Author: chris

“International Finance” Please respond to the following:

Based on the lecture and Webtext materials, address the following:

The IMF and World Bank are the world’s two leading lending institutions, but much of their monetary assistance disappears once it enters the banking systems of developing countries. Cite concrete evidence that supports the assertion that much assistance to developing countries is simply stolen by officials. Determine other main factors that account for the misuse of these funds.

 

 

“War and Peace” Please respond to the following:

• Based on the lecture and Webtext materials, address the following:

Discuss substantive ways in which armed conflict can contribute to or distract a developing economy and infrastructure. Analyze specific reasons why developed nations do not experience the same kinds of social upheaval. Note: Consider discussing a country you will use for Assignment 1 next week.

 

JOURNAL

Please note that this journal assignment is based on a pretend scenario and fictitious money. However, the assignment is based on actual stock pricing in real time situations. Do not invest your personal money for this assignment.

The capital markets and the ability to raise funds for corporate uses are essential to the US economic systems.  For this assignment, imagine that you have $25,000 to invest in US companies. You are buying used stock. The company got the money when it issued the stock originally. You will be buying it from an existing owner.

You are investing, or buying the stock, because you believe the company will make money and pay you a dividend in cash. Each share of stock that you buy entitles you to any dividend declared and a vote at the annual stockholders’ meeting.

The stock also allows you the ability to earn your money back by selling the stock. Of course, investing in stocks is risky and there is the possibility that the stock you buy will be worth less when you want your money back. The company is not obligated to give you any of your money back. You will only get your money back if another investor wants to buy your stock.

For your first journal entry complete the following:

1. Indicate the companies you are investing in: Select three (3) US companies that are publicly traded. There are many ways to find such companies and the stock prices, including the New York Stock Exchange at http://www.nyse.com, NASDAQ at http://www.nasdaq.com, and http://finance.yahoo.com.
2. Indicate the amount you are investing in each company: Decide how you will divide the $25,000 across the three (3) companies; e.g. $10,000 in Company 1, $10,000 in Company 2, and $5,000 in Company 3. You decide the amount you are investing in each company. You do not have to provide any analysis to justify your decisions. You must only provide some reason for picking that company. For example, you might invest in WalMart because that company gets a lot of your money and you hear that WalMart is doing well, and will continue to do well.
3. Indicate the number of shares you are buying, and the price of the shares you are buying for each company: Once you decide the companies and the amount for each company, determine how many shares you can buy. If Company 1 is selling for $42.16, then you may buy $10,000/ $42.16, or 237.19 shares. But you cannot buy a part of a share, so you decide to buy either 237 or 238. In this example you buy 237 shares, at $42.16 per share, investing $9,991.92. You won’t be able to buy exactly $10,000, or $5,000, or $25,000, but it will be relatively close.

   When you look up a stock price, the price listed is the price as of that exact moment. There is an opening price, highs and lows during the day, and a closing price. Use the “opening price for the day” when you make your pretend investment. Using the example above, you are investing $9,991.92, 237 shares, and $42.16 per share.

Training is a fundamental component to any organization. Organizations spend thousands of dollars each year to train and develop employees. Many of the programs do not produce the desired result of increased productivity.

Using the Argosy University online library resources, research factors to determine how needs assessments benefit organizations.

Write a 6-8 page paper addressing the following items:

• Define needs assessment
• Determine the cost-effectiveness of companies conducting need assessments
• Identify steps companies can employ to modify ineffective training programs that are not cost effective
• Discuss the role that technology, computer based training, webinars, etc, play in determining the cost effectiveness of training programs.
• Explain the steps or guidelines which can be utilized to help guide the successful implementation of a  training program

Assignment 2: Business Models

This assignment invites an analysis of two alternative models: a purely profit-oriented model versus a triple bottom line model. The differences are based on the relative importance of the objectives for profits, planet, and people.

Taking the role of an educational consultant, prepare a presentation including speaker notes. In the presentation, outline two alternative business models using the specified example.

• For the purely profit-motivated model, address the following:
  • Discuss the pressure exerted by the stock market on publicly traded companies as well as the structure of stock securities including voting rights.
  • Discuss how these influences would encourage a focus on pure profits and what that could mean for other stakeholders of the company.
• For the alternative business model aligned with the needs of people and planet, address the following:
  • Read the 2010 Sustainability Responsibility Report of Coca-Cola HBC available from the following link: http://www.coca-colahellenic.com/sustainability/
  • Illustrate the concepts of aligning a business model with the needs of the people and the planet with reference to the report.
• Compare the two models using the Coca-Cola HBC as an example.

