more control over the price.  Firms’ actions are interdependent and now their decisions are affected not just by the demand and supply conditions, but by what moves their major competitors make.  These are just examples.  You might come up with other factors.

 

 

 

Question 3

 

Analyze the major short run and long cost functions for the low-calorie, frozen microwaveable food company given the cost functions below. Suggest substantive ways in which the low-calorie food company may use this information in order to make decisions in both short and the long-run.

 

TC = 160,000,000 + 100Q + 0.0063212Q²

VC = 100Q + 0.0063212Q²

MC= 100 + 0.0126424Q

 

• To maximize profit, the firm has to find ways to maximize its total revenue and minimize its cost. You should also consider the difference between short and long run.  In the short run, at least one of the costs is fixed.  In the long run, all costs can be changes, i.e., all costs are variable. A review of the IBISWorld Industry Report on the frozen food production in the US can also help you answer this question.  The cost functions affect the profit. The cost functions are to be used to answer question 4 as well.
• Using the provided cost data for the firm, determine whether the firm is making a profit or a loss by charging the equilibrium price determined in Assignment 1.
  • Calculate the total revenue.
  • Calculate the total cost.
  • Find the difference between TR and TC, which is the profit or the loss. 
  • Review the section “Cost Structure Benchmarks” (p. 22) in the IBISWorld report.

gnment 2: LASA – Project Planning – Developing the Project Plan and Determining Critical Path

1. 1. Using the District4WarehouseMove WBS.xls provided, create a project plan for the District 4 Warehouse Move project. Use the PDF document, Project Plan Check – District4Move, to check your work to be sure you have created your starting project plan correctly. ProjectLibre is required for this task. If you have not yet downloaded ProjectLibre, please click here and follow the directions to do so now.

      Note: you will need to insert a column to include your WBS codes, then you will need to sequence the tasks to show tasks by work package.

 

1. 1. Based upon the details in the WBS and the project case, determine which tasks need to be completed first and which tasks are dependent upon other tasks to be completed prior to starting. Using this information identify predecessors in your project plan’s predecessor column. Complete the predecessor column by entering the line number of tasks that must be completed in order for each task to start. This will create your project timeline.

 

1. Using ProjectLibre’s Network or flow diagram view, determine the critical path for this project. In a MS Word document, list the activities that are on the critical path. Considering the risks identified in the risk table below, identify which risks would be most likely to increase your project timeline. Justify your responses.
2. Submit both your completed project plan and your MS Word document.

District 4 Production Warehouse Move Project – Risk Table

1	Permits are not received per the schedule
2	Finish work contractors walk off the job half way through
3	Framing and drywall contractors are running behind schedule and can only produce half their crew as scheduled
4	Work benches are poor quality and 1/3 will have to be rebuilt

Submit your plan to M3: Assignment 2 Dropbox by Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Correctly developed a project plan from the WBS provided	60
Completed the predecessor column correctly in the project plan based upon information in the case.	40
Correctly identified critical path activities	16
Correctly identified risks that would impact the project schedule	40
Used proper writing components such as, correct grammar, spelling, and word choice and cited all sources using correct APA style, etc..	44

Due Week 6 and worth 150 points

This assignment consists of two (2) parts: a project schedule, and a written response. You must submit both parts as separate files for the completion of this assignment. Label each file name according to the part of the assignment it is written for.

Part A: Project Schedule

(Submit as one [1] Microsoft Project file)

1. In Assignment 2, you developed a project plan. Now, using the information from your project proposal, create a multi-level work breakdown structure (WBS) and detailed project schedule.

   Your project must include the following criteria:

   • The project must consist of at least twenty-five (25) tasks.
   • Each task must contain a start date, a finish date, and have main staffing and non-staffing resources assigned.
   • Assume that your work activities are completed during normal weekdays (no weekend work) under normal conditions (8 hours per day).
   • In terms of holidays, you can assume no work will be done the following days: New Year’s Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Good Monday, Friday before Memorial Day, Memorial Day, the business day before Independence Day, Independence Day, the Friday before Labor Day, Labor Day, the day before Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving), the business day before Christmas, Christmas Day, the business day after Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve.

Part B: Written Response

(Submit as a Microsoft Word file)

Write a one to two (1-2) page response in which you:

1. Analyze your project in terms of project completion, critical path, and slack / float. Specifically, be sure to answer the following:
   • When will the project be completed?
   • What is the critical path for the project?
   • How much slack / float is in your project? What activities have the greatest slack / float?
2. Summarize the recommendations or improvements you would make to your project schedule. Specifically, be sure to answer the following:
   • Identify the top three (3) activities that you believe could impact the project completion date.
   • What additional activities would you add to this project to make it more complete, from a project management viewpoint?
3. Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
   • Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
   • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.