Author: chris

The Final Paper should demonstrate an understanding of the materials (texts, assignments, and discussions) covered in this course.

Assume the role of Marketing Manager. Select a product (good or service) that is sold in the United States and has sales opportunities in a foreign market. Apply your critical thinking skills and the knowledge you have acquired throughout this course and address the following in your Final Paper:

1. Describe the product you selected in terms of the four utilities of customer value.
2. Identify the product’s target market at home and in your stated foreign market.
3. Indicate the competition of the product category in both home and foreign markets.
4. Explain how you would apply the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) approach to market the product in the foreign market.
5. Discuss the major environmental facts and trends in the foreign markets that might affect sales of the product.
6. Explain how you would develop, execute and measure a campaign for this product considering the four p’s (product, price, promotion, and place).
7. Discuss the U.S. and international ethical marketing considerations.

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:

1. Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must include a title page with the following:
   1. Title of paper
   2. Student’s name
   3. Course name and number
   4. Instructor’s name
   5. Date submitted
3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
6. Must use at least five scholarly references beyond the course text.
7. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Assignment 2: Case Study—Training Assessment

Training assessment is an important task for HR personnel. Use the Argosy University online library and textbooks to read about training assessments.

Then, consider the following scenario:

You have recently been appointed as a training manager for the southeast region of a major supermarket chain in the U.S. Your territory includes 15 retail stores. Your responsibility involves working directly with store managers and other stakeholders to develop training solutions to meet specific needs of employees in various stores. This includes, but is not limited to, performing needs assessments, determining appropriate instructional design and training delivery methods, as well as implementing and evaluating training initiatives.

Three of the stores in your territory have missed sales goals for the last two quarters. All three stores have received low customer satisfaction scores and are experiencing increased employee turnover rates. The high employee turnover has resulted in the store managers hiring many new and relatively inexperienced sales associates, which further contributes to the problem.

The senior management team of the supermarket chain believes that training and development may help decrease employee turnover and increase customer satisfaction. You have been asked to assess training needs and develop a proposal to address the situation in these three stores.

Instructions:

Use scholarly resources and your learning, address the following:

1. Identify, using simple heuristics, the indicators that show that the specific problems experienced by the three stores can be resolved through training.
2. Design a needs assessment plan and identify three specific training initiatives you would recommend for these employees. Include the expected outcomes for the three training initiatives in your proposal.
3. Select one of the specific training initiatives you identified and develop a budget of projected costs to implement this initiative.

Write a seven-to-nine-page training proposal in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Make sure you write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc. By Wednesday, May 27, 2015, deliver your assignment to the M4: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

 

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Identified the specific indicators that problems experienced by the three stores can be resolved through training.	24
Designed a needs assessment plan and recommended three specific training initiatives for these employees. Included the expected outcomes for the three training initiatives in the proposal.	32
Selected one of the identified specific training initiatives and developed a budget of estimated costs to implement this initiative. Used scholarly resources to justify your expenses.	32
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Review the initial scenario and the Strategic Business Plan presented in Module 1 to make sure that the requirements of the Board and the Part II Strategic Plan are met.

 

From Module 1: As a member of Harley-Davidson’s strategic planning team, you have been asked to create a five- to six-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation titled “Harley-Davidson Today: A Brief Overview of the Business” to orient members who have been newly added to the strategic planning team.

The PowerPoint presentation should include at a minimum the following:

• The CEO’s vision and overview of 2009 performance
• The organizational structure and management team
• A brief description of each of the brands/business units and the products and services offered
• Key corporate goals and objectives such as new products, new markets, and new customers
• Total Revenues in 2009 and Net Profit in 2009

In order to meet the requirements of the Board, you will prepare the final Strategic Business Plan—Part II—Strategic Plan to the Executive Board. Ensure your strategic plan is thorough, succinct, and complete. Challenge yourself to link the targets to specific initiatives you have identified in the Strategic Plan you are developing for H-D.

Your written report should include a title page, table of contents, executive summary, and each of the following sections in an 8- to 12-page report:

Part I: Global Economy & Factors Affecting H-D  

1. 1. Identify H-D’s Motivations & Risks

• • Motivations for Expansion
  • Risks in Expansion

1. 2. Explain H-D’s competitive advantage in Global Markets
   3. Determine and explain entry strategies for global expansion
   4. Recommend an Internet approach/strategy for H-D

• • How the Internet adds value
  • Internet Business Models
  • Competitive Strategies
  • Leverage E-Business Capabilities

Part II: Corporate Leadership

Develop the following: Current Direction Setting

1. Organizational Culture: In addition, evaluate the culture at Harley-Davidson (H-D) and define what attributes you think team members should possess in reaching the business goals set forth by the organization. If you were part of the management team at H-D, what motivational techniques would you implement to make these teams successful?
2. Organizational Design: As you have been completing the Strategic Business

   Plan, the management at Harley-Davidson has decided to take a team-oriented approach in various departments rather than the traditional, functional structure. Based on your knowledge of different types of teams and their focus, suggest what kinds of team strategies should be applied to each department. Be sure to explain your recommendations in detail.

