Author: chris

Policy Paper:
What is a Health Policy Paper?
The issue addressed should be a legitimate contemporary health policy issue within which the current policy is clearly discernible.
There should be clear alternatives to the current policy.
There must be sufficient data present to provide the target audience (i.e. the decision-maker) with information to make a decision on the policy proposal.

Format for the Policy Paper
Below are the guidelines for writing a policy paper. Some variation may occur depending on the topic of the paper and the research methods being used. Policy papers should be approximately 8 pages in length.

Executive Summary (.5-1page in length)
At the beginning of the paper explain who the target audience is (i.e., the decision-maker for your policy proposal) and the main points that the decision-maker should know. It may be best to write this section last because it will serve as a summary of the entire paper.
At a minimum, the summary should include the following:
A statement of current policy
Reasons for initiating changes
Policy options to be considered
Pros and cons of each option
Recommended course of action
Reasoning for selecting that course of action

Body of Paper
The main portion of the paper should be dedicated to establishing the background and discussing the reasoning behind the policy recommendation. Students should include all of the basics from the executive summary, but fully elaborate on each point that the paper is making. The following is an outline describing what the main body of the paper should include.
Overview / Background
Statement of purpose – Why is the decision-maker being asked to consider a policy change at this time?
Review the Current Policy – What are we currently doing, why are we doing it this way, what is the public’s perception of the policy? Assess how well it is or is not working.
Statement on the Necessity for Change – What circumstances (e.g., changes in government, leadership, stability, etc.) have changed that make a new approach advisable or necessary?
Discussion
Discuss the alternatives to the current policy option by enumerating and explaining each policy option in turn.
Pros and cons of each policy option should be discussed next. Identify the political, economic, and security implications for each option. Each policy option should be compared and contrasted to the other options as well as to the current policy. This is the most important part of the paper.
Recommendation
Clearly identify which option will be recommended and which options will be discounted.
Clearly lay out the argument for why that option is better than each of the others.
Implementation
Write a detailed recommendation for specific steps on how and when to implement the recommended policy option.

Viable Alternatives
Policy papers must present several policy alternatives, and they must be serious alternatives. As a general rule, three options should be presented. One serious alternative will often be to maintain the status quo.

Cost-benefit analysis
Policy papers should include a clear cost-benefit analysis. The student should be certain to think through all possible outcomes clearly and thoroughly. The cost-benefit analysis should seriously consider the feasibility of implementation, not only in terms of economic or strategic implications, but also in terms of political feasibility. Moreover, the analysis of likely effects must not be completely one-sided. There are always going to be some benefits and some costs to any policy proposal.

Clear Criteria
Students should present clear criteria for evaluating the problem at hand and the policy alternatives to be considered. This will involve prioritizing among a variety of possible values. Trade-offs are the heart of the policy process – if solutions were easy or obvious, the problem would not be around for the student to analyze.

Clear predictions
What are the likely result of the proposed policy option? Be specific and reasonably detailed. What level of certainty can one have about them? And what middle-run indicators would demonstrate success?

Health Policy Topics:
Food Safety Policies
GMO’s
Healthcare-associated infection
Death with Dignity
E-Cigarettes regulation
Mental Health coverage, Mental Health Parity Act
Ninety-Day Grace Period- ACA 90 day grace period before an insurer can discontinue someone’s coverage for failure to pay a monthly premium.
Ideas (Health Policy Briefs, www.healthaffairs.org/healthpolicybriefs/archives)

What is Not a Policy Paper?
An historical analysis is never an appropriate topic for a policy paper. A policy paper must focus on a current policy issue. For example, an analysis of what George W. Bush should or should not have done in 2001 would work well as a research paper, but it would not be acceptable as a policy paper.
Comparative or case studies normally fit better as research papers than policy papers. For example, a comparative study of conflict resolution in South Africa and Northern Ireland, although certainly providing an analysis with contemporary relevance, would work far better as a research than a policy paper.

This assignment requires 3 drafts, 2 rough drafts and the final draft. I am sending writings and stories which must be used to write the paper. I have highlighted key points that I made anotations in. The topic of the essay will be on How are morality, ethics, faith and religion intertwined?(e.g. What does it mean to be good?). The essay has to be about 2500 words long, (ten typed, double spaced) but the rough drafts can be shorter. I wish for the writer to do both the drfts and the final essay to avoid confusion.

Acquisition Analysis and Valuation Outline: The proposal must conform to the following conditions: (1) each manager will be representing an acquiring company or investment group whose business growth strategy involves an acquisition and (2) the target firm must be in the same industry.

 

The acquisition is to be a purely hypothetical acquisition of a financial services company or submit your alternative idea for approval from the Professor:

 

The use of publicly traded companies as comparables will facilitate data collection, and the selection of a single company and companies in the same industry will simplify the analysis. Based on analysis, define scenarios where an acquiring firm [might] overpay, underpay, or pay “fair market value” for the target firm and why.

