Author: chris

Assignment 2: RA 2: Training Needs Analysis and Design Document Report

Throughout this course, you learned about the importance of training to improve organizational effectiveness. However, it is even more critical to determine whether training is the best option. Identifying the training need is a critical first step in the training and development process. One needs to tie the deficiency to a business need and ensure that the benefits of conducting the training are likely to resolve the identified problem. For this assignment, you will be tasked with doing just that.

For an organization of your choice, you will create a needs analysis and evaluation report of approximately 10- to 12-pages, which will outline your training recommendations for management. Refer to the discussed theories (i.e., expectancy theory or social learning theory) and prior articles for guidance in completing this assignment.

Directions:

For your report of 10- to 12-pages:

1. 1. Choose an Organization

Select an organization. It can be either a recent employer or a business where you may have volunteered. Identify a particular department in which you have experience.

• If you cannot identify an organization, consider a fictitious organization well known for a popular product. Reviewing the literature may help in giving you ideas in creating your organization. Identify an issue that is impacting efficiency and productivity (for instance, it could be a well-known telecom company where sales have been down due to poor customer service). The company has hired you as a consultant to do a needs assessment. Improvise where appropriate and provide complete details of the organization and the identified issue for which you have been brought in.

Create a Training Needs Analysis Report

Create a set of ten to fifteen interview questions to ask managers and employees. The questions should address all of the necessary sections to complete the training needs analysis report.

If possible, schedule time to conduct observations.

Required Information for the Training Needs Analysis Report:

• Background Information: Include information about the organization and the issue you have identified or for which you were consulted.
• Number of Employees: Identify the number of employees to be trained and their current skill levels.
• Locations of Employees: Identify where the employees to be trained are located.
• Interview Data: Interview at least one manager and one employee and summarize managerial and employee feedback on current performance and identified skill gaps. Include your list of questions and answers.
• Observational Data: Observe at least one or two employees performing the job for which training will be created and include a log of your personal observations.
• Training Sponsor: Identify the requestor and the approver of the training (may be a single person or two separate individuals).

Identification of Training Needs: Include the following in your conclusion:

• Perform Performance Analysis: If training has been identified due to a performance problem (errors at work, etc.), conduct an analysis to confirm whether a training remedy can resolve the skill deficiency. If not, suggest other strategies that management can use to solve the problem without training (i.e., improving communication on what is expected of employees).
• Identify Insufficient Knowledge or Skills: List specific knowledge or skills that are deficient (lack of knowledge of products, lack of skills in operating specific software, etc.).
• Identify the Business Need: Summarize the business need impacted by the identified knowledge or skill deficiency.
• Identify Cultural or Ethical Considerations: Discuss considerations to be kept in mind when designing the training course.

Justification for the Training: Provide your justification for training as the solution to the identified performance problem or skill deficiency:

• What were the indicators or facts that identify the existence of the issue?
• What are the possible causes for the existence of the issue?

Delivery Dates: Identify when the organization wants to implement the training. Do you think it can be offered in a timely manner? Explain why or why not:

• Training and Development Department: Assess the company’s training and development department’s role. How will the department be involved?

Construct a Design Document Report

Next, construct a design document making your training recommendations for management. A design document should outline your training program at a high level. It should include all the below-listed components. You are to utilize the Design Document Report Template as a guide for organizing your content.

Click here to download the Design Document Report Template.

Required Information for a Design Document Report:

• Course Title: Suggest a course title.
• Course Description: Explain in three to four sentences the goals of the whole course.
• Course Objectives: Write four to six objectives using measureable Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs.
• Course Topics: Include three to five main topics with three to five subtopics for at least three modules.
• Activities: Include one suggested activity for each module (simulation, case study, etc.) that directly links to all objectives (three in total). Explain how you incorporated ethical or diversity-related considerations.
• Module Time Frame: Provide an approximate time frame within which the participant has to complete each module (e.g., in class or online).
• Course Time Frame: Provide an approximate time frame within which the participant has to complete the full course (e.g., the number of hours or days).
• Delivery Approach: Recommend a suggested delivery method for the whole course (instructor-led, online, blended, etc.).
• Delivery Approach Justification: Justify your training delivery approach recommendation, along with a comparison of two to three different delivery options based on learning theories, training research, organizational requirements, and individual needs.
• Risks: Identify any project risks or concerns that could affect the success of this training (budget, timelines, buy-in, etc.).
• Follow-Up: Analyze the different methods available for follow-up to ensure transfer of training. Determine the preferred method and justify your decision referencing scholarly resources.
• Evaluation: Construct an evaluation for the training using Kirkpatrick’s model and discuss it.

