Author: chris

 

Knowing how to thoroughly research a topic is extremely important while achieving your education. You may be asked to support your information with peer-reviewed scholarly resources, but how can you find this type of resource? The Ashford University Library allows you to search through different avenues to find the requested types of resources. You can narrow your search by the author, year published, title, subject, and also by indicating what type of resource you are looking for. You even have access to a librarian if you need some guidance in finding more resources on your topic.

This week, you will take the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) Exam. This exam is not graded, and your results are anonymous. The exam will exit from your screen immediately after completion, and you will not receive feedback or results. This is a nationally-normalized, standardized exam for students in universities all over the United States. The results of this assessment will guide Ashford University in developing the best possible library resources and research methodologies training. Results will be published (in aggregate) on Ashford’s assessment website. Your participation is voluntary, so thank you for your participation.

 

After completing the SAILS Exam, in a two- to three-paragraph response:

• Describe your experiences using resources, including concerns encountered when conducting academic research through the Ashford University Library. Areas of concern may include developing a research strategy, using the search function within a database, or evaluating sources.
• Explain how using the Ashford University Library has improved your experience in conducting research.

The response must be formatted according to APA style. Each paragraph should be at least five sentences. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center.

 

Based on your reading of Who Moved My Cheese? Please respond to the following:

1)  Consider the experiences of both Sniff and Scurry as well as Hem and Haw.  With which characters would you most identify, based on your professional and personal experiences?

 

Sniff

 

2)  Why do modern organizations have both “Sniff and Scurry” as well as “Hem and Haw” as part of the organization?

 

3)  As a leader, how would you encourage your direct reports to move towards characteristics and performance as exhibited by “Sniff and Scurry”?

 

Scenario: You are currently employed by a national Auto Parts retail chain. You started out as a customer service representative and have moved your way up through the ranks to store manager. Recently your company has indicated that they wish to promote you to District Manager, however, they want you to find your replacement as Store Manager.

Recruiting for labor, whether it is to expand operations or to replace outgoing personnel requires and understanding of the needs of the business and the skills necessary to perform the tasks at hand. When we seek to expand current operations we typically look outside or to new labor. However, when we are looking to replace or promote, we sometimes look internally.

Research different 2 different large, international companies and address the following issues:

1. Provide 3 different criteria in selecting personnel when filling labor needs and their importance in the selection process.
2. Provide an advantage and a disadvantage of external selection for this position and an advantage and a disadvantage of internal selection

Define “depreciation expense.” How is depreciation expense different from other expenses? What are the tax implications of depreciation expense?   Define “accumulated depreciation.” How is accumulated depreciation affected when a company disposes of an asset that had been depreciated? Describe how depreciation expense and accumulated depreciation are related.

What is a benefit corporation? What kind of corporation is most likely to seek a change to benefit corporation status? What role do current common stockholders usually play when a corporation seeks a change to benefit corporation status? Are publicly traded corporations likely to seek benefit corporation status? Explain.

 

After carefully reading the articleCreating Wealth in Organizations: the Role of Strategic Leadership, attached – answer the following questions in a 5-7 page paper with support from a minimum of two external sources.

1. Have you experienced either visionary leadership or strategic leadership, as presented by Rowe?
2. Present your analysis of working for a visionary, strategic, or managerial leader. Include the positive points as well as opportunities for improvement.
3. What type of leader do you feel would be the most effective for your Capsim Company?

APA format please

Create an inferential statistics (hypothesis) test using the research question and two variables your learning team developed for the Week 2 Business Research Project Part 1 assignment. Include:
The research question
Mock data for the independent and dependent variables
Determine the appropriate statistical tool to test the hypothesis based on the research question.
Conduct a hypothesis test with a 95% confidence level, using the statistical tool.
Write an interpretation of no more than 350-words of the results and provide your findings.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
Submit both the spreadsheet and the paper to the Assignment Files tab.

