Author: chris

Applying Theory: Environmental Issues

Your goal for this assignment is to apply an ethical theory to a real-world situation. You will examine an environmental issue and apply one of the ethical theories to understand how human interactions with the natural environment raise ethical concerns. You will do this by preparing and posting a PowerPoint slideshow consisting of 12 slides and a separate section under each slide for notes.

Choose one of the following topics/issues and read about it at the indicated place:Environmental justice/environmental racism (Article: Environmental Justice for All)Environmental harm/pollution of air and water (Chapter 8 in the textbook)Waste reduction (Chapter 8 in the textbook)Select one philosophical theory (utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics). Consider the following questions pertaining to the theory you have selected:What does the theory tell us about how things operate in the real world?What is the focus of the theory? That is, what aspects of everyday life (or what questions) does the theory address?

The focus (or questions) helps you think about the topical boundaries of the theory. This course is about ethics and social responsibility, so you should concentrate on the ethical and moral aspects of the theory and of the topic you are analyzing. It may help to think in terms of different realms or institutions. Does the theory help to explain people’s behavior from a political, economic, religious, or ethical perspective? Try to sort through everything that does not represent an ethical question, and address only the ethical issues.

How does the theory simplify complex issues to make them more understandable? Another way to think about this is to consider the elements or concepts that make up the theory. Identify the concepts and how they are related to each other.Develop one thesis question that applies your philosophical theory to your environmental issue. You will address this question in developing an argument that links the theory to the issue (through your notes and pictures), so make sure you word your question carefully to accomplish this task. Indicate this thesis question on your second slide (the one after the title slide).Next, develop an ethical argument that addresses your question. Use the text and/or look for academic sources to support your position. Build your argument by writing nine sentences. Each sentence should make one important point about the ethical aspects of the environmental issue you are analyzing and should be placed on one slide each.Underneath each slide you will also add presentation notes. The notes are written information that you would normally say or share with an audience during a presentation, but that they do not actually see on the slide. Your notes should also make use of at least two academic sources and elaborate on the image and sentence in each slide.To add notes to your slide, go the section at the bottom of each slide in Power Point and click on the option that says “Click to add notes.” Type your notes into that section.Make sure your presentation focuses on ethical arguments and avoids personal opinion, arguments based on politics, economics, religion, or topics other than ethics.

Find a photo to illustrate each slide, and post the photo on the slide above the sentence. Search the Internet for photos that are appropriate. Make sure the photos you use are not copyright protected; you should only use photos that are in the public domain. Also, make sure you cite the sources from which you retrieved your photos directly underneath the photo on each slide.

The slideshow should be 12 slides long; one slide for title page, one for the thesis question, nine slides for your arguments (i.e., main sentences) and notes, and one slide for your references. You should use at least two academic sources other than the textbook as references. All citations and references must be in the APA format as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. This assignment must be submitted as a PowerPoint presentation. Other formats (i.e., PDF files, Word documents, etc.) are not acceptable. If you are unfamiliar with how to use PowerPoint, see: Basic tasks in PowerPoint 2010.

In this class, you have three tutoring services available: Paper Review, Live Chat, and Tutor E-mail. Click on the Ashford Writing Center (AWC) tab in the left-navigation menu to learn more about these tutoring options and how to get help with your writing.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Late Policy: Written assignments (essays, journals, presentations) are due on the specified days in the course. Written assignments will be subject to a late penalty of up to 10% per day up to three days late. If written assignments are submitted after 72 hours past the due date, instructors can give a penalty up to and including a grade of 0 for the assignment.

In Ashford courses, there are two different ways to submit assignments for grading. Depending on the system the course utilizes, assignments will either be submitted via the classroom Assignment Basket  or Waypoint .

Waypoint Assignment SubmissionThe assignments in this course will be submitted to Waypoint.  Please refer to the instructions below to submit your assignment.Click on the Assignment Submission button above. The Waypoint “Student Dashboard” will appear.

Browse for your assignment.Click Upload.Confirm that your assignment was successfully submitted by viewing the appropriate week’s assignment tab in Waypoint, or clicking on Check Assignment Status within the Meet Your Instructor unit in the left navigation panel.For more detailed instructions, refer to the Waypoint Tutorial.

