Expository Research Essay

write  a 1500-2000 word Expository Research Essay in which you explain in  detail  your topic and whatever positions surround your topic in an  informative, unbiased manner.  Utilize at least six sources to help in  your explanation, and three of these sources should be scholarly or  academic in nature.

Be  sure not to present an argument.  Your goal is not to sway a reader to  your way of thinking, but to take an uninformed reader and educate them  thoroughly on the topic.  You will have to explain the existing  arguments concerning the issue, but you must remain unbiased.

The reader should finish your paper with a full understanding of a complex issue, with few to no questions.

Be sure to cite all sources and end with a Works Cited page

Paper : Media And Tribalism

1. Provide accurate exposition of Neil Postman’s thesis in the first two chapters of his book, using textual evidence from those chapters as to how he supports his thesis through examples, anecdotes, statistics, print sources, etc.

2. Apply Postman’s thesis to ONE internet/smartphone application of your choice. This could be a search engine such as Google, a Wiki such as Wikipedia, social networking such as Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr, instant messaging such as SnapChat or Instagram, channels such as Vimeo or YouTube, downloadable content such as music from iTunes or Pandora. If you want to use a different application please contact me with your proposal so that we can discuss it before you move ahead.

Assignment 9 – Organization

Performance Management Systems

In a paper, discuss a performance management system (PMS) that you would implement as the human resources (HR) manager of an organization (fictional or real). Be sure to include information that addresses the following aspects of your PMS:

  • Organizational Strategy, including description of the organization’s purpose, vision, mission
  • Systems, including defining and measuring results, appraisals, compensation
  • Implementation Factors, including communication plan, appeal process
  • Employee Development Considerations.

Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:

  • Be 4-6 pages in length, not including the required cover and reference pages
  • Formatted according to Saudi Electronic University and APA writing guidelines

Assignment 9 – Organization

Performance Management Systems

In a paper, discuss a performance management system (PMS) that you would implement as the human resources (HR) manager of an organization (fictional or real). Be sure to include information that addresses the following aspects of your PMS:

  • Organizational Strategy, including description of the organization’s purpose, vision, mission
  • Systems, including defining and measuring results, appraisals, compensation
  • Implementation Factors, including communication plan, appeal process
  • Employee Development Considerations.

Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:

  • Be 4-6 pages in length, not including the required cover and reference pages
  • Formatted according to Saudi Electronic University and APA writing guidelines

Digital Growth Timeline

Instructions

You are working for a local department store in the Operations Department. You notice that their business practices and use of technology are not up to date. You have worked other places that have relied more on digital technology that have been extremely successful, in part because of their operating efficiency.

Your company is considering making upgrades to several of your operating processes. Because of your history of working in more technologically progressive environments, you are asked by your supervisor to create a visual presentation with a timeline of digital growth in the organization and compare it to the digital growth in society in general. In discussing this project with your boss, it is clear that digital growth can refer not only to Internet and computers, but it can also refer to other aspects of business operations such as cash registers, phone services, advertisements, various tools for communication, etc. Your supervisor asks that this timeline be created to help you, your supervisor, and other stakeholders determine the advantages and disadvantages of a proposed upgrade in technology in the workplace with the overall goal of understanding what systems can be put into place or maintained that can help the store run as efficiently as possible. You are told that the timeline can be in any visual format that you choose.

For this timeline, you are to reflect and address the following sets of questions:

  • What is digital growth? Where is the company now in terms of digital growth?
  • What are some examples of technological advances that could be used in a department store operation?
  • What are some possible advantages and disadvantages of using advanced technology?
  • What is Big Data? How might Big Data be used in this business?
  • What are some possible advantages and disadvantages of the store using Big Data?
  • Do you believe that updating technology and business practices will be advantageous? Why or Why not?

