Author: chris

DUE WENDESDAY JANUARY 27

 

 

Every product or service has a buying process, even digital products and services. In this assignment, you will research and analyze the buying process for an online product or service, with which you (as a consumer) are familiar, from a business point of view.

 

Begin by researching an online consumer product or service (such as an e-Book from the Kindle store or a movie from the iTunes store). Choose an online product or service with which you are familiar and have purchased in the past.

 

Next, write a report to evaluate its buying process from the marketer’s point of view using the five stages of the buying decision process.

 

Remember, the five stages are as follows:

 

1. Problem recognition
2. Search and determination of alternatives
3. Evaluation of alternatives
4. Purchase decision
5. Post-purchase evaluation

Note: Use the grading criteria for this assignment to guide your report. Be sure to include these details within your evaluation to support your ideas.

Write a 6–8-page report in Word format.

 

 

Assignment Component	Proficiency	Maximum Points
Content Knowledge: Understanding Communicates an understanding of how to identify the problem and describe differences between current and ideal state, what drives it, and how it can benefit the buyer.	Response incorporates analysis and synthesis of central concepts of the assigned topic. Response reflects understanding of the nature of the specific topic within the discipline and its applications in contemporary times. Response provides necessary details and specific examples.	40
Content Knowledge: Understanding Communicates an understanding of how to describe the product and explain the internal and external sources.	Response incorporates analysis and synthesis of central concepts of the assigned topic. Response reflects understanding of the nature of the specific topic within the discipline and its applications in contemporary times. Response provides necessary details and specific examples.	40
Content Knowledge: Understanding Communicates an understanding of how to evaluate the alternatives, defined in terms of consumer needs, product benefits, and/or attributes. Identifies selection criteria.	Response incorporates analysis and synthesis of central concepts of the assigned topic. Response reflects understanding of the nature of the specific topic within the discipline and its applications in contemporary times. Response provides necessary details and specific examples.	40
Content Knowledge: Application Component 1 Communicates the ability to define the purchase decision and identify the high-level factors that interrupt or deter a purchase.	Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge. Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples. Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts. Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature.	40
Content Knowledge: Application Component 2 Communicates the ability to evaluate post-purchase evaluation.	Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge. Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples. Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts. Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature.	20
Written Communication/ Personal Effectiveness Conveys through, written word understanding, and application of academic writing has proper grammar, spelling, and attribution.	Writing is concise and clear in content, language use, grammar, organization, and sentence structure. Writing is free of major grammatical and usage errors.	20
Total:		200

MS  PowerPoint Presentation Report on Organization

 

Design and share a MS PowerPoint presentation that describes an organization (The Hershey Company), its current and future challenges, its capabilities, and the requisite competencies needed for its success. You will look for and report on examples of the existing total rewards programs to include monetary, non-monetary, and the work environment (including values and culture). The MS PowerPoint presentation will include a report on existing metrics** (organizational or HR) if any are present. If citations or Web site materials are used, in-text citations and sources presented on a References page using American Psychological Association (APA) format are expected. It is expected that at least three references will be used with at least one of the three being of a scholarly nature.

At the least, this MS PowerPoint Presentation will include:

1.   Academic Title Slide
2.   Introduction and Purpose for the Paper
3.   Description of the Organization
4.   Capabilities of the Organization and Requisite Competencies of the Employees
5.   Current and Future Challenges
6.   Academic Definition of Total Rewards Programs
7.   Description of Existing Total Rewards Program (Monetary, Non-Monetary and Work Environment)
8.   Existing Metrics that Evaluate the Success of the Total Rewards Program
9.   Conclusions
10. References Page (With a minimum of three References; one scholarly)

 

 

 

** Metrics, also known as measures or key performance indicators, are simply a tool for assessing the impact of a particular project or activity. While these are often quantitative or numeric in nature (improve sales by 20 percent, for example), they can also be qualitative (improve staff satisfaction levels, for example).

Assignment 1: Social Performance of Organizations

 

 

According to the textbook, the current world economy is increasingly becoming integrated and interdependent; as a result, the relationship between business and society is becoming more complex. Use the Internet to research Apple. Use a tablet, smartphone, laptop, desktop, or traditional video recorder to record a maximum of a five to seven (5-7) minute dynamic video on the topics detailed below. Alternatively, you may submit a four to six (4-6) page paper instead of the video submission.