In November 2003 the U.S. Congress passed a controversial health policy bill that President George W. Bush signed into law. The new legislation makes the most far-reaching changes to Medicare since the program was created in 1965. Please address the following questions:

• Why were changes to Medicare deemed necessary?
• What are the main provisions of the new legislation? Do you think they accomplish the desired goals?
• Who was involved in setting the agenda for this policy change? Discuss the roles and interests of specific agenda setters and their influence on the development of the legislation.
• Why was the legislation controversial? Discuss the claims of the law’s supporters and detractors. Who will benefit from the changes?
• Do you think having electronically stored data (such as costs and access to individual patient files) played a role in the decision-making process?

 

APA Format, 3-4 pages

This assignment consists of two (2) sections: a project introduction and a project plan. You must submit both sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment. Label each file name according to the section of the assignment it is written for. Additionally, you may create and / or assume all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

You are a newly appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) of a $25 million dollar data collection and analysis company that has been operating less than two (2) years. It is expected to grow by 60% over the next eighteen (18) months. Your company currently collects data using Web analytics and combines it with operational systems data. Web analytics is an increasingly important part of most business marketing plans. Your company is looking for ways to leverage the collected data but wants to ensure that the information technology infrastructure will support the expected growth that the company is anticipating.  The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has given you sixty (60) days to deliver a comprehensive information systems project plan to address the organizational growth that the company is experiencing. The company will be expanding from one (1) floor to three (3) floors within six (6) months. Since this is a relatively new company, there is currently limited technology infrastructure to support the business. All information technology (hardware and software) must be redesigned to meet organizational needs. The solution should be implemented in either a hosted solution, on-site solution, or a hybrid model. The CEO is expecting you to integrate different technologies from different partners and incorporate industry best practices and cost-effective solutions in connection with the development of technological systems.  In addition, the CEO is extremely interested in cloud computing technologies and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) but is leery of security issues that may be associated. However, he is sure that you will implement proper security protocols. The company currently consists of twenty (20) employees of which four (4), including yourself, are dedicated to the IT organization.

Section 1: Project Introduction

1. Write a four to six (4-6) page project introduction that documents the current state of the organization, expands upon the information given above, and includes the following:
   • Background information of the company.
   • Details regarding the type of business that the company is engaged in.
   • A description of current outsourcing and offshoring activities.
   • Identification of current skilled information systems personnel in position and responsibilities.
   • The specific types of data that the company collects.
   • A description of the information systems that the company currently has to support the business. The description at a minimum should include the following:
     • Operational Systems and Databases
     • Analytics and Interfaces
     • Infrastructure and Security
   • The use of at least two (2) quality 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, 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.

Section 2: Project Plan

Use Microsoft Project to:

2. Create a project plan (summary and detailed) using Microsoft Office Project. The project plan should:
   • Record all tasks, subtasks, resources, and time related to the project.
   • Outline the planning, analysis, design, and implementation phases.
   • Develop in accordance with the systems development life cycle (SDLC).

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Describe the various functions and activities within the information systems area, including the role of IT management and the CIO, structuring of IS management within an organization, and managing IS professionals within the firm.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in information systems.
• Write clearly and concisely about strategic issues and practices in the information systems domain using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.

In November 2003 the U.S. Congress passed a controversial health policy bill that President George W. Bush signed into law. The new legislation makes the most far-reaching changes to Medicare since the program was created in 1965. Please address the following questions:

• Why were changes to Medicare deemed necessary?
• What are the main provisions of the new legislation? Do you think they accomplish the desired goals?
• Who was involved in setting the agenda for this policy change? Discuss the roles and interests of specific agenda setters and their influence on the development of the legislation.
• Why was the legislation controversial? Discuss the claims of the law’s supporters and detractors. Who will benefit from the changes?
• Do you think having electronically stored data (such as costs and access to individual patient files) played a role in the decision-making process?

 

APA Format, 3-4 pages

Senior executives from a variety of organizations are often called to testify about health policy issues (as you saw in Unit 3’s group project about the U.S. congressional hearing). It is in the organization’s best interest if these executives are both politically competent and good corporate citizens.

