Author: chris

Find ExxonMobil’s annual report from SEC.gov or the investor relations section of the company’s website. Be careful not to use quarterly reports.

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you describe the relationship between strategic and financial planning. Include the following:

• A strategic planning initiative for the organization identified – Identify an initiative discussed in the organization’s annual report.
• How the initiative affects the organization’s financial planning
• How the initiative affects costs and revenues of the supply chain
• Ethical concerns related to the initiative

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines with references and all work will be checked for plagiarism. Late work will not receive payment.

1. A two-page outline Causes and effects of child abuse and neglect essay . Your outline should include an introduction to the topic and at least three related subtopics covering content that you plan to explore in your final essay Include at least three professional references formatted according to APA standards.

 

2. Write a 1,000 word paper summarizing the current professional literature on the topic

Causes and effects of child abuse and neglect

Week 6 – Final Project
Final Project

You work for a HR consulting company and an organization (just like the one in which you currently work, have worked, or have access to) has hired your firm to conduct

an HRM analysis and make recommendations to better align HR practices to the key business initiatives of the company. In order to accomplish the goal:
1. Analyze the organization and develop a set of HRM practices based upon textbook illustrations and figures.  You will develop an 8-10 page research paper (not

including the title and reference pages) modeling one or more of the illustrations from the course text.  Your paper should also:
Identify the firm’s history, strategy, market position, and specific area of alignment.
Provide job pricing and compensation package.
Describe and analyze the current and targeted work processes as well as the respective knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to achieve the organization’s objectives.
Incorporate a discussion of relevant technology considerations to achieve work output in the context of the organization’s goals.
Provide a discussion of the labor market and the appropriate labor law context.  Identification of companies that are preparing to address the changes.
Prescribe a set of HRM recommendations, specifically tailored for the selected firm, consisting of choices from the 19 dimension of an HRM system presented in Chapter 3 of the course text.
Describe other HRM issues as applicable.
2. Timetable:
Week One: Organization identification, history, industry, and definition of business strategy
Week Two: Key employee behaviors and KSAs appropriate for work class
Week Three: Technology factors and organizational design of work processes
Week Four: Labor market and legal environment
Week Five: Draft of HRM practices
Week Six: Final 8 page paper

3. In addition to the requirements above, your paper:
Must be double-spaced and 12 point font
Must be formatted according to APA style
Must include a cover page that includes:
– Title of paper
– Student’s name
– Course name and number
– Instructor’s name
– Date submitted
Must include an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement
Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph
Must reference at least eight scholarly resources
Must include a reference page written in APA format
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
BUS692.W6A1.07.2011
Description:

Total Possible Score: 25.00
Identify Important Components of the Organization
Total: 5.00
Distinguished – Meticulously and comprehensively identifies the important components of the organization.  Excellent attention to detail.  Important components such as history, strategy, market position, and compensation packages are discussed.
Proficient – Effectively identifies the important components of the organization.  The discussion provides some important components, but is missing one or more minor details.
Basic – Adequately describes the important components of the organization.  The discussion lacks examples and detail.
Below Expectations – Insufficiently describes the important components of the organization.  While some components of the organization are mentioned, the important components are missed.
Non-Performance – The identification of important components of the organization is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Describe and Analyze Current and Targeted Work Processes
Total: 5.00
Distinguished – Provides an insightful description and analysis of current and targeted work processes for the organization.  Relevant and valid statements about the work processes are presented with exceptional examples.
Proficient – Provides a description and analysis of current and targeted work processes for the organization.  Valid information about the processes is provided, but some ideas are not fully developed.
Basic – Provides a brief description and analysis of the current targeted work processes for the organization.  Information about the work processes is presented, but the information is irrelevant and/or undeveloped.
Below Expectations – Attempts to provide a description and analysis of the current and targeted work processes for the organization.  The description and analysis is missing for either the current or targeted work processes.
Non-Performance – The analysis of current and targeted work processes is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Relevant Technology and the Labor Market
Total: 6.00
Distinguished – Clearly and comprehensively discusses the relevant technology, as well as the labor market.  The discussion provides detailed and relevant information.
Proficient – Sufficiently discusses the relevant technology and labor market.  The discussion is missing some details that are relevant to fully understanding the organization.
Basic – Briefly discusses the relevant technology and labor market.  The discussion is missing several details that are relevant to fully understanding the organization.  Specific technology examples are limited.
Below Expectations – Fails to provide an adequate discussion of the relevant technology and labor market.  The discussion may be missing one or both of these required components.  Specific examples are not provided.
Non-Performance – The discussion of relevant technology and labor market is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

