Author: chris

Winsome Manufacturing Company produces plastic storage containers and sells them to the home consumer through home sales events. At the company’s quarterly meeting, the head of marketing described a new product to be introduced in the first quarter of the next fiscal year, approximately 9 months from now. The product will be a room-sized plastic storage unit suitable to the outside of the home; it is similar to a competitor’s product but will have significantly more features. This product will open new markets for the sales channel, lay the foundation for add-on products, and generate new revenues. Management has only seen preliminary sketches of the potential product but are very excited by the new product.

The project will require participation from the design, production, purchasing, shipping, sales, and marketing departments. Winsome Manufacturing owns a line of suitable injection molds, so all manufacturing will be done in-house. The project manager for this project has not yet been selected, but that decision is expected to be made in the next week.

A preliminary project initiation meeting will result in the identification of the project sponsor, selection of a project manager, and creation of the project charter. A manager in the production department who knows you are taking a college project management course asks you to prepare a brief report to help him prepare for the meeting by answering the following questions:

• Who are the project stakeholders? How will they be involved in the project?
• Who should be the project sponsor? Why?
• From which department should the project manager come? Why?
• What skills and experience are likely needed by the project manager for each phase in the project life cycle, and how do they differ between the various phases?
• What type of communication plan will likely be needed during the project?
  • What information should be shared with the project stakeholders?
  • What is the mechanism that could be used for each type of information?
  • What is the frequency with which information should be shared?
  • What should be done if project communications are not proving to be effective?
  • What technology could be used for project communications?
  • At what point could communication about the project become an ethical or legal issue?
• What information should be included in the following elements of the project charter:
  • What is the problem the project proposes to address?
  • What business opportunity might project completion create?
  • What is the business case for undertaking the project?
  • What is the financial impact of the project?
  • What are the expected results of the project?
  • What value will the project add?
  • What are risks that might be involved with undertaking the project?
  • What is the potential impact to the company if the project is not undertaken?

Present your findings as a Word document of 4–5 pages (not including title and reference pages) formatted in APA style.

Please submit your assignment.

Original work only…..No plagarism. Please don’t post this answer again until after January 2016.

Assignment 3: Post-Merger Analysis

Due Week 10 and worth 280 points

 

In today’s uncertain economic and regulatory environment for the health services industry, many organizations may be presented with merger and acquisition opportunities to gain market share and drive financial and operational efficiencies. Given the current state of this market segment:

 

Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you:

 

1. Suggest the key financial drivers that most likely will cause health care organizations to merge. Provide support for your rationale.
2. Assuming that two (2) health care organizations have merged. Determine the evaluation criteria that a financial analyst would use to evaluate the financial performance of the organization post-merger, and identify the determinants that the analyst would use to decide whether or not the merger generated favorable financial results for the organization. Provide support for your evaluation.
3. Determine the key factors that will drive the financial planning process for most organizations in the post-merger phase, and examine the related impact to the organization process. Provide support for your rationale.
4. Create an argument to assert that the financial planning process is of high value to a health care organization. Provide support for your argument.
5. Predict the financial stability of the health care industry over the next five (5) years. Provide support for your prediction.
6. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia and other 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

If you are a business major, how does the insurance mandate in the Affordable Care Act affect local, state, and national businesses and their employees?

Week 2 Discussion 2

Describe how a federal policy affects your current or desired workplace.

Explain what role Congress has in establishing workplace conditions in your current or desired job.

Week 3 Discussion 1

In your initial post, summarize how the Electoral College works. Explain some of the main pros and cons in the debate about whether to keep or abolish the current Electoral College process. In addition, evaluate one proposal to change how the system works without formally abolishing it. Would this proposal effectively address some of the cons that you identified earlier in your post? Please explain your response.

Week 3 Discussion 2

Explain how and why the actions of the executive and/or judicial branches have personally affected your life. Fully respond to all parts of the question. Write in your own words. Support your position with APA citations to two or more of the assigned resources required for this discussion. Fully respond to all parts of the prompt and write your response in your own words. Your initial post must be 200 to 250 words. Please be sure that you demonstrate understanding of these resources, integrate them into your argument, and cite them properly.

Week 4 Discussion 1

Explain what obligations the U.S. government has towards its citizens and how can these obligations impact individual and group rights? Provide real-world examples to support your explanation. Fully respond to all parts of the prompt and write your response in your own words. Your initial response must be 200 to 250 words

Week 4 Discussion 2

Identify one issue area that you want investigate. Use the assigned resources required for this discussion to gather information about the goals and proposals, in that issue area, of three U.S. political parties – the Democratic and Republican parties and a third party. Summarize each of the three parties’ policy goals in your issue area. Evaluate each party’s goals from two perspectives:

For example, if you are a ‘Steadfast Conservative,’ what do the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and a third party have to say about your position on taxation? If you are a ‘Solid Liberal,’ what do Democrats, Republicans, and a third party say about your views on environmental issues? Who is the closest? Furthest away? Why?

Week 5 Discussion 1

Summarize recent developments in several states enacting voter ID laws. Analyze and describe the pros and cons on both sidesof the debate about these laws. Is voter fraud a major problem for our democracy or are some groups trying to make it harder for some segments of society to vote? Draw your own conclusion about the debate over voter ID laws. Justify your conclusions with facts and persuasive reasoning.