 

Note: If you are using a tablet or smartphone you will need to email the video file to yourself, then save it to a computer in order to upload to Blackboard. You may want to upload your video to a file sharing service, such as Dropbox, if your email will not let you send a large video file. Dropbox is accessible from all smartphones and tablets from the Dropbox app.

 

Once you are ready to upload your video to Blackboard, view the Kaltura video tutorial found in your online course shell (Week 4).

 

Please use the following naming convention in the popup window for your video once it is finished uploading:

 

Title: Your First Name, Your Last Name – Social Performance of Organizations

Tags: BUS475, Social Performance

Description: First Name, Last Name – BUS475 Assignment 1 (Date Uploaded ex. 11-14-2014)

Prepare and present a video that is a maximum of five to seven (5-7) minutes OR write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

 

Specify the nature, structure, and types of products or services of Apple, and identify two (2) key factors in the organization’s external environment that can affect its success. Provide explanation to support the rationale.

Suggest five (5) ways in which the primary stakeholders can influence the organization’s financial performance. Provide support for the response.

Specify one (1) controversial corporate social responsibility concern associated with Apple.

Submit a reference page with at least four (4) quality references that you have used for this presentation / paper. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

If you choose the written paper, your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

 

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

 

Analyze the relationship between business and society, and the ways in which they are part of an interactive system.

Recommend ways stakeholders can influence the destiny of both business and society.

Analyze the various primary and secondary stakeholder groups, their roles, and relationships.

Compare and contrast the concepts of corporate social responsibility and citizenship.

Analyze ways ethical challenges affect the multiple functions of business.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in business and society.

Write clearly and concisely about business and society using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.

Assume the project sponsor within a major corporation has championed a project for the past year, and the concept was finally approved. Of the strategies a sponsor would use to ensure project success, describe three that you think are the most important, and discuss how the strategies are applied.

Assume the project manager within the same firm mentioned above was assigned to a new project sponsored by a senior manager.  Of the strategies a project manager would use to ensure project success, describe three that you think are the most important and discuss how the strategies are applied.

Assignment 2: LASA 1: Patrol Allocation Decisions

A major challenge for any police administrator is to determine how to allocate the limited resources of the police department to meet the law enforcement needs of the community being served. There is no facet of policing that better demonstrates this challenge than the patrol function. An administrator must not only assess the purpose and capability of the patrol function within the department, but also determine what the patrol will look like in the community, and when and where it will do so. Everyone would like to see a cop drive down their street from time to time. But does everyone need a cop in their neighborhood? What purpose and interests are being served by having patrol officers in one area of town instead of another? Does it make sense to saturate some areas with coverage, even if other areas will go unpatrolled? These are the real choices confronting police chiefs and sheriffs today.

Instructions:

In this assignment, assume the role of an assistant chief in the Centervale Police Department (CPD). The police chief has asked you to develop a position paper to reflect a patrol strategy for the department which will best serve the needs of Centervale. The chief wants you to consider everything you know about the effectiveness of preventive patrol, directed patrol, broken windows theory, notions of fairness and equity, and other considerations you deem important.

Here are some basic facts about Centervale that will help guide your patrol strategy:

• Centervale is a fairly large, suburban, working class community near a major American city. Your police department includes 100 patrol officers.
• 50% of the population lives north of the railroad tracks; 50% lives south of the railroad tracks.
• 80% of the crime occurs north of the railroad tracks; 20% occurs south of the tracks.
• 20% of the tax base can be found north of the railroad tracks; 80% is south of the tracks (that is, most of the money paying for town services is generated in the south).
• Crime rates in town go up significantly at night; however, the population of the town goes up significantly during the day (due to an influx of reverse commuters and vibrant retail activity).
• On average, it takes ten minutes for an officer to arrive to a call when dispatched from the south side of town to the north, or vice versa; however, on average it takes only five minutes to arrive to a call when the officer is already on the correct side of the tracks for the call.

What You Need to Do . . .

 

Barbara Maddock, the Director of Information Technology, stopped you on your way to lunch to inquire about ways to evaluate some training. She is planning some training in the area of providing better customer service in the technical support center. You had to rush off to a meeting, so you told her that you would send her a memo outlining some ways to evaluate the training.

Write a brief memo explaining the major concepts of evaluating and validating training to the Barbara Maddock, the Director of Information Technology.

• Be sure to explain the concepts in such a way that someone without a comprehensive background in training will understand the ideas and be able to apply them. (If you must use training jargon, be sure to provide an explanation).
• Address the 4 levels of evaluation
• You should include an example to help demonstrate each level.

