Write a paper (at least 2 pages in length, double-spaced) describing the two definitions of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Include images and diagrams.
DUE WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18
PTO policies have become good tools for HR staff to use in terms of organizational incentives.
While reviewing the information from the two merged companies, the HR Director has found out that each company has two different PTO policies.
Company A has a PTO system in which employees are given 30 days of paid time off each year, which accumulates at the rate of 2.5 days a month. Under this policy, vacation and sick leave are all rolled into one paid leave and any absence whether scheduled, such as vacation, or unscheduled, such as sick leave, are taken from the accumulated leave the employee has earned.
Company B has a more traditional leave system in which employees are given 12 days of vacation, 10 days of sick leave and 10 holidays. The company is closed on those holidays. Vacation is accumulated at a day per month. Sick leave has an unlimited accumulation, but unlike vacation would not be paid out upon termination of employment.
Since the employees of the merged company will be working side by side, the HR Director has asked you to review the situation and make recommendations for a solution.
Instructions:
As an HR Director prepare a report addressing the following issues:
Identify any additional information you would need to recommend a solution, and explain where you would likely find that information.
Discuss any issues you would likely encounter if you were to merge the PTO system to a traditional leave system. Explain which issues would be difficult to solve and why.
Explain any problems you see with leaving the two systems in place, and identify which system would be assigned for new employees.
Make a recommendation for one common PTO system. Explain your system and why you think this system is the best system for the company.
Include two to three scholarly references in your response.
Write a five-to-seven-page memo to the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Apply APA standards to citation of sources.
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Maximum Points
Identified information that is relevant and logical for recommending a PTO solution, and provided clear and rational ideas for where the information would likely be found.
16
Discussed relevant issues that could likely be encountered upon merging the PTO system with the traditional leave system. Supported the explanation of difficult issues by sound reasoning and evidence from scholarly resources.
24
Assessed various challenges that would logically emerge from having two separate PTO systems in one company; provided a thorough analysis of which system would be assigned for new employees.
16
Recommendation for the system that would be most beneficial to the newly merged organization is clear, specific, and based on scholarly research and industry best practices.
32
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Type: Individual Project
Unit: Strategic Compensation
Due Date: Sun, 11/20/15
Grading Type: Numeric
Deliverable Length: 2 pages (reference assignment details)
Assignment Objectives
Differentiate between various kinds of performance appraisal programs
Describe the role of compensation and its influence on employee behavior
Assignment Description
StopNShopToday, Inc. has had difficulty motivating and retaining key cashiers and wants to provide an incentive to them that will generate improvement in several critical areas of store cashier performance, which include the following:
Increasing total sales revenue
Reducing inventory losses and theft
Improving overall customer service and satisfaction
Improving store cleanliness and housekeeping
Improving attendance and reducing unscheduled absences
Several stores have poor overall sales volume and ongoing chaos because of the staff taking unscheduled absences. Others have issues with inventory and theft. All the stores want to address cleanliness and customer satisfaction problems.
Overall, officials with the company feel they can commit no more than an additional $200 per employee per year as an individual incentive and no more than $500 per year for the same store or corporate incentives.
You will select one of the critical areas of store cashier performance improvement (listed above), and recommend three components to be included in an individual incentive program for the cashiers. Use information from the Internet research you have done to aid in your understanding of cashiers’ tasks and work values. Tie your ideas to a contemporary motivational theory.
Discuss how you might incorporate the ideas you have generated regarding individual incentives.
Next, discuss store- or corporation-wide incentives.
Generate a recommendation for 2 possible avenues of same-store incentives and 2 possible avenues for corporation-wide incentives.
Present these recommendations in the form of a recommendation to Morry and Mo Gassup, owners of StopNShopToday Inc
You will need to write a 1-page lab report using the scientific method to answer the following question:
• What would happen if a species of lizard were suddenly split into 2 groups by a hurricane resulting in the isolation of a small group of individuals on an island far from the mainland?
Part I: Use the animated time progression of speciation to help you write up your lab report.