Week 5 Discussion 2

In your initial post of at least 200 to 250 words, explain how and why one feature of the U.S. government is the most important for America’s democracy. Choose one feature below to discuss in detail:

Be  three (3) pages long;

• Identify each of your portfolio’s submissions by title. Please use quotations when referring to your submission titles in the cover letter—e.g., “When Lightning Strikes: A Study of Inspiration”;

• Provide an analysis of the submissions contained in the portfolio. To do this, avoid extensive summary;

• Demonstrate sustained writing self-awareness. Awareness includes your ability to be reflective about your own writing strengths and weaknesses;

• Point to specific examples from your submissions that illustrate the claims you have made about yourself as a writer; • Demonstrate knowledge of the writing, revising, and editing process by showing how this knowledge applies to the submissions in your portfolio;

• Describe your strategies for researching and integrating sources;

• Reflect on the ways in which you have written/revised to accommodate audience needs, expectations, and/or values.

Your cover letter may also:

• Explain your reasoning behind selecting and ordering your submissions;

• Discuss the ways in which you continue to address your writing weaknesses;

• Discuss your strategies for writing and revising and point to specific examples in the submissions for how those strategies affected the submission;

• Detail the process by which you solved a writing problem;

• Discuss and provide examples of patterns in your writing.

 

 

 

Do not forget the essay you wrote for me

1- 1 child policy in China

The purpose of this assignment is to synthesize one strategy for the application of a specific nursing theory to resolving a problem or issue of nursing practice in nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy.

Course Outcomes
Through this assignment, a student will demonstrate the ability to:

(CO#1) Analyze theories from nursing and relevant fields with respect to their components, relationships among the components, logic of the propositions, comprehensiveness, and utility to advanced nursing. (PO1)
(CO#3) Communicate the analysis of and proposed strategies for the use of a theory in nursing practice. (PO3, 7, 10)
(CO#4) Demonstrate logical and creative thinking in the analysis and application of a theory to nursing practice. (PO4, 7)

Due Date: Sunday 11:59 PM MT at the end of Week 6

Total Points Possible: 325
Requirements:
Description of the Assignment:
Content
Introduction to the paper includes a few general statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/issues in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty area of practice. For example, why would one pick a nursing theory to solve a practice problem? Would a grand, middle-range, or practice theory be best? Does the writer have any experience in using nursing theory this way? In addition, a brief one-paragraph summary of a specific nursing theory and information on the sections of the paper are provided. The selected nursing theory can be a grand theory, a middle-range theory, or a practice theory.
Description of the problem/issue for which strategies will be developed. The problem to be resolved must be in nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy. Scholarly evidence (in the form of a literature review) supporting the issue is included. The problem/issue could be local to one’s specific practice setting. For example, the setting might be a nursing unit, a nursing-education program, an informatics department, or a health-policy unit of a consulting firm. The problem/issue needs to be something that a nursing theory can impact, whether it solves the actual problem/issue or enables people affected by the problem/issue to deal with it. It is best if the problem/issue is from real life – something the writer of the paper has dealt with or is currently engaged in.
Some examples (these are fictitious examples)
A nursing unit has experienced rapid turnover of professional staff, including several nurse managers. A new nurse manager from outside of the nursing unit is appointed.
Informatics nurse specialists face a lot of resistance from all healthcare professionals to implementation of a computer-based order entry program. The implementation date will not be changed.
A nurse educator is assigned to take over a large class of undergraduate nursing students, with a mix of young adults and adults returning for a second degree. The subject is difficult, students have not been doing well, and frustration and tempers are impeding group work.
A health-policy nurse specialist works for a consulting firm that lobbies on behalf of many healthcare professions. Within the specialist’s work unit, there is much debate over the pros and cons of various policies being proposed for attention in the coming year.
Applying concepts and principles from the selected theory, one strategy for resolving the identified issue is described in depth. Details on how the theory would be applied are included (consider: who, what, when, where, and how). Rationales for the strategy as well as evidence from scholarly literature are included. One ethical and/or legal aspect of the strategy is discussed. Expected outcome(s) from implementing the strategy are proposed.
Concluding statements include new knowledge about applying nursing theory gained by writing the paper
Format and Special Instructions
Paper length: 6 pages minimum; 8 pages maximum, excluding title page and reference page. Points will be deducted for not meeting these requirements.
The textbook required for this course may not be used as a reference for this assignment.
A minimum of 3 scholarly references are used. References must be current – no older than 5 years, unless a valid rationale is provided. Consult with the course instructor about using an older source.
Title page, body of paper, and reference page(s) must be in APA format as presented in the 6th edition of the manual
Ideas and information from readings and other sources must be cited and cited correctly.
Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing as presented in the 6th edition of the APA manual
Directions and Grading Criteria
Category Points % Description
Introduction 60 19 Introduction to the paper includes all of the following:
General statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/ issues in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty area of practice.
A brief one-paragraph summary of a specific nursing theory
Information on the sections of the paper
Problem/ Issue 85 26 The problem/issue is substantively discussed.

