Author: chris

Assignment 2: Discussion—Impact of Internal and External Assessment

Most managers in organizations develop strategic plans without realizing the importance of internal and external assessments and their implications on the four functions of management. Assume you are hired as a new manager and you want to improve your company by helping upper management develop a better understanding of these issues.

Using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet, research internal and external assessments.

Then respond to the following:

• Explain the four functions of management and the purpose of internal and external assessments.
• How would you convince upper management about the importance of internal and external assessments?
• How would you demonstrate the critical relationships that exist between assessments and the four functions of management implemented in most organizations?

After your initial post, respond to the following:

• List and examine the key factors you think affect the four functions of management.
• What do the four functions of management have in common?
• How do managers at different levels apply the four functions of management?
• How do the four functions of management affect organizational success?

APA

Prior to engaging in this discussion, please read the “Constructivism in Theory and Practice,” “Rona’s Story and the Theory of Symbolic Interactionism,” and “Symbolic Interactionism and Critical Perspective” articles, and review any relevant Instructor Guidance.  Respond to at least two of your classmates by Day 5 (Saturday).  Comment on at least one of your classmates’ responses to your initial post by Day 7 of the week. Be sure to respond to your instructor’s comments to you in this forum by Day 7.

Demonstrate your understanding of the complexities of how we learn by evaluating the potential correlations between symbolic interactionism and constructivism. Apply basic research methods in psychology to your post by synthesizing the principles from the articles in your own words with appropriate citations. Do not quote the articles directly. Based on your course resources, scholarly articles, and the knowledge you have developed throughout the past four weeks, critically consider how/if these correlations might affect a person’s ability and/or willingness to learn new material. Consider the following in your analysis:

• Symbolic interactionism is actually a theory posed in sociological psychology. Do you believe this theory can be aligned with the framework of constructivism, which originates from learning psychology? Why, or why not? Support your statements with scholarly research and personal examples.
• In your opinion, what prevents (or substantiates) their correlation?
• Based on these theories, what possible needs should be considered when teaching skills to a group of diverse learners?

Guided Response: Read several of your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of your classmates by Day 5 (Saturday).  As you read through your peers’ posts, comment on how their explanations about the two theories differ from your own. What specific insights did you gain from their posts that may help you to understand the complexities of learning?  Continue to monitor this discussion through 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Day 7 of the week. Comment on at least one of your classmates’ responses to your initial post. Be sure to respond to your instructor’s comments to you in this forum by Day 7. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses.

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

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?

Annotated Bibliography

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.

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.

Explore criminal profiling, a high-profile issue facing law enforcement. The terms, “criminal profiling” and “racial profiling” are often confused and confusing to many individuals. Write a paper that addresses the following points:

Define, compare, contrast and discuss the terms “criminal profiling” and “racial profiling”.

Identify what is being done to curb or prevent racial profiling in your area/state? Provide and cite specific examples of statutes, laws and/or efforts in your state that attempt to stop racial profiling by law enforcement.

Find an online article with a current event example of “racial profiling” by law enforcement (within the past 3 years). Briefly describe the incident and then post the link to the incident (article, video, news report, etc.) in your paper.

Your paper should be a minimum of three full pages of content.

What are the pros and cons of the current highway funding structure as related the taxes paid by motor carriers? How do you think sustainability efforts by Walmart will impact the larger logistics industry? Watch the following video and explain what you think about how this program of companies encouraging their people to be positive role models.

Video:  2010 FedEx Global Citizenship Update

Instructions:  Your initial post should be at least 250 words.  Please respond to at least 2 other students.  Responses should be a minimum of 100 words and include direct questions.

For this week’s Forum, share with the class an outline of your research project. (Refer to the Lesson for information about outlining.) Within this outline, include statements of fact that you have found in your early research. Also provide a preliminary list of four (4) resources you think you will use in the project. Based on this week’s reading and lesson, why have you selected these resources? What makes them reliable and scholarly resources for your project?

• MInd Meister
• Read, Write, Think (Note: this site requires Flash)

• What library search strategies did you use to locate information?
• Did you contact a librarian in order to start gathering information? What was the experience like?
• Did you conduct a deep web search? What did you find?
• What did you like about the online library’s search functions?
• What library resource will you revisit as you build your final project?
• Which video linked in the Lesson was the most useful?
• Is there a concept in your outline or mind-map that you are unable to support through library research? Do you need help finding supporting material?
• Did you find a resource that is a counter argument to your topic? Does this information impact your project plan