1. In general terms, what knowledge, skills, and individual behaviors must an executive have to be politically competent and to be good corporate citizens?
2. Think about the witness whose testimony you summarized for the group project. Did he or she demonstrate political competence? Explain.
3. Think about a particular health care organization’s corporate citizenship. How would you describe it (e.g., “good,” “average,” or “poor”)? What did the organization do (or not do) to achieve this level of corporate citizenship?

 

APA Format, 2-3 pages

In this assignment, you will identify and discuss factors that contribute to self-image during middle childhood and adolescence.

Write a 6- to 7-page research paper on factors influencing self-image during middle childhood and adolescence.

Tasks:

Conduct a review from professional literature—articles from peer-reviewed journals and relevant textbooks—on the factors influencing self-image during middle childhood and adolescence. Topics to consider include:

• Family constellation
• Risk and protective factors
• Various aspects of cultural identity
• Physical characteristics
• Social interactions with peers

Prompt 1

One of the reasons to assess a patient’s thoughts and beliefs about health and illness is to identify any patterns or beliefs that may affect his or her health and healing. How would past experience with cancer in another family member possibly impact a patient’s own health and healing if he/she was diagnosed with cancer? Choose one of AHNA’s core values (body, mind, emotions, spirit, social/cultural, relationship, context, and environment) and discuss how you can care for yourself in that area in order to improve well-being. Use examples from your clinical experience and cite sources from the readings or online library.

Prompt 2

From your clinical experience, provide two examples of healing rituals that your patients from different cultures have utilized to support their health and healing. Give a general description of the rituals including the type of ritual, who performed it, where and how often it was performed, and how the patient believed that it would help him or her to heal. Choose rituals from different cultures. Support your answer with sources from the readings or the online library.

This assignment consists of two (2) sections: a project introduction and a project plan. You must submit both sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment. Label each file name according to the section of the assignment it is written for. Additionally, you may create and / or assume all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

You are a newly appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) of a $25 million dollar data collection and analysis company that has been operating less than two (2) years. It is expected to grow by 60% over the next eighteen (18) months. Your company currently collects data using Web analytics and combines it with operational systems data. Web analytics is an increasingly important part of most business marketing plans. Your company is looking for ways to leverage the collected data but wants to ensure that the information technology infrastructure will support the expected growth that the company is anticipating.  The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has given you sixty (60) days to deliver a comprehensive information systems project plan to address the organizational growth that the company is experiencing. The company will be expanding from one (1) floor to three (3) floors within six (6) months. Since this is a relatively new company, there is currently limited technology infrastructure to support the business. All information technology (hardware and software) must be redesigned to meet organizational needs. The solution should be implemented in either a hosted solution, on-site solution, or a hybrid model. The CEO is expecting you to integrate different technologies from different partners and incorporate industry best practices and cost-effective solutions in connection with the development of technological systems.  In addition, the CEO is extremely interested in cloud computing technologies and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) but is leery of security issues that may be associated. However, he is sure that you will implement proper security protocols. The company currently consists of twenty (20) employees of which four (4), including yourself, are dedicated to the IT organization.

Section 1: Project Introduction

1. Write a four to six (4-6) page project introduction that documents the current state of the organization, expands upon the information given above, and includes the following:
   • Background information of the company.
   • Details regarding the type of business that the company is engaged in.
   • A description of current outsourcing and offshoring activities.
   • Identification of current skilled information systems personnel in position and responsibilities.
   • The specific types of data that the company collects.
   • A description of the information systems that the company currently has to support the business. The description at a minimum should include the following:
     • Operational Systems and Databases
     • Analytics and Interfaces
     • Infrastructure and Security
   • The use of at least two (2) quality 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, 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.

Section 2: Project Plan

Use Microsoft Project to:

2. Create a project plan (summary and detailed) using Microsoft Office Project. The project plan should:
   • Record all tasks, subtasks, resources, and time related to the project.
   • Outline the planning, analysis, design, and implementation phases.
   • Develop in accordance with the systems development life cycle (SDLC).

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Describe the various functions and activities within the information systems area, including the role of IT management and the CIO, structuring of IS management within an organization, and managing IS professionals within the firm.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in information systems.
• Write clearly and concisely about strategic issues and practices in the information systems domain using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.