Category: Essays

Using the data you collected in the Module 1 SLP, write a paper (1–3 pages) including all of the following content:

Calculate the mean, median, and mode of your collected data. Show and explain your calculations.
Are these numbers higher or lower than you expected? Explain.
Which of these measures of central tendency do you think most accurately describes the variable you are looking at? Provide your justification.
Create a box plot to represent the data, labeling and numerating all 5 points on the box plot. For the plot, you may draw and insert it in your paper as a picture. Make sure it is legible.

Submit your paper at the end of Module 2.
SLP Assignment Expectations

Answer all questions posted in the instructions. Use information from the modular background readings and videos as well as any good-quality resource you can find. Cite all sources in APA style and include a reference list at the end of your paper.

Note about page length: Your ability to clearly articulate and explain these concepts is being assessed. The page length is a general guideline. A 3- or 4-page paper does not necessarily guarantee a grade of “A.” An “A” paper would include detailed information and explanations of all the assignment requirements listed above. The letter grade will be based upon demonstrated mastery of the content and ability to articulate and apply the concepts in the assignment. Keep this in mind while writing your paper.

affirm that the assignment was completed individually, and all work presented is your own.

Problems need to include all required steps and answer(s) for full credit. All answers need to be reduced to lowest terms where possible.

Answer the following problems showing your work and explaining (or analyzing) your results.

Describe the measures of central tendency. Under what condition(s) should each one be used?
Last year, 12 employees from a computer company retired. Their ages at retirement are listed below. First, create a stem plot for the data. Next, find the mean retirement age. Round to the nearest year.

55 77 64 77 69 63 62 64 85 64 56 59

A retail store manager kept track of the number of car magazines sold each week over a 10-week period. The results are shown below.

27 30 21 62 28 18 23 22 26 28

Find the mean, median, and mode of newspapers sold over the 10-week period.
Which measure(s) of central tendency best represent the data?
Name any outliers.

Joe wants to pass his statistics class with at least a 75%. His prior four test scores are 74%, 68%, 84% and 79%. What is the minimum score he needs on the final exam to pass the class with a 75% average?
Nancy participated in a summer reading program. The number of books read by the 23 participants are as follows

Koch Industries is one of the most profitable privately held corporations in the country. In spite of being owned primarily by four brothers, it has not been immune from intense internal power plays and intrigue. A decades-long dispute between CEO Charles Koch and his younger brother Bill Koch led first to an internal battle for control of the company and ended with a lawsuit between the brothers.

Carefully review the background materials regarding sources of power within an organization and power tactics. Examples of sources of power include reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, and expert power. Examples of power tactics include forming coalitions, pressure, and exchanging favors. Make sure to understand the main power sources and tactics and know the vocabulary and definitions from the background materials before starting the assignment.

The epic battle between two of the Koch brothers tested the limits of both of their power bases within Koch Industries. Both used multiple tactics before Charles Koch ultimately secured his position of almost unrivaled power within the corporation. Do some research about this power struggle using the Trident Online Library and online news sources. Here are some articles to get you started:

Schulman, D. (2014, Jul). Koch vs. Koch. Mother Jones, 39, 16–27,64,2

Tomsho, R., (1989, Aug 09). Blood feud: Koch family is roiled by sibling squabbling over its oil empire: Fired by his brother, William sues often, helps feds to probe Koch Industries, haling mother into court. Wall Street Journal [ProQuest]

Once you have finished your research, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following issues:

What were Charles and Bill Koch’s sources of power within Koch Industries? Did they have reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, or expert power? Any other sources of power? Refer to Anderson (1998) or Nair (2010) in your answer, as you should demonstrate a solid understanding of these readings as part of your answer.
What power tactics did each of them use in their battle for control? Refer to Anderson (1998) or Nair (2010) in your answer.
Ultimately what do you think led to Charles Koch’s victory in this battle, and what do you think are the most important lessons on organizational power that you learned from reading about this power struggle?

Assignment Expectations

Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of information.
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on in-text citations

For this assignment you will be continuing to write about your own workplace experiences as they relate to power and politics. Think of one of the largest political battles you witnessed or were apart of during your career, and think carefully about how the concepts from the background materials apply to what you experienced.

