Author: chris

GIVE THE NAMES OF ALL AFRICAN COUNTRIES, LANGUAGE, LAND MARK AND HOW THEY WERE FOUNDED.

In your final project, you will analyze an investment opportunity applying key components of advanced microeconomics theories to typical business decisions.
You will assume the role of an entrepreneur, and you will conduct an analysis focusing on an investment opportunity of your choice. In your analysis you will
carefully evaluate key factors influencing the demand for the product, cost and supply issues, the role of market structure, and competitive analysis on firm
strategy. You will also analyze the effects of government regulations and market intervention on potential profitability, and you will use price and non-price
strategies to support product introduction. Using the above analyses, the last step in your final project requires you to model the potential financial viability of
the proposed new product using approximate figures. You will determine whether or not to recommend investing in the development and commercialization of
the investment opportunity to your business partners.
Prompt
In task 2-2, you will identify an appropriate investment opportunity specific to introducing a new product or service and submit a 2-3-page paper on the
background and demand of the investment opportunity you identified. Include the following:
⦁ Background: Provide a brief background on the company, product line, and proposed product specific to this opportunity. This is where you would lay
the foundation for the analysis that will follow. What is the significance of this opportunity?
⦁ Demand: Evaluate key non-price variables that are expected to support existing or potential demand specific to this opportunity and support your
evaluation with specific sources. For example, this is where you want to include rationale for your selection, such as empirical data for this type of
product/service.
Format: The topic and background information paper should follow these formatting guidelines: 2-3 pages, double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, l-
inch margins, and citations in APA format.

Locate six web sites for six different companies using the following criteria:

• Two of the companies should be more likely to use job costing.
• Two other companies should be more likely to use process costing.
• The final two companies should be likely to use activity-based costing.

For each of the companies, write a one paragraph description of the business of the company. Write an additional paragraph for each of the six companies explaining why it is likely they use your suggested method of cost accounting. Be sure to include a link to the company’s web site.

Present your work in MS Word format.

A staff tax accountant has come to you for advice. She has begun a tax return and does not know what to do with the expenses that the client has submitted as itemized deductions. She is unsure which expenses are allowable and should be included on her Schedule A. Review the expenses submitted by the client below. (Note: The client’s AGI is $45,000.)

Client submitted expenses:

Personal property taxes	$ 500
Reimbursed health insurance premiums	$ 1,500
Charitable contributions (cash only)	$ 200
Prescriptions	$ 150
Mortgage interest	$ 3,850
Contact lenses	$ 200
State income taxes withheld	$ 1,675
Unreimbursed medical expenses	$ 875
Services provided to a qualified nonprofit	$ 1,000
Real estate taxes	$ 850

Using the client submitted expenses above, complete the following:

• List the allowable expenses.
• Assist your staff with the completion of the Schedule A tax form for the most recent tax year.
• For each expense not allowed, please explain why it is disallowed.

Watch the “Learn About Emotional Intelligence” video found in this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Watch the “The Connection Between Emotional and Ecological

Intelligence” video found in this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Write a 1,050- to 1,200-word paper that addresses the following:

• What are Daniel Goleman’s four domains of emotional intelligence?
• How does Goleman define self-awareness? What makes his definition relevant to human services? How does this definition address the core concepts of self-awareness?
• In the video clips, Goleman provides two examples of people experiencing self-awareness in relation to their work-life choices. How would you apply self-awareness to your work-life choices? What strategies would you use?
• Why is a well-developed self-awareness important to a human services professional? How does this affect human services work?

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.

In this final assignment, you will assess your skills in interpersonal, group, and organizational communications based on your studies of these forms of communication. Address each of these forms of communication individually in the portfolio, assessing your overall skills in this area and then specifically addressing the issues listed below. Additionally, apply at least four of the theories or models of communication you have studied in the course to these three forms of communication. The list below must be addressed in the body paragraphs of your portfolio and must contain a clear point and relate back to the thesis statement.

