Author: chris

CBO-iShares 1-5 year Laddered Corporate Bond Index ETF- and XIU-iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF- are two iShares ETFs tracking and Canadian bond market and Canadian equity market, respectively. Thus, they are popularly used by Canadian investors as proxies for Canadian bond and equity markets.

You can find out the historical closing prices of CBO and XIU from the following website:http://ca.ishares.com/product_info/fund/index.htm

Download the most recent three years weekly date.

Suppose that now you have $80 million to invest for six months and you want to invest those money into CBO, XIU and the Canadian 6-month T-bill. Assume that the interest rate of the 6-month T-bill is 2% per annum.

Use EXCEL to answer following questions:

1.  Estimate the weekly expected returns, standard deviations of CBO and XIU, respectively, and their correlation and covariance. Then convert them into those with six-month (26 weeks) horizon.

2.  Draw the opportunity set offered by these two securities.

3.  What is the optimal portfolio of CBO and XIU? What are the expected return and standard deviation of this portfolio?

4.  Choose your degree of risk aversion with a range of the A value from 1 to 8.

5.  Determine your optimal asset allocation among CBO, XIU, and T-bill, in percentage, dollar amounts, and number of shares. What are the expected return and standard deviation of your complete portfolio?

Attach first and last pages of your spreadsheets to your assignment. However, you should answer the questions in a separate paper.

Change Model Assignment

 

Assume you are the Sales and Marketing Director for Sea Treasures, a small group of well-known retail stores specializing in exotic sea life and high-end accessories for aquariums.   The company has been in business for over 50 years, but the customer base is shrinking, sales are slow, and you are faced with reducing staff and closing stores.   Sea Treasures will be out of business within a year if innovative and creative changes are not made quickly.   After many months, you have finally been able to convince the owner that the only way to sustain the business and increase revenue is to create an Internet Website to sell the large inventory of aquarium decorator items (currently gathering dust in a costly warehouse) .  This will be a short-term, small scale change.  Six months later, you will expand the Website to sell live sea creatures such as tropical fish and small sea turtles online, which is a long-term, large-scale change.

You face many challenges in this transformational change initiative, beginning with strong employee resistance, new technology, and shipping methods.  Many small businesses have been faced with these same issues, and have made the transition successfully.  Consider the humble beginnings of Amazon, and look where they are today.  Selecting the best change model for this business, and implementing it step by step provides the foundation for creating an exciting new company.

In 3 pages, explain which change model you would follow for the short-term change and which you would follow for the long-term change.  Provide rationale for your decision and discuss the effects that these changes would have on the employees, managers, and executives within the organization.  Include at least three references and follow standard APA formatting for your paper.

Write an essay consisting of at least 500 words addressing all of the following topics (a through h):

a. How is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) different from previous legislation addressing solid waste?

b. On the Internet, search for “40CFR261.21” which is the portion of the Code of Federal Regulations pertaining to ignitability under RCRA. Quote two lines from that portion of the CFR.

c. What are the differences between RCRA Subtitle C and Subtitle D?

d. Describe the cradle to grave tracking process instituted by RCRA.

e. List at least three standards for a Treatment, Storage, or Disposal Facility (TSDF) under RCRA?

f. How is CERCLA different than RCRA?

g. Using an Internet search, determine how many sites are currently on the National Priorities List (NPL).

h. What is a brownfield?

You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.

Write an essay consisting of at least 500 words addressing all of the following topics (a through h):

a. Explain the features of solid waste landfill design that were new with the passing of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

b. On the Internet, search for “40CFR279.30” which is the portion of the Code of Federal Regulations pertaining to “Do-it-yourselfer used oil collection centers.” Quote two lines from that portion of the CFR.

c. How do the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) of 1984 service to supplement the RCRA of 1976?

d. Explain the permitting system instituted by RCRA.

e. Summarize monetary penalties that are used in enforcement under RCRA.

f. Why is CERCLA commonly called “Superfund”?

g. Describe the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) with respect to the process of having a site listed on the National Priorities List (NPL).

h. Explain the Underground Storage Tank (UST) program under RCRA.

You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations.