Background
HD, Inc. has experienced significant change since 2010.  It has divested assets, restructured its domestic manufacturing plants, and implemented more flexible labor agreements.  The company has expanded its international presence to meet global demand for their products (Deinlein, 2015).
The topic of quality has been a major influence in recent HD, Inc. history.  When they originally began making motorcycles, their level of quality was known to be high.  However, they were bought by ABC Company in the 1960s and were quickly overtaken by issues of poor quality.  When the company went public in 1981, new ownership and investment in new technologies led to higher quality motorcycles (Ulama, 2015).  The company has an ultra-strong branding image and built positive relationships with customers.  Many have labeled the HD brand as “legendary”.  These encouraging relationships and images of a high-quality motorcycle have helped lead to significant increases in sales and revenue (Trendafilov, 2015).
Organizational Identity
HD, Inc. is an American company that specializes in designing, manufacturing and selling heavyweight motorcycles.  HD’s motorcycle and related-parts segment account for 93.6% of company revenue (Ulama, 2015).
Business Problem
As the company began selling motorcycles overseas, it relied more on foreign manufacturers of parts and components.  Manufacturer start-ups were slower than expected, and the delay in deliveries caused slowdowns in inventory being shipped to dealerships.  Manufacturing quality levels and control methods were not up to par with domestic plants.  As a result, there have been more defective parts, more unit recalls, and higher variable costs.  Qualitatively, there has been a drop in perceived quality and reliability from HD customers (Phillips, 2014).  The result is that HD, Inc. sales have plummeted.  Motorcycle sales are essentially unchanged from 2014.  Shipments have slipped from forecasted amounts of seven to nine percent to three point five percent and five point five percent respectively.  Sales and profits are up 30% due to increases in shipments to dealers for future sales and higher profit margins (Ulama, 2015).
Team’s Role
The team’s role is to use exploratory research techniques to investigate and identify qualitative and quantitative measures of quality for HD, Inc. and determine their relationships with sales.
Identifying One Independent and Dependent Variable based on the Business
A dependent variable in HD Inc. is the data sales quarterly reported.  One of the independent variables in the company is the quality of motorcycles.  Being an abstract, independent variable it is to be operationalized to measure by utilizing four types of inspection: Pre-Production, during production, final production, and container loading inspection (Anjoran, 2010).  Using these four types of inspection will help and improve to identify the area of opportunities.
Two Variables based on the Research Question
The question examined is whether or not there is a difference in sales based on a decrease in quality for HD Inc.  The dependent variable is numeric, and the independent variable is the attribute.  The study will show if the decrease of purchase is due to normal variation or statistical influence.  If the decrease of purchase is due to normal variation something common caused the reason for the decrease.  If the decrease is due to statistical influence, then facts will support the outcome.
Hypothesis Statement
There is a difference in quality from the dependent variables based on production from the independent variables. HD Inc. sales suffered because of the poor quality supplies purchased to construct their motorcycles. The dependent variable suggests that quality affected the sales because the company’s sales fell 18 percent to 41,000 in the 1970’s (Gross, 2012). The hypothesis can conclude that the reason why HD Inc. sales plunged was because of the cheaply made supplies for the motorcycles during the early 1960’s and 1970’s.
Conclusion
HD Inc. specializes in the manufacturing of motorcycles.  Our team conducted an investigation as to why the sales tumbled in specific years.  The independent and dependent variables indicated that quality affected their sales in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  The hypothesis confirmed that quality affected the sales of HD Inc. because there was a difference in quality from dependent variables and this was based on the production of the independent variables discussed.

References
Anjoran, R. (2010).  The four types of quality inspection services.  Retrieved from
https://qualityinspection.org/quality-inspection-services/
Chansler, P. A., Swamidass, P. M., & Cammann, C. (2003, February).  Self-Managing Work
Teams: An Empirical Study of Group Cohesiveness in “Natural Work Groups” at a
Harley-Davidson Motor Company Plant.  Small Group Research, 34(1), 101-120.
Doi: 10.1177/1046496402239579
Deinlein, J. (2015).  Harley-Davidson’s general manager addresses quality issues.  (Cover story). Retrieved from Central Penn Business Journal, 31(5), 1-8.
Gross, D. (2012). The Turnaround at Harley-Davidson.  Retrieved from http://www.stephenhicks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/forbes-harley-davidson.pdf
Hagerty, J.R. (2014, July 22).  Harley-Davidson upstaged by Polaris in motorcycle sales.  The Wall Street Journal.  Retrieved from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/harley-davidson-cuts-shipment-view-on-weakness-in-u-s-1406030189
Murphy, I. P. (1996).  Aided by research, Harley Goes Whole Hog.  Marketing News, 30(25), 16-17.
Phillips, A. (2014, July 23).  Harley Davidson highlights the downside of offshoring. Global Manufacturing.  Retrieved from http://www.manufacturingglobal.com/leadership/119/Harley-Davidson-Highlights-the-Downside-of-Offshoring.
Trefis: Not as bad as it seems for Harley-Davidson.  (2015). Chatham: Newstex.  Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1691045025?accountid=458
Trendafilov, D. (2015).  Chasing the myth: A Harley-Davidson story (telling).  Semiotica, 2015(204), 315-339. Doi: 10.1515/sem-2014-0085
Ulama, D.  (2015, August).  IBISWorld industry report 33699a, Motorcycle, bike, and parts manufacturing in the US.