3. Leadership Traits
4. Ethical Organization Characteristics

• Identify elements
• Identify missing elements

Learning Organization Characteristics

• Identify elements
• Identify missing elements

Part III: Strategic Plan Summary

• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Implementation
  • Discuss how you will implement your strategic plans, including how teams should be implemented in each department
  • Develop a brief roadmap for implementation
  • Identify the primary benchmarks to assess success or failure
• Risks

Part IV:  Self-Reflection Summary

Self-reflection is the key to good leadership and good management. Reflect on what you have learned in this class and on what you gained from your Bachelor of Science program. Based on your reflections, discuss the following:

• Five or six key “lessons” learned from the textbook and the content that will help you in your career.
• Consider what you have learned throughout this program. Discuss career opportunities that interest you in business.
• Include what you have learned about yourself.

Evaluate how your personal biases and assumptions have affected your work in the past and how you plan to manage them in the future. Your final product will be in an MS Word document approximately 8–12 pages in length and utilizing approximately 4–6 scholarly/professional sources. Your document should be written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

 

Assignment 1 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Assignment Components
Explain the current global economy, the motivational/risk factors affecting H-D, and their competitive advantage.	32
Determine and explain entry strategies for global expansion and recommend Internet approaches for H-D.	44
Explain H-D’s current directional setting, organizational culture, and design. Recommend and explain team strategies for each department.	32
Explain H-D’s leadership traits, ethical characteristics, and its learning environment.	40
Provide a Strategic Plan Summary to include your conclusions, recommendations, implementation, and risks.	56
Identify and explain 5–6 key lessons learned and how they will help you in your current and future career. Include an evaluation of your own personal biases and assumptions and how you plan to manage them in the future.

Describe a novel way you can use microscopy to solve a real-world or fictional problem.

 

1. Describe the problem and current solutions, if any

 

2. Describe what kind(s) of microscopy you will use and how you will prepare the sample

 

3. Describe what you expect to see and how will the images help solve the problem

 

To earn the full 1% final grade, the use of microscopy must be novel and appropriate. Essays with

 

incorrect use of microscopy will not earn any point. Discussions of ideas with Dr. Sun are highly

 

encouraged prior to essay submission. Submit essays as word documents to Dr. Sun through email with

The third research method to explore is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. However, combining two different things is more complicated than throwing everything into the same bowl and hoping to get a cake—there is a procedure to selecting the right ingredients and their amounts. The same is true of mixed methods strategies, and the newness of this research design makes it both exciting and challenging. In this Discussion, you will examine some of those challenges, calling upon your growing understanding of both quantitative and qualitative strategies.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 10 in the course text, Research Design and the “Mixed Methods: Examples” media segment. Based on this information, how would you respond to someone who asks you, “To what extent is mixed methods research simply taking half a quantitative plan and half of a qualitative plan and putting them together?”
• Review the article “On Becoming a Pragmatic Researcher: The Importance of Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies” in the Learning Resources.
• Explore what you believe is or are the biggest challenges for a researcher who wants to use a mixed methods strategy of inquiry.
• Determine which kinds of research questions would be served by a mixed methods strategy of inquiry and explain why.
• Indicate why you believe that more researchers are using a mixed methods strategy of inquiry.
• Describe the extent to which a mixed methods strategy of inquiry is used in your discipline.

 

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a 2-to 3-paragraph response that includes an answer to the question “To what extent is mixed methods research simply taking half a quantitative plan and half of a qualitative plan and putting them together?” and an articulation of the challenges to using a mixed methods strategy of inquiry.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the reading(s) and/or media segment(s) and use APA format.

The third research method to explore is a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. However, combining two different things is more complicated than throwing everything into the same bowl and hoping to get a cake—there is a procedure to selecting the right ingredients and their amounts. The same is true of mixed methods strategies, and the newness of this research design makes it both exciting and challenging. In this Discussion, you will examine some of those challenges, calling upon your growing understanding of both quantitative and qualitative strategies.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 10 in the course text, Research Design and the “Mixed Methods: Examples” media segment. Based on this information, how would you respond to someone who asks you, “To what extent is mixed methods research simply taking half a quantitative plan and half of a qualitative plan and putting them together?”
• Review the article “On Becoming a Pragmatic Researcher: The Importance of Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies” in the Learning Resources.
• Explore what you believe is or are the biggest challenges for a researcher who wants to use a mixed methods strategy of inquiry.
• Determine which kinds of research questions would be served by a mixed methods strategy of inquiry and explain why.
• Indicate why you believe that more researchers are using a mixed methods strategy of inquiry.
• Describe the extent to which a mixed methods strategy of inquiry is used in your discipline.

Prepare a 10-minute presentation (10-15 slides, not including title or reference slide) on organizational culture and values.

1. Describe how alignment between the values of an organization and the values of the nurse impact nurse engagement and patient outcomes.
2. Discuss how an individual can use effective communication techniques to overcome workplace challenges, encourage collaboration across groups, and promote effective problem solving.
3. Identify a specific instance from your own professional experience in which the values of the organization and the values of the individual nurses did or did not align. Describe the impact this had on nurse engagement and patient outcomes.

Solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA

Due Week 9 and worth 300 points

Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client. Use the Strayer Learning Resource Center to research the stock of any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. Your investment should align with your client’s investment goals. (Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment. You will create an appendix, in which you will insert related information.)

The assignment covers the following topics:

• Rationale for choosing the company for which to invest
• Ratio analysis
• Stock price analysis
• Recommendations

Refer to the following resources to assist with completing your assignment: Stock Selection Forbes – “Six Rules to Follow When Picking Stocks” CNN Money – “Stocks: Investing in stocks” The Motley Fool – “13 Steps to Investing Foolishly” Seeking Alpha – “The Graham And Dodd Method For Valuing Stocks” Investopedia – “Guide to Stock-Picking Strategies” Seeking Alpha – “Get Your Smart Beta Here! Dividend Growth Stocks As ‘Strategic Beta’ Investments” Market and Company Information U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – “Market Structure” Yahoo! Finance Mergent Online (Note: This resource is also available through the Strayer Learning Resource Center.) Seeking Alpha (Note: Also available through the Android or iTunes App store.) Morningstar (Note: You can create a no-cost Basic Access account.) Research Hub, located in the left menu of your course in Blackboard.

 

Write a ten to fifteen (10-15) page paper in which you:

1. Provide a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock.
2. Suggest the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Include a description of your client’s profile.
3. Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the selected financial ratios for the company; you may obtain this information from the company’s financial statements. Determine the company’s financial health. (Note: Suggested ratios include, but are not limited to, current ratio, quick ratio, earnings per share, and price earnings ratio.)
4. Based on your financial review, determine the risk level of the stock from your investor’s point of view. Indicate key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.
5. Provide your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Support your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles, material from the Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts.
6. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other similar websites do not qualify as academic 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:

• Critique financial management strategies that support business operations in various market environments.
• Analyze financial statements for key ratios, cash flow positions, and taxation effects.
• Review fixed income strategies using time value of money concept, bond valuation methods, and interest rate calculations.
• Estimate the risk and return on financial investments.
• Apply financial management options to corporate finance.
• Determine the cost of capital and how to maximize returns.
• Formulate cash flow analysis for capital projects including project risks and returns.
• Evaluate how corporate valuation and forecasting affect financial management.
• Analyze how capital structure decision-making practices impact financial management.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in financial management.
• Write clearly and concisely about financial management using proper writing mechanics

Safety Plan

 

 

Consider the following scenario.

 

 

You are the safety and occupational health professional for your city’s health department. You received a call from a major food-distribution warehouse about some employees who are complaining of dizziness and feeling sick.

 

 

The scene is a very large warehouse; a significant portion is refrigerated. The illnesses are being reported from a refrigerated section (about 40 degrees F), where workers are blister packing food products on a production line. The warehouse has 20 loading docks, two railroad car lines that end directly inside the warehouse (in close proximity to the production area), a dozen or so gas powered forklifts, and no sensors or environmental monitors of any kind except those associated with the refrigeration systems.

 

 

The warehouse manager is cooperative, but he points out that he is in the middle of contract negotiations with the union. He is also very proud of the fact that they have special seals on the loading dock doors and throughout the warehouse to keep the cold in and the heat out.

 

 

You cannot identify any discernible odors other than the exhaust from the forklifts when they move by you. There are four women waiting for you in the break room complaining of dizziness and lightheadedness. They are all comparing and complaining about their symptoms. There are 14 employees who work in this area of the warehouse: 12 women and 2 men.

 

 

 

 

Instructions:

 

 

Based on the given scenario, develop a plan of action that includes how you would conduct the investigation, how you would identify possible sources of the problem, and your opinion on the likely source.

 

Discuss the standards applicable to possible sources. Include several recommendations you would make to the manager to help solve the problem based on your research into documented best practices for similar situations. Note: You may make assumptions about the scenario in order to propose solutions (be certain to state your assumptions clearly).

 

 

 

 

Your Case Study must be four to six pages in length, double spaced. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.

1. Examine two (2) major mistakes that organizations make with cryptographic software. Recommend two (2) actions that companies can take in order to avoid these common mistakes and vulnerabilities with cryptographic software.
2. Briefly describe the company that you researched and its experience with cryptographic software. Analyze the company’s actions (or lack thereof) following the mistake and / or vulnerability.
3. Provide your opinion on the company’s actions or plans to correct the mistake and / or vulnerability to avoid it from reoccurring. If the organization has not corrected or does not have a plan to correct the mistake and / or vulnerability, suggest one (1) action that it should take in order to correct the mistake and / or vulnerability. Provide a rationale for your response.
4. Examine the most common results that organizations have experienced when they implemented cryptographic software. Speculate two (2) reasons that organizations see such results. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. Use at least three (3) quality references in this assignment. 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:

• Examine the challenges of computer security, including different threats and types of attacks
• Describe computational security and symmetric encryption techniques and adoption to modern organizations.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in Cryptography.
• Write clearly and concisely about Cryptography using proper writing mechanics and technical