IP1

Your first step is to select a database you will design and implement in this class. You will make weekly contributions to your overall Key Assignment. The database project idea should first be sent to your instructor for approval before this Phase 1 Individual Project is due. In this first week you will explore a structured design process when creating your database application. You will write a report describing the database design development life cycle and describe in details the steps needed to properly create the database you have selected for your Key Assignment. You will also provide an overall description of your database that you received approval from your instructor to do.

 

You also should take this opportunity to create the template for your entire Key Assignment project; create a Word document that you will add to for each remaining assignment. The document should follow this format:

 

• Database design project document shell
• Use Microsoft Word
• Title page
• Course number and name
• Project name
• Student name
• Faculty name
• Date
• Table of contents
• Use auto-generated TOC
• Separate page
• Maximum of three levels deep (one level deep is okay too)
• Be sure to update the fields of the TOC so it is up-to-date before submitting your project.
• Section headings (create each heading on a new page with TBD as content except for sections listed under new content below)

 

• • Project outline
  • Description of the database design life cycle
  • The entity relationship diagram
  • The logical model and normalization
  • The Microsoft Access database
  • The Microsoft Access database application

 

Each week, you will add to this document and submit for grading. As a preview, each section will contain the following:

 

• Description of the database design life cycle (Week 1 IP)
• A description of the DBDSL – 7 steps
• A discussion about the three steps in database design

IP2

 

Once requirements analysis is completed, the first step in database design can be completed. This step is the conceptual model (or entity relationship diagram). Using any modeling tool you choose (MS Access, SmartDraw, Visio, Erwin, or even PowerPoint or Word), create an entity-relationship diagram (ERD) from the entity and attributes list for the database project you selected similar to what you did in the Discussion Board this week. Your submission should ensure the following:

 

• All entities and attributes are identified
• All relationships between entities are defined (including proper relation semantics)
• Add your ERD as a screenshot from the template started in Week 1, and provide supporting discussion about how the relationships were established and determined.
• Add the ERD and discussion to the section in your template titled: The Entity Relationship Diagram.
• Update the TOC to reflect the new section.
• Name the document CS251__IP2.doc.
• Submit the document for grading.

IP3

Now that the ERD is completed for your selected project, you are anxious to create the database and setup the tables. Before that step you remind everyone that the 2nd phase in the Database development process has not been completed yet. You still need to create the Logical Data Model and check the model against 3rd Normal Form. For this Individual Project convert your ERD into a Logical Data Model that is in 3NF. The deliverables for this task are:

• 1 Logical Data Model analyzed and converted to 3NF
• Describe how each table meets 1NF, 2NF and 3NF, if you need to remove any issues to move to the next higher NF describe what the issue is and how you resolved it.
• Properly Identify all Primary (Use Solid Underlines) and Foreign Keys (Use Dotted Underlines)

Add the normalized Logical Data Model and normalization discussion to the section in your template titled: The Logical Model and Normalization.

• Update the TOC to reflect the new section.
• Name the document CS251_<First and Last Name>_IP3.doc.
• Submit the document for grading.

Effective Meetings

In this assignment, you will study how a leader can conduct a variety of meetings effectively.

Complete the following tasks:

• Read the following articles:
  • Bates Communications: Insights. (2007, November 11). Are yourunning meetings, or are meetings running you? Retrieved

    from http://www.bates-communications.com/Portals/25382

    /docs/art-runningmeetings.pdf

  • Facilitative Leadership & Facilitator Training. (2012, December 13).Taking charge of poorly led meetings when you are not

    the leader. Retrieved from http://facilitativeleadership.

    wordpress.com/

  • McNamara, C. (n.d.). Guidelines to conducting effective meetings(Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and

    Supervision). Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/

    misc/meeting-management.htm

  • Facilitative Leadership & Facilitator Training. (2012, June 21).Meeting participation tips (Part 1 of 3—The beginning).

    Retrieved from http://facilitativeleadership.wordpress.com

    /2012/06/21/meeting-participation-tips-part-1-of-3-the-

    beginning/

• Attend a meeting. The meeting can be any one of the following:
  • A work-based meeting
  • Municipality, township, or school district meeting
  • A meeting for an organization you might be involved with
  • Any other meeting you can identify within the course required time frame.