In preparation for the SLP, make sure you have a thorough grasp of the terminology from the background materials including the main individual and organizational factors that lead to political behavior and the types of political behavior. Once you are comfortable with the terminology and concepts from the background materials, write a 2- to 3-page paper addressing the following issues:

Briefly describe a political battle that took place in your workplace. Explain who the main players were and what issues were at stake.
What individual and organizational factors lead to this political battle? Refer to the background readings in your answer, and in particular, pages 370–372 of the Nair textbook in your answer. Refer to Nair (2010), Aswathappa (2010), or the Pearson tutorial in your answer.
What types of political behaviors did your coworkers exhibit in your political battle? Be specific and use the types of political behaviors discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010).
Do you think any of the participants behaved unethically during this political battle? Consider the factors of utility, individual rights, and distributive justice discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010) in your answer.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of information

All organizations have internal politics. However, most organizations keep their political battles private and it is rare that the public will know the details about political intrigue within the major corporations. However, Hewlett-Packard (HP) is rare in that its political battles were waged publicly. HP will make for an ideal case study both because of the intense political behavior occurring at the top and because many articles have been written about these political battles.

HP has been through five CEOs since 2005, and each change of CEO has been controversial. The drama started in 2005 when then CEO Carly Fiorina was under attack from several members of HP’s Board of Directors. Some board members even took the dispute public by leaking information to the press. Fiorina fought back by investigating the leaks, but ultimately lost the battle and was ousted as CEO. Her replacement, Patricia Dunn, continued to investigate leaks by the board through the use of private investigators. Even more controversy emerged when it was discovered that the investigators used the method of “pretexting” in order to obtain phone records of board members.

For this assignment, make sure to first carefully review the background materials regarding the causes of political behavior, types of political behavior, and the ethics of political behavior. Examples of the causes of political behavior include competition for resources, ambiguous organizational goals, lack of trust, and performance factors. Examples of types of political behavior include blaming others, selectively distributing information, managing impressions, and forming coalitions. Regarding ethics, consider the three main factors:

Does the political action violate individual rights?
Does it improve the welfare of those involved?
Does it increase distributive justice?

Review the background materials and do some research on the political dramas at HP. There is a lot written about HP’s many dramas over the years; here are some articles to get you started:

Veverka, M. (2011). The soap opera at HP continues. Barron’s, 91(39), 25.

Granelli, J. S. (2006, Sep 20). Lockyer probe of HP spying reaches to ’05; sources say the inquiry goes back to the ouster of CEO Carly Fiorina, a possible victim. Los Angeles Times [ProQuest]

Kessler, M. (2006, Sep 08). Controversial HP probe started under Fiorina; stock falls as board continues public feud. USA Today [ProQuest]

Pearlstein, S. (2011, Sep 25). How HP, silicon valley’s darling, became a soap opera. The Washington Post

Once you have finished reviewing the background materials and have completed your research on HP’s internal politics, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following issues:

What individual and organizational factors of HP and its senior leaders led to the intense political behavior? Refer to the background readings in your answer, and in particular, pages 370–372 of the Nair textbook in your answer.
What types of political behaviors did HP’s board members and CEOs exhibit? Be specific and use the types of political behaviors discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010).
Were the leaks to the press by members of the board ethical? Was the investigation by Patricia Dunn into the links ethical? Consider the factors of utility, individual rights, and distributive justice discussed by Nair (2010) and Aswathappa (2010) in your answer.

Assignment Expectations

Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the back

Power Tactics and Sources of Power

For the Session Long Project this session you will be applying the concepts from the background materials to your own personal experiences in the workplace. You likely have experienced many if not all of the concepts at one point or another in your career, but you may not have been familiar with the precise terminology.

In preparation for the SLP, make sure you have a thorough grasp of the terminology from the background materials including the main sources of power and types of power tactics. Once you are comfortable with the terminology and concepts from the background materials, think of a manager that you worked with closely who held a fair amount of power at the organization you worked for. Then write a 2- to 3-page paper addressing each of the following questions. For each answer, make sure to cite at least one reference from the required background readings.

