All posts by : chebby

Take a stance for or against forced ranking. Support your response with examples of two (2) pros and two (2) cons that you must consider in your stance.

Specify two (2) legal considerations to which an organization may be susceptible if it were to implement forced ranking performance evaluation systems unfairly and inaccurately. Suggest the key corrective actions that an organization could take to rectify issues that arise from said unfair and inaccurate implementation.

Strategic Audit

The strategic audit system is a diagnostic tool to pinpoint an organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Use the Strategic Analysis Framework and other tools in order to conduct a strategic audit.  You might consider using a SWOT analysis for both companies to analyze each of their situations.

For this assignment, a mini strategic audit will be conducted for two companies with an overall goal to compare how each company differs in the strategy management and implementation, while identifying the importance of strategic management.

• Conduct a Strategic Audit on two companies of your choice that are within the same industry. During this audit, you will be comparing each company, to do so be sure to create a SWOT analysis for each company.
• In addition, visit each company’s website and conduct research to identify key strategies that each company has. List a brief introduction of each company, to include the Mission Statement and compare key aspects of each company.
• Be sure to include the concepts identified in the readings for this week’s topics. 

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

• Write between 750 – 1,250 words (approximately 3 – 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style, see example below.
• Use font size 12 and 1” margins.
• Include cover page and reference page.
• At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing.
• No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.
• Use at least three references from outside the course material, one reference must be from EBSCOhost. Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the three reference requirement.
• Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) in the paper and list on a reference page in APA style.

References must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, CNN, online newspapers such as, The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. are not acceptable for academic writing. 

Address the following implications of knowing a person’s learning style:

• What type of training most appeals to people with a similar learning style to you?
• What methods of instruction work best with your learning style group?
• What method of instruction is a challenge for this learning style group?

Your initial post should include at least one scholarly source to support your ideas

Community Policy Proposals

You will be using the results of your Unit 3 Community Assessment assignment as the basis for this assignment. You have examined the social change and public policy environment of your home community by surveying the population demographics (taking into account gender, race, and sexual orientation, as well as varied nationalities and their social and economic status) and explored public sources of information in order to identify demands for social changes in businesses, non-profits, and government. These demands reflect the possible need for public policy development. 

• Draft and present two possible policy proposals that respond to the specific public demands you identified in your community in the previous assignment. 
  • These demands may apply to businesses, non-profit organizations, or government.
  • Utilize the document entitled, “Elements of a Standard Policy Statement,” which is located in your Social Policy Toolbox, to guide your development of these proposals.
  • Include a title for each proposal.
• Write a 750-word summary of your two possible policy proposals, emphasizing these elements:
  • State the proposed policy on which you have decided, with the following:
    • A descriptive title.
    • A statement of the public entity for which the policy is intended.
    • The beneficiaries of the policy.
    • The human service outcome for social change.
  • State which actors in the home community may play a constructive and active role to advance the policy process, and identify the actors or factors that may pose as obstacles to your proposed policy.
  • State the key discussion points raised by your peers in support of or in opposition to your proposed policy.
  • State your rationale for choosing the policy proposal.

Assignment Requirements

• Summary Length: 750 words.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• Formatting: Present your paper in APA format. 
• Written communication: Written communication must reflect graduate-level writing skills and successfully convey the message.

Reference the assignment scoring guide to help you complete this assignment.

Submit your Community Policy Proposals summary in the assignment area.

Resources

• Community Policy Proposals Scoring Guide.
• APA Style and Format.

Application: Design-Build

Floods, storms, landslides, earthquakes, and many other types of natural disasters can leave an affected area without the ability to evacuate or to receive needed provisions. For example, transportation was severely limited on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina due to the destruction of major highways and bridges. Several communities became “islands” due to the destruction of these bridges. Because people could not leave or receive needed materials and goods, a different approach was applied to re-building the highways and bridges there.

Design/Build was the process used, and this provided for the quick rebuilding of three major bridges. This process contrasts with Design/Bid/Build and combines the design, permit, and construction into one overlapping process. Design/Build involves hiring the same designer/contractor to oversee a project’s design, bid, and construction. This process was so successful in Mississippi that the first bridge built, the St. Louis Bay Bridge, won an America Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Transportation Award in 2007. Might this same process be applied to disaster recovery when re-establishing communication, business and industry, housing, and human services?

