Read the following case study and answer the questions below in a 2-3 page paper:
Larsen, M. M., Pedersen, T., & Slepniov, D. (November 2010). Lego Group: An Outsourcing Journey. Retrieved from Harvard Business School Publishing.
Project managers often use Earned Value Management (EVM) if they want to compare the status of their projects to their project plans. Using the same project from Assignment 3, develop a project scenario to explain the amount of work that you have completed with the funds allotted.
This assignment consists of two (2) sections:
You must submit both sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment. Label each file name according to the section of the assignment for which it is written. Additionally, you may create and / or assume all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.
Section 1: MS Project Exercise
Assume that your project is using more resources (e.g., time, money, and / or other non-labor resources, etc.) than anticipated through 50% of the project duration.
1. Update the project schedule to reflect related resource changes.
2. Produce a series of EVM reports from MS project that illustrates your project’s performance. Note: Your reports should focus on the cost and schedule performance of the project.
Section 2: EVM Paper
Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:
3. Summarize the recourse changes of your project, and discuss the performance results of your project.
4. Determine one (1) performance measurement baseline for your MS Project. Justify your response.
5. Apply earned value analysis (EVA) in order to forecast future cost issues. Justify your response.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Each student will be required to select, research, and develop a 15-20 slides presentation on ONE of the following topics:
-Artifact topic: Showtimes “The Affair”
-Lens used to analyze: Feminist Studies
-Theory for support: Interpretation
-Characters to analyze: Noah & Alison
-Question to answer: What culutral problem is the show a response to or why the show has evolved.
Goal: Make a claim and connection.
Write between 750 – 1,250 words (approximately 3 – 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style
whale rider movie
1. In your opinion, was Koro’s treatment of Pai ethical? Why? Why not? Remember that they lived in a culture different than that of the United States.
2. Was the grandfather’s treatment of his eldest son “fair”? Why? Why not?
3. Traditionally (as presented in the film), what is the importance of the “taiaha”?
4. Describe the relationship between Pai and Hemi.
5. What is the movie’s theme, and how does it relate to similar (the same) issues facing countries and cultures throughout the modern world?
Problem Statement: (max. 1500 words) an overview of the topic your research will investigate. It introduces and justifies your research question, key variables, their hypothesized relations, and your guiding theoretical perspective. It explains how your planned research is unambiguous in its goals and methods, concerned with a significant issue that will add to the store of human knowledge, theoretically justifiable and testable, practical and feasible to implement, ethical and respectful of human rights, and builds on existing knowledge in the field.
Literature Review: (max. 1500 words) a critical summary of existing research your project will build upon. Your review will evaluate at least five other relevant research projects from original sources in reputable, peer-reviewed journals. The lit review discusses previous research, as it influences the proposed project. It evaluates the methodological, theoretical, or substantive strengths or weaknesses of those studies and explains how they shape your research plans.
Ethics & Conduct of Research: (max. 1500 words) summarizes potential ethical dilemmas, political consequences, and practical challenges associated with designing, conducting, implementing, and disseminating your research. It explains where your research process might go wrong and the safeguards you will put into place to minimize those risks.
Design & Procedures: (max. 2000 words) describes and justifies your plans for measurement, sampling, design, analysis, and interpretation of results. It explains which data you would collect, when you would collect it, and what you would do with it to make sense of your topic and shed new light on your research question � and how and why. This section is a set of �how to� instructions for actually turning your �good idea� into a real plan for scientifically answering your original question.
The Core Assessment for this class requires you to write a detailed proposal for research you could conduct. You will not actually do this research (though it might form the basis for a senior research project or some research relevant to your job), but your proposal should be a �blueprint� detailed enough that you could hand to others and guide them through its successful completion. The research proposal will consist of four sections
Your research proposal is a carefully constructed argument for why your question should be answered and how a valid and reliable answer might be obtained. It should be a meticulous set of instructions for generating an answer according to the rules of scientific method, and it should make the case to interested parties for how such an answer can be achieved
Assignment 2: Dropbox Assignment
This assignment focuses on nonparametric methods. When a researcher is not in a situation to be able to assume parametric statistical methods requirements, known distribution, or dealing with small sample size, then nonparametric statistical methods need to be used, which make fewer assumptions about the distributional shape.
