Author: chris

Based on the same scenario as in Assignments 1, 2, and 3, you are now considering additional factors needed for your proposal based on RFP #123456789, dated 07/14/2014, where another local competitor intends to submit a proposal.

Additional factors to consider are:

Although you have always built in a profit margin of ten percent (10%) for commercial flooring jobs, you are willing to consider a lesser profit margin in this case in order to win the contract.
The Navy’s Contract Administration Officer is known to be a smart, tough negotiator.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

Determine two (2) potential profit objectives that you will consider for accepting a less than normal profit margin if you win the contract. Provide a rationale for your response.
Determine two to three (2-3) negotiation strategies or tactics that you feel would be effective for winning the contract. Provide a rationale for your response.
Use at least three (3) quality references Note: Wikipedia and other related websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

Imagine that you are a contracts officer for the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), and that your supervisor has tasked you with the procurement of a new software system for processing tax returns. You have recognized that contract administration involves those activities performed by government officials after they award a contract. Once an award is made, contractors receive the contract, which includes provisions to minimize the risk and define rights and obligations, from the Internal Revenue Service.

Review Federal Acquisition Review (FAR) “52.246-1 Contractor Inspection Requirements”.

Note: You may create and/or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

Evaluate the importance of the standard default clause. As a contracts officer for the IRS, suggest two (2) ways in which you could combine the standard default clause with the FAR’s delay provision for the protection of both parties to the contract.
Speculate on the impact that a contracting officer’s changes to the payment terms within the software contract would exert upon both the government and the contractor. Analyze the requirements for a contracts officer to successfully effectuate a change order on behalf of the government. Conclude whether or not the change order is the most secure method for making a contractual change. Justify your response.
Examine the inspection criteria that FAR 52.246-1 articulates, and discuss the necessity of each requirement. As a contracts officer for the IRS, suggest two (2) improvements that you could make to the inspection procedure in order to make the procedure more efficient.
Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia does not qualify as an academic resource.

Assignment 2: Leader Profile

Many argue that the single largest variable in organizational success is leadership. Effective leadership can transform an organization and create a positive environment for all stakeholders. In this assignment, you will have the chance to evaluate a leader and identify what makes him/her effective.

Consider all the leaders who have affected your life in some way. Think of people with whom you work—community leaders, a family member, or anyone who has had a direct impact on you.

Choose one leader you consider to be effective. This can be a leader you are personally aware of, or someone you don’t know, but have observed to be an effective leader. Write a paper addressing the following:
Explain how this leader has influenced you and why you think he or she is effective.
Analyze what characteristics or qualities this person possesses that affected you most.
Rate this leader by using a leadership scorecard. This can be a developed scorecard, or one you develop yourself. If you use a developed scorecard, please be sure to cite the sources of the scorecard. Once you have identified your scorecard, rate your leader. You decide what scores to include (for example, scale of 1–5, 5 being the highest) but be sure to assess the leader holistically across the critical leadership competencies you feel are most important (for example, visioning, empowering, strategy development and communication).
Critique this individual’s skills against what you have learned about leadership so far in this course. Consider the following:
How well does he/she meet the practices covered in your required readings?
How well has he/she adapted to the challenges facing leaders today?
If you could recommend changes to his/her leadership approach, philosophy, and style, what would you suggest? Why?

Using the assigned readings, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet including general organizational sources like the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, or Harvard Business Review, build a leadership profile of the leader you selected. Include information from personal experiences as well as general postings on the selected leader from Internet sources such as blogs. Be sure to include 2–3 additional resources not already included in the required readings in support of your leadership profile.

COMPETITION IN THE FREE MARKET SYSTEM

Provide an example to illustrate one of the four types of competition in a free market system: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. Did this competition result in any type of government intervention? Project how this type of competition, if widespread, would impact the overall health of the economy.

Determining ethical boundaries can sometimes be a challenge, since ethics is both based on individual beliefs as well as societal standards.

Would receiving a holiday gift from a client be considered bribery? Would it be wrong for a person in a position of power, like a mayor, to ask a bank manager friend for a personal loan? On a more practical level, is it unethical for a cashier to provide a coupon to a customer who did not have one at the register? Is it unethical for someone to complete a timesheet recording eight hours of work, when they left 45 minutes early?

Select a case study of an ethical dilemma in the workplace. You may use an example from this week’s readings, your professional experience, or a website.

Please answer the following questions:

1. What is the ethical dilemma? Describe the individuals involved in the scenario.

2. Who benefitted from this situation?

3. Who was disadvantaged or hurt?

4. What are the benefits of the decision?

5. What are the problems of the decision?

6. Will the decision survive the test of time?

Assignment 4: Diversity of Approaches

According to the textbook, there are at least two (2) approaches to the SDLC, two (2) approaches to software construction and modeling, and many techniques and models. The following could be possible reasons for such a diversity of approaches:

The field is young.
The technology changes quickly.
Different organizations have different needs.
There are many types of systems.
Developers have widely different backgrounds.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

Analyze each reason listed above as a reason for a diversity of approaches to software construction and modeling, and give your opinion on whether or not each reason is valid.
Propose at least one (1) additional reason why you believe such diversity of approaches exists. Provide support for your recommendation.
Use at least three (3) quality resources outside of the suggested resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Analyze and present methods to initiate, specify, and prioritize information systems projects and determine various aspects of feasibility of these projects.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in systems analysis and design.
Write clearly and concisely about advanced systems analysis and design topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.