Part II: Write a 1-page lab report using the following scientific method sections:
• Purpose
o State the purpose of the lab.
• Introduction
o This is an investigation of what is currently known about the question being asked. Use background information from credible references to write a short summary about concepts in the lab. List and cite references in APA style.
• Hypothesis/Predicted Outcome
o A hypothesis is an educated guess. Based on what you have learned and written about in the Introduction, state what you expect to be the results of the lab procedures.
• Methods
o Summarize the procedures that you used in the lab. The Methods section should also state clearly how data (numbers) were collected during the lab; this will be reported in the Results/Outcome section.
• Results/Outcome
o Provide here any results or data that were generated while doing the lab procedure.
• Discussion/Analysis
o In this section, state clearly whether you obtained the expected results, and if the outcome was as expected.
o Note: You can use the lab data to help you discuss the results and what you learned.
Provide references in APA format. This includes a reference list and in-text citations for references used in the Introduction section.
Give your paper a title and number, and identify each section as specified above. Although the hypothesis will be a 1-sentence answer, the other sections will need to be paragraphs to adequately explain your experiment.
When your lab report is complete, post it in Submitted Assignment files.
Part 1:
Species
In biological terms, a species is defined as a group of organisms that are able to interbreed to produce fertile and viable offspring under natural conditions. This description of a species can further be characterized as reproductive isolation, where physical and sometimes behavioral traits of an organism will only allow them to reproduce with an organism that has the same traits. Using the aforementioned definition of a species, different breeds of dogs are able to produce fertile and viable offspring because they are all the same species, but dogs and cats are unable to interbreed because they are two different species.
Population
Now, extend the definition of a species to a group of the same species living in the same geographic area. This would represent a population. What would happen if the species within this population were suddenly split into two groups by an earthquake, creating a physical barrier such as a canyon? If a population is divided indefinitely by a barrier, members of the divided population will not have the opportunity to breed with each other.
Impacts
Over many years, the abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living) conditions on either side of the physical barrier will vary from one another. As a result, natural selection will cause different selective and adaptive pressures to occur between the two divided populations, and they will evolve differently. Over time, this will result in speciation, which is the creation of two new species. This occurs because of reproductive isolation
Calculate on paper (a) the Macaulay duration and (b) the modified duration. Show all of your work.
3. [10 points] Using the modified duration you just calculated, (a) estimate what the price change of the bond would be if the U.S. Treasury yield declines 50 basis points. (b) Now calculate the new price. Do these calculations on paper.
4. [20 points] Using the format highlighted in Question #1 as a guide, create a Bond Price calculator in an Excel spreadsheet. Next, in the cell below the “Yield to Maturity” cell, create a cell for PRICE. To the right of the “Price” label, insert Excel’s PRICE formula.
a. Using the same inputs from question 1, use the Excel PRICE function to calculate the bond’s price. Did you get the same answer that you calculated by hand? Copy and Paste your spreadsheet into your project paper.
b. Subtract 50 basis points from the U.S. Treasury yield in your Excel model. (i) Copy and Paste your spreadsheet results into your project paper. (ii) Compare this price to the new price you calculated in Question 3. How do they compare?
5. [10 points] Reset your Excel model to the original information from question #1. Now change the maturity date to 5/15/2021. What happens to the price of the bond versus your answer from Question 1? Explain in one paragraph what happened to the price when you changed the maturity date and why. Copy and Paste your spreadsheet into your project paper.
6. [30 points] I have placed an Excel spreadsheet on Blackboard (PROJECT BOND FIN 445 2015 Fall.xlsx). The spread data represents three sectors of the bond market: Investment Grade U.S. corporate bonds, High Yield U.S. corporate bonds, and U.S. dollar-denominated Emerging Market Corporate bonds. As an analyst, your job is to determine whether each of these sectors are fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued. You will do the following:
a. Create a separate chart for each of the three data series.
b. Calculate the average spread for each data series, and plot on the chart.
c. Calculate +/- 1 standard deviation for each data series, and plot on the chart.
d. Copy each chart into your project paper.
e. Given where the current spread is (the last data point), give me an explanation for each data series as to whether each sector today is a buy, sell, or wait (assume you don’t own any bonds, so “hold” is not an option). Each explanation should be no more than half of one page.
f. What other data or information that is not currently available to you might alter your buy/sell/wait decision? Maximum one-half page.
g. In one paragraph, rank the three bond sectors according to their relative value, i.e., if you had to make a choice, which would you buy 1st, 2nd, and 3rd? Explain your answer.
Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:
Suggest the financial ratio that most financial analysts would use to evaluate the financial condition of the company of your choice. Provide support for your rationale.
Speculate on the organization’s ability to meet its financial obligations as they come due. Provide support for your rationale.
Based on your ratio analysis, determine whether the profitability trends are favorable or unfavorable and explain your rationale.
Using financial ratio analysis, predict whether or not the company will be viable in five (5) years based on its performance over the past three (3) years. Provide support for your prediction.
Use at least two (2) quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.
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
Assignment 2: RA 2: Training Needs Analysis and Design Document Report
Throughout this course, you learned about the importance of training to improve organizational effectiveness. However, it is even more critical to determine whether training is the best option. Identifying the training need is a critical first step in the training and development process. One needs to tie the deficiency to a business need and ensure that the benefits of conducting the training are likely to resolve the identified problem. For this assignment, you will be tasked with doing just that.
For an organization of your choice, you will create a needs analysis and evaluation report of approximately 10- to 12-pages, which will outline your training recommendations for management. Refer to the discussed theories (i.e., expectancy theory or social learning theory) and prior articles for guidance in completing this assignment.
Directions:
For your report of 10- to 12-pages:
Choose an Organization
Select an organization. It can be either a recent employer or a business where you may have volunteered. Identify a particular department in which you have experience.
If you cannot identify an organization, consider a fictitious organization well known for a popular product. Reviewing the literature may help in giving you ideas in creating your organization. Identify an issue that is impacting efficiency and productivity (for instance, it could be a well-known telecom company where sales have been down due to poor customer service). The company has hired you as a consultant to do a needs assessment. Improvise where appropriate and provide complete details of the organization and the identified issue for which you have been brought in.
Create a Training Needs Analysis Report
Create a set of ten to fifteen interview questions to ask managers and employees. The questions should address all of the necessary sections to complete the training needs analysis report.
If possible, schedule time to conduct observations.
Required Information for the Training Needs Analysis Report:
Background Information: Include information about the organization and the issue you have identified or for which you were consulted.
Number of Employees: Identify the number of employees to be trained and their current skill levels.
Locations of Employees: Identify where the employees to be trained are located.
Interview Data: Interview at least one manager and one employee and summarize managerial and employee feedback on current performance and identified skill gaps. Include your list of questions and answers.
Observational Data: Observe at least one or two employees performing the job for which training will be created and include a log of your personal observations.
Training Sponsor: Identify the requestor and the approver of the training (may be a single person or two separate individuals).
Identification of Training Needs: Include the following in your conclusion:
Perform Performance Analysis: If training has been identified due to a performance problem (errors at work, etc.), conduct an analysis to confirm whether a training remedy can resolve the skill deficiency. If not, suggest other strategies that management can use to solve the problem without training (i.e., improving communication on what is expected of employees).
Identify Insufficient Knowledge or Skills: List specific knowledge or skills that are deficient (lack of knowledge of products, lack of skills in operating specific software, etc.).
Identify the Business Need: Summarize the business need impacted by the identified knowledge or skill deficiency.
Identify Cultural or Ethical Considerations: Discuss considerations to be kept in mind when designing the training course.
Justification for the Training: Provide your justification for training as the solution to the identified performance problem or skill deficiency:
What were the indicators or facts that identify the existence of the issue?
What are the possible causes for the existence of the issue?
Delivery Dates: Identify when the organization wants to implement the training. Do you think it can be offered in a timely manner? Explain why or why not:
Training and Development Department: Assess the company’s training and development department’s role. How will the department be involved?