Click here to install Minitab Software.
Nonparametric Methods
In this assignment, we will use the following nonparametric methods:
•The Wilcoxon signed-rank test: The Wilcoxon signed-rank test is the nonparametric test analog of the paired t-test.
•The Wilcoxon rank-sum test or the Mann-Whitney U test: The Wilcoxon rank-sum test is an analog to the two-sample t-test for independent samples.
For each exercise, there will be a sample problem that shows how the calculations are done and the problems for you to work on.
Part 1: Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test
Let’s take a hypothetical situation. The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to investigate whether building irrigation systems in an African region helped reduce the number of new cases of malaria and increased the public health level.
Data was collected for the following variables from ten different cities of Africa:
•The number of new cases of malaria before the irrigation systems were built
•The number of new cases of malaria after the irrigation systems were built
Table 1: Cases of Malaria
City Before After
1 110 55
2 240 75
3 68 15
4 100 10
5 120 21
6 110 11
7 141 41
8 113 5
9 112 13
10 110 8
Using the Minitab statistical analysis program to enter the data and perform the analysis, complete the following:
•Run a sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test to show whether there is a statistically significant difference between the number of cases before and after the irrigation systems were built.
•Obtain the rank-sum.
•Determine the significance of the difference between the groups.
•Determine whether building these systems helped reduce new cases of malaria.
In addition, in a Microsoft Word document, provide a written interpretation of your results in APA format.
Refer to the Assignment Resources: Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test Example to view an example of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The same resource is also available under lecture Nonparametric Methods.
Submission Details:
•Name your Minitab output file SU_PHE5020_W2_A2a_LastName_FirstInitial.mtw.
•Name your document SU_PHE5020_W2_A2b_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.
•Submit your Minitab output file and document separately to the W2 Assignment 2 Dropbox by Saturday, December 12, 2015.
Part 2: Wilcoxon Rank-Sum Test
Let us consider another hypothetical situation. The WHO wants to compare the mortality rates of children under the age of five years of underdeveloped and developed regions of the world. There were two independent samples of ten countries from each of the groups drawn at the same time, and the yearly mortality rates of children under the age of five years (per 100,000) inhabitants were reported (MRate1 and MRate2).
Table 2: Mortality Rates of Children
Country MRate1 MRate2
1 120 11
2 110 9
3 105 13
4 61 11
5 45 14
6 114 11
7 118 10
8 138 8
9 85 6
10 70 6
Using the Minitab statistical analysis program to enter the data and perform the analysis, complete the following:
•Run the Wilcoxon rank-sum test to show whether there is a statistically significant difference between the mortality rates of children under the age of five years of the regions. Results may be used in making decisions regarding which region needs to receive help to improve the public health issues of morality.
•Obtain the difference in the mortality rates and whether there is a statistically significant difference.
In addition, in a Microsoft Word document, provide a written interpretation of your results in APA format.
Submission Details:
•Name your Minitab output file SU_PHE5020_W2_A2c_LastName_FirstInitial.mtw.
•Name your document SU_PHE5020_W2_A2d_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.
•Submit your Minitab output file and document separately to the W2 Assignment 2 Dropbox by Saturday, December 12, 2015.
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Maximum Points
Initial setup of the assignment—introduction.
10
Explanation of the criteria for selecting the procedure in Minitab.
30
Proper use of the Minitab statistical analysis tool and execution.
15
Provided a copy of the output.
15
Written interpretation of results using correct spelling, grammar, professional vocabulary, and APA format.
30
Total:
100
Shows the help line number for South University Online Inc. The number is 1-888-444-3404.
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Presents example of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
Leadership and Organisations 2015-16: Seminar 2 hand-out
Assessment Task One: Essay Guidance
The guidance in this document is to be read in conjunction with the pages 15-17 of the module guide
Essay Brief (“Question”)
“Choosing two of the theories or approaches from lectures 2-4, critically evaluate their contribution to our understanding of effective leadership.”
