Category: Essays

Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center.

Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.

Assignment 2: Challenges in the Global Business Environment

Due Week 9 and worth 330 points

According to the textbook, ongoing challenges in the global business environment are mostly attributed to unethical business practices, failure to embrace technology advancements, and stiff competition among businesses. Imagine that you have been appointed as Apple’s Chief Compliance Officer and must prepare a video presentation for Apple’s suppliers regarding Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct to deliver via a web meeting. To prepare for your presentation, review Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct, located at https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/. Next, 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 Apple’s Code of Conduct. Alternatively, you may submit a four to six (4-6) page paper instead of the video submission.

In addition to the recorded video, you must also create a presentation using PowerPoint (or other equivalent software) summarizing the important changes and explanations regarding the code of conduct that you communicated in your video presentation to email to the suppliers after the meeting for future reference.

You must submit both parts of the assignment to receive full credit.

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 9).

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 – Challenges in the Business Environment
Tags: BUS475, Business Environment
Description: First Name, Last Name – BUS475 Assignment 2 (Date Uploaded ex. 11-14-2014)

Part 1: Video Presentation OR Paper

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:

List specific changes that Apple has made to its Code of Conduct in recent years. Provide at least one (1) example of each change.
Explain the identified changes to the suppliers in such a way that they will understand the standards that Apple requires in order to maintain their relationship with the company.

Part 2: PowerPoint Presentation

Create a six to eight (6-8) slide PowerPoint presentation in which you:

Summarize Apple’s Supplier Responsibility information.
Discuss Apple’s stance on each of the following areas:

Empowering workers
Labor and Human Rights
Health and Safety
The Environment
Accountability

Identify the key ways that Apple’s Progress Report has changed since last year.
Examine the manner in which Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct helps the organization operate as a socially responsible organization.
Provide detailed speaker notes of what you would say if you were delivering the presentation.
Submit a reference page with at least two (2) quality references that you have used for this presentation / paper. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your PowerPoint presentation must follow these formatting requirements:

Format the PowerPoint presentation with headings on each slide and three to four (3-4) relevant graphics (photographs, graphs, clip art, etc.), ensuring that the presentation is visually appealing and readable from 18 feet away. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a title slide containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The title and reference slides are not included in the required slide length.

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:

Evaluate the influences of changing economic, political, social, cultural, and technological forces on business and society.
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.

Create a Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet with the two variables from your learning team’s dataset.

Analyze the data with MegaStat®, StatCrunch®, Microsoft® Excel®or other statistical tool(s), including:

(a) Descriptive stats for each numeric variable
(b) Histogram for each numeric variable
(c) Bar chart for each attribute (non numeric) variable
(d) Scatter plot if the data contains two numeric variables

Determine the appropriate descriptive statistics.

(a) For normally distributed data use the mean and standard deviation.
(b) For significantly skewed data use the median and interquartile range.

Use the Individual Methodology Findings Template to complete the descriptive statistics.

Use the Descriptive Statistics and Interpretation Example to develop an interpretation of the descriptive statistics.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Submit both the spreadsheet and the completed Individual Methodology Findings Template.

** Use the data set provided (attached)

** Use template provided

** Use the instructional guide provided (attached)

What are the risks and benefits of waiting until they had been granted patents to ask for customer feedback?

Craig Ciesla and Micah Yairi eventually turned to friends and family for funding. Should they have done that first? What are the risks with raising money from such individuals? Explain in detail using sources and research. Use credible sources to support and explain.

2. What are the risks and benefits of waiting until they had been granted patents to ask for customer feedback? Explain in detail using sources and research. Use credible sources to support and explain.

3. The partners gave up equity in their company – part of the ownership — to get help they needed. Was this a good idea? Why or why not? Explain in detail using sources and research. Use credible sources to support and explain.

4. Why do you think Ciesla and Yairi stuck it out, even with such bad luck? What would it take for you to be so persistent? Explain in detail using sources and research. Use credible sources to support and explain.

Make sure you format your papers in proper APA 6th. Be sure to properly cite your sources inside your text using APA 6th citations rules as well as proper APA referencing guidelines in your “References” (bibliography) section at the end of your papers.

Research your chosen company. Find a minimum of three library sources, which will support your thesis in this assignment. Review your assigned weekly lecture and text reading. Select from this reading 8-10 key concepts, which will also support your thesis. In a four to five page paper, address the questions below. Your paper should follow APA format including a title and reference page. The four to five page paper length requirement does NOT include the title page and reference page. Refer to your classroom area titled South University Policies and Guideline: Using APA Standards in Your Coursework to ensure you are following the correct format.