Your final product will be a Microsoft Word document of approximately 10- to 12-pages in length and utilize four scholarly sources in your research (beyond your textbook). Your paper should be written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources;

 

Discrimination Against Hispanics in the Workplace

 

This assignment requires that you do a research paper on a topic of interest to you in the field of human resource management (Discrimination Against Hispanics in the Workplace).  The paper should be a maximum of 8 double-spaced pages.  Sources for your paper should include relevant books, and research and practitioner-focused articles.  Internet sources are acceptable only when they are directly relevant to the points you are making; these sources should comprise only a small part of your research.

Please use the following description below. The ouline is attached. Please ensure you are taking into consideration the feedback that was given on the outline before writing the paper.

 

Your Abstract should contain the following parts that are listed below.

• Topic Sentence: your abstract must contain one sentence that clearly and concisely introduces the topic of the profile paper.
• Content Sentences: your abstract must mention the following five main topics of the profile: background information about the species, life cycle of the organism, structure and function of one organ system of the organism, evolutionary topic, and an additional interest. This is challenging to write!  These sentences should not be too specific, but reflect broad strokes summaries of each of these main topics.
• Conclusion Sentence: Abstract contains one sentence that mentions key conclusions and/or findings.

 

Here is a link that may help: Advice on writing abstracts: (Please note that you do not have a methods section in this paper.  Despite that difference, this is a great resource with great tips).

 

I.             The Introduction: this section must contain

A.   The scientific name of your organism. Please see this link (How to Write Latin Names) for help if needed.

B.   The common name of your organism.  What do most people know it as?

C.   The area of residence in which you and your organism are (country/state/city).

D.   The specific biome of where your organism lives.  Please see this link on biomes for help if needed.

II.           The Body: this section should contain

A.   Background: include a general physical description of your organism

B.   Life Cycle: describe the life cycle of your organism.  The life cycle refers to the series of changes that happens from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows into a mature organism.  Please see here for some hints on life cycle.

C.   Structure and Function: please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system.

a.    If your organism is an animal, here are a list of the general animal organ systems.

b.    If your organism is a plant, here are a list of the general plant organ systems.

c.    If you have selected a bacteria or a fungus the concept can be more complex.  Please contact me directly for more directions if needed.

D.   Evolution: Evolution is best understood as heritable change over time, or descent with modification.  Please be sure to discuss the evolution of your organism using the following guidance:

a.    Conduct a review of scientific literature to understand what is known about the evolution of your chosen organism.  Search key words like evolution, fossil, ancestor.  Also, refer back to your results from Assignment 1.

b.    Conduct a review of scientific literature to understand the family tree or phylogeny of your organism.  Phylogeny is defined as the history of organismal lineage as they change through time. Search key words like phylogeny, phylogenetic and genetic analysis.

c.    Use the Tree of Life Project to help you identify the lineage and related species.

E.   Additional Interests: The diversity of biological organisms is vast and interesting! Identify at least one unique fact or behavior not covered in the life cycle, structure/function or evolution and discuss it.  For example, does your organism have an interesting parental care strategy or mating system? What about an adaptation or co-dependence with another species?

III.         Conclusion section: this section should contain four to six bullet points that sum up the main points from the outline.

IV.         Reference section: this is not just a separate section; rather referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your paper.  Please be sure to cite any language within the outline that should be cited.  Proper citation and referencing were reviewed in Assignment 1; please look back at those resources and/or ask me if you have any additional questions. Your paper should also have a final reference page listing the sources used throughout the outline.

 

Please make note of the following tips and tricks:

• Please note that less than 10% of your paper should contain direct quotes.
• Avoid bulleted lists within the body of your paper.
• Do not write in first or second person.
• One last reminder: be sure to properly cite your work, both internal to the paper as well as within the reference page.
• Please see the sample profile below!

Assignment 2: Cash Management

Solve the following problem. Norma’s Cat Food of Shell Knob ships cat food throughout the country. Norma has determined that through the establishment of local collection centers around the country, she can speed up the collection of payments by two and one-half days. Furthermore, the cash management department of her bank has indicated to her that she can defer her payments on her accounts by one-half day without affecting suppliers. The bank has a remote disbursement center in Iowa.