Write an Article Critique of at least two pages (not including title and reference pages) on the article listed below:

Gilbert, R. (2007). To incinerate or not to incinerate. Alternatives Journal, 33(2/3), 47-49.

You can find this point-counterpoint article in the GreenFILE database of the CSU Online Library. The article presents

opposing arguments, made by Richard Gilbert and Mark Winfield, one in favor of incineration over landfilling and one

against. Your paper should address the following topics:

Describe three key arguments made by each author.

Do the authors’ arguments support their main points?

What evidence from the textbook supports the main points of each author? You should include one reference to

the text for each side of the argument. Which side do you support?

Be sure to back up your argument with at least one outside source.

All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced according to APA style.

Case Assignment

Making decisions as a group can be very challenging. It can lead to conflict and take up huge amounts of time, and often it is difficult to come to an agreement. Fortunately, several different techniques have been developed to overcome some of these difficulties. No one technique is considered the best for all situations, as all of the techniques have advantages and disadvantages.

For this assignment, first thoroughly review the background readings and pay close attention to three group decision-making processes—the Delphi technique, brainstorming, and the Nominal Group Technique. Pay close attention to the discussion of these methods in Rao (2009), Bolland and Fletcher (2012), and Sims (2002). The Anderson (1990) article will be helpful as well.

Below are three different scenarios. For each scenario, explain which group decision-making technique you would choose out of brainstorming, nominal group, or Delphi. Justify your answer with references from the required background materials. Your paper should be 4–5 pages in length:

1. The company you work for is in crisis. Several new competitors have been rapidly growing and taking away your customers. Your company’s sales are steadily dropping. You and the rest of the top management team know that creative new strategies are needed in order to keep up with the new competitors. Nobody is sure what needs to be done, but it is clear something drastic and original needs to happen in order to keep the company afloat. The top management team members are all extroverts who are not afraid to speak up at meetings, but they are often prone to conventional thinking. Which group decision-making technique do you recommend? Explain your reasoning, and use references to Rao (2009), Bolland and Fletcher (2012), or Sims (2002) to support your answer.
2. Your company is facing cost overruns and needs solutions on how best to cut costs. The top management team includes both introverts and extroverts, with the extroverts usually dominating the conversation at meetings. Furthermore, meetings with this group often go off the agenda and drift into tangential subjects. A quick decision needs be made with input from all members of the team. Which group decision-making technique do you recommend? Explain your reasoning, and use references to Rao (2009), Bolland and Fletcher (2012), or Sims (2002) to support your answer.
3. Your company needs to purchase a new software system as the old one is out of date. Your team consists of IT managers from all of the company’s overseas divisions. These managers are highly skilled and very knowledgeable about the different software options, but it is difficult to arrange a meeting with them due to the time differences and their very busy schedules. The decision is not urgent, but you need to make a decision within the next three months. Which group decision-making technique do you recommend? Explain your reasoning, and use references to Rao (2009), Bolland and Fletcher (2012), or Sims (2002) to support your answer.
4. Conclude your paper with a discussion about which of the three group decision-making processes (nominal group, brainstorming, or Delphi) is the most useful for the largest number of situations. Explain your reasoning, and use references from the background materials to support your answer.

Assignment Expectations

• Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
• Make sure to cite readings from the background materials page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of information.
• Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on in-text citations.