In weeks one and two, you gathered information about an organization as it relates to planning and decision making. In this assignment, you will apply the functions of Planning, Organizing, and Controlling. You will be required to use concepts and analyze the current management situations at the organization you have chosen.

Your paper must include research and should include a clear introduction with a thesis statement and a conclusion. Your research paper should address the following:

Describe how the organization was managed in the past. Compare the difference between management approaches in the past to those the organization currently uses. Ensure you identify relevant management theory both for past practices and current approaches.

Describe how the organization is structured. Include a copy of the organizational chart. Describe how managers perform the organization function of management based on the structure of the organization. Ensure one of the five types of structures as described in the textbook is identified and analyzed.

Identify a key manager in the organization and describe his/her primary functions and responsibilities. Evaluate how effective this manager is in fulfilling these responsibilities making clear recommendations for improvement. Ensure you refer to the functions of management as described in your textbook.

Describe how decisions are made in this organization. Using materials from the textbook or other relevant sources on decision making evaluate the effectiveness of the decision making process and make clear recommendations for improvement.

Describe the system of controls the organization uses. Include in this description how control is used to ensure the organization meets its goals and objectives as well as how the organization uses a quality control process to ensure products and/or services are delivered as promised. Evaluate the role of managers in these processes. Make clear recommendations for improvement. Ensure you refer to your textbook or other relevant sources in your evaluation.

Summarize the key recommendations you have made identifying each with the relevant function of management.

Include an APA formatted reference list and a title page (these do not count towards the minimum page requirements).

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Maximum Points
Submitted a 4-5 page research paper that included three library sources and provided 8-10 key course concepts to support work.
20
Described how the organization was managed in the past. Compared the difference between management approaches in the past to those the organization currently uses. Identified relevant management theory both for past practices and current approaches.
20
Described how the organization is structured. Included a copy of the organizational chart. Described how managers perform the organization functions of management based on the structure of the organization. Ensured one of the five types of structures as described in the textbook was identified.
25
Identified a key manager in the organization and described his/her primary functions and responsibilities. Evaluated how effective this manager was in fulfilling these responsibilities making clear recommendations for improvement. Ensured functions of management as described in the textbook were discussed.
25
Described how decisions are made in this organization. Used materials from the textbook or other relevant sources on decision making. Evaluated the effectiveness of the decision making process and made the recommendations for improvement clear.
25
Described the system of controls the organization uses. The description included how control is used to ensure the organization meets its goals and objectives as well as how the organization uses a quality control process to ensure products and/or services are delivered as promised. Evaluated the role of managers in these processes. Made clear recommendations for improvement. Used textbook or other relevant sources in evaluation.
25
Summarized the key recommendations identifying each with the relevant function of management.
20
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner: demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

For this assignment, create a Power Point presentation to educate managerial staff on the importance of strategic objectives and total compensation. Based on this week’s required readings and your own practical experience, develop a minimum of five strategic objectives for an organization that you are currently employed with or have previously worked for. Next within your presentation, analyze how an effective compensation program supports the achievement of these strategic objectives.Hint: Use the “Key Steps in Formulating a Total Compensation” contained in Chapter 2 of your text. The steps are attached in the PDF located on page 10.

Incorporate appropriate animations, transitions, and graphics as well as “speaker notes” for each slide. The speaker notes may be comprised of brief paragraphs or bulleted lists.

Support your presentation with at least three (3) scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources may be included.

Length: 12-15 slides (with a separate reference slide)

“Low-Quality and High-Quality After-Action Review”

Create a scenario or event in an organization (i.e., safety, training, or another issue) using a low-quality after-action review. Next, speculate on the major negative effects within the organization if the same scenario or event were to reoccur. Support your response with at least two (2) examples of the identified negative effects.
Watch the video titled “AAR (After Action Review) Definition & Explanation” (2 min 43 s), located in the online course shell. You may also view the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NI_P0JkC-8. Next, using the reoccurrence of the scenario or event from part one of the discussion, change the low-quality to a high-quality after-action review. Then, suggest the most important lessons-learned using the high-quality after-action review method as an adopted business practice.