 

The purpose of this Acquisition Simulation is to give students the opportunity to apply the tools they have learned in an increasingly common real world situation, i.e., mergers and acquisitions. In no more than 12 pages plus supporting charts, tables, financial statements and appendices, each proposal must address the following areas:

 

1. Executive summary [<1 page]: Identify the industry/market in which the acquiring firm is seeking to grow and discuss why a particular firm was chosen as the target. Moreover, discuss the rationale for the magnitude and composition of the initial offer price and your recommendation as to how it should be financed and why. This section should be no more than one page in length.

 

2. Industry/market overview[1 page]: Describe the industry/market in terms of size, growth rate, product offering, and other pertinent characteristics. Furthermore, describe industry/market dynamics in terms of customers, competitors, potential entrants, product/service substitutes, and suppliers.

 

3. Opportunities/threats [1/2 page]: Discuss major opportunities and threats that exist because of the industry’s competitive dynamics including any barrier to entry. Be sure that you can show how these threats or opportunities are a consequence of industry dynamics described in (2).

 

4. Objectives [1 page]: Assume FINANCIAL BUYER. Specify how the acquisition will enable the new company (i.e., the combination of the acquirer and target firms) to grow and create shareholder value. Cite specific objectives the acquirer hopes to achieve (e.g., gain access to new customers or products or proprietary technologies, improve shareholder value by achieving economies of scale or scope, etc.) and quantify whenever possible. Note that objectives can include the exploitation of opportunities or defense against threats identified in section (3).

 

5. Negotiating strategy [1/2 page]: Once the primary target has been identified

 

–Describe what you believe to be the primary issues/needs of the parties involved (i.e., target firm stakeholders)

 

–Recommend a deal structure that addresses the primary needs of all parties. Identify and explain the rationale for choosing the main elements of the structure including the proposed acquisition vehicle, post closing organization, form of payment, form of acquisition, and tax structure. Indicate how you might “close the gap” between the seller’s expected price and the offer price, if the seller rejects the initial offer, by making a counter-offer.

 

6. Financials and valuation [3-4 pages]: For the acquiring and target firms, provide projected three-five year income and balance sheet and estimate each firm’s value based on its projected DDM. List key forecast assumptions. Provide projected five year income, balance sheet, and cash flow statements for the consolidated acquirer and target firms including the effects of potential synergy.

 

Clearly state potential sources and destroyers of value. Develop a preliminary minimum and maximum purchase price range for the target firm. Identify an initial offer price, the composition (i.e., cash, stock, debt, or some combination) of the offer price, and why you believe this price is appropriate in terms of meeting the primary needs of both target and acquirer shareholders. The appropriateness of the offer price should reflect your preliminary thinking about the deal structure.

 

7. Financing plan [1/2 page]: Using the combined/consolidated financial statements, determine if the proposed offer price can be financed through some combination of cash, stock, or borrowing without endangering the combined firm’s credit worthiness or seriously eroding near-term profitability and cash flow.

 

8. Integration plan [1/2 page]: Identify potential integration challenges and possible solutions. (For those characterizing themselves as financial buyers, integration may not apply. Instead, they should identify an appropriate “exit” strategy.)

 

9. Conclusion: [<1 page] Recommendations for achieving value in the proposed acquisition supported by key evidence discussed in the narrative.

 

10. References: List articles read and data sources.

 

11. Appendices: Any detailed analyses and charts-tables used to support statements made in the “body” of the paper should be included here. If a chart or table is cited it should have a narrative of no more than 150 words. Unnecessary or un-narrated elements of a chart-table have no grade value. All work must be shown for equation calculations and equations must be plain-language specified. (Source ratio, e.g., Morningstar, must have an equation spec.)

 

APA Format

1. As citizens of the democratic city-state of Athens, why did Cleon and Diodotus disagree about the value and role of public debate and democracy, especially for deciding issues of foreign policy?

2. Using evidence from Suetonius’ Life of Julius Caesar, explain how a Roman citizen became politically influential during the period of the Late Republic (the first century BCE).

3. Using evidence from Josephus’ account of the the situation in Judea in the decades before the outbreak of the Jewish War in 67 AD, explain why segments of the Jewish population rebelled against Roman rule? (Keep in mind that Josephus’ account covers over half a century. Don’t focus excessively on events from a single year, especially if the events took place forty years before the rebellion.)

Essay requirements and grading criteria

1. It should be between 1000 and 1200 words in length.

2. The introduction paragraph must contain an analytical statement (thesis) that answers the topic question and states the argument you are making in the essay.