Please submit your assignment.

Your assignment will be graded in accordance with the following criteria. Click here to view the grading rubric.

For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

Concern among the public sector is the demand for public organizations to be transparent about their budgets and spending habits. You have been scheduled to conduct a presentation for the State Budgeting Committee about the type of budget that the organization operates under. Identify the type of public organization for which you work, as well as what types of services, goods, or activities the organization provides to the public. Identify the size and scope of the organization.

Construct a budget using Excel that will provide a breakdown of the various budget items. Copy and paste the Excel spreadsheet of your budget into a Word document. Finally, explain how the budget is made available to the public for review. For example, is the budget made available at public meetings, on a special request, published in a newsletter, on the organization’s premises during regular business hours, via the organization’s Web site, or by some other means? If the budget is not available for the public to review, explain why. Furthermore, are there any provisions in place regarding the budget being made available for public view? Explain in detail.

Assignment Guidelines

• Address the following in 750–1,000 words:
  • Identify the type of public organization for which you work, as well as what types of services, goods, or activities the organization provides to the public. Identify the size and scope of the organization.
  • Construct a budget using Excel that will provide a breakdown of the various organizational budget items.
    • Copy and paste the Excel spreadsheet of your budget into a Word document.
  • Is the budget made available to the public for review?
    • If yes, explain how in detail.
    • If no, explain in detail why it is not.
  • Are there any types of provisions in place regarding the budget being made available for public view? Identify and explain.
• Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.

Contemporary Leadership Roles in Health Care Assignments ($380 total)
Unit 2 Assignment 1 $30
Topic Selection Summary and Rationale
Compose a 1–3 page summary paper identifying the theory or model you selected for the Leadership Theory Paper due in Unit 10. Respond to the following:
• Explain your choice of theory or model from the leadership literature that has been utilized to describe or explain leadership behavior in a health care setting.
• Discuss whether this interest emerges from your current work, or recent academic or community service experiences.
Explore the literature by researching academic and professional peer reviewed articles and other scholarly resources through the Capella Library databases. Exploring professional and scientific publications will be the preliminary work for the outline and annotated bibliography due in Unit 5.
Submit the paper in the assignment area at the end of Unit 2.
Unit 2 Discussion 1 $10
Leadership Theories
Distinguish situational leadership theory from transactional leadership theory, and from transformational leadership. What is similar and what is different for each theory?

Unit 2 Discussion 2 $10
Workforce Complexities
Explain how the complexity of the health workforce may lead to communication failure and conflict. What are two ways to use quality communication and conflict skills to successfully motivate subordinates?

Unit 3 Assignment 1 $40
Personal Development Plan
At the start of the DHA program, learners completed the Lifelong Leadership Inventory (LLI), which provided information on leadership and management competency areas. For this assignment, learners will summarize their current progress in continuing to develop their leadership competencies, as follows:
1. In 3–5 pages, learners will write a brief summary of the results of the LLI, identifying three strengths and three weaknesses.
2. Next, learners select an area of competency development and write a specific action plan to address this competency area during the course.
3. This written summary and plan should provide clear measurable objectives, a set of action steps to be taken, and a clear timeline for completing these action steps during this term.
4. Finally, learners should be prepared to update the instructor on their progress during the last week of the term.
Portfolio Prompt: You are required to save this assignment to your ePortfolio
Unit 3 Discussion 1
Unit 3 Discussion 1 $10
Effective Planning and Decision Making
Mastering the planning process and effective decision making are two critical tools of health leaders. Based on your understanding of the readings, what might happen if leaders do not master these tools?
Unit 3 Discussion 2 $10
Tuckman’ s Model of the Group Dynamic Process
Explain Tuckman’s model of the group dynamic process and summarize its importance for health care leaders in group or team supervision. Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the Tuckman model.
Unit 4 Discussion 1 $10
Case Study: Innovations in Performance Management
Review the Innovations in Performance Management case study from the studies section in this unit. Conduct a synchronous meeting to discuss the case study with your team members. Each team will post a 4-page maximum case summary as described in the case study analysis presentation in Unit 3. Post the team summary by the end of the week.
In the case by Vermillion et al. (2010), a critical issue for Baptist was to align leaders’ goals with organizational performance expectations. In your team, describe the key leadership issues at Baptist. What was innovative about their approach? As a team, decide which theory, if any, is best for explaining the approach utilized at Baptist. Discuss the rationale for theory selection.
In a separate posting, explain why you agree or disagree with your team’s decision.
Unit 4 Discussion 2 $10
Evaluate Needs