The problem is clearly in nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy.

Scholarly evidence supporting the issue is included.
Strategy 100 30 All of the following are present:

One strategy for resolving the identified issue is discussed substantively

Concepts and principles from the selected nursing theory are clearly applied

Rationale(s) for the strategy are evident

Evidence from the scholarly literature supports the discussion

At least one ethical and/or legal aspect of the strategy is discussed.
Conclusion 40 13 Concluding paragraph(s) clearly show new knowledge about applying nursing theory gained from writing this paper

Paper Requirements 10 3 All of the following requirements are met:

Paper meets length requirements

Minimum of 3 scholarly references

Textbook not used as a reference

References are current – within a 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided for use of older references

APA Format 10 3 Title page, body of paper, and reference page must follow APA guidelines as found in the 6th edition of the manual. This includes the use of headings for each section or topic of the paper.
Citations in Text 10 3 Ideas and information that come from readings must be cited and referenced correctly.
Writing Mechanics 10 3 Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation are followed and consistent with formal written work as found in the 6th edition of the APA manual.
Total  325 100 A quality assignment will meet or exceed all of the above requirements.

Grading Rubric
Assignment Criteria A
(100 – 92%)
Outstanding or highest level of performance B
(91-84%)
Very good or high level of performance C
(83-76%)
Competent or satisfactory level of performance F
(75-0%)
Poor or failing or unsatisfactory level of performance
Content
Possible Points = 285 Points
Introduction 60-56 Points 55-50 Points 49-46 Points 45-0 Points
Introduction to the paper includes all of the following:
General statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/ issues in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty area of practice.
A brief one-paragraph summary of a specific nursing theory
Information on the sections of the paper Introduction to the paper includes only 2 of the following:
General statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/issues in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty area of practice.
A brief one-paragraph summary of a specific nursing theory
Information on the sections of the paper Introduction to the paper includes only 1 of the following:
General statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/issues in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty area of practice.
A brief one-paragraph summary of a specific nursing theory
Information on the sections of the paper. Introduction to the paper includes none of the following:
General statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/issues in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty area of practice.
A brief one-paragraph summary of a specific nursing theory
Information on the sections of the paper
Problem/Issue 85-78 Points 77-71 Points 70-65 Points 64-0 Points
The problem/issue is substantively discussed.

The problem is clearly in nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy.

Scholarly evidence supporting the issue is included. The problem/issue is superficially discussed.

The problem is clearly in nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy.

Scholarly evidence supporting the issue is included The problem/issue is superficially discussed.

It is not clear if the problem belongs to nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy

OR

Scholarly evidence supporting the issue is not included The problem/issue is superficially discussed.

It is not clear if the problem belongs to nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, or health policy

AND

Scholarly evidence supporting the issue is not included
Strategy 100-92 Points 91-84 Points 83-76 Points 75-0 Points
All of the following are present:

One strategy for resolving the identified issue is discussed substantively

Concepts and principles from the selected nursing theory are clearly applied

Rationale(s) for the strategy are evident

Evidence from the scholarly literature supports the discussion

At least one ethical and/or legal aspect of the strategy is discussed. Only 4 of the following are present:

One strategy for resolving the identified issue is discussed substantively

Concepts and principles from the selected nursing theory are clearly applied

Rationale(s) for the strategy are evident

Evidence from the scholarly literature supports the discussion

At least one ethical and/or legal aspect of the strategy is discussed Only 3 of the following are present:

One strategy for resolving the identified issue is discussed substantively

Concepts and principles from the selected nursing theory are clearly applied

Rationale(s) for the strategy are evident

Evidence from the scholarly literature supports the discussion

At least one ethical and/or legal aspect of the strategy is discussed 2 or fewer of the following are present:

One strategy for resolving the identified issue is discussed substantively

Concepts and principles from the selected nursing theory are clearly applied

Rationale(s) for the strategy are evident

Evidence from the scholarly literature supports the discussion

At least one ethical and/or legal aspect of the strategy is discussed
Conclusion 40-37 Points 33-30 Points 29-0 Points
Concluding paragraph(s) clearly show new knowledge about applying nursing theory gained from writing this paper
NA Concluding paragraph(s) does not clearly show new knowledge about applying nursing theory gained from writing this paper
Concluding paragraph(s) are missing
Content Subtotal _____of 285 points
Format
Possible Points = 40 Points
Paper Requirements 10-9 Points 8 Points 7 Points 6-0 Points
All of the following requirements are met:

Paper meets length requirements

Minimum of 3 scholarly references

Textbook not used as a reference

References are current – within a 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided for use of older references
Only 2 of the following requirements are met:

Paper meets length requirements

Minimum of 3 scholarly references

Textbook not used as a reference

References are current – within the 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided for use of older references Only 1 of the following requirements is met:

Paper meets length requirements

Minimum of 3 scholarly references

Textbook not used as a reference

References are current – within the 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided for use of older references None of the following requirements are met:

Paper meets length requirements

Minimum of 3 scholarly references

Textbook not used as a reference

References are current – within the 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided for use of older references
APA Format 10-9 Points 8 Points 7 Points 6-0 Points
There are 0 – 2 APA format errors in the text, title page and reference page(s) There are 3 – 5 APA format errors in the text, title page and/or reference page(s) There are 6 – 8 APA format errors in the title page, running head, or reference page (s). There are 9 or more APA format errors in the title page, running head, or reference pages(s).

