Author: chris

__: Identify a situation in which you will encounter persuasion

__: Submit topic on Canvas for approval

__: Expose yourself to the situation and take notes on your experience

__: Write an analytical reflection paper on the experience.

Identify a situation in which you will encounter persuasion:

This assignment requires you to place yourself in a situation where you will be persuaded to do something (buy, believe, etc.). The assignment requires you to set yourself up as a target of a professional salesperson or other persuasion expert and to analyze their experiences using fundamental persuasion, argumentation, and logic concepts.

Expose yourself to the situation and take notes on your experience:

The assignment requires you to set yourself up as a target of a professional salesperson or other persuasion expert. To simulate a realistic experience I will not explicitly instruct you on how to approach the situation (e.g., emotionally detached, strongly resistant). Rather, I simply ask you to behave as naturally as you can.

Examples of the tactics and concepts (these are from the “handout” reading):

a) the foot-in-the door
b) door-in-the face
c) and that’s-not-all techniques
d) slowly escalating commitments
e) the illusion of choice
f) conformity and social proof
g) conveying illusions of authority, honesty, and likeability
h) the base-rate fallacy and negativity bias.

Sample persuasion experts and situations:

Car, jewelry, stereo, furniture, and insurance salespeople; timeshare seminars; parties to sell Tupperware, kitchenware, photo albums, and candles; military recruiters; funeral arrangement coordinators; street hustlers; scientology, Moonie, and other religious recruiters; and psychics.

Ethical Precautions

It is important to take precautions against placing yourself in unsafe situations. You must have your topic approved by me before carrying out the assignment. Occasionally, it might be necessary to suggest an alternative scenario if a proposed situation is too risky. Most cults, for example, are excellent illustrations of persuasion but I generally advise you not to subject yourself directly to their influence. Also, in situations where you will likely encounter hard-sell salespeople, use your best judgment about what point to exit the encounter. For example, if you are visiting a visiting car lot, do not to go beyond the test drive.

Write an analytical reflection paper on the experience:

Your reflection paper should provide readers with an overview of the entire persuasive experience. Be sure you include the following three ideas:

Analyze the chratactics, persuasive concepts, and/or logical fallacies that were employed during your experience.
Reflect on how you responded to the tactics
Articulate how you (or someone you know) could more effectively resist similar persuasion attempts in the future.

A new type of third-party-reimbursement healthcare payment plan is emerging in the United States. CDHPs strive to control costs and improve quality of care by requiring consumers to take control of their own healthcare decisions. Consumers decide how they want to spend their healthcare dollars, depending on what is important to them. CDHPs are geared to encourage participants to enroll in some type of wellness program and improve their lifestyles. Specific types of CDHPs are health reimbursement accounts (HRA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), and health savings accounts (HSA).

However, there are concerns about CDHPs. The consumer may neither understand nor have the education and the tools to manage his or her own healthcare appropriately. This may have long-term ramifications on the whole healthcare system and whether CDHPs can be successful for the consumer, the employer, the physician, and the healthcare facilities, as well as the insurers. Answer the following questions in regard to this development:

• Are CDHPs more geared toward the healthier and younger population?
• Are they effective for patients with chronic illnesses?
• Will they discourage the use of preventative care and cause increased healthcare costs in the future?

After examining the above questions in your analysis, work around the following instructions and create a 8- to 10-page Microsft Word document:

• Summarize the history of when, how, and why CDHPs were developed.
• Explain HSA, HRA, and FSA with examples.
• Examine different segments of the population. Describe which socioeconomic group is likely to benefit the most from CDHPs.
• Explain the types of incentives to providers for efficiency in the delivery of healthcare services. Explain who bears the financial risk—the provider, the patient, or the CDHP.
• Offer your recommendations for patients considering a CDHP, including which types are appropriate for which patients. Include your recommendations for each, to accept or decline, and also include your rationale behind such recommendations.

Support your responses with examples.

cenario Summary:

In this scenario, the firm is very pleased with your first report and the owners of the firm, Rick Horton and Dave LaPoint, are looking to you for assistance again. The firm has recently been formed and has several interested investors, but they are deciding where and how to invest their firm’s capital. You have just completed a recommendation that focused on the various industries they should invest; the board was impressed, but they want more tangible information. You will write a two- to three-page report on recent venture capital deals that the firm may have invested.

