Author: chris

You are the chief executive officer (CEO) of MetaLife, a major life insurance company that has received negative exposure about deceptive practices in its sales division. MetaLife just settled a class-action lawsuit last month. You receive a call from the television show 60 Minutesrequesting an interview concerning the allegations and the class-action lawsuit. The corporate legal team does not object to the interview, and you feel that it is important not to “hide” from the public’s eye. You agree to be interviewed.

Based on your understanding of the scenario, respond to the following:

• Evaluate the different approaches to the interview that you can consider. Then, explain how you will handle this interview.
• Outline and justify your selected approach to the interview, explaining why you would choose one approach over another.
  • Will you try to defend your company and rationalize what happened to play down the ill effects? Why or why not?
  • Will you openly admit to the lack of a stringent sales compliance procedure in your company and offer a public apology? Why or why not?
• Provide a substantial explanation of the ethical implications you considered before choosing an approach.
• How will your approach to the interview impact the organization’s sales strategy moving forward?

Be sure to cite theories and industry references to support your response.

Write a 3–5-page, double-spaced paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Scarcity and opportunity cost.

1. In your own words, describe how opportunity cost is used in decision making?
2. Why is it important to think about what is forgone when decisions are made?
3. Write an example of a decision that you made recently where you had to think about the opportunity cost

Requirements for Paper:

•  Must be in APA format. (Be sure to include a separate title and reference page, an introduction, subheadings, and a conclusion).
• The requirements for this assignment are 1 to 2 pages in length (not including title and reference pages), double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate citations.

Suppose you work as a human resource (HR) executive at Total Solutions, Inc., a culturally and geographically diverse organization. A recent government study on human statistics indicates that colleagues who share culturally similar backgrounds perform more efficiently and effectively on the job. These study findings, however, appear contrary to the basic research on the value of diverse workforces. John, the vice president of HR has read extensively about this study. He meets with senior management to discuss if the concept can be implemented at Total Solutions, Inc. The senior management reviews the study and decides to execute the process in one office before a policy decision is made.

John decides that the process should be piloted in the new HR office being set up in Atlanta. He receives the board’s permission to apply the concept in the new office. He needs to relocate five employees from the headquarters in New York to the Atlanta office. John obtains the list of employees based in the New York office. The list has a brief profile of the employees. John asks you to help him analyze the profiles and present your recommendations as to who are the best five employees for the Atlanta assignment.

Present your analysis to John in the form of a two- to three page report in Microsoft Word following APA format. Make sure you provide a clear recommendation of which five employees should be selected for the Atlanta assignment and that you apply the basic concepts of diversity in your selection process.  Provide rationale for your selection based on your examination of the evidence and references to at least three authoritative sources from the Argosy library or the Internet. Click here to view the list.

A researcher predicts that watching a film on institutionalization will change students’ attitudes about chronically mentally ill patients. The researcher randomly selects a class of 36 students, shows them the film, and gives them a questionnaire about their attitudes. The mean score on the questionnaire for these 36 students is 70. The score for people in general on this questionnaire is 75, with a standard deviation of 12. Using the five steps of hypothesis testing and the 5% significance level (i.e. alpha = .05), does showing the film change students’ attitudes towards the chronically mentally ill?

1. What does it mean to set alpha at .05?
2. What is your null hypothesis? Alternate hypothesis?
3. Is this a one-tailed or two-tailed hypothesis?
4. What is the critical z?
5. Calculate the obtained z. Do you reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?
6. State in words what you have found.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center-Omaha hired you as a diversity management consultant. The vice president for center operations wants to highlight the medical center’s reputation for excellence in accommodating individuals with physical disabilities. As per the contract, one of your deliverables is to write an article on this topic for the medical center newsletter.

From your years as a diversity consultant, you are familiar with the ADA. Discuss the key aspects of ADA that you will share with all employees so they understand the importance of the topic. Include a discussion on how ADA assists organizations in maintaining a diverse workforce.

Write a two-page article, in Word, for the medical center’s company newsletter, which clearly identifies the key elements and importance of the ADA and how ADA can be used to help organizations maintain a diverse workforce.  Your article should conform to APA standards and include at least three references from the AU library and/or the Internet which support your assertions.

You are a business consultant to the National Minority Supplier Development Council. An international petroleum products distribution company, based in the U.S., consults with you on cultural diversity matters. It faces some complex choices at its overseas locations.  While equal opportunity, affirmative action, and individual civil rights are the law of the land in the U.S., this frequently is not the case in other countries. Therefore when moral and legal issues run counter to host-country customs, problems are bound to arise.

Prepare an executive summary, briefly discussing the following specific topics:

• Should U.S. civil rights laws apply to U.S. companies’ foreign operations? Express your opinion on this issue.
• Describe a cultural diversity policy for the firm expanding overseas operations. Highlight any differences that might arise in some Middle Eastern countries where a distribution center is currently being built.
• Explain the value of understanding the importance of, and complying with, the other country’s legal system while operating in a foreign country.
• Americans tend to believe that the U.S. legal system is better than that of most other countries. Discuss the ramifications of this belief in an overseas, culturally diverse operation.

Create a two-page executive summary in Word. Use at least three resources to justify your responses. Apply current APA standards for writing style to your work.  Include a title page and reference page(s) in addition to the summary.

There are three learning activities below. Please respond to all three learning activities and respond to at least two classmates’ postings. Be sure to include the learning activity number you are responding to. Use APA format for citations and include a reference list.