Citations 10-9 Points 8 Points 7 Points 6-0 Points
There are 0-2 errors in the citation of ideas and information
There are 3-5 errors in the citation of ideas and information There are 6 – 8 errors in the citation of ideas and information There are 9 or more errors in the citation of ideas and information
Writing Quality 10-9 Points 8 Points 7 Points 6-0 Points
0 – 2 errors or exceptions to the rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, punctuation and formal written work as presented in the 6th edition of the APA manual 3 – 5 errors or exceptions to the rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, punctuation and formal written work as presented in the 6th edition of the APA manual 6 – 9 errors or exceptions to the rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, punctuation and formal written work as presented in the 6th edition of the APA manual 10 or more exceptions to the rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, punctuation and formal written work as presented in the 6th edition of the APA manual
Format Subtotal _____of 40 points
Total Points _____of 325 points

There is a notably challenging requirement for all emergency managers and homeland security professionals at all levels and across all sectors—coordinating plans with all potential stakeholders. Prospective partners can range from one incident to the next, but plans and planners must accommodate the needs, interests, and capabilities of all potential contributors so as to create the most comprehensive and integrated plan, policy, or strategy. One might consider such coordination a matter of common sense, but this is often overlooked, at least in part, for various reasons.

Causes might stem from the actions—or lack thereof—of EM/HS team members, external partners, or both. Lethargy; lack of resources such as time, funding, or expertise; lack of interest on any stakeholder’s or planner’s part; lack of understanding the criticality of advance collaboration; or a simple failure to follow up with organizations and individuals upon whom an EM/HS may depend, may each play a part in explaining why collaboration is not fully accomplished. It can also be difficult for individuals at the planner level, or those inexperienced in incident response, to have the vision that is necessary to foresee an assortment of circumstances requiring relationships with agencies and people and their attendant special capabilities.

Stakeholders may include fire, police, emergency services, and community leadership. Providers of public services, including public utilities, school leadership and networks, city engineers, and others, are also probably key players to consult. However, threats, conditions, hazards, limitations, geography, climate, and many other factors also combine to create the need for tailored planning, which will probably require special relationships. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all template to employ for identifying, developing and nurturing requisite partnerships.

Advance coordination—that is, developing relationships, sharing information, and understanding the various contributors’ capabilities before you need them for managing emergencies—is essential. Knowing what specific skills, resources, and capacities entities can bring to bear in preventing or responding to crises allows planners to incorporate these capabilities into strategies, plans, and exercises. This knowledge also aids leaders and resource managers in identifying gaps in capacity, which will need filling somehow. At the same time, once an incident occurs or seems immediately likely, the ability to contact vital participants to literally assemble and join the active response effort makes for an optimally efficient and effective endeavor.

What type of information is coordinated? Everything from listing points-of-contact and their current, tested contact information to knowing what special skills an organization or individual might have. For example, if the community believes that certain hazardous materials are a threat, say by accidental spill or if used in a weapon, the EM/HS planners should determine whether the local hospital personnel are trained, equipped, and able to perform chemical, biological, or radioactive decontamination. The planners’ motive for determining this is knowing whether the hospital staff’s abilities may be degraded if personnel are exposed to unknown substances or the facility become contaminated. If decontamination is a skill that has not been trained for, if equipment and supplies are not available, or if it is considered too remote a threat to spend time on, planners may identify and liaise with a different hospital for select crises.

Yet, as mentioned above, the vision that is required to establish comprehensive and integrated strategies and plans can be elusive. Gathering myriad prospective partners together can assist in identifying vulnerabilities, allaying fears, clearing up confusion, establishing a functional baseline for all responders, etc. Note the lessons from the following real world illustration:

A small western town is home to several prisons. Trains carrying—among other things—chemical corrosives, travel close enough to the prisons that a spill might require a prison’s evacuation. This scenario had been planned for and exercised by EM/HS and other stakeholders, yet the prison planners had not been consulted when that plans were being developed. When the many partners were together one day, quarreling about timelines and priorities during such a scenario, a local police officer calmly asked the prison officials, “Where will you evacuate the prisonersto?” The official responded, “To the high school.” The police officer replied, “Have you mentioned this to the high school’s folks?” The answer was no, and there were no high school representatives at the meeting. The police officer and many others did not believe that prisoners being transported to schools that could be in session or hosting year-round activities presented security concerns. This idea hadn’t been thought of, yet one person’s casual question had identified an enormous gap in a specific plan.

Your assignment for this unit requires you to continue employing your selected real world county (using the pseudonym, but focusing on their real world conditions). In completing the requirements, you may consult members of the actual county EM/HS team to get insight into specific partners and capabilities that they rely on and with whom they develop relationships. You may also read their actual plans and strategies and determine how rigorously they have coordinated with external partners.