HRM Recommendations
Total: 5.00
Distinguished – Prescribes a thorough and comprehensive set of HRM recommendations for the selected organization.  The recommendations are specifically tailored for the selected organization with exceptional detail.
Proficient – Prescribes an appropriate set of HRM recommendations for the selected organization.  The recommendations are appropriate for the organization, but are missing one or more minor details.
Basic – Prescribes a limited set of HRM recommendations for the selected organization.  The recommendations are not tailored to the specific organization.
Below Expectations – Attempts to provide a set of HRM recommendations, but fails to tailor the information to the selected organization.  The recommendations are not relevant to the organization and are not supported by specific examples.
Non-Performance – The HRM recommendations are either non-existent or lack the components described in the assignment instructions.

Critical Thinking: Explanation of Issues
Total: 1.00
Distinguished – Clearly and comprehensively explains in detail the issue to be considered, delivering all relevant information necessary for full understanding.
Proficient – Clearly explains in detail the issue to be considered, delivering enough relevant information for an adequate understanding.
Basic – Briefly recognizes the issue to be considered, delivering minimal information for a basic understanding.
Below Expectations – Briefly recognizes the issue to be considered, but may not deliver additional information necessary for a basic understanding.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Written Communication: Content Development
Total: 1.00
Distinguished – Uses appropriate, pertinent, and persuasive content to discover and develop sophisticated ideas within the context of the discipline, shaping the work as a whole.
Proficient – Uses appropriate and pertinent content to discover ideas within the context of the discipline, shaping the work as a whole.
Basic – Uses appropriate and pertinent content, but does not apply it toward discovering or developing ideas. Overall, content assists in shaping the written work.
Below Expectations – Uses content, though it may be unrelated or inappropriate to the topic. Content does not contribute toward the development of the written work, and may distract the reader from its purpose.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Written Communication: Control of Syntax and Mechanics
Total: 0.50
Distinguished – Displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains no errors, and is very easy to understand.
Proficient – Displays comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains only a few minor errors, and is mostly easy to understand.
Basic – Displays basic comprehension of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains a few errors, which may slightly distract the reader.
Below Expectations – Fails to display basic comprehension of syntax or mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains major errors, which distract the reader.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

APA Formatting
Total: 0.50
Distinguished – Accurately uses APA formatting consistently throughout the paper, title and reference page.
Proficient – Exhibits APA formatting throughout the paper; however, layout contains a few minor errors.
Basic – Exhibits basic knowledge of APA formatting throughout the paper.  Layout does not meet all APA requirements.
Below Expectations – Fails to exhibit basic knowledge of APA formatting.  There are frequent errors, making the layout difficult to distinguish as APA.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Page Requirement
Total: 0.50
Distinguished – The paper meets the specific page requirement stipulated in the assignment description.
Proficient – The paper closely meets the page requirements predetermined in the assignment description.
Basic – The paper meets over half of the page requirement.
Below Expectations – A fraction of the page requirement is completed.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Resource Requirement
Total: 0.50
Distinguished – Provides ample resources and uses the correct amount of sources from the specified search agent.
Proficient – Provides the approximate number of sources, while using some of the correct search agents specified in the assignment instructions.
Basic – Provides over half of the  sources required in the assignment instructions.
Below Expectations – Barely provides adequate resources and unable to include sources from specified search agent.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either non-existent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Create an 8- to 10-slide Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® presentation, with notes, of your findings and conclusions from the following:

Interview two married couples – one younger and one older. DONE

Prepare an interview response form for each interviewee that lists five product categories: groceries, furniture, appliances, vacations, and automobiles. -see  attached

• Ask each spouse to indicate, without consulting each other, whether purchases in each category were made by joint or unilateral decisions, and to indicate whether the husband or wife makes unilateral decisions.
• Compare each couple’s responses for agreement between husbands and wives relative to who makes the decisions.
• Compare both couples’ overall responses for differences relative to the number of joint versus unilateral decisions.

Cite at least two references to support marketing concepts

In this exercise, you play the role of Shawna, a project manager for ZAP Pharmaceutical Company. Currently, you are managing a large IT project in the healthcare industry for ZAP. Your project is to refurbish an existing office building, install the IT infrastructure, and outfit the area for use as a new telephone answering hub for your company. You took over this project a week ago from John, the previous project manager. John had overseen the project since its inception.

This project is in the execution phase, with the refurbishing and installation of the infrastructure currently being done in concert with each other. All of the new office equipment is on order and is scheduled for delivery on the day after the refurbishment and infrastructure work are scheduled for completion. The overall work progress is about three quarters finished. Senior management is pleased with the progress of the project so far.