TOPIC CHOICE-DUE MONDAY 11:59PM
In your final paper for the course, you will bring together what you’ve learned about seeing the world sociologically. Your paper, which will be about 5 pages long, will focus on analyzing a particular issue or topic. In this assignment, you need to submit a short description of the topic you choose, along with 3-5 sources you will use to discuss this topic in your paper.
Some examples of topics you might want to write about include:
The oil boom in Northwest North Dakota over the past five years
The rising cost of college education and increases in student debt
Availability and affordability of health care
You are welcome to write about one of these topics, or another one of your choosing. Keep these things in mind when selecting a topic:
It will be less work, and probably result in a stronger paper, to write about something you are interested in and have some exposure to. You by no means are expected to be an expert, and will be using outside sources no matter what, but some background knowledge will be helpful.
You want a topic broad enough to connect to several concepts from the term, but also narrow enough to include specifics.
For this assignment, submit the following:
2-5 sentences explaining your topic
3-5 sources–articles from reputable newspapers found online are a good source. User-generated postings (reddit, BuzzFeed) are not acceptable. Depending on your topic, some places to start are:
New York Times
Wall Street Journal
Reuters News
USA Today
Williston Herald
OPTIONAL: any questions you have after reading the full assignment.
The more you submit, the more feedback you will receive and the easier the full assignment will be. The point of submitting this preliminary assignment is to make sure that you are on the right track to do well with the final paper. It will be graded pass/fail with comments for suggested changes.
FINAL ESSAY-DUE FRIDAY 11:59PM
In your final paper for the course, you will bring together what you’ve learned about seeing the world sociologically. Your paper will focus on analyzing a particular issue or topic, and will consist of four sections:
Describing the issue or topic
Discussing the relevance of sociological concepts
Explaining how one of the major theoretical perspectives applies
Presenting a research plan
The entire paper should be 5-6 double-spaced pages long. More information about each section, and overall formatting and submission, is provided below. Please read all of this information carefully.
Describing issue/topic: Provide a concise overview of your topic. Assume your readers are unfamiliar, and it’s your job to describe it to them. You don’t need to go into great detail, though. As you bring in specific details later in the paper, you can bring them up. You don’t need to present all the information here; instead, present enough information so that the rest of your paper makes sense.
What are the key issues?What are the key events?
What is the time frame?
Cite news sources in your writing so it’s clear where you are getting your information.
Length: half page to one page

Discuss relevance of sociological concepts: Think about all of the different topics you’ve read and written about this term. How are they at play in this issue. In this topic, you’ll need to address stratification, micro factors, AND macro factors. You do not, however need to address EVERY type of stratification, EVERY micro factor, or EVERY macro factor.
How is stratification related to your topic? You can describe the relevance of gender, class, and/or racial stratification. You can focus on one of these in greater depth, or describe how two or all of them are related.
How are micro factors related to stratification? You can describe the relevance of family, religion, and/or culture. Again, you can focus on one in greater depth, or multiple of these ideas.
How are macro factors related? This would include economic systems, political systems, systems of deviance, and systems of crime.
Length: 2-3 pages

Explaining how a major theoretical perspective applies: Think about functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Decide which one can be used to describe your topic most accurately.
Which theory are you focusing on? Why?
Make specific connections between the theory and your topic. For example, if you’re writing about conflict theory, what are the different groups who are at odds with one another? If you’re writing about functionalism, what is the social function that is being fulfilled?
What might be the problem with this theory? How might the other(s) account for it?
When you discuss the theories, cite the textbook and any other sources you rely on. There’s no need or expectation to use anything beyond the textbook.
Length: 1-2 pages

Present research plan: If you were a sociologist, how would you study this topic more?
What research question would you ask?
Would you use primarily qualitative or quantitative methods? Why?
What specifically would you do? (Surveys, interviews, historical analysis, ethnography). Be specific–actually describe the instruments you’d use.
Length: 1-2 pages
Overall requirements:
Submitted as a Word document (.doc or .docx)
Double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins
Include subtitles for each of the four main sections
Include page numbers at the bottom of the page
Include a descriptive title for your paper
Include a 3-line header on the first page only with your name, the date, and “Soc110 Final Paper”

Background
Verizon is one of the largest communication technology companies in the world. We operate America’s largest 4G LTE wireless network and the nation’s premiere all-fiber broadband network. Verizon’s main operations are as a cable provider, Internet provider, and cell provider.

Problem Statement
Even though Verizon wireless division has seen good growth and market share, they are expected to contribute even more to the overall company’s success. The expectation is to continue to reduce expenses and increase sales and market share in the coming year. The main problem is how to continue growing market share and expanding coverage areas across the country.