What were this manager’s main sources of power? Include a discussion of reward power, legitimate power, and expert power as well as other sources of power discussed in the background readings.
Discuss some power tactics used by this manager. Include a discussion about whether or not this manager used the power tactics discussed in Anderson (1998) and Nair (2010) from the background materials.
Did this manager make good use of his or her sources of power and power tactics, or did they misuse or abuse their power?

SLP Assignment Expectations

Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of information.
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on in-text citations

Due Week 2 and worth 175 points

In the land of free trade, the public does not view all industries as equal. Do you believe that is ethical? Do you believe that some industries are unfairly targeted? Should it be consumers’ choice to partake in products that are not healthy for them, or do those companies have an ethical obligation to protect people? In this assignment, you will choose one (1) industry to write about. Possible industries to research could be tobacco, soda, alcohol, casinos, or candy companies, just to name a few.

Write a one and a half to two (1½ – 2) page paper in which you:

1. Become an advocate for either the consumer or the industry. Prepare an argument explaining the major reasons why you support either the consumer or the industry.

2. Explain the role capitalism plays in corporate decision making.

3. Discuss if you believe it is possible for a company to cater to both its best interest and that of the consumer conjointly or if one always has to prevail. Justify your response.

4. Use at least two (2) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

5. Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:

a. Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.

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

c. Include a reference page. Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.

“Battling Over Bottled Water” Please respond to the following:

· Read Case 3.2: Battling Over Bottled Water, located here or on page 109 in your textbook. Nestlé holds a 99-year lease for the land that the Sanctuary Spring sits on. While lease-holders are generally understood to be able to make full use of their land, when public resources are involved, they are limited to “reasonable uses.” Review the case study and formulate an argument either supporting or challenging this distinction. Support your reasoning by addressing key ways in which benefits and burdens are being distributed between Nestlé and the community in this case.

“One Nation Under Walmart” Please respond to the following:

· Read Case 4.3: One Nation under Walmart, located here or on page 144 in your textbook. Next, choose two (2) of the five (5) discussion questions located at the end of the case. Formulate your response and post to the Week 4 discussion. Respond to a peer who answered at least one (1) different question than you did.

Assignment 1: “What Makes ______ the Best Place to Work and Why?”

Due Week 2 and worth 100 points

Choose one (1) company that you believe would be an ideal company to work for based on working conditions, salary, opportunity for advancement and work involved. Use the Internet to research.

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

1. Evaluate the fundamental driving forces that shape the organizational environment of the selected company. Be sure to address the following: competing in a global marketplace, workforce diversity, ethics and morality, and technological innovation.

2. Examine the selected company’s specific practices or policies. Speculate on the major influences that these practices or policies have on individual and organizational outcomes.

3. Determine which practices related to work attitudes in U.S. organizations are most strongly affected by diversity and suggest a strategy to address the effects.

4. Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality 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. 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.

“What Is Motivation?” Please respond to the following:

· Watch the video titled, “Puzzle of Motivation” (18 min 36 s). You can also view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y. Next, explain what approaches organizations can take to motivate their employees other than pay incentives. Explain the main reasons that these other incentives may motivate employees and justify your response.

“The Importance of Goal Setting” Please respond to the following:

· Provide one (1) specific scenario of an employee using goal setting to increase work motivation and task performance, reduce stress, and improve the accuracy of performance evaluation.

Developing Your Project Scope

· You have been hired to lead a project (the project of your choice). As the project manager, you know it is important to get the project off to a good start. Using the tools provided in the required readings, provide a quick summary of your project, including the scope and objectives of your project. Be sure to include a high-level WBS for your project.

·

· After posting your response, respond to at least one (1) of your classmates on any recommendations to their project.

“Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Global Citizenship” Please respond to the following:

· You are the author of a popular CSR article. For this week’s discussion post, discuss the main reasons why Apple is or is not a socially responsible organization. List at least two examples of Apple’s actions that support your position. Be sure to use terms from Chapter 3 to demonstrate your understanding of corporate social responsibility.