In a 5–7 page detailed outline, you will do the following:

• List and describe fully your selected county’s central strategy or plan. These are often emergency operations plans with various subordinate annexes and appendices, but because plan designs can vary widely by community, research and report your county’s version.
• Note that your county will probably have other plans as well, such as a school evacuation plan or a pandemic influenza response plan. You are free to mention and describe these as well.
• List and fully describe 7–10 of your selected county’s core stakeholders that it includes (or should include) in its most central plan.
• Core stakeholders include entities that you would reasonably expect any or all counties to coordinate with.
• In selecting and describing these, provide depth in explaining the following:
  • Rationale as to why the relationship between EM/HS and the organization or individual does or should exist
  • How specifically coordination and collaboration benefits the EM/HS and each of the external core partners
  • At least three ways that these core relationships will provide the most comprehensive and integrated preparedness and incident response and promote information sharing specifically
• List and fully describe five of your selected county’s unique stakeholders that it includes (or should include) in its most central plan.
• Unique stakeholders include entities that you would reasonably expect this specific county to coordinate with. (An example is the prison’s officials in the scenario described earlier.)
• In selecting and describing these, provide depth in explaining the following:
  • Rationale as to why the relationship between EM/HS and the stakeholder organization or individual does or should exist
  • How specifically coordination and collaboration benefits the EM/HS and each of the external unique partners
  • At least three ways that these unique relationships will provide the most comprehensive and integrated preparedness and incident response and promote information sharing specifically
• List and describe fully at least three methods for conducting coordination sessions for partners to attend.
• Include tactics on how to elicit robust participation.
• Describe measures that the EM/HS team might use to encourage vibrant and productive discussions.
• Describe what baseline information the county should provide to prospective partners to elicit optimal contributions. (An example might be defining whatvulnerabilities are, demonstrating a risk analysis, or brainstorming as to what threats and hazards exist in the county, and how they should be prioritized.)
• List and describe at least two tactics that the EM/HS team does or might employ to gain viable cooperation from potentially recalcitrant partners.
• Mention any last lessons you’ve learned while working on this assignment, or advice that you would give the county’s team to aid in their writing or improving their core plan.

Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.

Reflection Essay (Please note you will need to read the Strengths-Based Leadership book to complete this assignment.)

1. “What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths…” (Rath & Conchie, 2008). List your top five strengths as determined by the StrengthsFinder 2.0. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not? For example, which of the five describes you best? Is there one that surprised you? Are you currently in a job that utilizes your strengths? Explain.
2. Re-read the section of Strengths-Based Leadership that addresses the four basic needs of followers. Evaluate yourself on how well you provide each of these to your followers (even better, also ask an employee or a co-worker to evaluate you). Which come easily to you and which do you need to improve on in order to meet your followers’ needs? Practically speaking, how can you do this?
3. In the Additional Resources section of the book, strategies for leading in a way that meets followers’ four basic needs are presented. (Note: You only need to read the pages that address your top five strengths.) Do any of these suggestions resonate with you? Which strategies do you believe would make the biggest impact if you implemented them at work?
4. According to Rath and Conchie, how are team members typically selected? Why is this problematic? What do leaders need to understand to build an effective team? Use the chart on page 24 (How the 34 themes sort into the four domains of leadership strength) to identify what you bring to a team. For example, do your strengths fall primarily into one category or are they spread out over several? Are you actively and consistently using your strengths on your team? Explain. Is your team balanced (i.e., are all four domains covered or are everyone’s strengths in the same one or two categories)? Discuss. Remember, individuals don’t need to be well-rounded, but teams do.

Attached is the question outline given to us by the instructor in class. Also attached is the assignment below.

Bullet all sections

 

Working With Employees: An I/O Commentary on Real World Problems

This required Portfolio assignment will give you experience observing and interacting with people outside of the classroom. It has been designed to provide you with the opportunity to develop skills, synthesize knowledge, and integrate learning in a real world setting. This assignment accomplishes that goal by challenging you to:

 

• Conduct a 30-minute, semi-structured interview with a manager
• Identify common challenges and issues that arise in the workplace
• Evaluate strategies for addressing these challenges
• Integrate your findings with evidence-based literature from journal articles, textbook, and additional scholarly sources.

 

Objective: This assignment is designed to help you identify common problems that managers face when dealing with employees, and the solutions that managers use in an attempt to solve those problems. This assignment will also give you an opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of the solutions from a practical perspective and from the perspective of research in Industrial/Organizational psychology.

 

Step 1: Identify someone in your community who is a manager. This should be someone who is responsible for recruiting and/or selecting employees, supervising employees, and evaluating employee performance.

 

Step 2: Conduct a 30-minute interview with the manager. In your interview, be sure to cover the following questions:

 

• What are some of the common problems that you have experienced with employees? Be sure to steer the discussion toward relevant topics such as recruitment, employee selection, employee motivation, employee training, job attitudes, giving feedback, creating incentives, managing conflict, and so forth.
• Identify two major problems that the manager mentions and ask how he or she has responded to those problems. What solutions has the manager tried? Have the solutions worked?

