Category: Essays

Discussion 2: Shared Practice: Evaluating the Budgeting Process

Budgeting is an important part of an organization’s overall planning. Through budgeting, each part of an organization’s structure can be identified for decision making and control. For example, if the budget shows that one million units are to be sold in the next 3 months, the sales department knows that it must achieve that goal. At the end of the first month, the sales department can determine by looking at the budget if it is on track or not and what decisions it must make to meet the goal. A reasonable budget can allow an organization to allocate resources and provide a plan and direction for the organization. A budget can also help measure performance and ensure that managers are held accountable for their decisions.

To prepare for this Discussion, “Shared Practice: Evaluating the Budgeting Process,” take a moment to think about your organization or an organization you are familiar with. Consider the importance of the budgeting process, forecasting, and strategic planning for informing how the organization operates with regard to decision making.

Note: If you are not in the position where you are involved in budgeting processes, interview either someone in your organization or a professional outside of your organization who can provide you with this information. Be sure to identify the position held by this person in your post.

Post by Day 5, the following:

Provide an evaluation of how forecasting, strategic planning, and budgeting processes impact your organization.
Provide 2–3 examples from your professional experience in your current or former organization, or from your interview, to support your position. Be sure to include specific budgeting tools used by the organization.
Identify the key stakeholders in the budgeting process at the organization and explain how they are involved in the processes.
Explain how knowledge of forecasting, strategic planning, and budgeting processes might impact your decisions in the organization you currently work for or one that you will work for in the future

Assignment 1: Essay – Exploring Ancient Mysteries

Due Week 2 and worth 100 points

Choose one (1) of the topics below and develop a three to four (3-4) paragraph essay (of at least 250-500 words) which adequately address the topic you have chosen.

Topic Choices

There have been many theories regarding how the pyramids at Giza were constructed. Most experts agree that they were constructed as burial monuments for pharaohs, but “how” these ancient people constructed monuments of such great size without modern machinery is a mystery which is still being debated.
No one can say for certain what happened to the great urban Mayan civilization, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the relatively abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization.
Tutankhamen died young, at approximately eighteen (18) years of age. However, his cause of death has been the subject of quite varied scholarly theories and conclusions. Did he die of an injury, of illness, of murder, or something else?.
Minoan Crete was a major civilization in its time, but several theories have been advanced to explain its demise, including speculations associating it with mythical Atlantis. What were the causes of Minoan Civilization’s decline?
Great Zimbabwe is an enormous complex of structures in East Africa. Since the builders and occupants left no written records, several theories have developed as to the identity of its builders and the functions of the structures. Which theory makes the most sense?
The monumental size and complexity of the Tomb of Shihuangdi is astounding, yet its location and construction details were to be kept secret. What was the emperor’s purpose for such an elaborate, secret burial place?
Other topic choice recommended and approved by the professor and supported by the grading rubric.

Write a three to four (3-4) paragraph paper in which you:

Clearly state the “mystery” and provide a brief summary of at least two (2) reasonable and scholarly theories which could explain the mystery. Because some theories may sound far-fetched, include the source or promoter of each theory – such as a scientist, a historian, a theologian, etc.
After summarizing at least two (2) scholarly theories, identify one (1) of the theories as the most plausible and provide at least two (2) convincing reasons why the theory you have chosen is the best one to explain the mystery. This will involve some critical reasoning skills on your part.
Use at least two (2) sources plus the class textbook. (Three [3] sources total as the minimum) Note: Wikipedia and other similar Websites do not qualify as academic resources. You are highly encouraged to use the Resource Center tab at the top of your Blackboard page.

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 style format. Both in-text citations and a References list are required. Citations and references must follow APA style format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. (Note: Students can find APA style materials located in the course shell for guidance).
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. For our purposes, you may omit any abstract page.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Explain how key social, cultural, and artistic contributions contribute to historical changes.
Explain the importance of situating a society’s cultural and artistic expressions within a historical context.
Examine the influences of intellectual, religious, political, and socio-economic forces on social, cultural, and artistic expressions.
Identify major historical developments in world cultures during the eras of antiquity to the Renaissance
Use technology and information resources to research issues in the study of world cultures.
Write clearly and concisely about world cultures using proper writing mechanics.