Topic #1

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Database Breached

Summary

From a single breach, a hacker gained access to customer information from several of the company’s restaurants and other properties, and then downloaded it to an off-site URL. The information included names and credit card numbers of guests, the cards’ expiration dates, and other data from the magnetic strip on each card. The chain notified the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates counterfeiting, as well as the attorneys general of several states. Wyndham hired an outside investigator to appraise the damage and advise on improving security and a firm that specializes in credit-card industry standards to look into each compromised property to improve compliance. In addition, Wyndham notified American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover of card numbers that may have been involved. It offered affected guests free credit monitoring and set up a special toll-free line that all guests could call for more information.

Based on your own research, share an example of an organization that has faced a breach of customer security.

What measures has this organization taken to address the situation?

What was the public relations response by the organization to address consumer confidence in the company?

How did this experience affect the company’s financial bottom line in the short and long term?

Topic #2

Compare and contrast three common types of production processes: make-to-order, make-to-stock, and mass customization. What are the advantages and disadvantages to each? Why are more companies devoting at least a portion of their operations to mass customization? Identify three goods that could probably be adapted to mass customization and three that probably couldn’t.

Topic #3

View the video segment from the CBS Sunday Morning show about BMW and an aging workforce in Germany, and share your thoughts. The link to the video is under the Week 7 Schedule in Course Content.

Is this model being applied in the U.S. and other post-industrialized countries? If so, provide examples. If not, would you recommend this model to American businesses and why?

Please respond to the following questions based on the chapter reading:

This assignment to prepare and submit an annotated bibliography with sources used in the construction of the Final Paper.

The purpose of the annotated bibliography is to assist you in developing research analysis skills including critical thinking, writing, and literature research skills. The annotated bibliography should include a paragraph for each source containing the following information:

• Name of the article, including the complete bibliographic citation, using APA format.
• Summary/abstract of the article – annotation (sometimes it is helpful to ask yourself the following questions in synthesizing the information:
  • Who? (author)
  • What was done? (e.g., an experimental study investigating the interaction of short term memory and attention)
  • How? (was it done)
• What were the findings? (identify the major ones)
• Contributions? (new findings, applications, etc.)

Review the complete instructions for the Final Paper in Week Five. To conduct accurate research for the annotated bibliography, consider the following:

• Research in peer-reviewed journals or other journals that are considered to have reliable information (do not use sources from the secular press (e.g., Time, Newsweek, or Wikipedia). Review the guidelines for acceptable sources by reading the “Academic Research” section within the Student Responsibilities and Policies tab under Course Home on the left navigation toolbar in your online course.
• Identify at least ten academic sources at least six of which can be found in the Ashford Online Library. If you do find something on the World Wide Web, it must be authored and be a reliable source.
• In these journals, the research and information is either reviewed by an editorial team (such as for the Academy of Management Review) or a group of peers (such as in many journals you find through the Ashford Online Library).

For information regarding the annotated bibliography, refer to the Sample Annotated Bibliography found in the Ashford Writing Center within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

You must use at least ten scholarly sources (at least six of which can be found in the Ashford Online Library) other than the textbook. The descriptions for each source must be at least one paragraph in length. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

You will analyze yourself in relation to your ethical dispositions and beliefs. You will then explicate the three primary ethical concepts that you would try to instill in your own workforce were you to run a company or manage people.

Instructions

There are two parts to this assignment. First, you will analyze yourself in relation to a number of questions about your personal ethical beliefs, values, and goals. This portion of the journal will be completed by answering the questions under “Personal Profile” below. In the second portion of the assignment, you will also explain the three fundamental principles you would use to guide a company that you owned or began, and then you will explain why you find those principles the most important for running a company.

Please answer all questions in detail. Because this journal is worth 5% of your final grade, there is a high expectation for your participation. Grades for the journals are based on content, critical engagement, quality of reflection, and detail. Please submit the completed journal via the Assignment Basket found in the Week Three Journal tab on the left navigation toolbar by Day 7.

Personal Profile

Describe and conduct research on yourself (Sachteleben, n.d.). Reflect on the following questions and explain your answers to these attributes and questions in paragraph form.

1. Describe your personality (choose 3 power words)
2. Explain your primary ethical perspectives.
3. What are the ways that you try to live an ethically good life and why do you think that these ways are the best ways?
4. Feel free to include ethical theory and analysis that you have learned about in your study of the text and articles.
5. What are your primary values?
6. What specific activities reflect your primary values? (e.g., “saving money to help the needy” or “protecting the environment”)
7. What are your primary beliefs about life and the way that you interact in your place of business or work?
8. What causes do you participate or hope to participate in?
9. What are your pet peeves?
10. What are your goals, dreams, or plans for the future both professionally as well as personally?
11. Have you ever had any unusual experiences? (e.g., “Worked in the peace corps in the Sudan,” “Went to school in Germany,” “Survived a severe storm,” “Met a famous person,” “Home-schooled my kids.”)
12. Do you belong to any groups or have any affiliations that help to orient your life?

Reference

Sachteleben, M. (n.d.). How to write a profile: Online or off, write about your personal goals and skills. Retrieved from http://www.howtodothings.com/computers/how-to-write-a-personal-profile

Reflection Prompt for Personal Profile Activity

Once you have completed your personal analysis, please reflect on the following and provide your thoughts in paragraph form.

1. If you were running a business, what are the three ethical virtues or principles that you would use to create the optimally ethical environment for your company?
2. Please explain why you chose each virtue or principle and how it would foster good business. Feel free to be creative here and to not abide by common standards of morality if you do not think that it is important to abide by certain standards in business. For example, you might claim that honesty is the best policy. However, someone might claim that it would actually be best to foster deception in order to maximize profits. Either way, explain why you chose the various principles.