 

Your Role:

You are a new investment analyst at Horton and LaPoint Ventures, and you have been asked to evaluate potential investments that were recently made. The board enjoyed your report, but they want to see what types of real investments that may have been made. In Doc Sharing, you will find a file called Top Deals of 2013. Please review this list of 10 companies that were recently funded and report back to the board about which of these you would have recommended to invest. Please note, this does not need to tie into your previous report, so you do not have to pick an investment that fits your earlier recommendation.

 

Activity:

For this assignment, you will draft a two- to three-page report that will be given to the company’s Board of Directors at their next board meeting. You need to look at the list of 10 companies that were recently funded as reported by MoneyTree, and then write a recommendation on which three of these companies you would have picked to invest and why you would invest. Please be sure to research each of the companies and be sure to support your recommendation with data and facts about each business. This analysis should draw upon the material given in this course, as well as any outside research that you need to conduct in order to complete the report.

Be sure to listen closely to Mr. Horton and Mr. LaPoint, because they will give you clues on the type of information they want in this report.

 

You will be required to submit a paper analyzing an article provided in the Reading & Study folder of Module/Week 6. The article is a collection of brief commentaries about the Stages of Change model (also known as the Transtheoretical Model). Your paper should be 2–4 pages, double spaced (not including the title page and reference page).

 

After reading the article, write a synopsis that includes the following 4 components. Each section should begin with the heading that is provided below in bold type:

1. Thesis

Outline the main thesis, objective, or “opinion” of the article.

2. Rationale

Select at least 2 authors from the article and provide an explanation of their perceptions of the Stages of Change model. You must also provide supporting rationale to explain the authors’ perceptions.

3. Response

Provide a clear explanation of your response to the commentaries. (Do not just agree or disagree. Please state why you feel specific findings were or were not legitimate.)

4. Strengths

 

Outline 2–3 strengths of the model. You must also reference a professional journal article which support these findings and observations.

Worth 20% of the course grade.

Due date is stated in the course schedule.

 

 

The specific objective of this graded written research exercise is to prepare an “executive level financial report” to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a mythical company in which you are employed as a financial analyst.  This report will pertain to the financial evaluation of a real, publicly-traded, company. It will require independent research (web-based or library), careful financial analysis, and the proper application of key financial theories and formulas.

The company that is to be analyzed for this project is (company selected by instructor).

Alternatively, you can request me to approve another publicly traded company. This request must be submitted before the end of the first week of the course. The request must include

1. identification of the company by ticker symbol and name
2. a reasonable and appropriate explanation of why you want to examine the alternative company
3. the source of the analyst’s report that will be used in the analysis (which must be submitted to me)
4. acknowledgement by you that all of the specific elements of the assignment (see below) will be prepared by you and included in the final research project report

 

SITUATION

You are a financial analyst with the mythical High Technology Corporation (“HTC”). HTC is an established manufacturer of a line of electronic components, which services an international market. HTC is currently a new fully-integrated wireless communication service for world-wide use.  A competitive technical and economic product evaluation has determined that THE COMPANY THAT IS TO BE ANALYZED FOR THIS PROJECT (COMPANY SELECTED BY INSTRUCTOR) (a real publicly-traded company) is the best potential candidate for a long-term commitment.  THE COMPANY (COMPANY SELECTED BY INSTRUCTOR) is offering a competitively favorable deal.  However, based on some serious general concerns about the fallout of companies in the industry in general, the CEO has asked your CFO to conduct a financial analysis of THE COMPANY (COMPANY SELECTED BY INSTRUCTOR) to determine if it is prudent to commit to this company’s communication system.  The cost of cutting over to the new communications system is significant and any interruption in support during the next few years would adversely affect HTC’s performance and profit. Specifically, the question is: will THE COMPANY be financially viable over the next two to three years?