1. If the company has $5 million per day in collections and $3 million per day in disbursements, how many dollars will the cash management system free up?  Justify your answers.
2. If the company can earn 8 percent per annum on freed-up funds, how much will the income be? Justify your answers.
3. If the annual cost of the new system is $800,000, should it be implemented? Explain why or why not.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Correctly calculated that amount in dollars the cash management system will free up and justified the response.	30
Correctly calculated income and justified response.	30
Clearly explained if the new system should be implemented.	30
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Instructions: You will need to write a 1–page lab report using the scientific method to answer the following question:

 

Part I: Use the animated time progression of speciation to help you write up your lab report.

Part II: Write a 1-page lab report using the following scientific method sections: 

Provide references in APA format. This includes a reference list and in-text citations for references used in the Introduction section. 

Give your paper a title and number, and identify each section as specified above. Although the hypothesis will be a 1-sentence answer, the other sections will need to be paragraphs to adequately explain your experiment. 

When your lab report is complete, post it in Submitted Assignment files.

 

Part 1:

Species

In biological terms, a species is defined as a group of organisms that are able to interbreed to produce fertile and viable offspring under natural conditions. This description of a species can further be characterized as reproductive isolation, where physical and sometimes behavioral traits of an organism will only allow them to reproduce with an organism that has the same traits. Using the aforementioned definition of a species, different breeds of dogs are able to produce fertile and viable offspring because they are all the same species, but dogs and cats are unable to interbreed because they are two different species.

Population

Now, extend the definition of a species to a group of the same species living in the same geographic area. This would represent a population. What would happen if the species within this population were suddenly split into two groups by an earthquake, creating a physical barrier such as a canyon? If a population is divided indefinitely by a barrier, members of the divided population will not have the opportunity to breed with each other.

Impacts

Over many years, the abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living) conditions on either side of the physical barrier will vary from one another. As a result, natural selection will cause different selective and adaptive pressures to occur between the two divided populations, and they will evolve differently. Over time, this will result in speciation, which is the creation of two new species. This occurs because of reproductive isolation.

BOND PROJECT FIN 445

FALL 2015

 

This project will take you through several bond calculations so that you have a better understanding of bond dynamics and bond valuation.

You must turn in the project on the due date, both on paper and in electronic format.  You must copy and paste your Excel screens as noted below into your project paper.

 

Use ARIAL type font, 12 point, double-spaced.  Be thorough with your answers.

 

 

1. [15 points] First, calculate the value of a corporate bond using the information below. Do this calculation by hand and show all of your work!  Second, convert the value to price; round to 3 decimals.

 

Settlement Date:     5/15/2016

Maturity Date:          5/15/2018

 

Coupon rate:           4.50%

UST Yield:               2.25%

Spread (bps):          125

 

Yield to Maturity:     Calculate from Above Information

 

2. [15 points] Calculate on paper (a) the Macaulay duration and (b) the modified duration.  Show all of your work.

 

3. [10 points] Using the modified duration you just calculated, (a) estimate what the price change of the bond would be if the U.S. Treasury yield declines 50 basis points. (b) Now calculate the new price.  Do these calculations on paper.

 

4. [20 points] Using the format highlighted in Question #1 as a guide, create a Bond Price calculator in an Excel spreadsheet. Next, in the cell below the “Yield to Maturity” cell, create a cell for PRICE.  To the right of the “Price” label, insert Excel’s PRICE formula.

 

1. Using the same inputs from question 1, use the Excel PRICE function to calculate the bond’s price.Did you get the same answer that you calculated by hand?  Copy and Paste your spreadsheet into your project paper.

 

3. Subtract 50 basis points from the U.S. Treasury yield in your Excel model.(i) Copy and Paste your spreadsheet results into your project paper.  (ii) Compare this price to the new price you calculated in Question 3.  How do they compare?

 

5. [10 points]  Reset your Excel model to the original information from question #1.  Now change the maturity date to 5/15/2021.  What happens to the price of the bond versus your answer from Question 1?  Explain in one paragraph what happened to the price when you changed the maturity date and why.  Copy and Paste your spreadsheet into your project paper.