Objectives
Evaluate the current market share and determine where the opportunity for growth is.
Evaluate areas across the country that are currently not serviced by Verizon wireless and expand to those areas.
Offer competitive prices and services to grow customer base

Alternatives
The diversity of Verizon and the services it offers allows us to offer numerous creative alternatives as solutions to our complex problems. The following alternatives will relate to the mobile/cell division and the services within. The current marketing plan utilizes television advertisement, radio, mailers, billboards, and print ads to drive the business. To not only generate new business but also to take customers from our competitors, we must improve our current customer service, evaluate our current pay scales and benefits, and our employees.
After applying a K.T. decision analysis, we have come up with the top 3 alternatives. “The K.T. decision analysis (KTDA) is an algorithm for choosing between different alternative solutions to find the one that best fulfills all the objectives.” Each one of these alternatives was determined to be a “Go” within the analysis. Listed below is the process used to determine our choices in alternative solutions to the problem statements listed above. Table 1.1 lists our immediate musts and wants in accordance with the problem statements. Table 1.2 lists out the top 5 alternatives that were used and we then assessed which alternatives satisfied the musts. Table 1.3 shows how we applied the wants to each of the alternatives that met the criteria to determine the top 3 alternatives to proceed with.
Table 1.1
MUSTS
Increase market share by 10%
Expand current coverage areas
WANTS
Improve employee morale
Improve customer service
Reduce payroll
Table 1.2
Alternative Solution: Reduce prices of phones and services Offer more bundles with added savings Eliminate package deals to focus on services Reduce coverage areas and concentrate on major cities Eliminate incentives and reduce benefits
Musts
1. Increase market share by 10%
2. Expand current coverage areas
GO
GO

GO
GO
GO
GO
GO
NO GO
GO
NO GO
Table 1.3
Alternative Solution: Reduce prices of phones and services Offer more bundles with added savings Eliminate package deals to focus on services
Musts 1.
2. GO
GO GO
GO GO
GO
Wants Weight Rating Score Rating Score Rating Score
1. Improve employee morale
2. Improve customer service
3. Reduce payroll 8
6
4 5
9
2 40
54
8 4
8
2 32
48
8 5
4
3 40
24
12

Total= 102 Total= 88 Total= 76
The first alternative I would recommend to increase market share and expand the current coverage areas is to reduce the prices of phones and services offered. In order to make this work to maintain margins, we will need to increase our overall volume. By offering better prices on both phones and services we will entice customers to join our network and expand our customer base.
A second alternative would be to offer more bundled packages of phones, tablets, and services to expand add-on sales. This alternative would also be attractive to new customers or the competitor’s customers, especially when entering new markets.
Another alternative is to eliminate cell phone price deals and concentrate on the wireless services we offer. Allow the phone manufacturers to deal with adding their own incentives and how to market their products, and let Verizon concentrate on improving and streamlining their mobile services. By offering better services, we can reduce our inventory costs and re-invest this saved money in R&D and marketing to help increase our overall market share and strive to improve our overall customer satisfaction.
Consequences
The next step is to look at the potential adverse consequences of each alternative solution. We are determining the overall threat of applying the alternatives to our problem statement. Table 2.1 will show the probability of occurrence, the seriousness if it occurs, and the overall threat. This allows us to re-evaluate our alternative solutions to determine which one is the best fit as a solution to our problem statement.
Table 2.1
Adverse Consequences A. Probability of Occurrence B. Seriousness If It Occurs Threat
Reduced prices
1. Increase demand
2. Lower employee morale
3. Loss of quality

TOTAL
6
7

4
8
7

6
48
49

24

121
Bundled packages
1. Limited inventory
2. Low demand of certain items
3. No custom option
TOTAL
8

6

4
9

7

6
72

42

24
138
Eliminate package deals
1. Loss of income from phones
2. Reduced customer satisfaction
3. Reduced company profits and earnings
TOTAL

3

7
5

7

8
9

21

56
45
122

Solutions
The alternative solution I would recommend following up with would be to offer more bundled packages of phones, tablets, accessories, and services. This risk tolerance of this would be low with the ability to keep margins close and the opportunity to increase sales along with enticing more potential customers to join our network therefore increasing our market share. Bundled packages will also prove to be beneficial when entering new markets. To maximize costs and improve the overall financial outlook for the company, I would also recommend pairing up all divisions of Verizon communications to maximize growth.

The Final Paper provides you with an opportunity to integrate and reflect on what you have learned during the class.

The question to address is: “What have you learned about statistics?”  In developing your responses, consider – at a minimum – and discuss the application of each of the course elements in analyzing and making decisions about data (counts and/or measurements).

The course elements include:

• Descriptive statistics
• Inferential statistics
• Hypothesis development and testing
• Selection of appropriate statistical tests
• Evaluating statistical results.