“Work Innovation Network (WIN) and Productive Learning”

Examine the impact that the Work Innovation Network (WIN) has had on the Knowledge Management (KM) initiative at Hewlett-Packard (HP). Next, give your opinion on the influence of both initiatives on the evolution of organizational learning. Support your response with at least two (2) specific examples of the organizational learning at HP.
Outline a plan to teach employees the importance of incorporating productive learning as an improvement in their department, job, process, product, or service. Provide at least two (2) examples of productive learning in your plan

Create 3 to 4 diagrams to model a software system that you are familiar with. These diagrams should meet at least these criteria below:

There should be more than seven major components in this software system.
There should at least be one dynamic view.

Prepare a summary page in APA format that discusses how the diagrams portray the software system and how it is benefitting the organization it was designed to assist.

Use appropriate external citations and references (minimum of 2), in addition to including references to the required readings/videos where relevant, within the assignment. Be sure citations and references follow the University of Phoenix approved style guide format (the Written Assignments Guidelines, along with properly cited APA references). Please Note: Dictionary and Encyclopedia citations and references will not count towards your reference/citation count. Refer to the Instructor Policies to identify External and Internal references

Read the story about Jane Wu, treasurer of Wilson Paper Company, on page 300 of the textbook. Make sure you

understand the context of the story and prepare to address

questions about the story.

Your assignment is to create a 5 – page paper addressing the following questions:

a. Imagine that you are a large stockholder in the company. Would you rather see the $15 million

be used for a special dividend rather than a buyback? Why or why not?

b. Imagine that you are a small stockholder in the company. Would you rather see the $15 million

be used for a special dividend rather than a buyback? Why or why not?

c. Would it be smarter to pay off debt using the $15 million rather than executing a dividend or payback? Why or why not? Who would stand to benefit from the repayment of debt?

d. What is your recommendation as to do with the $15 million? Support your recommendation using what you have learned while in the class. The analysis requires the

additional components:

ÿ

APA formatted paper including:

O Font: Times New Roman, 12 point, and double spaced.

O Margins: One inch margins, all around.

O Indents: One – half inch indent as to begin a paragraph.

O Proper APA citations and references.

O Proper use of Level 1 headings as to label the introduction, main body, and conclusions