 

Step 3: Using scholarly sources such as your textbook and professional journal articles that you find in the University Library, research the two problems mentioned by the manager. What does the field of I/O say about these types of problems or issues? What recommendations might you make to the manager?

 

Document your interview and your library research in a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper. Your paper should consist of the following parts:

 

• An introduction, describing the individual that you interviewed and his/her position
• A summary of the interview focusing on the two major problems and attempted solutions
• A scholarly commentary with recommendations from the perspective of I/O psychology

 

Be sure to include at least five scholarly references in your paper. Provide a list your specific interview questions as an Appendix. Format your paper according to APA guidelines.

 

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4:  RESEARCH-BASED PERSUASIVE REPORT People in business and government write formal reports for many different purposes: proposing, problem solving, recommending, informing, explaining, describing, selling, analyzing, defending, protecting, reviewing. For this class, write a persuasive report for decision and implementation. That is, show that a problem exists and propose a solution to the problem; you might suggest a change in policy. Assume the audience to be a decision maker who is your immediate supervisor or one level higher. The workplace can be a fictional one, not your actual employer. Choose a topic that requires research: printed books and articles or articles from databases and websites, or possibly in-house documents (consult with me if you plan to use in-house documents). The assignment gives you practice in gathering information, taking notes, planning and focusing a large formal report for an intended audience, writing and revising, and documenting sources. This assignment also meets the objectives of several UMUC Core Learning Areas as well as all the objectives of WRTG 394. UMUC CORE LEARNING AREAS WRTG 394 OBJECTIVES Effective Communication Demonstrate competence in effective writing: Meet the needs of readers Accomplish the writer’s purpose Adequately cover the subject Use expected conventions of format and organization Demonstrate credible reasoning and evidence Satisfy standards of style and grammatical correctness After completing this course, you should be able to: plan, organize, and write a variety of workplace documents, including business letters, memos, résumés, and reports revise documents to produce a clear, concise style appropriate to audience, context, purpose, and writer’s role demonstrate correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics, and apply the conventions of business writing produce professional-looking business letters, memos, reports, and other documents, following standard formats collect, select, analyze, interpret, and organize data, and use it appropriately in business communications, including a long formal report integrate visuals, headings, and other graphics into business communications Information Literacy/Research Competence Demonstrate competence in information literacy standards: Identify an information need Articulate questions Gain access to a variety of relevant resources evaluate and organize the information found integrate the information into an existing body of knowledge use information effectively Critical Thinking Demonstrate the use of analytical skills and reflective processing of information Determine the nature and extent of the information needed Evaluate information and its sources critically Incorporate information into one’s knowledge base Support positions with credible reasoning and evidence Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose Use information ethically and legally The assignment schedule guides your progress from the beginning of the semester and sets deadlines. Your report should contain the following parts: Memo or letter of transmittal (one page; can be single-spaced or double-spaced) Title page Table of contents Abstract (also called executive summary): one page; can be single-spaced or double-spaced. The length of an abstract varies in different workplaces; in this class I’m asking for a one-page mini-version of the entire report. Body, with separate introduction and discussion; double-spaced. In most workplaces, the report is single-spaced; I’m asking that it be double-spaced because I have to read a lot of them in a short time. List of references in APA style Appendixes (if appropriate) Minimum Requirements 2200-3000 words, inclusive of all sections of the report except appebdices; do not include the audience profile and rough draft review report in the word count. Use at least five published or Internet sources; at least one must be from a peer-reviewed journal (more is better); at least one found by the UMUC library database (one peer-reviewed source from the UMUC database can meet both of these minimum requirements). Quote sparingly; paraphrase and summarize frequently. Do not plagiarize–Cite in-text sources precisely and do not half-copy. In addition, on a separate page of your report, complete the Audience Profile (below). (I’m sure no workplace requires an audience profile; this is a learning tool specific to this class. But if you ever write a workplace report, this is a good tool to keep in mind as you write.) Please name the file LastnameWA4, using your own last name; for example, name the file ObamaWA4 if your name is Barak Obama. AUDIENCE PROFILE INSTRUCTIONS: For the imagined audience of your researched persuasive report, write full explanations/commentary for each item. In addition to supplying the information for each item, consider the implications of your perceptions of your readers. Include as part of your commentary how you plan to use your perceptions of your readers in planning and writing the report. Your textbook author and the Purdue OWL sections on professional writing continually remind you of the need to tailor the content and tone of a document to the intended audience. Turn in this completed profile form as part of Writing Assignment 4—not a separate file. Your audience profile will be graded according to how thoroughly you respond to the following items. I. AUDIENCE IDENTITY AND NEEDS Primary Reader(s) (name, title) Secondary Reader(s) (name, title) Relationship (client, employee, other) Intended use/result of document Barriers to understanding or acceptance? Readers’ prior knowledge of topic (know/do not know background; experts, novices, other) Additional information needed Possible questions/objections reader(s) will have Audience’s attitude toward topic (indifferent, skeptical, other) Audience’s probable objections (cost, time, other) Audience’s probable attitude toward this writer (intimidated, hostile, receptive, other) Organizational climate (receptive, repressive, creative, other) Persons most affected by this document Audience temperament (cautious, impatient, other) Probable reaction to the document (resistance, approval, anger, other) Risk of alienating anyone II. AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE DOCUMENT Reason document originated (audience request, legal requirement, other) Acceptable length, amount of detail (comprehensive, concise, other) Why this material is important to this audience (interpretations, costs, conclusions, other) Most useful organization pattern (problem-solution, proposal, other) Appropriate tone (businesslike, apologetic, enthusiastic, other) Intended effect on this audience (win support, change behavior, other) Source: Modified from John Lannon (1996), Technical Writing, 7th ed. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. GRADING CRITERIA: RESEARCH-BASED PERSUASIVE REPORT CONTENT 1.  Meets minimum requirements (see assignment instructions) 2.  Shows skillful application of persuasive strategies Audience is appealed to appropriately Argument is developed well; relevant evidence supports your claims Image of credibility is established Objections are anticipated and responded to ORGANIZATION AND COHERENCE 3.  Each component contains required (see instructions) and appropriate material; executive summary (one page) is a mini-version of the entire report 4.  Purpose of each section is clear and supported well 5.  Organization is clear Follows problem-solution, proposal, or recommendation-support pattern, etc. Separate ideas in separate paragraphs Not organized serially by source Contains useful headings 6.  There are helpful transitions between and within paragraphs PARAGRAPHS 7.  Each paragraph has a clear topic sentence stating the main point and focusing the material 8.  Each paragraph fully supports its topic sentence with very specific material appropriate for your purpose and audience: details, examples, reasons and explanations, evidence SENTENCE STRUCTURE 9.  Sentences are well-written: emphatic, condensed, varied in structure, fluent STYLE 10. Words are specific, precise, concrete, accurate; voice is consistent and appropriate for audience GRAPHICS IF APPROPRIATE 11. Graphics (if used) are designed well; data are relevant to recommendations SOURCES 12. Sources are handled well: good selection of reliable material to support recommendation few direct quotes, accurate paraphrasing and summarizing, no plagiarizing sources are correctly cited in APA style in the text of the report correct bibliography format in APA style GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, SPELLING, AND FORMAT 13. There are no errors AUDIENCE PROFILE 14. Your audience profile will be graded according to how thoroughly you respond to the topics and how well your report reflects the audience analysis.