· Additionally, rate the quality of your peers’ posts. You can rate posts by clicking on the stars in the upper right hand corner of each post. A rating of one star is the lowest and five stars is the highest. The post with the highest rating will be acknowledged by the instructor in next week’s announcements

Prior to completing this journal assignment, please read Modules 1and 2 in your textbook, view the “Endless Questions” video, and review any relevant Instructor Guidance. You may want to look specifically at the interactive media tools demonstrating information on theory which are provided in the Section 1.5 (within Module 1) of the textbook.

In a Journal entry of about 500 words, you will be addressing the role of theory and evidence – both scholarly and personal – and how they can be utilized in the classroom or other professional settings.

Begin by reflecting on the benefits and drawbacks of accepting advice from stories told by previous generations (i.e. “I did that with my kids and they turned out just fine.”). For example, you may have heard a grandparent suggest that you put a bit of whiskey on an infant’s gums to help with teething. Describe your own thoughts about anecdotal advice such as this and explain why it may be true in some cases cases, not in others.

Then, watch the Endless Questions video analyzing child development research and find one additional scholarly source of your choice (see tips and a link to tutorials below) and use it to reflect on and answer the following questions:

Why is it important to utilize developmental theory to explain children’s development?
Identify and briefly describe the key points of one of the major developmental theories and why you feel that theory is applicable to child and/or adolescent development.
What makes scholarly research different from anecdotal evidence (personal experience) in explaining child and adolescent development? [Hint: Consider the methodology of the article you are reading.]
Finally, demonstrate the value of continued learning with a concluding reflection on why we should incorporate both personal experience and scholarly research or theory to help support any statements made in this class or any other professional setting.

You are required to utilize at least one (1) additional scholarly source not from this week’s required readings (including, but not limited to, the multimedia in the recommended resources for Week 1). You must cite all of your sources (including the video embedded above) in proper APA style. If you are unsure how to create an APA style reference page, please visit the Ashford Writing Center website. Aside from the video embedded in the prompt, you are to find one other scholarly through the Ashford Library website to help support your reflections in PART II. View this great tutorial provided by the Ashford University Library which will show you how to find scholarly articles and how to assess the scholarly quality of the resource.

NOTE: As you are completing your searches in the library search engines, check the boxes in the search engines of the library for scholarly, peer-reviewed sources. This allows you to find resour

Successfully introducing a new business product or service requires significant planning. Forecasting allows the company to estimate the extent of the changes in operations by looking at levels, trends, and seasonality of the demand for the product or service.

A scheduling tool such as a Gantt chart, program (or project) evaluation and review technique (PERT) chart, or work breakdown structure (WBS) provides a way to identify and organize required activities into a logical order.

In this assignment, you will select a project-scheduling tool and use it to develop the business flow for the rollout of a new product or service. For example, a call center is considered a service operation. The new service rollout could be the expansion of the call center to a second location or establishing the call center overseas. In a manufacturing environment, such as a mattress manufacturer, the rollout of a new product could be the expansion of the product line to include futons. In the automotive industry, the rollout could be the expansion of the product line to include hybrid vehicles.

Using the module readings, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, identify and select a company you will use for this assignment. This company must be different from the one chosen for M2: Assignment 2. Then, complete the following:

Describe the business operation you are considering for the forecast and scheduling of your expansion.
What type of forecasting method would be appropriate for the company and the product or service selected? Why?
Choose one of the following project scheduling tools: Gantt chart, PERT chart, or work breakdown structure (WBS).
Use the chosen scheduling tool to document the scheduling process for the rollout of a new product or service.
Provide a rationale for the selection of the scheduling tool.

Submit a 2–3-page paper in Word format and attach a Gantt chart, a PERT chart, or a WBS developed in MS Project. For the development of the Gantt or PERT chart, you can also download a trial version of visual or graphic design software such as SmartDraw. Include a minimum of three scholarly articles to complete your research. Your writing should be clear, concise, and organized. Demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of resources. Display accurate spelling, grammar, punctuation, and APA formatting for citing of sources

Research the history of graphic novels. where did they orginate? what defines a graphic novel? how have graphic novels evolved over the past 50 years? you may trace the orgins back hundreads of years (as mccloud does in understanding comics) or you may simpily dicuss the the evolution of the genre over the past fifty year