Part I

Based on your reading, understanding of the articles, and your experience in the meeting you attended, answer the following questions:

• • Where is the meeting being conducted, and what is its purpose? Is the meeting focused on communications or problem solving, or is it a meeting with no specific agenda?
  • Is the meeting a regularly scheduled event, such as a monthly scheduled meeting or a meeting to address a specific matter?
  • Does the meeting have a set communication designed with relevant information to advance the meeting? Please explain.
  • Was the meeting opened with an announcement or explanation of its purpose and importance?
  • What was the communication style of the meeting’s leader or facilitator?
  • What were the leader’s bases of power? Select from a number of conceptual paradigms and elaborate on your selection.
    • Authoritative
    • Knowledge and Expertise
    • Correction or Castigation
    • Reward or Incentive
    • Persuasion
    • Mentoring or Coaching
    • Relationships or Individual or group interactions
    • Direction or Vision
    • Charismatic or Personable
  • Did the members or attendees have an opportunity to express opinions? Were they asked for suggestions, ideas, and information?
  • Did you recognize any conflict, disrespect, or tension among the members or attendees? If so, was the source of the conflict evident?
  • Did you observe the participants’ body language (such as posturing, positioning, or gesturing) when different topics were introduced? Describe it.
  • What was the intended outcome of the meeting? Was it achieved? Why or why not? What were the pivotal moments of the meeting which contributed to its success or failure?

Part II

Complete the following tasks to provide an overall critique of the meeting you attended:

• • • Identify the positive, effective qualities of the meeting in one list, and identify the qualities which were ineffective in a separate list.
    • Arrange each list from top to bottom, from most important to least important.
    • Take the top three ranked factors from each list and explain the affect they had on the meeting.

Part III

You need to organize a meeting to introduce a new project in a health service organization. The project is sufficiently complex in size and nature to require an expanded cross-section of expertise from within and outside the organization. You are responsible for inviting the necessary individuals and representatives of involved departments and professional functions to the meeting.

Based on the principles contained in the articles, textbook, and elected independent research provided in the course, complete the following tasks:

• • • Develop an agenda for the meeting.
    • Provide information, expertise, and background on the invited attendees. Explain the rationale and intended functional expertise each attendee brings to the group.
    • Recognize and develop measurable objectives to assess the success of the planned meeting.

Compile your responses to Parts I, II, and III in a 7- to 8-page Microsoft Word document.

Support your responses with examples.

Cite any sources in APA format. Include all in text citations

To complete the following assignment, go to this week’s Assignment link in the left navigation.

Recruiting and Staffing Plan

Assess the opening case study from Chapter 6: “Amazon is Hiring…Big Time!” In a three- to five-page paper (not including the title and references pages), create a recruiting and staffing strategy for Amazon, and select one position from the given list to write a recruiting and staffing plan; consider how many of these positions Amazon needs to fill. You must select from the following full-time positions: Warehouse Supervisor, Delivery Representative, and Customer Service Manager.)

Your paper must include the following:

1. Write an introduction including the selected position, a preview of your paper, and a succinct thesis statement.
2. Discuss the legal landscape, including special legal considerations that the company should be aware of.
3. Create a recruiting plan for the position selected that includes the following:
   • Explain what recruiting is and why it is important.
   • Explain the tools that will be utilized to find candidates for filling the selected position, and state why each tool was selected.
4. Create a selection plan for the position that includes the following:
   • Explain what staffing is and why it is important.
   • State what assessments will be used and why.
   • Discuss the types of interviewing techniques that will be used and why.
   • List five job-specific interview questions for the position candidates.
5. Write a conclusion paragraph that reaffirms your thesis statement.

Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. It must include citations and references for the text and at least three scholarly sources, one of which must be from the Ashford University Library.

One to two paragraphs each with refrences attached for each discussion question. I will pay $5 per question and an additional $20 for time and research. This needs to be complete by 11/17/2015.

 

 

Discussion Assignments

 

1. Offer an example of a justification-based defense other than self-defense. Discuss the concepts of self-defense, defense of the home, and defense of property. Louisiana and a few other states have a law which some have termed as a “make my day” law, which allows deadly force to be used solely to protect property. In other words, you could shoot someone you observed trying to steal your car. Are these laws wise? Why or why not?
2. Locate a news story or informational web site about animal abuse and neglect and comment on it. How should we punish animal abuse? Animal neglect? Should it be a felony? Under what circumstances?