3. Any subsequent paragraphs (body paragraphs) should begin with an analytical topic sentence.

4. It must not quote more than 75 words.

5. It should make at least seven references to the text. You must provide page citations for these references.  You may use parenthetical references for these citations.  For example, cite in the following manner, (Josephus, 54).

6. It should be free of spelling or grammatical mistakes.

This is not a research paper but an essay in which you develop an argument about one of the primary sources we have read. No other research is required.  Using uncited information from a web source constitutes plagiarism.

 

You’ve just been hired onto ABC Company as the corporate controller. ABC Company is a manufacturing firm that specializes in making cedar roofing and siding shingles. The company currently has annual sales of around $1.2 million, a 25% increase from the previous year. The company has an aggressive growth target of reaching $3 million annual sales within the next 3 years. The CEO has been trying to find additional products that can leverage the current ABC employee skillset as well as the manufacturing facilities.

As the controller of ABC Company, the CEO has come to you with a new opportunity that he’s been working on. The CEO would like to use the some of the shingle scrap materials to build cedar dollhouses. While this new product line would add additional raw materials and be more time-intensive to manufacture than the cedar shingles, this new product line will be able to leverage ABC’s existing manufacturing facilities as well as the current staff. Although this product line will require added expenses, it will provide additional revenue and gross profit to help reach the growth targets. The CEO is relying on you to help decide how this project can be afforded  Provide details about the estimated product costs, what is needed to break even on the project, and what level of return this product is expected to provide.

In order to help out the CEO, you need to prepare a six- to eight-page report that will contain the following information (including exhibits, but excluding your references and title page). Refer to the accompanying Excel spreadsheet (available through your online course) for some specific cost and profit information to complete the calculations.

Final Paper Spreadsheet

I. An overall risk profile of the company based on current economic and industry issues that it may be facing.

II. Current company cash flow

a. You need to complete a cash flow statement for the company using the direct method.

b. Once you’ve completed the cash flow statement, answer the following questions:

i. What does this statement of cash flow tell you about the sources and uses of the company funds?

ii. Is there anything ABC Company can do to improve the cash flow?

iii. Can this project be financed with current cash flow from the company? Why or why not?

iv. If the company needs additional financing beyond what ABC Company can provide internally (either now or sometime throughout the life of the project), how would you suggest the company obtain the additional financing, equity or corporate debt, and why?

III. Product cost: ABC Company believes that it has an additional 5,000 machine hours available in the current facility before it would need to expand. ABC Company uses machine hours to allocate the fixed factory overhead, and units sold to allocate the fixed sales expenses. Bases on current research, ABC Company expects that it will take twice as long to produce the expansion product as it currently takes to produce its existing product.

a. What is the product cost for the expansion product under absorption and variable costing?

b. By adding this new expansion product, it helps to absorb the fixed factory and sales expenses. How much cheaper does this expansion make the existing product?

c. Assuming ABC Company wants a 40% gross margin for the new product, what selling price should it set for the expansion product?

d. Assuming the same sales mix of these two products, what are the contribution margins and break-even points by product?

IV. Potential investments to accelerate profit: ABC company has the option to purchase additional equipment that will cost about $42,000, and this new equipment will produce the following savings in factory overhead costs over the next five years:

Year 1, $15,000

Year 2, $13,000

Year 3, $10,000

Year 4, $10,000

Year 5, $6,000

ABC Company uses the net-present-value method to analyze investments and desires a minimum rate of return of 12% on the equipment.

a. What is the net present value of the proposed investment (ignore income taxes and depreciation)?

b. Assuming a 5-year straight-line depreciation, how will this impact the factory’s fixed costs for each of the 5 years (and the implied product costs)? What about cash flow?

c. Considering the cash flow impact of the equipment as well as the time-value of money, would you recommend that ABC Company purchases the equipment? Why or why not?

V. Conclusion:

a. What are the major risk factors that you see in this project?

b. As the controller and a management accountant, what is your responsibility to this project?

c. What do you recommend the CEO do?

Writing the Final Paper

1.    Must be six to eight double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

2.    Must include a title page with the following:

a.    Title of paper

b.    Student’s name

c.    Course name and number

d.    Instructor’s name

e.    Date submitted

3.    Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.

4.    Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.

5.    Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.

6.    Must document at least three, but no more than five sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

7.    Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Accountability standards are used to measure an agency’s compliance with the rules and regulations that govern their practice. These standards are set forth by legislators, ethics boards, funding sources, and licensing boards. The main purpose of these standards is to ensure that clients receive the highest level of care.

In this assignment, you will assess the influence of accountability standards on human services work. This exercise will sharpen your ability to recognize the importance of accountability in human services work in addition to encouraging you to process the related challenges in meeting the standards.