 

 

 

Research Prospectus

Topic: Orientations for New Employees

Reason: To educate and prepare new employees on safety, protocols, benefits, work, rules and procedures in the work place.

Why: New employees without an orientation come into the workplace unprepared for the work. Orientations can be used to show what the employee can expect from the company. To show the culture of the company. To show new employees what the goals of the company are. Helps the employees hit the ground running.

Thesis statement: New employee orientations should be mandatory to prepare and educate new employees on procedures and safety along with the expectations and goals of the company.

Bibliography:

 

1. Jauch, L. R., R. N. Osborn, and W. D. Terpening. “Research Notes. GOAL CONGRUENCE AND EMPLOYEE ORIENTATIONS: THE SUBSTITUTION EFFECT.” Academy of Management Journal 23.3 (1980): 544-50. Web. <http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=4395856&S=R&D=bth&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESeprY4zOX0OLCmr02ep7BSsKm4SLCWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGqsE6yr7BQuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA>.

 

2. Johnson, Dave. “You’re Hired – Now This Is Our Culture.” BNP Media. Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, n.d. Web. <http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=102421405&S=R&D=bth&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESeprY4zOX0OLCmr02ep7BSsKq4Sq6WxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGqsE6yr7BQuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA>. A small article in a training strategies section of a magazine explaining that you must go in depth with new employee orientation.

 

3. Parker, S. K., T. D. Wall, and P. R. Jackson. “That’s Not My Job: Developing Flexible Employee Work Orientation.” Academy of Management Journal 40.4 (1997): 899-929. Web. <dGJyMPGqsE6yr7BQuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA>. This journal shows the benefits for manufacturing companies to have orientations. Closely relates to office buildings too with the concepts.

 

4. Smith, Brandon. “Go Get Em.” Treponomics. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=96418390&S=R&D=bth&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESeprY4zOX0OLCmr02ep7BSsKa4TbWWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGqsE6yr7BQuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA>. A Q&A from an expert on insight on how to help new hires hit the ground running and what to include in an orientation.

 

 

 

 

 

Memo – Request to do research

TO: Phillip Bawl, Division Chief, Center for Survey Measurement, U.S. Census Bureau

FROM: Serena Jane, Secretary, Center for Survey Measurement, U.S. Census Bureau

DATE: November 15^th, 2015

SUBJECT: Request time away from regular duties to research a solution to our new employee orientation problem.

Center for Survey Measurement is a large part of the U.S. Census Bureau. We receive an average of fifteen new employees every first of the month. As the secretary of this division, I receive questions and concerns raised by these new employees about how the Bureau is run, what benefits they are eligible for, etc. I am requesting time off from my regular duties in order to research how successful orientations are, and to show how beneficial they would be to the new employees of our division.