 

YOUR SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT

Your specific assignment is to research, analyze, and prepare a report for the CFO on the actual financial performance of THE COMPANY THAT IS TO BE ANALYZED FOR THIS PROJECT (COMPANY SELECTED BY INSTRUCTOR).  In addition to reviewing the traditional financial performance indicators, you are also to review THE COMPANY’S past and current stock performance. Your report includes three parts:

(1)        An evaluation of THE COMPANY’S financial performance for the last year. DuPont analysis and analysis of significant financial performance results are required for the last three years. (See detailed description below)

(2)        An evaluation of THE COMPANY’S stock performance for the last one year.

(3)        Finally, a specific recommendation, with supporting rationale, as to whether or not THE COMPANY’S recent trend in financial and stock performance is of sufficient financial strength to warrant entering into a long-term commitment.

To assist you in your task, the CFO has provided the following general guidance. Since it is recognized that the industry is undergoing a major contraction, it is very important to comparatively evaluate THE COMPANY’S financial and stock performance trends against its Industry.

You may wish to include all necessary and relevant financial performance and stock information, trends, and projections in supporting your recommendation. These factors may include, financial ratio trends and industry comparatives, capital spending, stock growth, Beta values, credit rating service valuations, bond rating valuations, and management and investment reports – when these documents are available.

REPORT REQUIREMENTS

YOUR SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT

Research and analyze the following information for THE COMPANY (SELECTED BY INSTRUCTOR).

–Annual Balance Sheets for THE COMPANY for the last three years.

–The Income Statements for THE COMPANY the last three years.

— Annual reports, 10K or 10Q——

–Industry norms ———–

—Analysts’ reports on performance

— Management reports or press releases

Using this information the students have to develop evaluation of the financial performance for THE COMPANY (SELECTED BY INSTRUCTOR). (Totally 85% of the assignment grade)

-1—Background and Industry (one short paragraph).

-2—Select of most significant financial performance results for the company: Compare Revenue, net income, working capital, total assets for the last three years and other results of your choice of the company against the industry or main competitor. Present the table with this information in your report. Write about 1 page of the analysis of these financial performance results. (15% of the project grade)

-3—Find financial ratios for the company and its major competitor in the Internet. Write about 1-2 pages of analysis of the ratio results you received. (15% of the project grade). Compare the ratio results against the industry or main competitor.

-4- Evaluate Return on Equity for the company for the last three years using the DuPont analysis. (10% of the project grade). Compare the company’s results to a major competitor.

Taking the information from the Income statements and the Balance sheets, calculate the company’s return on equity using the DuPont technique for the company for three years. Show your calculation!

Write about 1 page of analysis of the results that you received. Compare the results to main competitor. If the management of the company would like to improve their return on equity, what should the management of these companies do?

-5- Evaluate other areas of financial analysis: capital spending, stock growth, Beta values, credit rating service valuations (if possible), bond rating valuations (if possible), etc. Make an overall conclusion about financial performance of the company during the last years. Compare the results that you received against the industry or main competitor.  Summarize the results that you received in 1 page. What are the firm’s financial strengths and weaknesses? (10% of the project grade)

-6- Collect and evaluate the data about stock performance of the assigned company’s for the last one year. Compare the results that you received against the industry or main competitor.

Write about 1-2 pages of analysis of the ratio results you received. (20% of the project grade).

-7- Develop a specific recommendation, with supporting rationale, as to whether or not the assigned company’s recent trend in financial and stock performance is of sufficient financial strength to warrant entering into a long-term commitment (about 1 page) (15% of the project grade)

 

PRESENTATION OF PAPER AND WRITING (15%) of the project grade):

-Organization, Format and Presentation of Paper including the Title page, Introduction, Body, and Summary (4% of the project grade)

Use of Tables, Figures and Other Graphics to Summarize and Support Analysis Presented in the Paper (3% of the project grade)

Logical and Smooth Flowing Transitions and Relationships Among Sections of the Written Report (3% of the project grade)

Research Sources and Significance of Research Information and Data, Use of APA Citation Methodology (5% of the project grade)

Your final report is to be an executive-level financial report, directed to the CFO. This report should be about 8 double-spaced typewritten pages (without tables and graphs). Include suitable comparative, quantitative and qualitative analyses and conclude with a specific and supported recommendation on the projected financial viability of THE COMPANY THAT IS TO BE ANALYZED FOR THIS PROJECT (COMPANY SELECTED BY INSTRUCTOR) for the next several years.