Final Examination Booklet Business and Technical Writing 1 Business and Technical Writing FINAL EXAM: AN INFORMAL PROPOSAL Purpose Your final project for the Business and Technical Writing course is worth 30% of your course grade and requires you to write an informal proposal in letter form. Your work must be your own. Important: Don’t submit your final draft for this project until you’ve received the evaluations of all your previous written exams, so you can make use of the evaluator’s comments to improve your final project. Preparation Before you begin this project, review pages 8–16 in Proposals and Special Projects, which is related to writing informal, internal proposals. Also study the differences between proposals and reports (like your field investigation report). Figure 3 shows the general style and basic format you’ll use for this final exam. Also review the formatting for a fullblock style business letter, covered in Writing Effective Communications. Review the explanation provided in each study unit related to writing style, tone, audience, word choice, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Gather the brainstorming, freewriting, and graded exams you’ve already prepared for previous assignments about Phoenix Advertising. You’ll build on some of the details you developed and incorporate suggestions from the instructors evaluating your previous work. You’ll also have to brainstorm further in order to create facts, figures, names, numbers, analysis, and proof to support your plan of action in your proposal. 2 Business and Technical Writing Background Information Here’s a brief review of the scenario; also review the full information provided in the exam section of Organizing, Illustrating, and Researching Your Material. Phoenix Advertising, with its main headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, serves clients that include banks, insurance companies, and retail chains. You’re vice president of human resources management at Phoenix. You report directly to Gregory S. Forest, the company president. You’ve already investigated the branch and provided a report on the problems there and your recommendations for managing them (for study units Organizing, Researching, and Illustrating Your Material and Writing the Report). Mr. Forest has reviewed that report and now wants you to present to the executive team a specific proposal developing one of the recommendations you gave. Following are the primary problems covered in the scenario but also carefully review the underlying causes you discovered in your investigation (which you created from your imagination). In the last three months, two of the top management people— an art director and an account executive—have left the branch. Each left for a position with a competing agency. Three of the graphic designers and four of the copywriters are threatening to quit because they feel their creative efforts are being rejected or revised without consultation. They want to be part of a collaborative team, not produce work that the art directors and account executives evaluate arbitrarily. In an attempt to show increased profitability, the branch is accepting all potential clients without evaluating the accounts in terms of current project workload. As a result, without being given any notice and without compensation for the additional hours, all employees are working long hours several days each week. Employee morale and productivity seem to be decreasing with each passing day. Final Examination 3 Process Step 1 Choose one of the problems. Use your brainstorming notes and the investigative report for the recommendations you listed to solve that problem. Brainstorm further about the reasons for and causes of that one problem by delving even further into the “whys” of that problem. As you did previously, list several questions and review the answers you’ve discovered. Explore those answers in greater depth to determine the fundamental causes of the problem. (Think of the problem as a set of symptoms of an illness that you need to treat. What disease is causing the symptoms? What areas of the body are affected by the disease?) Step 2 Freewrite further on each recommendation you made in your investigative report for resolving this problem. Ask yourself questions about what must change, what you must make happen with the employees and departments at Roanoke to solve the problem so it won’t reoccur. Remember that your primary goal for the proposal is to revitalize the employees and departments in order to restore the Roanoke branch to full productivity. Use as a starting point any of the following that apply to the problem you’ve chosen: ■ What can the executive team do to reverse the downward spiral of employee morale and increased workload requiring overtime? ■ How can the executive team help the Roanoke branch retain its current clients and gain new ones? ■ Is training needed for employees and/or managers? If so, what types of training are required? How can the executive team accomplish training over time to minimize impact on business? ■ What can be done to streamline or reorganize the office procedures or to incorporate new technology to improve productivity? What training/support will then be needed to enable the office employees to embrace the changes and succeed? 4 Business and Technical Writing Make sure you’ve done enough exploring in Step 1 to guide your creative efforts toward the changes you’ll make in Step 2. You want to ensure permanent change, so you must understand the exact nature of the causes in order to develop a detailed, logical solution. Step 3 Wait a day or two before you review your prewriting, so you can return with fresh eyes to the project. Mark the information you’ll use in your proposal and freewrite as needed to develop your ideas on resolving the situation and accomplishing your goal. Break the overall plan into individual parts or actions so you can develop each step in the process separately, organizing a logical flow for each phase from beginning to end. ■ How much time is needed to accomplish each component or stage of your plan? ■ Are there steps that must be completed before another phase can begin? ■ How long will it take to complete each step? ■ How will it impact the daily operations of the branch and headquarters? Step 4 Now review the people at Roanoke and across Phoenix Advertising who you’ll need to accomplish each part of your plan. Your proposal must use people from within the company—don’t hire outside personnel. Create names and job titles as well as qualifications to fit your plan. Review your list of steps and for ask yourself: ■ Who at Phoenix Advertising and/or the Roanoke branch has the experience, training, and qualifications to achieve this stage of my plan? What proves he or she is the one for the particular phase? ■ What exactly do I want that person to do to accomplish this step? When? How? ■ Who oversees the implementation of each phase? ■ What progress reports must be provided to the executive team and when? ■ What’s my part in the proposed plan of action? Step 5 Your next step is to itemize the costs involved in accomplishing each component of your plan as you outlined it in Step 3. You may need to research current costs of additional employees, training/motivational programs, or technology. The Internet or even phone calls to representative companies in the Yellow Pages can provide useful information. Your figures should have some realistic basis. Remember to factor in costs such as the following: ■ The number of employees involved in each phase ■ The loss of employee time from completing regular