There are four vendors working with you on the project. Bear’s Construction Company is handling all the refurbishment. This work includes all structural work, drywall, and electrical work in the building. Anne’s Interior Design is doing the carpeting, painting, and cubicle work. Roxy’s IT Services is installing all IT components, including servers, IT cabling, and a wireless network. Sheba’s Office Equipment is providing all desks, computers, and phones. All contracts associated with this project are fixed price contracts.

Since taking over for John, you have had a number of contractual issues arise associated with this project. You have delayed making any decisions about these issues, hoping they would work themselves out. Today, a third contractual issue was brought to your attention.

Realizing you can no longer postpone action on these issues, you call a meeting of your project team. You project team is made up of three individuals. Iris is the future manager of the telephone hub. Tony is the IT lead on the project. Phil is the facility specialist assigned to your team.

You describe each of the three issues to the team and ask for input.

1. Bear’s Construction Company is making a claim that it is not responsible for inspections required by the local township. Bear has produced a memo signed by John during negotiations that states that ZAP is responsible for all permits and inspections. However, a quick review of the contract shows that Bear is responsible for all inspections. Failure to resolve this issue will likely delay the project at least 1 week, because Bear is making no effort toward arranging for the required inspections.
2. Anne’s Interior Design has brought to you another issue. In the contract, under the section labeled Special Conditions, it states that carpeting must meet a specific wear rating. In the same contract, in the General Conditions section, the contract prohibits the use of any nongeneric materials within the work of the contract. This would include carpets with special wear rating, because these would be nongeneric materials. Anne has already purchased and begun the installation of the generic carpet that does not meet the wear rating.
3. Sheba’s Office Equipment has informed you of a minor typographic error in the contract with you to provide office equipment for this project. In the contract, it states Sheba shall be paid as follows.

$350,000 (Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars)

Sheba apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused and is awaiting the payment of $350,000. The company further states $350,000 would have not likely even begun to cover the shipping costs. Sheba informs you that it will ship the office equipment when the remainder of its fee is received. After receiving this information from Sheba, you priced out the cost of the office equipment from other vendors and the average price was $40,000.

Your Role

As the project manager, the project team is looking to you for direction on each of these issues. Review the comments of the key players, consult the grading rubric below and then answer the following questions.

1. Is Bear or is ZAP responsible for the inspections? What is a reasonable course of action given that the project may have to be delayed a week or more?
2. What carpet should be installed? Should work be stopped to evaluate this issue? What do you do to resolve this?

Key Players:-

 

1)    As for Bear, I remember the memo. Yes we signed it. I was there at the time. I don’t remember why it is missing from the contract. I say we arrange for the inspections just to keep this project going  :-            Iris Future Building Manager Female                                                   

 

2)    I don’t care what the memo says. The contract is the contract. Bear is responsible. If we lose a week, we lose a week. Bear is getting paid for the work. Make them do it! I say stop the carpet installation right now! Make them put in the better carpet. After all, it will last longer for ZAP. I don’t want to have to redo this work next year. Further, I would not pay Sheba one dime more than $350,000 dollars. I say cancel the contract with them and order the materials from someone else. Sure, it will put us behind schedule about a month, but look at the money savings.   Tony IT Project Lead Male

3)    I don’t know about contracts, so I don’t know which side is correct. In any event, does it matter? I think what is important is how much time we have already lost and how much more we will lose while we resolve this.By the local township codes, either carpet will do. The better one will of course last much, much longer. But we will lose about 6–8 weeks removing the one currently being installed, ordering the better one, and installing the better one. I hope this information helps.I am not sure if it makes sense to pay $350,000 for $40,000 dollars worth of office desks and chairs. But can we really just cancel a contract on our own? I am not sure about that. And then there is the issue of time—an additional month before the grand opening. Senior management might not be happy.  :-  Phil Project Facility Specialist  Male

 

The globalization, or internationalization, of the marketplace has become one of the defining events of our time.  The pressure to produce a good or service while controlling costs and maintaining quality has profoundly affected the manufacture, distribution, and sale of a good or service.

In your final project, assume you are a high-level manager of a company that produces a good or service solely in the United States.  You strongly believe there is a profitable market for your company’s good or service beyond the United States and have requested the board of director consider broadening production and distribution into foreign countries. This would transform your organization into a multinational company.

The board has requested that you develop a strategic plan that creates, exploits, and sustains the company’s resources and capabilities within the globally competitive international marketplace.  The strategic plan should be designed to offer a systematic, step-by-step method to bring understanding to what often seems a chaotic situation and to offer a reasoned approach to deciding on a path to sustained advantage.