Essential research data, financial calculations and other documentation as necessary to support your recommendation should be referred to in summary form in your report and attached in detail as enclosures.  All major sources should be referenced.  There is no set limit to the size of the enclosures, but it is recommended that only essential enclosures be attached. You should use references and bibliography to identify any remaining supporting documents you wish to include.

The Individual Research Report must be posted to the D2L Student Assignments as a Attachments are limited to a maximum two files in doc, docx., xls. xlsx., or rtf. formats. OTHER FORMATS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, will not be reviewed and graded.

If these formats are not available, use the following option:

File – Save As – in the bottom of the window for saving file you see “save as type” – choose type Rich Text Format for doc. file, and previous option of Excel for Excel file.

Pdf. files will not be accepted and graded.

All works must be Word processed. Handwritten and scanned work will not be accepted and graded.

This report is an individual effort and must be researched, developed and prepared by you.  All questions related to this assignment, should be referred to the mythical CFO (i.e., your instructor).

All works must be Word processed. Handwritten and scanned work will not be accepted and graded.

This report is an individual effort and must be researched, developed and prepared by you.  All questions related to this assignment, should be referred to the mythical CFO (i.e., your instructor).

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Evaluation Rubric for the Research Project.

An evaluation rubric is available for the research project. The evaluation rubric outlines the specific requirements and elements of the project. It is suggested that the rubric be used as a guideline for the content, preparation, and completion of the project

ike Davis worked for one of the big outdoor sporting goods stores for more than seven years.  Although he never completed his degree, Mike took some management courses at the local community college.  The knowledge he gained from his coursework along with his own tenacity enabled him to rise into entry-level management. Although Mike enjoyed his job, he couldn’t help wondering if there was more to life.  Mike always wanted to open his own business because he wanted to be his own boss and thought he might be able to earn a decent living.

Recently, retired from a career with the school system as a PE teacher and sports coach, Mike’s Aunt Daisy was looking to fulfill her dream of having an outdoor adventure business.  She had inherited some property years back but had not done anything with the land to this point. When Aunt Daisy learned that Mike was thinking along the same lines, she determined it was time to start a business.  The two decided to go into business together and brought in Mike’s younger brother, Ethan, who was working part-time as an athletic trainer.

The concept was simple…to open a business where teenagers, young adults, and work teams from local businesses could enjoy hours of outdoor fun and entertainment.  There was limited sports and entertainment for the target audience so the family decided to open a themed outdoor paint ball park, which they called Outdoor Adventure Paintball Park.  Outdoor Adventure offers customers a choice of five battlefields, each offering a different level of play.

Each field provides a unique experience for hours of enjoyment.  There is the civil war field with a simulated headquarters and trenches; an old castle, which is made of multiple levels and a tower; the woods, which offers a true woodsy battle with placement of several man-made buildings for additional cover; the village, which is a large field with a wooded section running down one side, a two story building and bunkers in the middle, with a creek running down the other side; and the hill, which contains a wooded section and a number of bunkers on a steep incline. A small store is strategically placed in a location central to the fields to eliminate the need for guests to leave the playing area.

The costs to customers vary, with rental packages starting at $25 per person. Customers may also purchase a la carte based on their individual needs. Additionally, season passes are available for a cost of $150 and birthday party packages are available for $300.  The minimum age to participate in a paint ball event is 10 years.

In addition to the five battle fields, there are six air ball fields that are formatted for 3, 5 and 7-man tournament play.  Air ball fields offer a variety of layouts that are constantly changed to keep up with the latest craze in tournament play.  Many of the fields have dedicated fill stations to eliminate the need for players to leave the field to reload.

The facility also includes a shooting gallery designed to allow individuals to sharpen their shooting skills.  The gallery contains high velocity paint guns and a variety of still and moving targets.  Players may practice aiming, have shootouts or just blast away at targets for sheer enjoyment.

Mike manages the business and spends most of his time in his office with the door closed, Ethan trains new employees and supervises paint ball events, and Aunt Daisy has oversight of the shooting gallery. The business started with three employees but has grown quickly to a staff of 20.