Which two? You choose two of the key theories or approaches from lectures 2-4.
We suggest you choose approaches from different lectures so you get more chance for discussion of difference rather than two very similar ones. The choice is yours but as guidance:
Avoid, for example, choosing charismatic and visionary (lecture 4) or situational and contingency (Lecture 3) as these from the same broad school of thought.
Better choices, for example, would be new leadership (Lecture 4) and trait leadership (Lecture 1) or situational leadership (Lecture 3) and new leadership (Lecture 4) etc. etc.
Where to start? Setting the correct course ….
Source a wide variety and good quality of readings (RLO is the starting point but also find your own articles via Google Scholar, Business Source Premier, Emerald and Library Gateway). Read a lot of material to help build arguments e.g. good mix of books, journal articles and only a few websites. As you read, make well-organised notes and start to build up your essay content.
In the introduction, you will want to include a definition of leadership and what you mean by effective leadership (for the purpose of this essay). Keep any discussion on this brief however, as you need to focus on the main body of the question. You will also want to outline and justify your choices of the two areas to focus on.
Structure – You choose one that helps you organise your thoughts and keep the focus on the question. This is quite a straightforward one. If you use sub-headings ensure they are suitably named and make sense.
What to focus on in the main body discussion? = Critical evaluation of their contribution to our understanding of leadership effectiveness.
Key term ‘CRITICALLY EVALUATE’ = engage in a critical discussion which might include an exploration of the following:
What aspects of leadership do the approaches/theories focus on?
What are the strengths and limitations of the approaches/theories?
What is the evidence/research to support or indeed critique the ideas proposed by the approaches/theories?
What is its applicability, for example:
What organisations and situations would these approaches/theories work in/not work in and why?
To what extent are followers or context involved?
Are the theories/approaches used in organisations today? Can you give any examples?
Are there any examples of leaders that help demonstrate the ideas explored or support your discussion on their value?
See this link to online publically available resources from the University of Sussex @ http://www.sussex.ac.uk/s3/?id=87 . More information and guidance on critical thinking, writing and reading. RECOMMENDED
Critically evaluate how the approaches help us understand what is important for effective leadership. For example, situational leadership helps us understand the importance of considering the needs of followers and how leaders can support followers through adapting their style etc. etc. Essentially this is a written debate where you are using your skill at reasoning, backed up by carefully selected evidence to make a case for and against an argument, or point out the advantages and disadvantages of a given context. As part of this you may have an element of compare and contrast between the two approaches but this is not a dominant focus of the essay.
Do not provide long descriptions of the models. You need to provide a summary/ overview description of what the theories are about to show understanding but should not waste your word count on long descriptions of each part of the models. For example, when describing situational leadership theory, avoid describing D1, D2, D3, D4 and then S1, S2, S3, and S4 in detail. Instead, consider providing the model detail in the appendix and provide a summary of what the model explores in the essay itself. You can also then provide some ‘depth’ in your discussion by providing examples which focus on particular aspects of the model – this is a good way to show understanding and enables you to explore their usefulness and applicability in some depth. For example, you could explore one of the 4I’s in transformational leadership and how this compares to ideas in other theories/approaches.
Ensure you cover both general points about the leadership theory/approach e.g. trait, situational, contingency, new leadership BUT ALSO include and refer to specific research/models within the approach and reference them e.g. 4i model of transformational, Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model, a named/specific contingency approach, named / referenced trait studies, etc.
Please remember to provide references to support your points in this section e.g. if you are suggesting situational leaders can be developed/’made’, provide a reference of an author who also suggests this. As well as writers who support/agree, are there any that disagree or suggest that X point is not the case? Be very clear about what is your work / thoughts and what is taken from the literature and written by others. Always cite and fully reference the sources of points of view, facts and figures or where you sourced an example or figure. Without this the work lacks academic rigour and you will lose marks unnecessarily, if not end up with an Academic Conduct issue to answer.