The course textbook provides an outline of a detailed strategic plan applicable to a multinational company. You may utilize this approach or may create/modify a strategic plan that better addresses your particular need or requirement.  At a minimum, though, your strategic plan should address the following:

• First, the mission and goal of your organization.  The mission should detail the product or service that you want to produce and distribute internationally.  Feel free to choose any product or service that you desire (lawn mower, kite, pesticide, clothing, etc.).  You will use that product or service throughout your strategic plan.
• Second, perform an environmental analysis.  This important step of a strategic plan requires the identification of the resources or capabilities of the firm as well as the external competitive and contextual environment of the firm.  Your plan should briefly provide the scale and impact of globalization both within your industry and the economic landscape.
• Third, determine your organization’s international competitive advantage.  In other words, what your organization would do better than any other competitor in the marketplace.  In general, a competitive advantage occurs when an organization can provide increased value to its customers whether through low prices or through improved products.  They, therefore, can attain or surpass their competitors in the marketplace.
• Fourth, propose the preferred method to enter the international marketplace. Alternatives may include licenses, alliances, wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, and partnerships.  Explain your rationale.
• Fifth, execute/implement the strategic plan.  This step typically includes the control, coordination and communication needed to implement the strategy, along with a brief discussion on any contingency plans if the goals and objectives are not obtained in a reasonable timeframe.  Remember that a good plan makes a solid base for the organization’s strategy, but offers flexibility in execution to allow non-viable plans to be dropped and emerging opportunities pursued.

Note that some of the information related to this project may not be readily available in course materials, requiring you to research contemporary management trends in the public sector. At least five outside scholarly resources are required, including a minimum of two from the Ashford Online Library.

Resource: Ch. 3 & 4 of Working in Groups and the Week Two videos “Building A Team Of Talent” and “Team Building”

Write a 200- to 350-word response to each of the following:

• What are the characteristics of effective teams?
• How do roles, needs, and diversity affect teamwork? Provide specific examples.
• What are components of group diversity

Case Study 1: Statistical Thinking in Health Care

Due Week 4 and worth 150 points

Read the following case study.

Ben Davis had just completed an intensive course in Statistical Thinking for Business Improvement, which was offered to all employees of a large health maintenance organization. There was no time to celebrate, however, because he was already under a lot of pressure. Ben works as a pharmacist’s assistant in the HMO’s pharmacy, and his manager, Juan de Pacotilla, was about to be fired. Juan’s dismissal appeared to be imminent due to numerous complaints and even a few lawsuits over inaccurate prescriptions. Juan now was asking Ben for his assistance in trying to resolve the problem, preferably yesterday!

“Ben, I really need your help! If I can’t show some major improvement or at least a solid plan by next month, I’m history.”

“I’ll be glad to help, Juan, but what can I do? I’m just a pharmacist’s assistant.”

“I don’t care what your job title is; I think you’re just the person who can get this done. I realize I’ve been too far removed from day-to-day operations in the pharmacy, but you work there every day. You’re in a much better position to find out how to fix the problem. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“But what about the statistical consultant you hired to analyze the data on inaccurate prescriptions?”

“Ben, to be honest, I’m really disappointed with that guy. He has spent two weeks trying to come up with a new modeling approach to predict weekly inaccurate prescriptions. I tried to explain to him that I don’t want to predict the mistakes, I want to eliminate them! I don’t think I got through, however, because he said we need a month of additional data to verify the model, and then he can apply a new method he just read about in a journal to identify ‘change points in the time series,’ whatever that means. But get this, he will only identify the change points and send me a list; he says it’s my job to figure out what they mean and how to respond. I don’t know much about statistics — the only thing I remember from my course in college is that it was the worst course I ever took– but I’m becoming convinced that it actually doesn’t have much to offer in solving real problems. You’ve just gone through this statistical thinking course, though, so maybe you can see something I can’t. To me, statistical thinking sounds like an oxymoron. I realize it’s a long shot, but I was hoping you could use this as the project you need to officially complete the course.”

“I see your point, Juan. I felt the same way, too. This course was interesting, though, because it didn’t focus on crunching numbers. I have some ideas about how we can approach making improvements in prescription accuracy, and I think this would be a great project. We may not be able to solve it ourselves, however. As you know, there is a lot of finger-pointing going on; the pharmacists blame sloppy handwriting and incomplete instructions from doctors for the problem; doctors blame pharmacy assistants like me who actually do most of the computer entry of the prescriptions, claiming that we are incompetent; and the assistants tend to blame the pharmacists for assuming too much about our knowledge of medical terminology, brand names, known drug interactions, and so on.”

“It sounds like there’s no hope, Ben!”