Construct a Design Document Report
Next, construct a design document making your training recommendations for management. A design document should outline your training program at a high level. It should include all the below-listed components. You are to utilize the Design Document Report Template as a guide for organizing your content.
Click here to download the Design Document Report Template.
Required Information for a Design Document Report:
Course Title: Suggest a course title.
Course Description: Explain in three to four sentences the goals of the whole course.
Course Objectives: Write four to six objectives using measureable Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs.
Course Topics: Include three to five main topics with three to five subtopics for at least three modules.
Activities: Include one suggested activity for each module (simulation, case study, etc.) that directly links to all objectives (three in total). Explain how you incorporated ethical or diversity-related considerations.
Module Time Frame: Provide an approximate time frame within which the participant has to complete each module (e.g., in class or online).
Course Time Frame: Provide an approximate time frame within which the participant has to complete the full course (e.g., the number of hours or days).
Delivery Approach: Recommend a suggested delivery method for the whole course (instructor-led, online, blended, etc.).
Delivery Approach Justification: Justify your training delivery approach recommendation, along with a comparison of two to three different delivery options based on learning theories, training research, organizational requirements, and individual needs.
Risks: Identify any project risks or concerns that could affect the success of this training (budget, timelines, buy-in, etc.).
Follow-Up: Analyze the different methods available for follow-up to ensure transfer of training. Determine the preferred method and justify your decision referencing scholarly resources.
Evaluation: Construct an evaluation for the training using Kirkpatrick’s model and discuss it.
Your final product will be a Microsoft Word document of approximately 10- to 12-pages in length and utilize four scholarly sources in your research (beyond your textbook). Your paper should be written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
As depression struck the new nation in the mid-1780s, new questions arose about the nature of American democracy. Many conservatives believed that the answer lay in a stronger national government. Most radicals believed it was up to the states to relieve the financial burden of the people. These sentiments fostered a movement for a new constitution. Political differences soon stimulated the creation of political parties.
Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation with the new Constitution of 1787. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles vis-à-vis the Constitution? Give specific instances that demonstrate the weakness of the Articles (such as the Western problem).
Then analyze the drafting of the Constitution, using specific details to show how the various states (slave vs. free, east vs. west) compromised in order to effectively draft a constitution. Pay particular attention to Roger Sherman’s plan, the Great Compromise, which broke a stalemate that could have been fatal to the development of the new Constitution.
Finally, compare and contrast the debate over ratification between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Make sure you cite specific examples from the Federalist Papers to support the Federalist position and contrast it with leading proponents of the opposition (such as John Hancock). Analyze how the debate over a bill of rights illustrates the differences between the two parties. Evaluate the relative success of the Bill of Rights in achieving an effective balance between national and states’ interests.
This paper must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (not including the References page) and utilize no less than four academic quality sources. Margins should be no more than one inch (right and left) and the essay should be composed in an appropriate font and size. Sources must be documented and cited using APA format.
Ethics of Public Service” Please respond to the following. Note: Online students, please respond to two (2) of the following three (3) bulleted items. (Copy and paste the questions into your response and post each of your chosen responses in 2 separate post).
From the first and second articles of the e-Activity, review three to four (3-4) codes of the ASPA Codes of Conduct from 1994 and 2013. Appraise the significance of changing the ethical guidelines in order to ensure that they match the current social context. Provide a rationale for your response.
From the text and the third article of the e-Activity, use the theory of ethical relativism and the Center for American Progress report to consider the recent bans on foreign law. Propose two (2) advantages and two (2) disadvantages of using foreign or international law in legal disputes. Provide a rationale for your response.
According to the text, the Hatch Act defines prohibited activities of public employees. Analyze the significance of these prohibitions with regard to an individual’s political actions. Provide a rationale for your response.
Analyze the key ethical challenges of privatization. Take a position on whether the private sector should be responsible for program outcomes of a public program or service. Provide a rationale for your response