An advanced aspect of critical evaluation is to look at the basis of the research in the journal articles or books you are discussing and critique this. This is what we encourage you to practice when discussing the journal articles at the start of each seminar (see Seminar booklet pages 2-3 for more on this and some tips).
Consider using a few examples of named leaders and organisations to bring the topic ‘alive’ e.g. effective or ineffective practice of a named leader and what makes them effective/ineffective AND reference them wherever possible.
Where to end? Your conclusion should…
…. Not be too long or short; revisit the brief and show the reader that you have addressed it; summarise your key points but do not introduce major new points/issues; cover wider issues and why the discussion is important for leadership; have something of yourself in it e.g. judgements, opinions, overall assessment.
Finally, some general and presentation points to consider:
Referencing – Clearly cite in the main body the appropriate authors of the theories you are exploring; ensure you have a full and consistently formatted Harvard ‘Reference list’ or sometimes also referred to as a ‘Bibliography’ (see shuspace) = list of all sources you have cited in your work.
Avoid the overuse of quotes and only use where they are really punchy or where your paraphrasing will lead to a loss of the meaning (and always reference them with use of quotation marks and page number).
Ask yourself: Does your work read well? Does it flow i.e. is there a strong narrative and thread running through it? Do you use good opening phrases to aid this e.g. ‘A further contribution X theory makes is…..’; ‘X leadership approach offers several key contributions …’; ‘However, according to Xperson (date), lacking in this approach to leadership is…..’?
Ensure your paragraphs are not too long or too short and avoid lists/bullet points = use prose AND proof read your work (and ask someone else to read it (not on this module to avoid any issues of collusion) as this provides fresh eyes to your work).
Ask yourself does this answer the assignment brief, keep focus on the question and does it address the criteria in the marking grid (to the level to which I am aspiring)? This is one of the most important things as if you are off track, the marks will suffer.
Include an attractive title page with key information: module title, my name, my tutor, my student number, the essay brief and word count.
Where can I learn more to improve?
To improve writing skills, one needs to read/study, pay attention to past feedback, practice and spend time developing and crafting the essay. It is a life-long process!
Plagiarism and Academic conduct – see ‘Assessment & Tii’ tab on the module blackboard site for links to SHU and Turnitin advice and guidance. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
See ShuSpace, ‘Learning Essentials’ tab, ‘Resources for Learning’ for lots of useful links:
THEN ‘Information Skill’ tab for extensive guidance on referencing, including …
re: Search – A guide to the resources, tools and skills you will need to find and use academic quality information for your assignments.
Help with Referencing – How to acknowledge and refer to other people’s work. ALSO anti-PLAIGIARISM advice in here.
THEN ‘Writing Skills’ tab for lots on how to write for academic purposes ….
Language and Learning Online: Tutorials, interactive exercises, and examples of writing for specific subjects.
Wrasse – Writing for Assignments e-Library: Examples of student assignments with comments from lecturers.
Academic Writing – Resources for Students: Assess and develop your academic writing skills with podcasts and activities.
Then ‘Key Skills’ tab, then ‘Skills for learning’ – tutorials and information to help you develop your skills, e.g. Finding information; Reading and evaluating; Academic writing; Referencing.
Also you could try study skills books e.g. Palgrave series of books on study skills or critical thinking and ask at the Adsetts Learning Resources Centre about their workshops……
In urban and suburban areas across the United States, stormwater runoff is a primary stressor on surface waters. Conventional urban stormwater drainage systems often route runoff directly to streams and rivers with adverse results. Property owners often experience sewer backups and flooded basements. Research paper should include:
1.The cause(s) of the problem and the potential impacts on public health and the environment as well as the economic and social impacts.
2.The technologies and best management practices employed to minimize these impacts, and regulatory tools to deal with the problem.
3.In your opinion, what are some of the impediments to sustainable urban stormwater management? What other approaches would you recommend to address these problems?
4.With rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, the growing capital and maintenance costs and limited funding, what approach would you recommend for paying for these programs?