“I wouldn’t say that at all, Juan. It’s just that there may be no quick fix we can do by ourselves in the pharmacy. Let me explain how I’m thinking about this and how I would propose attacking the problem using what I just learned in the statistical thinking course.”

Source: G. C. Britz, D. W. Emerling, L. B. Hare, R. W. Hoerl, & J. E. Shade. “How to Teach Others to Apply Statistical Thinking.” Quality Progress (June 1997): 67–80.

Assuming the role of Ben Davis, write a 4-5 paper in which you apply the approach discussed in the textbook to this problem. You’ll have to make some assumptions about the processes used by the HMO pharmacy. Also, please use the Internet and / or Strayer LRC to research articles on common problems or errors that pharmacies face. Your paper should address the following points:

1. Develop a process map about the prescription filling process for HMO’s pharmacy, in which you specify the key problems that the HMO’s pharmacy might be experiencing. Next, use the supplier, input, process steps, output, and customer (SIPOC) model to analyze the HMO pharmacy’s business process.
2. Analyze the process map and SIPOC model to identify possible main root causes of the problems. Next, categorize whether the main root causes of the problem are special causes or common causes. Provide a rationale for your response.
3. Suggest the main tools that you would use and the data that you would collect in order to analyze the business process and correct the problem. Justify your response.
4. Propose one (1) solution to the HMO pharmacy’s on-going problem(s) and propose one (1) strategy to measure the aforementioned solution. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. Use at least two (2) quality references. 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 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.

Throughout this course, you will conduct a strategy audit for a selected company. Begin this assignment by selecting an organization for your course project activities.

In this module, you will assess the product portfolio of your selected business unit by analyzing the value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage of its products and services.

Part I: Interview

To gain an understanding of your selected business unit’s market position, value proposition, and competitive advantage, conduct at least one interview with a mid-level or senior manager.

Use the interview to solicit the manager’s perception of his or her business unit’s product portfolio. Be sure to discuss the points of analysis listed below in Part II of this assignment.

Part II: Analysis

Based on the information gathered from the interview, analyze the product portfolio of your selected business unit. In your analysis, identify the business unit of your company and the product(s) and service(s) on which you will focus.

Make sure to include the following points in your analysis:

• Describe the target customer for the product/service in terms of relevant characteristics that impact the marketing strategy, including location (how it should be reached) and buying habits.
• Identify each customer segment’s specific wants and needs. Explain why they buy your company’s product or service, or a competing product or service.
• Justify how well your product/service satisfies customer wants and needs. Identify any wants and needs that are not met by your product/service.
• Analyze the position of your product/service in relation to the competition. Identify the main competitors. Explain how your product differs in terms of features, function, quality, price, availability, brand image, and the like. Explain why this differentiation is important to your customers.
• Describe the source of competitive advantage for your product. Evaluate how sustainable is this source of advantage.
• Assess the long-term sustainability of the source of differentiation and competitive advantage.

Include appropriate information from the interview in support of your answer.

Part III: Matrix

In comparing your product/service to that of the competition, construct a simple matrix in the following way:

• List the key customer wants or needs on the left-hand vertical axis.
• List the competing products on the top horizontal axis, starting with your product/service on the left.
• For each customer want or need, indicate how well each competing product satisfies the need using a scale of 0–2.
  • 0 = need not met
  • 1 = need partially met
  • 2 = need fully met

This is a simple but effective visual mechanism for comparing the relative position of multiple offerings from competing sources.

Write a 3-page paper in Word format and attach the matrix as an appendix. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M1_A3.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M1_A3.doc.

Deliver your assignment to the M1: Assignment 3 Dropbox.

Assignment 3 Grading Criteria

 

 

Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read chapters 8, 9, and 10 in American Government and watch the video, Episode II – It’s a Free Country.

 

Reflect: Our political system is characterized by certain fundamental features to include a system of laws, rights, and liberties. The laws, created and supported by the Constitutional framework, are designed to protect and secure the rights and liberties of individuals and groups throughout the U.S. However, the government also has an obligation to provide for the security of its citizens from serious internal and external threats that could cause grave or severe damage to our country. The need for homeland and national security can create a dilemma where conflicts emerge between these security needs and the demands for civil rights and liberties.

 

Write: In your initial post, explain what obligations the U.S. government has towards its citizens and how can these obligations impact individual and group rights? Provide real-world examples to support your explanation. Fully respond to all parts of the prompt and write your response in your own words. Your initial response must be 200 to 250 words. Support your position with APA citations to two or more of the assigned resources required for this discussion. Please be sure that you demonstrate understanding of these resources, integrate them into your argument, and cite them properly.