Understanding Digital Identity Formation

You are working for a local department store in the Operations Department. You notice that their business practices and use of technology are not up to date. One day while working, you are having a discussion about technology and identity formation with your supervisor. Your supervisor continues to explain that individuals and organizations have digital identities that are formed and impacted through various methods. Your supervisor continues, saying, “They can develop or change through social media, positive or negative press, word of mouth, and so on.”

You begin to understand that the digital footprint of a business or organization can greatly impact their success or failure due to many factors, including the rapid dissemination of information that can occur digitally.

Your supervisor, through the course of the discussion, acknowledges that you are very fluent in the area of digital identity and asks you to conduct research and create a visual presentation explaining how digital identity is formed for both individuals and organizations. Your supervisor says, “This visual presentation will be presented to not only me, but company stakeholders and your coworkers in order to help them understand how identity is formed, and how to best maximize digital identity to contribute to the overall success of our store.”

Your supervisor continues, saying, “From this presentation, decision makers will be able to work on identity management and can then implement digital strategies in order to maintain or improve the store’s identity. In the end, this is intended to help increase exposure to the store, enhance the customer base, and the overall success of the store. The visual representation should be interactive and informative and can be presented in any visual format that you choose.”

For this research and presentation, you are to reflect upon and address the following topics:

  • What are the key methods of identity development? Consider available technology, socioeconomic status, generational issues, access to technological resources, etc.
  • Explain how technology and digital forums can aid in identity formation.
    • Consider available technology, socioeconomic status, generational issues, access to technological resources, etc.
    • Are there differences between identity development in the digital world and in the physical world?
    • As technology improves and changes, what are some things that individuals and organizations do to impact change and development in the digital age?
    • How can individuals change the course of action for organizations and their digital footprint?
  • How is the digital identity of your store in the above scenario formulated, and what impact might that identity have on the overall success of the store?

Examining The Digital World Through The Use Of Sociological Theory

You are working for a local department store in the Operations Department. You notice that their business practices and use of technology are not up to date. The Human Resources Department does not have adequate computer access and often requires employees to complete some business at home. They also require prospective employees to apply from home. You recognize that not all people have personal computers, and some might be accessing business and personal records from a public computer. There are two prominent sociological theories that can be used to easily examine computer usage for individuals and organizations. Those theories are Conflict Theory and Symbolic Interaction Theory.

At a staff meeting, you and your team are engaged in a discussion about the use of technology on both an individual and organizational level. You cite the digital divide as a major concern. Your store is considering an upgrade in some or all of their technological resources.

Recognizing that you are technologically savvy, your supervisor asks you to generate a visual comparison that considers the use of public computers versus a personal computer. You will rank concepts such as ease of use, time, and comfort in completing tasks, security factors, email management, and safety in conducting business that is typically completed on a computer that may lead someone to experience the digital divide (a difference between groups of people and their use of digital technology). You will also need to consider the sociological theories named above and explain how from a sociological perspective, it would benefit or hinder the store you work in to upgrade their technology.

Your comparison should consider various factors identified below and will illustrate the benefits and some potential limitations of utilizing technology. Your presentation will be presented to your supervisor and other members of the Operations Department in order to determine which, if any, components of the store’s current technological operations will be updated. The visual comparison can be in any engaging format that you select.

For this comparison chart, you are to reflect upon and address the following sets of questions/information.

  • Define conflict theory.
  • Define symbolic interaction theory.
  • Discuss how each of these theories would explain the use of technology and the development of the digital world we now live.
  • Consider multiple ways that society has changed in the past several decades and what contributed to that change.
  • Provide examples of technological growth and change over the past several decades.
  • Make direct correlations between the technologies that exist and the changes that have occurred at the organizational and societal levels in the past several decades.
  • Define digital divide.
  • Consider factors that create the digital divide, such as access to technology, socioeconomic status, age, personal interest, location of residence, etc.
  • Based upon factors that cause the digital divide, suggest ways that this divide can be combated.
  • How does the digital divide apply to the store that you work in for this scenario?
  • Which theoretical perspective can best be applied to your store in the above scenario to help explain and counter the impacts of the digital divide?