This assignment is another opportunity to apply the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) in the design of instruction and assessment. In this assignment, you develop a lesson plan that incorporates UDL and effectively leverages educational technologies in the classroom. Specifically, using the Cast UDL Lesson Builder (2011) website (see instructions below on how to access this website), you will create a lesson in either English/language arts (ELA) or mathematics that includes the components listed in the content expectations, below.

Create your assignment using the content and written communication instructions below. Use the Grading Rubric to review your assignment before submission to ensure you have met the distinguished performance for each of the components described below. For additional assistance, review the Week Five Instructor Guidance page and, if needed, contact the instructor for further clarifications using the “Ask Your Instructor” discussion forum.

There are two parts to this assignment: Part I is an actual instructional plan and Part II is a final summary.

To prepare for Part I, you must first log onto the CAST UDL Lesson Builder (2011) website. Create a free account. Next, click on “Create, Save & Edit My Own UDL Lesson Plans” and begin constructing single lesson for a specific grade level focusing on either reading/language arts or math only. Each respective portion of the plan is inserted by selecting “Edit” and are detailed below in the Part I Content Expectations. For more information on each part of the lesson plan, click on the “More Information” button located in the lesson plan builder.

Note: Not all parts of the lesson plan will be used. Read the Content Instructions below to ensure you complete each component that is required.

Content Instructions

Lesson Overview (1 point): Include the title, author, subject, grade level(s), and duration of the lesson. (Lesson should be 30 to 90 minutes long, depending on your population.)

Lesson Description for the Day (0.5 point): Include a brief description of the essential learning to be experienced by students and practiced during the lesson. Include the approximate duration of the lesson (30 to 90 minutes total).

State Standard/s (1 point): Include the state grade-level standard this lesson aligns with. Include the whole standard rather than just its label (see Instructor Guidance for an example). You may use a standard from the Common Core State Standards or your own state standards.

Lesson Goals (1 point): Also known as the lesson objectives. Construct one to two content-specific objectives for lesson. The objectives should be written in student terms and contain a single, observable, and measurable verb indicating the skill in students will be assessed for during instruction.

Developmental Assets

As stated in the required resources for this week, the Search Institute has identified 40 Developmental Assets or “building blocks” of healthy development for young people. These have been broken down in to eight broad categories, and then identified as external or internal values.

First, using the US Census Bureau’s American Fact Finder (http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml), Pew Research Center (http://pewresearch.org/), and theNational Center for Education Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov/) websites, write a short descriptive narrative that identifies the general demographic characteristics of your community based on the latest census. Include items such as average income, household size, and other interesting facts that help paint an accurate picture of your community and schools in relation to the 40 Developmental Assets.

Next, create a table that identifies the eight categories of human development, summarizes the importance of the asset to the development of all youth, and identify at least one existing organization or support model in your community where students can experience this asset. Post your narrative and table in your initial post.

Foundations of Addiction Counseling

Develop a case study or, preferably, refer to one that is known to you but change names and any specific identifying information that involves a person with an addiction.

Write a 1,750- to 2,100-word paper that addresses the following:

Include details of the history of the addiction.
Include a family, educational, and social history.
Apply SAMHSA’s five objectives for assessment on p. 84 of Foundations of Addiction Counseling.
What assessment measures would you recommend to assess the severity of the addiction? Why would you choose those particular ones?
Have you addressed the full spectrum of problems for which treatment may be needed? Are there additional mental health issues in addition to addiction that need addressing?
What are the recommended interventions?
What family or significant persons would you include? How would they be included?
How will you measure the progress and effectiveness of the plans?
Refer to “A Case Study of William” for guidance, on p. 180 of Foundations of Addiction Counseling.

Nanotechnology (also called nanotech) is a branch of materials science that deals with manipulating matter on the atomic scale. It is so called because this field deals with engineering on the scale of a billionth of a meter, also known as a nanometer. Nanotechnology seeks to solve a wide range of problems from the construction of atomic scale machines to changing material properties at the atomic level.

Use the Internet, Argosy University library resources, and your textbook to research the field of nanotechnology.

Write a paper discussing some of the basic scientific and technical concepts of nanotechnology. Do the following in your paper:

Discuss current or future applications of nanotechnology in fields such as medicine, engineering, space exploration, fuel cell development, air and water purification, and agriculture.
Provide at least three examples of real-world applications in use or in development with reliable references.

Research at least three quantitative data collection instruments and sampling methods available to researchers using the text and additional resources from the University Library.

Identify two articles: one in which the business problem is researched using a descriptive statistical method and another using an inferential method.

Summarize each of the data collection instruments, sampling methods, and the statistical methods.

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you compare and contrast each of the approaches:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each sampling approach?

What are the specific situations in which you would choose to use each of the instruments and designs?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each statistical approach?

How can they be used most effectively in a combined approach?

Which methods are more appropriate for research in your own business and functional area?