Tasks:

Write a 2- to 3-page essay on the influence of accountability standards, leadership style, and diversity on an organization. In the essay, discuss the following:

• Discuss how standards of care influence direct services.
• Discuss the influence these standards have on how leaders of agencies manage daily operations in an agency.
• Discuss the influence of accountability standards on the satisfaction of direct service workers in addition to how this might influence how the workers relate with the managers of the agency.

Submission Details:

• By Wednesday, September 27, 2015, prepare a 2- to 3-page essay. Your response should rely upon at least three sources from professional literature. This may include the Argosy University online library resources, relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, or .gov). Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., APA format); and use accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

For this assignment, you will have a chance to put into practice all you have been learning throughout this course. You will analyze the personality development of one of the theorists studied in this course from three different theoretical perspectives.

Choose one of the theorists you have studied this term. Use your textbook, the Internet, and the Argosy University online library resources to research the life history of the theorist.

Do the following:

1. Describe the major life events of the theorist that you feel influenced his or her personality development.
2. Describe the cultural influences that had an influence on the chosen theorist’s personality development.
3. Analyze this person from Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective.
4. Analyze this person from two other theoretical perspectives studied in this course, except for the trait perspective.
5. Summarize and present your critical opinion about how well (or not) these theories explain the person.

Resources: Virtual Organization, Riordan Manufacturing, available through the Virtual Organizations Portal in the eCampus Library (select Riordan Manufacturing from the Business drop-down menu); and your W5 Learning Team Strategic Plan Paper.

Scenario: The board of directors for Riordan Manufacturing has asked your consulting team (i.e., your Learning Team) to present your strategic plan for the organization.

Prepare a convincing and comprehensive presentation of your team’s actionable strategic plan for Riordan Manufacturing, one that would take 20-30 minutes to deliver to the board of directors, including intentional and active board involvement. Being a roleplay, the presentation materials should reflect an appropriate level of business focus and professionalism.

Using Microsoft^® PowerPoint^®, create a 20-30 slide presentation as a collaborative project, that includes the following:

1. An agenda for the presentation.
2. A relevant overview of Riordan Manufacturing.
3. A brief summary of the strategic management process (i.e., environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and evaluation and control).
4. An assertion regarding why Riordan Manufacturing needs a strategic plan.
5. Using relevant specifics from your W5 Learning Team Strategic Plan Paper, address the following topics in the remainder of the presentation:

• • Ethical and social responsibility considerations.
  • Current competitive advantages.
  • Proposed competitive strategies.
  • Innovation and sustainability considerations for both domestic and international operations.
  • Measurement guidelines to verify ongoing strategic effectiveness.
  • Internal dynamic and resource considerations during strategy implementation.
  • Long-term business continuity influences.
  • Assessment and feedback considerations to determine if anticipated outcomes are being achieved.
  • Possible alternative strategies if the strategic plan is not successful, including when they should be considered.

You are going into the Lawn or House service business. Design and write your program that will prompt the user for a choice of services that you offer. Calculate the total cost for the customer. Also, offer a 10% discount for Senior citizens. You MUST offer at least FOUR services. You may offer whatever service you like and whatever price you like (although you prices should be realistic). You may do either Lawn Service or House Service (or both if you like). Display the final cost to the screen for the user. Include a Welcome message explaining your services. Some possible examples of choices might be:

Lawn Service                                     House Service

Lawn mowing                                    Dusting Whole house or by room

Edging                                              Clean bathrooms

Trim bushes                                      Clean floors

Clean gutters                                     Make beds

Landscaping (mulch)                          Wash windows

Raking leaves                                    Clean out basement

 There are 5 components of your submission including:

• Analysis- Demonstrates your thought process and steps used to analyze the problem. Be sure to include the required input and output and how you will obtain the required output from the given input? Also, include your variable names and definitions. Be sure to describe the necessary formulas and sample calculations that might be needed.
• Program Design- A detailed, clear description of the program you are building. It should show the flow and logic of your program.
• Flowchart – Provide a flowchart for your design. You can use Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Visio or any software you have available that will allow to draw shapes and connectors
• Test plan – Prepare at least 3 sets of input data (Test data) along with their expected output for testing your program.  Your test data can be presented in the form of a table as follows (note: feel free to adapt to your design.
• Pseudocode- Provide pseudocode of your overall design that fulfills the requirements of the project

All of these components should be placed in word document for submission.

Answer these four seperate questions in MLA format 3-5 paragraphs each with sources,

use specific examples for each please.

 

1)How did the Great War for Empire change the relationship between England and its American colonies?

2) Why did Britain switch to a Southern military strategy? Why did that strategy ultimately fail?

3) Why did women’s issues suddenly become so prominent in American Culture?

4)How did plantation crops and the slavery system change between 1800 and 1860? Why did these changes occur?