    

    

   Discussion Assignments

    

   1. What are the various tests used for the insanity defense? Which one do you believe is best for the courts to apply? Why?
   2. Offer an example of two excuse based defenses. Read “Criminal Law in the News” on page 178. Offer or obtain an example of an excuse-defense that strikes you as silly, absurd, inappropriate, outrageous, etc. Has our system gone overboard in allowing these defenses? Why or why not?
   3. Locate a news story or informational web site about hate crimes, and comment on the story. How should we punish hate crime? What are the Constitutional issues with hate crime laws? Should it be a felony? Under what circumstances?

    

   Discussion Assignments

    

   1. Review the stories about three controversial homicide cases in the course content for this week.  What level of homicide charge is appropriate? Why?
   2. Chapter 8 contains a lot of discussion about domestic violence and the law. Should domestic violence be punished as a separate crime or within existing assault laws? What about stalking? Explain. Should prosecutors press criminal charges in these cases if the victim is unwilling? Why or why not?
   3. Chapter 10 contains materials on drunken driving and alcohol-related traffic offenses.  Obtain a news story or visit an informational website about DWI and the criminal law. How should DWI be punished? What priority should be placed on its enforcement? Why?

       

    

   1. Do you agree that today’s society is “over criminalized?” That is, do you believe that there are too many laws regulating society’s behavior? If yes, please give examples of such laws and state why you believe they hurt society. If you do not feel that way, explain why you believe those concepts.
   2. Locate a news story about identity theft and comment on it. How prominent of an offense is identity theft? How should it be punished? What can be done to reduce the occurrence of this offense?

       

       

       

      Discussion Assignments

       

      1. What areas of the criminal law are most in need of reform? If you could change any single thing about the substantive criminal law, what would it be and why?
      2. Chapter 13 discusses the rights of victims in the criminal justice system. Should the system place a higher priority on the rights of victims? Why or why not?

Employee turnover in the hospitality industry averages 400% annually. This means that, on average, 100% of the staff of a restaurant, hotel, airline, cruise ship, etc. is replaced four (4) times per year. There has been extensive research on employee turnover and employee job satisfaction. Using the Internet or the Strayer Library, select one (1) hospitality industry type such as fast-food restaurants, luxury hotels, specialty hotels, or any other type of hospitality interest and identify the main problems associated with that industry and employee turnover. Suggest ways and methods to address the high turnover rate.

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

1. Describe the type of hospitality industry and its main categories of employees.
2. Summarize three (3) primary reasons that turnover is so high in this industry.
3. Recommend one (1) method to address each of the three (3) primary reasons that turnover is so high in this industry.
4. Recommend one (1) method to improve job satisfaction in general for this industry.
5. Use at least two (2) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality 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.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Develop a plan for managing and improving quality in a hospitality operation.
• Describe the management attributes contributing to providing service quality.
• List and describe basic service paradigms.
• Differentiate between high- and low-performance organizations and identify contributing factors.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in quality service assurance.
• Write clearly and concisely about quality service assurance using proper writing mechanics.

‘The discovery of America and that of the passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, are the two (2) greatest events recorded in the history of [human] kind” – Adam Smith, in the Wealth of Nations,1776. Think about why he and many other notables supported this statement, especially the discovery of America. What was so important about this New World across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe?  How did it change globalization in terms of trade, culture, societies, innovations, new and old world exchanges, and in other ways?

You have already developed a thesis statement and developed an outline in which you identify three (3) main points relevant to your topic. Now you will develop the final paper in which you explore your main points in detail.

Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:

1. Introduce your paper with your previously crafted thesis statement.
2. Identify three (3) major aspects that demonstrate old and new world exchanges. Explain your responses with specific examples and details.
3. Identify three (3) specific groups that were affected by this global event and provide two (2) examples for each group describing how the group was affected.
4. Summarize how this discovery affected the life of the average working American during the colonial period. Use specific examples and details.
5. Use at least three (3) academic references besides or in addition to the textbook. 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 style 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.