1. Interpersonal Communication:
   • Your overall skills in this form of communication
   • Your spoken language skills
   • Your listening skills
   • Your relationship skills
   • Issues discussed in the Your Study of Communication Assignment
   • Issues discussed in the Personal Constructs Paper Assignment
   • Issues discussed in the Relationship Development Assignment
2. Group Communications:
   • Your overall skills in this form of communication
   • Five characteristics that would describe you
   • Group roles you play most frequently
   • Are you all territorial? How do you show your territoriality?
   • Do you have a large or small “personal space bubble”? How does this affect your communication with others?
   • Families are groups with definite roles, structure, and norms. Analyze your family communication and your skills in this area.
3. Organizational Communications:
   • Your overall skills in this form of communication
   • Issues related to work-content skills, personal attributes such as self-management, and technology skills discussed in the Organizational Skills Assessment Assignment

Be sure to incorporate the feedback that was provided to you in your draft from Week Three. The Final Portfolio must be seven to eight pages in length (excluding title and reference pages). Use at least five scholarly resources, at least two of which can be found in the Ashford Online Library, to support your claims and sub claims. The Final Portfolio must be formatted according to APA style, and all resources must be properly cited in text as well as on the reference page.

Writing the Final Portfolio

The Final Portfolio

1. Must be seven 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:
   • Title of paper
   • Student’s name
   • Course name and number
   • Instructor’s name
   • 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 use at least five scholarly resources, including a minimum of two from the Ashford Online Library.
7. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
8. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

It is easy to criticize society for not using renewable resources, but in reality, how difficult would this transition be? What processes and procedures would be involved? How would such a transition be made?

The purpose of this assignment is for you to consider what type of energy your neighborhood is currently powered by and what it would really take to convert this source to a renewable one. How much would it take to switch your community to a renewable resource and what would this mean for the environment?

For the assignment, complete the following:

• Identify three primary types of energy that powers your home as well as all of the homes in your community. You may find this information on your community Web site or the Web sites of the local power companies. For example, your community may use electricity and solar panels.
• Explain how the sources of energy you identified impact the environment. Consider the following:
  • Does the use of these types of energy resource have a negative impact on the environment in your area?
  • Does your community have nuclear waste to dispose of?
  • Has your community always used these three power sources? If so, how do you feel this has impacted the environment over time?
  • How much of an impact have these sources of energy had on local air and water quality?
• Considering the current source(s) of power available, determine how much energy your house uses each month. You can find this information on your monthly energy bill.

  Calculate your annual usage for a year. Using this value, estimate the energy consumption for your community. The US Census Bureau is one resource you can use to estimate the number of households in your community.

  You can use the following formulae for this calculation:

  (monthly energy usage) × (12 months per year) = (household energy usage per year); (yearly energy estimate for your house) × (estimated number of houses in your community) = (estimated yearly energy use for your community)

  The following is an example of the above calculation:

  52.8 kilowatt hours (kwh) per month × 12 months = 633.6 kwh; 633.6 kwh × 200 houses in your community = 126,720 kwh

• Recommend a realistic, renewable resource to power your community, using your calculated power needs. Consider the following sources: hydropower, solar power, wind turbines, and geothermal energy.
  • Which source would be the best for your community?
  • Justify your choice based on the kind of resources that are available, how much power these alternative sources can produce, and your estimated energy demands for the community.
• Having recommended an alternative power source, conclude by addressing the following:
  • How realistic is this alternative power source for your community?
  • How will people in your community respond to energy conversion? Will they support it or be against it? Give reasons.
  • How expensive would it be to convert to the alternative power source you recommended? How would this new source impact the environment?
  • What organisms would benefit most from this conversion?

1.Another key strategy that can be implemented during the growth stage is to increase the channels of distribution. For example, Netflix pioneered the DVD home delivery system. Now, the company is leading streaming video & it has been embedded into some DVD players/entertainment devices. These can be considered NEW channels of distribution which help keep the product/service in the “growth” stage.

 

Class, can you think of other products in the growth stage that have added new channels of distribution to increase and/or sustain growth?

 

2.Additionally, here are some of the characteristics of the maturity stage:

 

•        Slowdown in sales

 

•        Many suppliers

 

•        Substitute products

 

•        Overcapacity leads to competition

 

•        Increased promotion and R&D to support sales and profits

 

 

 

Class, what are some strategies that companies can use to extend a product’s life in the maturity stage?

 

3.As defined in your textbook, points of difference (PODs) are characteristics of a product that make it superior to the competition. In other words, it’s a unique strength.

 

Class, why can an insignificant point-of-difference lead to product failure? Can you think of an example?

 

 

 

 

4.Some have said that a brand is a promise. What does that mean and why is having a strong brand an advantage to a company and to the consumer?

 

 

5.Class, what are some examples of brand strategies? Which strategy would best fit your marketing plan topic for your course project?

 

Brand equity adds intangible value to products and services. The value is reflected in how consumers think, feel, and act with respect to the brand, as well as the prices, market share, and profitability that the brand commands for the firm.