Identify one idea or insight from the Baptist case that you would want to pursue with additional research. What is the research question or idea that needs further research?
Unit 5 Assignment 1 $50
Leadership Theory Outline and Annotated Bibliography
With your Leadership Theory Paper outline and annotated bibliography, you will demonstrate the research you have completed in your course project and receive instructor feedback. Your annotated bibliography should be annotative, as opposed to summative. Include the following:
• A minimum of 10 references, formatted in APA (6th edition) style, which are appropriate, professional peer-reviewed academic sources.
• Identify the type of source, and provide a brief summary as well as a rationale for each selection.
• Describe the relationship of the references to your selected topic.
Your instructor will offer feedback in regard to the applicability of the articles you selected, as well as guidance on any other aspects that you may want to research before completing the assignment.
Unit 5 Discussion 1 $10
Case Study: Seeking PERFECTION in Health Care

Review the Seeking PERFECTION in Health Care case study from the studies section in this unit. Conduct a synchronous meeting to discuss the case study with your team members. Each team will post a 4-page maximum case summary as described in the case study analysis presentation in Unit 3. Post the team summary by the end of the week.
As a team, discuss the application of the Toyota Production System approach to George Mason. Note that a key reason for adopting the Toyota approach was because senior leaders wanted to find a unifying management method for the system. Would you have predicted that this approach might present any cultural and/or ethical conflicts for the system? Explain why or why not.

Unit 5 Discussion 2 $10
The End of “Business as Usual”
Using your knowledge of Resource Dependency Theory and Strategic Management Theory, explain why Virginia Mason had to change and could no longer operate with a “business as usual” approach.
Unit 6 Discussion 1 $10
Case Study: People Structure of Quality Improvement
Review the Innovations in Performance Management case study from the Studies section in this unit. Conduct a synchronous meeting to discuss the case study with your team members. Each team will post a 4-page maximum case summary as described in the case study analysis presentation in Unit 3. Post the team summary by the end of the week.
Based on your review of the issues confronting Spectrum Health, discuss your perspective on the executive leader’s role in this case with your team members. What is the executive leader’s role here? What specific behaviors should the executive leader be demonstrating, and why?
Unit 6 Discussion 2 $10
Metrics for Accountability
What top 3–5 metrics should the executive leaders of Spectrum utilize to ensure that people are held accountable for results? Identify one research study to provide evidence that at least one of your metrics has been utilized in practice by health care leaders.
Unit 7 Discussion 2 $10
Case Study: Malcolm Baldrige Award
Review the Innovations in Performance Management case study from the Studies section in this unit. Conduct a synchronous meeting to discuss the case study with your team members. Each team will submit a 4-page maximum case summary as described in the case study analysis presentation in Unit 3. Post the team summary by the end of the week.
Summarize the common characteristics of the five health care systems that have won the Malcolm Baldrige Award.
Unit 7 Discussion 3 $10
Unanswered Research Question