The essence of presentation is making yourself known, along with your ideas. There are at least two reasons to begin the planning of any presentation with a consideration of yourself. The first is that your knowledge of yourself and what you are thinking about provides a solid foundation for elaborating on your ideas and your topics. The second is that your constant self-assessment means that you can define and communicate your own feelings and beliefs about a topic from a deeper level of metacognition, or self-knowledge, and can therefore think more critically and objectively about your topic.

Before building a presentation, consider the types of things that you have done and the types of things that are important to you. These things will be woven into every presentation you give, whether formal or informal, large or small, and regardless of the topic. Here, you will think about yourself as a primary topic and reflect upon your own academic and professional goals. This approach to preparation will influence the ways in which you present in the future.

Part A

In paragraph form, answer the following questions that may affect how you think about presentations, your topics, and your audience:

What is your “story”? How would you summarize your life’s experiences?
How have those experiences, overall, shaped you as a professional? How have they shaped you as a university student?
What have you learned from your previous experiences in making formal or informal presentations to others?

Part B

For this part of the assignment, you will be preparing or updating your resume. Upon reflection of your answers in Part A, rethink your resume, and update it as appropriate to incorporate your experiences and goals. In addition, review your resume format. If you already have a template for your resume that works, that’s great.

If you would like to refresh your resume presentation, click here for a sample template.

Please submit your assignment as a single Word document, with your Part-A responses preceding your resume from Part B

For this assignment, please write a well-formulated paragraph on the theoretical perspective you think is the most prominent for each the 3 leaders identified below. I have provided links to relevant information on each person; your task is to use only these links (no outside sources). Don’t be surprised if you find information that reflects each of the three mainstream theoretical perspectives for each person. What you’re looking for is the theory that is the most prominent. Which one stands out the most and why? Be sure to demonstrate your understanding of the theoretical perspectives and to include specific evidence (e.g. words and/or actions of the leader) to support your analysis in each paragraph

Assume that you are a mid-level leader within an organization of your choice. Top leadership has given you the task to study the best practices in terms of leadership today. You will create a report that analyzes the leadership skills and guidelines recommended based on the current research. In your written report, be sure to address the following:

Determine guidelines for exercising authority. What guidelines would you recommend for reward power and coercive power?
Determine which skills are most important at each level (lower, middle and executive) of management. Provide examples for each level.
Explain the importance of top level leadership within organizations. Why is it important?
Describe how selection and placement can be used to improve leadership in organizations.
Determine the types of professional development that can be used to improve leadership in organizations.

Support your report with minimum of four (4) resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.

Length: 6-8 pages, not including title and reference pages

Your report should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Examine Primary Leadership Theories

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This week, you will research six to eight primary leadership theories. Once you have researched the theories, analyze the similarities and differences among theories. Your goal is to be able to speak and write effectively about the theories that resonate with you.

Research and examine six to eight primary leadership theories to become familiar with them. Then, write a paper that addresses the following in regards to at least three of the theories.

When and how did the theories originate, and who was the seminal theorist for each?
What are the similarities and differences between the three theories? You can use a table or graphic for this part.
How could each theory be applied by a leader in an organization?
Which leadership theory would you prefer a leader used? Why?
Which theory most resonates with you in terms of your leadership approach and why?

Provide detailed examples to support your responses. Support your paper with minimum of four (4) resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.

Length: 6-8 pages, not including title and reference pages

Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE INTERVENTION PROPOSAL

In Week One, you created an annotated bibliography. It is now time to take that research and begin working on your Intervention Proposal. One of the main components of an intervention proposal is the literature review. This week you will be drafting a portion of the literature review that you will include in your Week Six Intervention Proposal. For this week, choose three to four articles that include in a mini literature review that you will build on during Week Six to complete your Intervention Proposal. These articles should all be recent (published within the past 10 years). You should also cite other material (e.g., seminal works about the theories) as appropriate.

In your literature review:

State your thesis statement that is your professional opinion.Briefly explain the organization of the paper. For example, if there is a major controversy in this literature, briefly describe the controversy and state that you will present research supporting first one side, and then the other. Or, if three methodologies have been used to address the question, briefly describe them and then state that you will compare the results obtained by the three methods.Begin by broadly discussing the literature. Then, narrow your review to the studies that are most related to your research question. Your literature review should resemble a funnel – wide (broad) at the top and narrow (focused) at the bottom.