The venture seemed like a good idea.  The family’s passion for sports and working with youth appeared to be paying off.  There are loyal repeat customers who purchase expensive equipment and supplies from Ethan. These customers also enjoy attending extra training and information sessions. The tournaments have become popular and the local news has been covering the events.  Moreover, the business has a reputation for being a safe family friendly environment.

However, recently, Outdoor Adventure has been experiencing growing pains.  Scheduling is becoming more challenging as the activities on the field increase.  Staff is pulled from one area of the park to provide coverage in another.  Employees are starting to complain that they do not understand their job duties outside of the paint ball fields and feel they need additional training and procedures.  Additionally, a major event was missed due to double-booking.  A number of customers have expressed their displeasure with the service and, as a result, spending less time on the field.  Local businesses are not responding to special discounts for employee events.  There has been an increase in workplace mistakes but fortunately these have not resulted in serious accidents.  Customers and employees are starting to question the leadership and often ask, “How long can a business like this one last?” or “Who’s running the show?”

Mike has noticed a dip in sales and is now starting to feel they are losing control of the business.  While the two closest competitors are 30 – 45 miles away and do not offer nearly the same amenities, Mike understands that if they do not do something quickly, their customer base may decide travel to the competition.  Moreover, his passion for owning a sports-oriented business is waning.  He is concerned about the continued success of the business but the work no longer seems fun or interesting.

Aunt Daisy, on the other hand, is not interested in discussing the books and does not see any need to worry.  She is not concerned about what Mike calls “a few random incidents” and sees the dip in sales as an indication that it would be a good idea to expand the offering.  In fact, she has been presented with the possibility of forming a paint ball competing team.  She feels this opportunity is too big to pass up and wants to convince the others that it’s a good time to pursue.

1) Nature of Economic Knowledge and Ignorance

a. Economics is an unusual field in that many myths and foolish superstitions are commonly accepted by otherwise reasonable, educated people.

b. The average person’s misconceptions about economics are similar to the confusion exhibited by the “Cargo Cults” in the 1940s—primitive tribes that thought they could clear land, pray to cargo gods so that magic silver birds would come to them bringing wondrous gifts of “cargo”

c. Economic ignorance often influences, even drives, economic policy..
d. Consider the world culture’s focus on jobs. Jobs are very important but means to an ends.
e. What is the end purpose of the economy?
f. Name a beneficial thing that would destroy jobs.
g. Name a harmful thing that would create jobs.

Read Case 7.1 in Managing Human Resources. After reading the case, please complete the following items:

1. Write a summary of the case,
2. Answer the critical thinking questions, and
3. Elaborate on two key learnings from the case related to performance management, appraisals, and the validity and reliable of various methods. Be sure to clearly state the two key learnings and defend them in well-organized, scholarly responses.

A key learning is defined as significant knowledge gained from reading the case. You may choose to explain your key learnings by offering a real-world application, personal insight, your thoughts and opinions about what was stated, how it is handled at your company, etc.

Arrange your summary, questions, and key learnings in a well-organized, scholarly response of 2-3 pages. Support your observations and opinions with citations from 2-3 credible sources

1. Write a summary of the case,
2. Answer the critical thinking questions, and
3. Elaborate on two key learnings from the case related to performance management, appraisals, and the validity and reliable of various methods. Be sure to clearly state the two key learnings and defend them in well-organized, scholarly responses.

A key learning is defined as significant knowledge gained from reading the case. You may choose to explain your key learnings by offering a real-world application, personal insight, your thoughts and opinions about what was stated, how it is handled at your company, etc.

Arrange your summary, questions, and key learnings in a well-organized, scholarly response of 2-3 pages. Support your observations and opinions with citations from 2-3 credible sources

. (a) Define the slack and surplus variables. What do they represent? What is (are) the difference(s) between a slack and a surplus variable?

 

(b) Briefly describe the important parts of each step needed to make a decision using decision sciences models.

 

(c) What are the different types of special situations that may occur while solving a linear programming problem? Briefly describe each of these special situations.

 

 

(d) What are the important properties of a straight line? Briefly describe each property. What are the different types of slopes possible for a straight line? Briefly describe each type of slope and give one example for each type.

 

6. Determine whether the following linear programming problem is infeasible, unbounded, or has multiple optimal solutions. Draw a graph to find the feasible region (if it exists) and explain your conclusion.