Case studies comparing the results of different health care organizations are one way that policymakers, health leaders, and researchers gather and share empirical information. Identify one research question that you think remains unanswered about the Malcolm Baldrige approach. Why is this the right question to ask?
Unit 8 Assignment 1 $40
Networking Assignment
One of the most important skills that a leader can develop is their network of professional contacts both in and out of their professional field. Whether it is to establish new business relationships or learn about emerging trends and ideas, networking requires focus, practice, and persistence to do it well. For this assignment, learners are required to write and submit a 4–5 page summary of their experience:
1. Identifying and making contact with two leaders (this may not be another learner enrolled in this course). One contact should be a leader in the field of health administration, and the second contact should be a leader in a related/relevant profession, but not necessarily health administration (this may be a community leader, for example) The learner should select a networking contact who the learner admires for his or her professional accomplishments, or who occupies a leadership position that the learner aspires to achieve.
2. Learners are required to provide an action plan of whom, what, when, and where as well as the results of their interaction with the key network contacts.
3. Learners are to ask their networking contact for help with the following question:
o What is the most important lesson that you have learned in your career as a leader that you would be willing to share with me as I continue to build my leadership skills?
4. Learners should demonstrate that they have reflected on both their personal experience and refer to the leadership literature to determine if there is evidence to support the lessons learned from leadership network contacts.
Unit 8 Discussion 1 $10
Case Study: Leadership Development in Health Care
Review the Innovations in Performance Management case study from the Studies section in this unit. Conduct a synchronous meeting to discuss the case study with your team members. Each team will post a 4-page maximum case summary as described in the case study analysis presentation in Unit 3. Post the team summary by the end of the week.
How do the results of the McAlearney and Butler (2008) study align with the recommendations of the NCHL? Are the results consistent or different?
Unit 8 Discussion 2 $10
Research Questions and NCHL Competencies
How would you determine if the NCHL competencies are the rights ones? What is one research question that you might ask to be sure that the competencies outlined by the NCHL are the right ones for you to develop?
Unit 9 Discussion 1 $10
Mentorship and Succession Planning
Describe the importance of mentorship and succession planning to the long-term success of a health care organization. How do you know that mentorship is important?
Unit 9 Discussion 2 $10
Scientific Inquiry in Coaching and Mentoring
Is there one study that you would still like to see completed before you are convinced of the effectiveness of coaching and mentoring? If so, what is the study? If not, identify an area of scientific inquiry in the field of coaching and mentoring that is worthy of study by a Capella doctoral learner in health administration.
Unit 10 Assignment 1 $40
Leadership Theory Paper
The purpose of this doctoral level Leadership Theory paper is to:
1. Select a theory or model from the leadership literature that has been utilized to describe or explain leadership behavior in a health care setting.
2. Summarize the available information from both professional and scientific publications.
3. Apply the theory or model to a health care organization with which you are familiar.
4. Discuss the value of the theory or model for improving health care organizational performance (be sure to present the evidence).
5. Describe any personal experience as a practitioner with the identified model or theory of leadership, and summarize both published and personal “best practices.”
6. Review your past Lifelong Leadership Inventory (LLI) results and reflect on whether the theory or model aligns with NCHL competencies and your own perspective and approach to leadership.
7. Describe how your leadership style or behaviors should or shouldn’t change, based on what you learned from the research completed for this paper.
Expectations
• Topic relevant to a health care setting.
• Literature review engaging both scholarly and professional practice literatures.
• Scholarly review of the empirical evidence surrounding the application of the theory in health and non-health settings.
• Correct use of APA formatting and referencing throughout the document.
• Development of an evidence-based perspective on the value of the theory.
• Describe the value of the theory for improving the learner’s own leadership competencies.
Portfolio Prompt: You are required to save this assignment to your ePortfolio.
Unit 10 Discussion 1 $10
Leadership Legacy
Describe the characteristics of the leadership legacy you intend to leave. What do you want your teams and peers to say about your legacy? Why is this important to you?
Unit 10 Discussion 2 $10
Personal Development Retrospective
In the beginning of this course, you were asked to think about your results from the Lifelong Leadership Inventory (LLI), and to use those results to evaluate your overall progress developing leadership competencies. Now that you have reached the end of this course, it is time to reflect on your growth as a health care leader:
1. How have the activities in this course altered your previously self-identified strengths and weaknesses?
2. How have your experiences in this course made an impact on your personal action plan to develop a specific leadership competency?
3. Are there any changes to your objectives, action steps, or timeline?
4. What final thoughts do you have about health care leadership development?

Part 1 – Prioritize Project Risks

 

Instructions

This assignment has two parts.  In the first part, prepare and submit an Excel spreadsheet in which you quantitatively rate the project risks you identified in the Week 2 assignment, calculate a Risk Factor for each risk, and then sort the risks from highest to lowest Risk Factor.  Be sure  to use a scale of 1-10 for the Likelihood (with 1 being not very likely and 10 being practically certain) and a scale of 1-10 for the Impact (or Consequence) (with 1 being negligible and 10 being catastrophic).  Use the RF = P X C method for calculating the Risk Factor for each risk and  use a formula in Excel so that if the Likelihood or Impact rating changed, the Risk Factor would automatically change.  You must sort all of the risks in your Excel spreadsheet from highest Risk Factor to lowest Risk Factor.

 

Assignment Part 2 – Summarize a Quantitative Risk Analysis Method

 

Instructions

The second part of this assignment requires you to write a paper that summarizes any four quantitative risk analysis methods described in Part III of the Cooper et. al. (2014) text and pages 333 to 341 of the PMBOK^® Guide (2013).

 

Support your paper with a minimum of three (3) external resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.

Length: 6-7 pages not including title and reference pages

Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.