To prepare for this assignment:

• Review Chapter 9 in your course text, Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape, and think about challenges to organizational learning in crisis management and how you might address them.
• Review the article, “What is Design-Build?,” and focus on the strategies involved in the design-build model and the challenges that might be presented by it.
• Think about the importance of keeping cultural and social justice considerations in mind when developing a design-build model.
• Use the natural disaster you chose for Week 8 or choose a different one, other than Hurricane Katrina, and research the demographics for the area where the disaster occurred. Think about the various cultures involved and challenges there might be regarding languages or traditions.
• Review the article, “Design-Build Effectiveness Study,” and think about how the concept of design-build can be applied to the natural disaster you chose.
• Review Table 9-2 in your course text, Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape, and think about the new learning areas related to the natural disaster you chose.
• Keep the natural disaster you chose in mind as you review the article, “The Dirty Dozen: Twelve Failures of the Hurricane Katrina Response and How Psychology Can Help.” Think about ways to avoid the failures presented in the article.
• Review the discussions related to grief and loss in Chapter 12 of your course text, Crisis Intervention Strategies, and think about how they might impact the survivors of the natural disaster you chose.
• Review the article, “Social Justice Advocacy: Community Collaboration and Systems,” and think about related issues as they apply to the natural disaster you chose.
• Review the PBS video, “The Journal: Katrina Recovery Gone Wrong,” and think about how programs like the STEPS program might effect design/build strategies.
• Consider ways to incorporate cultural and social justice consideration solution strategies into your design/build plan.

The assignment: (4-6 pages)

• Briefly describe the natural disaster you chose. Be sure to include a brief description of the demographics of the area and references for information used.
• Describe ways you would address multicultural and social justice issues related to rebuilding and recovery.
• Describe and justify “design/build” strategies for the natural disaster you chose.

Articles

• Article: Design-Build Institute of America. (2010). What is design-build? Retrieved from http://www.dbia.org/about/Pages/default.aspx
• Article: U.S. Department of Transportation. (2006). Design-build effectiveness study. Retrieved from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/designbuild/designbuild2.htm

This final SLP assignment is going to provide you the opportunity to explore a challenge in the area of logistics. You have now gained an understanding of supply chains and issues that occur within a specific extended set of enterprises. And these enterprises all depend on infrastructure within the US and its cities for logistics and logistical support. The number 4 challenge on a list of ten, as reported by DC Velocity (http://www.dcvelocity.com/), is “The nation’s deteriorating infrastructure”.

Lynch, Clifford. (2010). Top ten logistics challenges for 2011 (and beyond). Retrieved from http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/2010121310_logistics_challenges_in_2011/

Session Long Project

Your challenge is to independently research this key logistics issue and report on it. Define the problem and its scope, and provide some possible solutions. Write an SLP paper that follows the guidelines and expectations.

SLP Assignment Expectations

The report should thoroughly address these aspects in depth and breadth:

• Problem: clearly elucidate the problem
• Assumptions: what are the assumptions about this issue and your critical evaluation
• Possible Solutions: articulate some solutions
• Evidence & Explanation: clear reasoning as to why these solutions will work. Elucidate your evidence coherently
• Clarity & Organization: well-formed sentences and paragraphs, well organized with flow of reason, and good use of language that pertain to concepts and terminology
• Use of references & Citations: at least five (5) proper references should be used correctly, cited in the text, and listed in the references using an appropriate style; use APA format!
• Length: The paper should be three to four pages – the body of the paper excluding title page and references page.

Lynch, C. (2010). Top ten logistics challenges for 2011 (and beyond). DC Velocity. Retrieved from http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/2010121310_logistics_challenges_in_2011/

Review the “Hexagon of Excellence” in Chapter 7 in your text and write a two- to four-page (not including title and reference pages), APA style article review paper.

• Select and describe at least three characteristics that make the performance of a company excellent in terms of how they approach project management. 
• Provide details on how a current or previous employer used any of these areas for success in the marketplace.
• Analyzes how an employer aligns projects to organizational strategy.

You must use a minimum of one to two sources, including the textbook.

Respond to mitch Jessip statement 

 From your readings and discussions in the course, let us know what parts of your life could benefit from a little or a lot of project management?  

 What different considerations do human resource professionals need to examine when handling voluntary separations and involuntary separations? Explain your response, and use at least one academic source to support your points