 

6. [30 points] I have placed an Excel spreadsheet on Blackboard (PROJECT BOND FIN 445 2015 Fall.xlsx).  The spread data represents three sectors of the bond market:  Investment Grade U.S. corporate bonds, High Yield U.S. corporate bonds, and U.S. dollar-denominated Emerging Market Corporate bonds.  As an analyst, your job is to determine whether each of these sectors are fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued.  You will do the following:

 

1. Create a separate chart for each of the three data series.

 

1. Calculate the average spread for each data series, and plot on the chart.

 

1. Calculate +/- 1 standard deviation for each data series, and plot on the chart.

 

1. Copy each chart into your project paper.

 

1. Given where the current spread is (the last data point), give me an explanation for each data series as to whether each sector today is a buy, sell, or wait (assume you don’t own any bonds, so “hold” is not an option). Each explanation should be no more than half of one page.

 

1. What other data or information that is not currently available to you might alter your buy/sell/wait decision?Maximum one-half page.

 

1. In one paragraph, rank the three bond sectors according to their relative value, i.e., if you had to make a choice, which would you buy 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd? Explain your answer.

Pricing strategy varies significantly across different market structures.  The pricing guidelines in a monopoly market are relatively straightforward.  Since the company is the only producer offering the product, it can mark-up the price as far as the customer can bear.  The pricing strategies for a producer operating in a perfect competition structure are also fairly intuitive. They are price takers, and hence price is set at the marginal cost of the product.  This is due to the fact that there are many firms offering nearly identical products.  However, there is optimal pricing for the market structures offering differentiated products with many competitors (oligopoly) or a few producers (monopolistic competition). These are much more complex and involved.  It has been stated that differentiation in products that creates differences in customer valuation is the most prevalent type of competition.  In such markets pricing strategies may include the three C’s of cost, competition, and customer.
Develop a paper detailing an analysis of market structures and relating pricing strategies that are suitable for each of these structures.  Furthermore, include a real world example of pricing strategy for a specific company by identifying its market structure.
Your paper should be between 1750 and 2500 words, in APA Format and structured as follows:
Cover page with a running head

Abstract

1.  Perfect Competition

1.1. Description

1.2. Pricing Strategies

2. Monopolistic competition

2.1. Description

2.2. Pricing Strategies

3. Oligopoly

3.1. Description

3.2. Pricing Strategies

4. Monopoly

4.1. Description

4.2. Pricing Strategies

5. Case Study

6. Conclusion

References

Your paper needs to include at least three scholarly sources, i.e. peer reviewed articles. I strongly recommend the use of the APUS library for these sources, as most acceptable resources can only be found in protected databases.

 

1. Ascertain how each of the steps applies to your specific organization.
2. Develop a strategy that illustrates how you would address each of the eight (8) stages of change:
   1. Establishing a sense of urgency
   2. Creating coalition
   3. Developing vision and strategy
   4. Communicating the vision
   5. Empowering broad-based action
   6. Generating short-term wins
   7. Consolidating gains and producing more change
   8. Anchoring new approaches into the culture

Reviewing The Adventures of an IT Leader 

For this assignment, complete a 3-5 page summary based on your readings in The Adventures of an IT Leader.

As you read the chapters, think about pertinent issues and the relationship of these factors to situation outcomes. As you prepare your paper, respond to the following questions:

• How much time and effort should an information technology (IT) department devote to scanning for and analyzing emerging technologies?
• What are your responses to Bernie Ruben’s three questions in taking action on the blog issue at IVK:
  • What if anything should we do about this blog entry?
  • What should be our general policy about blogging based on inside information from within the company?
  • What should be our process for spotting emerging technologies and analyzing them to see how they might be relevant to use for better or worse?
• Which of the three proposed processes should IVK sue for enforcing infrastructure technology standards? Recommend and justify.
• Is IT standardization and innovation (or flexibility) in conflict in an organization like IVK?

Write a 2 page research paper on dynamic arrays.  Explain the concepts using at least one example. Use three resources (Wikipedia sources are not permitted) and list each resource used at the end of paper in the reference list section.

 

 

 

 

Part 2    Write at least 5 sentences for each question ( not part of the essay).

Q1: If not used carefully, what problems can “strcpy” can create and how would you avoid them?

Q2: Describe the benefits of reading numeric data as characters before converting the characters to a number?