Using Sociological Theory To Understand Organizational Change

Instructions

You have recently started working for a local department store in the Operations Department. Upon settling into your new position, you come to realize that they have outdated business practices. As a department, you and your peers begin to discuss changes that your store could make to help the store become more profitable and more competitive in the marketplace. This leads to discussions about the evolution of business practices at larger corporations such as Apple, Microsoft, Kohl’s, etc. Partway through your discussion, your Director of Operations comes in and joins the conversation. He likes what he is hearing and starts to brainstorm out loud with the group how your store can get “more with the times.”

Knowing that every change within an organization is made for a specific reason, your director asks that you research some of the key theoretical perspectives that would explain how and why organizations change. Because of your sociological prowess from your days in school, you know that you can apply Conflict Theory and Symbolic Interaction Theory to the reasons for organization change, but your supervisor has asked for a minimum of three theories that would support change.

In addition to conducting research on theoretical perspectives for change, your supervisor would like you to put together some sort of visual representation that demonstrates how each of the theories explains organizational change, and then highlight the one that you think is most applicable to your store. You will be presenting your visual presentation to store management in an effort to provide them information so that they can determine the avenues of change that are most appropriate for your store. Because your supervisor sees the value in the changes to the organization, he has encouraged you to create a presentation that will grab the attention of the audience and that includes both pictorial and written information so that all the audience can easily envision the application of the change to your environment.

For this presentation you are to reflect and address the following information/questions:

  • Provide a brief definition of Conflict Theory.
  • Provide a brief definition of Symbolic Interaction.
  • What changes have been made in various aspects of society (work, school, shopping, etc.)? Explain them through the lens of Conflict Theory and Symbolic Interaction Theory.
  • How do Conflict Theory and Symbolic Interaction Theory explain or impact organizational change?
  • Identify at least one other sociological theory, and demonstrate how it applies to organizational change in our society.
  • Of the three identified theories (Conflict, Symbolic Interaction, and the theory of your choice), which theory do you believe best explains organizational changes in our society? Consider various aspects of the organizations that change i.e. technology, online, and face-to-face transactions, local versus global operations, etc.

Evolution Of Language

Instructions

You have recently started working for a local department store in the Operations Department. You have always had a passion for communication and technology, and at your new store, you quickly realize that their methods of communication and their technological resources are outdated. You have worked retail for many years and over time have realized that there are many gaps and differences in the way that people communicate and the forms of technology that they are comfortable with. This applies to both your customers and your colleagues.

Because you feel that this is an area of expertise for you, you approach your supervisor and begin a discussion about communication changes and gaps in communication in conjunction with the technological changes that have happened over the last several decades. You and your supervisor discuss the best ways for your store to understand various communication methods and the gaps that exist in communication among your consumers and colleagues.

You volunteer to put together a written summary of broad spectrum changes in technology and the resulting changes in communication methods and gaps in communication. Your supervisor loves this idea. He does ask, however, that the information be presented in the form of a pamphlet or written statement that can be both presented to staff and handed out by Human Resources as a training tool for employee relations.

You are encouraged to provide as many examples of changes to communication methods that you can come up with. Also consider many different gaps in communication such as generational differences, differences in socioeconomic status, the region the people live in, interest in technology, setting in which you are communicating in (personal versus professional), etc. After considering these issues, your supervisor would like you to present some ideas as to how your store can bridge communication gaps between colleagues and with your customers.

For this written summary, you are to reflect upon and address the following information:

  • Consider various methods of communication, types of technology that can assist in communication, and other factors involving technology that may impact or change communication.
  • Consider several factors that impact access to communication in society. Some possible are socioeconomic status, access to technological resources, generational differences, differences in intellect, etc.
  • How have online environments and technological growth impacted how society communicates on both personal and professional levels? Be sure to provide specific examples of both.
  • How do changes in methods of communication create communication gaps in our society?
  • What are some ways that society can bridge communication gaps that happen as a result of technological growth?