 

 

6.Brand equity adds intangible value to products and services. The value is reflected in how consumers think, feel, and act with respect to the brand, as well as the prices, market share, and profitability that the brand commands for the firm.

 

Class, what are some examples of well-known brands that offer this extra intangible value to products? Based on the consumer-based brand equity pyramid shown in your textbook (Chapter 11), how do companies build brand equity?

using the textbook and the Argosy Online Library,  write a 1000-word (minimum) paper, using APA standards, that addresses the following questions:

Families have changed greatly over the past 60 years, and they continue to become more diverse.

• Why is the family considered the most important agent of socialization?
• What caused the dramatic changes to the American family?  What are those changes?
• Describe the differences in marriage and family life that are linked to class, race, gender, and personal choice.
• Do you feel the trend towards diverse families is positive or negative?
• If the trend changed towards traditional (pre-World War II) families, how would that affect women’s rights?

The Case of Frank and Judy.
During the past few years Frank and Judy have experienced many conflicts in their marriage. Although they have made attempts to resolve their problems by themselves, they have finally decided to seek the help of a professional marriage counselor. Even though they have been thinking about divorce with increasing frequency, they still have some hope that they can achieve a satisfactory marriage.
Three couples counselors, each holding a different set of values pertaining to marriage and the family, describe their approach to working with Frank and Judy. As you read these responses, think about the degree to which each represents what you might say and do if you were counseling this couple.
Counselor A. This counselor believes it is not her place to bring her values pertaining to the family into the sessions. She is fully aware of her biases regarding marriage and divorce, but she does not impose them or expose them in all cases. Her primary interest is to help Frank and Judy discover what is best for them as individuals 459460and as a couple. She sees it as unethical to push her clients toward a definite course of action, and she lets them know that her job is to help them be honest with themselves.

What are your reactions to this counselor’s approach?
▪ What values of yours could interfere with your work with Frank and Judy?
Counselor B. This counselor has been married three times herself. Although she believes in marriage, she is quick to maintain that far too many couples stay in their marriages and suffer unnecessarily. She explores with Judy and Frank the conflicts that they bring to the sessions. The counselor’s interventions are leading them in the direction of divorce as the desired course of action, especially after they express this as an option. She suggests a trial separation and states her willingness to counsel them individually, with some joint sessions. When Frank brings up his guilt and reluctance to divorce because of the welfare of the children, the counselor confronts him with the harm that is being done to them by a destructive marriage. She tells him that it is too much of a burden to put on the children to keep the family together.
What, if any, ethical issues do you see in this case? Is this counselor exposing or imposing her values?
Do you think this person should be a marriage counselor, given her bias?
What interventions made by the counselor do you agree with? What are your areas of disagreement?
Counselor C. At the first session this counselor states his belief in the preservation of marriage and the family. He believes that many couples give up too soon in the face of difficulty. He says that most couples have unrealistically high expectations of what constitutes a “happy marriage.” The counselor lets it be known that his experience continues to teach him that divorce rarely solves any problems but instead creates new problems that are often worse. The counselor urges Frank and Judy to consider the welfare of their three dependent children. He tells the couple of his bias toward saving the marriage so they can make an informed choice about initiating counseling with him.
What are your personal reactions toward the orientation of this counselor?
Do you agree with him stating his bias so obviously?
If he kept his bias and values hidden and accepted this couple into therapy, do you think he could work objectively with them? Why or why not?
460 461
Commentary. This case shows how the value system of the counselor can determine the direction of counseling. The counselor who is dedicated to preserving family life is bound to function differently from the counselor who puts primary value on the welfare of individual family members. What might be best for one family member is not necessarily in the best interests of the entire family. It is essential, therefore, for counselors who work with couples and families to be aware of how their values influence the goals and procedures of therapy. In ethical practice, clients are encouraged to look at their own values and to choose a course of action that is best for them.
Kleist and Bitter (2009) advocate for an ethical process for family practitioners from the perspective of virtue ethics—that is, from consideration of what constitutes the “good life” for individuals, systems, and human life in general. Through consideration of ethical codes and legal requirements within a process they call participatory ethics, family members are made aware of counselor values and concerns; are informed about professional, ethical, and legal standards affecting their situation; and are asked to share in the process of finding a resolution to any ethical dilemmas that may emerge.

Write a 350-to 700-word paper identifying the ethical issue or issues.

Describe the ethical issues that confront you as the caseworker.

Describe how you are going to help resolve these issues while maintaining ethical standards.

Cite the principles or core areas you are applying from the AAMFT Code of Ethics.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.