 

Technology in National and Local Security

 

National and local security agencies often use technology to protect citizens. For example, computers are used to maintain a list of individuals not cleared to board a commercial aircraft. Give examples( links, pictures, descriptions) of how?

•  create a list of the various ways technology helps to keep the public safe.
•  research how local agencies, such as police departments, use technology to ensure security.
•  research ways national security agencies use technology to protect the public from threats.
•   research ways that private businesses use technology to enhance security. Compile these findings into a report.

MLA Citation

In Chapter 4 of Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, Mills (2014) shares that “ the strength of educational research lies in its triangulation, collecting information in many ways rather than relying solely on one” (p. 104).

Complete the Data collection worksheet to include the following:

1. Area of focus statement
2. Brief description of proposed intervention
3. Table

The following table provides a completed sample of:

1. Up to three research questions (you will have between one and three questions for your study).
2. An appropriately aligned data collection tool.
3. An explanation as to how the tool will help you answer your research question.

Research Questions	Data Collection Tool	Why this tool?  Justify its use in your study.  How does it match with what you are attempting to find and to measure?
Will the incorporation of project-based learning improve students’ state assessment scores as it relates to the Common Core State Standards in comprehending non-fiction text?	District Common Assessments (post-test)	This research question requires quantitative data collection.  The answer of this question is either yes, the incorporation improves test scores or no, it does not.  District common assessments, which assess Common Core State Standards as well, can also be used for post-test data.
Will the inclusion of project-based learning improve student application of comprehending non-fiction text at a high depth of knowledge level?	Pretests and post-tests	Pre- and post-tests can give quantitative data to support findings in the examination of the artifacts and with the observations.
How does project-based learning integrate clear expectations and essential criteria and remain successful?	Questionnaires	This question seems to only be able to warrant qualitative data collection because it needs first-hand accounts of what expectations and criteria were used that indicated success.  Questionnaires can give the researcher an opportunity to view how the teachers instill the expectations in the students.

 

Note that we are continuing with our scenario from Week One. This week you travel to the Roto Air plant in Florida to hold the project kick-off meeting.

In preparation for the meeting:

1. Identify at least three categories of stakeholders that should be invited.
2. Remembering that interested parties are in both New York and Florida:
   • Select three methods of communicating with the attendees.
   • Describe the best method of holding the meeting that also limits travel costs.
3. Describe at least three team building exercises that could be used during the meeting.
4. Before leaving the office, Shawn mentions that her husband is employed as a sales representative by the manufacturer of one of the needed machines.
   • After reviewing the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Code of Conduct, specify which potential violation exists.
   • As the team leader, describe how you expect Shawn to proceed regarding this issue.
   • Explain what action you would recommend to Shawn’s husband.

Your paper must be 900 to 1200 words in length (not including title and reference pages) and must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Contextual (Level One) headings must be used to organize your paper and your thoughts. You must cite at least two scholarly sources from the Ashford Online Library in addition to the textbook.

Write a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper which addresses the following in reference to the case study:

• Develop at least one process evaluation measure and at least one outcome evaluation measure that you suggest for the Consultation and Education Department at Greenby Community Mental Health Center to display the program’s effectiveness and efficiency.
• What are the scope and purpose of your process evaluation measure and outcome evaluation measure and how did they influence your design?
• What issues and challenges may arise from evaluating the Greenby Community Mental Health Center?
• Explain why an evaluation may be helpful to the Consultation and Education Department director’s situation.