The research I would like to conduct, is whether incorporating a new employee orientation would be beneficial for not only our organization, but for the new employees as well. I have found that with the amount of people who come into our organization monthly, we have not exactly guided them in the right direction when starting. We really just have new employees show up on their start date and show them their desk. Once they start they spend more time figuring out benefits, their way around, the work that is done here, etc. The time they spend researching this information, cuts away time from the work they should be doing. If we take three hours on their first day to teach and show them these things, it would save hours of time they spend on the clock versus doing their work.

My time away from duties will be limited and I will want to start preparation and research immediately in order to gain approval and incorporate the new orientation as soon as possible. The reason I need to spend time away from my regular work to research this idea to see what is the best way to approach and prepare for this. What are the benefits for having an orientation for new employees versus no orientation and continuing what we have been doing? We want to make sure this orientation is time efficient and informative. The more research and preparation I do, the better I can present this information to you and be ready to incorporate this immediately, pending approval.

So far in my research I have found many scholarly articles supporting orientations for new employees. In one of the articles from the Academy of Management Journal called “Goal Congruence and Employee Orientations: The Substitution Effect” I have found that explaining the goals of our organization will set standards and allow the employee to understand job satisfaction. Industrial Safety and Hygiene News has a small article called “You’re Hired – Now this is our Culture” and it explains that orientation training must be more than ‘lip service’. This is more of a do’s and don’ts when it comes to orientation training and what is more effective. Another scholarly article that has surfaced is one on the effects of orientations in manufacturing companies. Although we are not a manufacturing company, the structure of their orientation is explained and seems quite effective in the article “That’s Not My Job: Developing Flexible Employee Work Orientation”. Lastly, there is a small question and answer in the journal, Treponomics, from an expert in business. He gives insight on how to help new hires hit the ground running and what you want to include in an orientation to get that.

I have done quite a bit of research but there are still things that need to be done and questions that need to be answered. My next steps are to get sample power point slides rom other businesses and their orientations to see what they include in the orientation. What are their steps and what methods do they use to really make their new hires understand their organization? Do they show leadership and goals? Talk about health benefits? I also want to see if I can find any statistics on the success on company with orientations versus a company who just throws their employees in to start work right away. I also want to question some of our recently new additions to our organization to see what their input is on being a new employee and their hardships along the way. Having the insight from someone first hand would be quite helpful to my research.

I would like your input and approval for me to start my research officially as soon as possible. I am asking to meet with you within the next week to answer any further questions you might have in order for me to gain your approval. An orientation would be beneficial to our division in the Census Bureau and to our new staff. I look forward to hearing your response to my research proposal.

Discussion Summary on Topic

We receive an average of 15 new employees the first of every month. These new hires show up to their desk and have no idea where to get supplies, how to go about applying for benefits, or what specifically should be done with their time. I am suggesting to my supervisor that new employees have a 2-3 hour seminar on their first day to go over how the organization is ran. As for the scholarly articles I am looking at, I am seeing which ones suggest what to include and what not to include in an orientation. I am getting sample slides from other company’s orientations to see what they go over. My point I am making is that it would take less time to inform the new employees through an orientations verses the hours they would spend trying to figure it out themselves or who they should be talking to. I am trying to find the most effective and efficient way to do this orientation so that it does not waste time and it covers all the “need-to-know” items for the new employees.

Using the Waters Bottling Companyin Module 1, continue to build the Marketing Plan Sections for the product you have selected/ invented/ created. Complete the following in MS Word: Be concise and complete in your analysis of each plan element. Your employer wants to know you have left nothing out in your analysis.

This assignment represents Section 4 of the Marketing Plan. Use the guide to identify the sections of the Marketing Plan and the marketing elements contained therein. This assignment will focus on Section 4– Place & Promotion (Module 4).

Section 4 – Place & Promotion (Module 4)

• Distribution Channels
  • Length & Width
  • Direct & Indirect
  • Vertical & Horizontal Channel Conflict
• Promotion
  • Communication Process & Tools
  • Product Life Cycle
  • Push vs. Pull

You will create a complete Marketing Plan by the end of the course. You will write the Fourth section of the Marketing Plan for this assignment. Use the Marketing Plan guide to identify the sections of the Marketing Plan and the marketing elements contained therein. This assignment will focus on Section 4 – The Place & Promotion (Module 4).

Relate all responses using the WBC scenario and the product you have selected to market in Module 1.

Create a 4- to 6-page Word document for this Marketing Plan Section. Apply a standard business writing style using the Market Planning Guide sections as your (headers/ sub heads/ bullets) to your work. Be sure to cite your work in the APA format.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Determine the potential product distribution channels.	15
Identify the Length and Width of the different distribution channel choices.	10
Discuss the advantages/ disadvantages of the Vertical and Horizontal channel methods. Identify any potential conflicts.	15
Examine the Communication Process for the product. Create a guideline for each of the Communication Process elements that will aid promotion development.	20
Analyze the promotion activities as they relate to each of the stages of the Product Life Cycle for this product.	20
Evaluate the Push & Pull promotion techniques for this product.	10
Writing components: Demonstrated understanding of readings, interpreting concepts, making connections, and distinguishing between fact and opinion. Presented a structured report free of spelling and grammatical errors, and applied current writing standards for editorial style, expression of ideas, and format of text, citations, and references.