The paper

• Must be three to-five double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
• Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Company Analysis – Part 3 – Target Market – Segmentation

The paper assignment this week is the final piece of your Course Project work on the company you chose in Week 1. Major sections of the project are due during weeks 1, 3, 5 with the complete project submitted in Week 6. This project company Target Market/Segmentation paper is the 3^rd part of your overall project

Complete an analysis on the primary and secondary target markets served by your project company. Describe each target group, demographic profile and provide data on the size of the market.

Compare your project company’s market position and the targets your project company serves with that of the major competitors in its industry.

Your APA formatted paper should include the following information. Use headings:

•   Overview of paper
•   Primary and Secondary Target Markets

o  Discuss , in general terms, your project company’s primary and secondary target markets – be sure to discuss both the primary and secondary target markets in this section

•   Target Group

o   Choose one target group of your project company and name it. Discuss the group’s demographic profile. Provide as much depth as possible.

•   Market Position

o   Compare your project company’s market position with that of its major competitors. Provide data on the size of the overall market. Provide data (in chart or graph form) on the market share of your organization and your organization’s competitors.

Prepare a report (4 -5 written pages, plus appendices) on this case. Please ensure you answer the following questions in your report. Do not assume any synergies between ACC and ATC when performing your analysis. Note this case requires extensive use of Excel.

Discuss the strategic advantages the acquisition of Air Thread (ATC) provides to American Cable Communications (ACC).

Estimate the total value of Air Thread. During your analysis you will need to do the following:

Forecast ATC’s Free Cash Flow for the period from 2008 to 2012.
Determine Air Thread’s Terminal Value (you need to estimate ATC’s long-term growth rate).
Calculate the WACC (calculate the required return of equity using CAPM. Use 4.25% as the risk free rate and 5% as the market risk premium. ATC tax rate = 40%)
Calculate the PV of these cash flows?

Based on the information given, how much debt can ACC take on to finance the Air Thread acquisition? What is the PV of the interest tax shield?

Air Thread also has non-operating assets (i.e. Equity in Earnings of Affiliates). How would you value these non-operating assets listed on the Air Thread Income Statement on Exhibit 4? (Hint: With no other information, you could use a market multiples approach using the competitive information in Exhibit 7).
What is the PV of the Equity in Earnings of Affiliates?

What is the Enterprise Value of Air Thread? Ignore the possibility of an illiquidity discount.

Price Quotes and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems

Please complete the following two applied problems:

Problem 1:

Jessica Alba, a famous actress, starts the baby and family products business, The Honest Company, with Christopher Gavigan. Alba and Gavigan set up their site so families can choose what kinds of non-toxic, all-natural products they’d like to use and get them in a bundle. Families can choose all kinds of products from food to hygiene necessities and cleaning supplies. Suppose they are thinking of expanding their business into five domestic markets: Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta. Assume their primary goal of business is to maximize economic profits, although they want to do business honestly.

Show all your calculations and process. Describe your answer for each question in three- to five-complete sentences.

1. You are a business adviser for Alba and Gavigan. Describe a skimming price and a penetration price, and advise them whether they should charge a skimming price or a penetration price, with supportive reasoning for and against each pricing alternative.
2. Are they likely to make economic profits initially? Can they continue to make economic profits in the long term? Why or why not? Discuss.
3. What advice would you give to Alba and Gavigan to help them make more profit in the long term?

Problem 2:

You operate your own small building company and have decided to bid on a government contract to build a pedestrian walkway in a national park during the coming winter. The walkway is to be of standard government design and should involve no unexpected costs. Your present capacity utilization rate is moderate and allows sufficient scope to understand this contract, if you win it. You calculate your incremental costs to be $268,000 and your fully allocated costs to be $440,000. Your usual practice is to add between 60% and 80% to your incremental costs, depending on capacity utilization rate and other factors. You expect three other firms to also bid on this contract, and you have assembled the following competitor intelligence about those companies.

Show all of your calculations and processes. Describe your answers in three- to five-complete sentences.

1. What price would you bid if you must win the project?
2. What price would you bid if you want to maximize the expected value of the contribution from this contract?
3. Defend your answers with discussion, making any assumptions you feel are reasonable and/or are supported by the information provided.