obligations of current job ■ Any travel or materials/workbooks needed for training Create appropriate budgetary categories related to the stages of your plan. Establish an overall cost for each phase and within each phase itemize the different costs involved. Itemizing is important to provide clear support for your numbers and line items the executive team can review if the total cost for the proposal is too much for the company’s budget. Step 6 Organize your prewriting from Steps 1–5 using the following main headings: Introduction Background Proposal Schedule Staffing Budget Request for Authorization Final Examination 5 Business and Technical Writing Step 7 Following the outline in Step 6, write a 2–5 page draft of your proposal in letter format. Use single spacing (unless the format requires more spacing), bold for headings, and italics for subheadings. Introduction. Your Introduction is the only section not labeled with a heading. As your opening paragraph, it must begin with an interesting hook, contain your qualifications to prepare this proposal, and summarize the general problem and the benefits of your plan. Background. The Background section must persuade the executive team that a dire need exists. Summarize the field investigation of your chosen problem and describe the causes of that problem. Include specific numbers and percentages (facts and figures) with explanations to show how you determined each contributed to the problem. Your reasons must be based on the facts you uncovered, not the feelings of employees at the branch. End this section with a bulleted list of the key phases (stages) you’ll develop in the proposal section to solve the causes. Phrase each stage as a key action goal. Proposal. In your Proposal section, develop the steps needed to solve the problem. Use a phrase or word for each goal you listed in the Background section and italicize it. (You’ll use the same phrases or words in the Schedule and Budget sections.) Then write at least one paragraph for each goal, outlining what actions are involved in that phase. Develop detailed, clear-cut solutions to the underlying issues and causes you identified in the Background section. Schedule. Your Schedule section must use the italicized words to outline the phases described in the Background and Proposal. Use column format. Staffing. The Staffing section describes, in paragraph form, the specific people, their qualifications, and their assignments as related to each phase of the proposed solution. Budget. Your budget section must itemize the primary steps of your plan. Use a table format with your own headings for each column. The first column will use the phases from the 6 Final Examination 7 project outlined in the Proposal and Schedule sections. Be sure to show under each major phase the related costs for accomplishing it. Request for Authorization. The Authorization section must suggest a time frame for approval of your plan. Since this section is also the last thing the executive team will read, persuasively provide assurance that your proposal will achieve your goal. Summarize the problems and describe the benefits of your plan for Roanoke branch, their clients, and Phoenix Advertising as a whole. Step 8 As you write, follow the ABC’s for constructing your paragraphs. Allow your first draft to sit for several days before you revise it. During that time, review those sections of the study units discussing various aspects of writing, revising, and editing, such as ■ Correct, varied construction of sentences ■ Coherence ■ Appropriate word choice for purpose and audience ■ Grammar, spelling, and punctuation After revising and editing your first draft as best as you can, ask another person to read your proposal aloud. Listen for awkward phrases, missing words, and unclear sentence flow. Also ask for the reader’s feedback on clarity, logical flow, and so on. Finally, refer to the evaluation criteria and Step 7 as you give your work one final review before you complete your final draft. Evaluation Criteria Your instructor will use the following criteria to evaluate your proposal: Introduction (5 points) The introduction includes a brief statement of purpose for the proposal and an overview of the writer’s qualifications to make the proposal. It also grabs the reader’s attention. Business and Technical Writing Background (15 points) This section details the various causes underlying the chosen problem and convinces the reader that the need for action exists. It ends with a bulleted list of goals showing the main phases of your plan solution. Proposal (15 points) The proposal opens with a clear statement of purpose. Using subheadings related to the Background’s list of goals, it describes in persuasive fashion the detailed actions needed to accomplish each phase. Schedule (5 points) The schedule establishes a realistic time frame for each stage of the plan. Staffing (10 points) A specific in-house employee is assigned to each component of the proposal and the description of that person’s credentials convinces the reader that the employee is the best choice to accomplish that part of the plan. Budget (10 points) In column/table format, the budget itemizes the realistic costs for each phase/related step of the plan. Request for Authorization (5 points) A suggested time for approval is given. The reader is persuaded the problem will be solved by the proposed plan. It closes in a thoughtful, personal way. Style, coherence, and tone (10 points) The proposal reflects proper business tone and style. Through the use of transitions and/or connective explanation, the sections, paragraphs, and sentences flow clearly and logically. Grammar and mechanics (20 points) The proposal uses standard English grammar and word usage appropriate for business context. A variety of sentence types and length are used without any run-ons or fragments. There are no spelling and punctuation errors. 8 Final Examination 9 Format (5 points) The proposal uses the full-block, business letter format, including company address/letterhead, date, return address, salutation, and closing with a simulated signature above the typed name and title. It’s formatted in Times New Roman font, size 12, with correct page numbering and is 2-5 singlespaced pages. All required student information is included. Step 9 Prepare your final draft following the above formatting requirements. If submitting online, save your work as a text document. Include the following information at the top of each page of your proposal. The best way to ensure the information is on each page is to use the Header option (usually located on the View or Insert menu). Name, Student Number Exam number Page X of Y Mailing Address Example: Jane Smith, 12345678 00000000 Page 1 of 4 111 Education Drive Any Town, PA 18515 If you don’t include the above information at the top of each page of your document, your exam may not be processed for grading. Business and Technical Writing Submitting Your Exam You may submit your examination in one of two ways: By mail Use the exam envelope provided. Type and print on 8½ x 11″ white paper. Online: You may submit your exam online.Please save your document in Rich Text Format (.rtf). To submit exams online, use the online “Take an Exam” feature. When you enter the full exam number, an e-mail format will appear and allow you to attach your text document to submit the essay online (both memo and e-mail at the same time in one word document). You’ll receive an autoreply confirmation e-mail within 24 hours that your exam has entered the school system. Be sure to set your e-mail browser to accept auto-replies