Ensure that at least one article (but no more than two) supports the opposing side to your thesis.Describe studies in enough detail that the reader has a general sense of the study’s hypothesis, methods, and findings.Evaluate the studies. Do not provide article summaries; rather, provide descriptive and scholarly evaluations of the research.Discuss implications of studies (i.e., your judgment of what the studies show and where to go from here). It is common (and often better) to combine the description and evaluation sections. If you do combine them, do not forget to evaluate them.State your conclusion that reaffirms your professional opinion.

The literature review must be four to six pages, excluding title and reference pages, and it must be formatted according to APA style as outlined

View the following Films on Demand videos:

Drug Control in Central Asia
Crackdown on Corruption
Child Exposure to Domestic Violence

Choose from the following options in which you will complete your assignment:

Option 1: Microsoft® PowerPoint® Presentation

Develop a 10- to 12-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation.

Address the following in your presentation:

Was the content of your video a personal crime, property crime, or policy issue?

What causal factors were addressed in the video?

What policy implications or recommendations were provided in the video to address the crime?

Were budgetary or financial issues discussed in the video? If so, elaborate.

What future implications were discussed in the video?

What other content-specific information is relevant to your selected video?

What basic elements of the crime served as the basis for your selected video?

What criminological theory or theories best explains the occurrence of this crime or issue?

Perform external research as necessary to support the content of your videosubject matter.

List major points in the slides. Include detailed explanations in the speaker notes section that correlate to each point.

Include videos, audio, photos, diagrams, or graphs as appropriate.

Format yourpresentation consistent with APA guidelines.

Submit the Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation assignment.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines and submit both portions to your facilitator.

Will provide material after hand shak

Your organization has recently experienced growth in the number of employees on its payroll. In response to this, you are beginning the recruitment process for an additional payroll clerk. You would like to create a job analysis before writing any job advertisements. As part of the information gathering process, you have decided to create a job questionnaire that the current payroll clerk will complete. You will then conduct Internet research to develop a list of performance expectations for this position. Finally, you will draft ideas for meeting Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines during the recruitment process.

Part I: Create a job questionnaire (1-2 pages)

You may refer to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook for job description information that can help you form your questions.
The questionnaire should be directed to the employee (e.g., What do you…).
At a minimum, your questionnaire should elicit information about the following:
Duties performed
Special qualifications
Equipment used
Working conditions
Interaction with others
Supervisory responsibilities
Decision-making responsibilities

Part 2: Performance Expectations List (1 page)

Use the Internet to research performance measures for the position of a payroll clerk. (You may want to refer back to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook).
Create a list of at least 8 performance measures for this position.

Part 3: Equal Employment Opportunity (1 page)

Discuss 2 or 3 strategies you will use during the recruitment process for the payroll clerk position that help ensure compliance with equal employment opportunity guidelines.

Please refer to the following multimedia course materials:

Unit 1: Job Analysis and Design
Unit 1: Job Analysis
Unit 1: Job Analysis, Discrimination

Please submit your assignment.

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

Individual Project Rubric

Assignment Instructions

Instructions:

Based on the information that you have learned thus far in this course, please provide the following:

1. Give a detailed account of a time you learned from experience (related to employment) and how that wise choice positively impacted you. Considering what you have learned from this course, would you have made different decisions with the knowledge that you now have?

2. Tell me, in general, do you learn better from your successes or failures and why? What is it about your personality that helps you learn from the aspect you chose in the aforementioned question?

Submission Instructions: (www.turnitin.com)

Any papers/assignments should at a minimum contain 2-3 pages of content (double spaced), include a properly formatted cover page, and a reference listing page with at least three (3) NEW references properly listed at the end of your work. Providing additional references to your assignments demonstrate your desire to conduct additional research on the topic area and can improve your research skills.

With all assignments, include properly formatted in-text citations within the body of your work for each of your listed references so the reader can ascertain what is your original thought or ideas and what portion of your work is taken from credible sources to support your work. It is really important to identify work from other sources to ensure that proper credit is provided to researchers in the field.

Submit the weekly written assignment as an MS WORD attachment in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. A recommended font is Times New Roman (12). DO NOT include discussion board answers with your formally written assignment submission