Day: April 26, 2018

Final Paper

The purpose of the Final Paper is for you to culminate the learning achieved in the course by demonstrating your knowledge of organizational management by synthesizing the information from class into work and life experience.

Focus of the Final Paper

Think of an organization you have worked for or one with which you are very familiar. Diagnose the need for change and present a plan to transform the organization, utilizing Kotter’s 8-Step Approach. Include the following sections headings and additional sections as needed: 1.Introduction 2.Company Overview 3.Diagnosis 4.Kotter’s 8-Step Approach 5.Conclusion

The Final Paper for the course must be submitted to the instructor by 11:59 p.m. of the time zone in which you reside on the last day of the class.

Writing the Final Paper The Final Paper: 1.Must be eight- to- ten double-spaced pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. 2.Must include a title page that includes: a.Title of paper b.Student’s name c.Course name and number d.Instructor’s name e.Date submitted

3.Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. 4.Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. 5.Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph. 6.Must use at least five scholarly sources. 7.Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. 8.Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Assignment Submission

You are a board member of a large company that manufactures and distributes aftermarket automobile parts. The board consists of six members. You are number two in seniority and the CEO is NOT on the board. The CEO has been a strong leader and an effective manager for over five years but lately the organization’s performance has fallen off and you will now have two consecutive years in the red. The CEO is highly regarded by the subordinates, but it is clear to you as a member of the board that many changes and adjustments have to be made. The serving CEO appears to be entrenched in approaching current challenges and opportunities with tried and true approaches.

The current CEO is internally focused, tradition based and conservative. He has shown some overly cautious actions with respect to entering new markets and expanding the company’s product line. The organization has little in the way of external investment activities and the CEO came close to dismissing the Deputy to the vice president for finance for an investment decision he felt was both risky and radical. He has consistently promoted managers from within and has a poor relationship with the VP for HR. There have been some long term problems with the quality level of one major product line (wheels) and the CEO has moved very slowly to correct it. Finally, he recently rejected the introduction of an enterprise architecture platform that was recommended by a major consulting firm.

What should you do and what should the board do? How should you do it?

Please show ALL work.

1. A manager is trying to decide whether to purchase a certain part or to have it produced internally. Internal production could use either of two processes. One would entail a variable cost of $17 per unit and an annual fixed cost of $200,000; the other would entail a variable cost of $14 per unit and an annual fixed cost of $240,000. Three vendors are willing to provide the part. Vendor A has a price of $20 unit for any volume up to 30,000 units. Vendor B has a price of $22 per unit for demand of 1,000 units or less, and $18 per unit for larger quantities. Vendor C offers a price of $21 per unit for the first 1,000 units, and $19 per unit for additional units.

a. If the manager anticipates an annual volume of 10,000 units, which alternative would be the best for a cost standpoint?
b. For 20,000 units, which alternative would be best?
c. Determine the range for which each alternative is best. Are there any alternatives that are never best? Which?

Imagine that you are an analyst who has been asked to produce a report on Apple’s financial performance, including its ability to attain its objectives, over the last five (5) years. You are to report your findings to your boss. You should assume that your boss has no prior knowledge of Apple’s specific strategy. Your task is to shed light on the company’s results, thoroughly explaining any deviations from projections. This means that it is not sufficient to describe the ratios you have calculated. Rather, you are to provide an overall analysis with an assessment of whether these financial ratios and analyses are supportive of Apple’s strategy or whether Apple may be required to modify its strategy because of any financial constraints indicated. A major part of this report involves projections or forecasting. Part A Access Apple’s balance sheets and income statements for the last 5 years from the Apple web site (http://investor.apple.com/financials.cfm). From those statements, calculate the financial ratios for Apple for each of the past 5 years, as noted below. 1. Liquidity Ratio: For each of the indicated five (5) years, you need address only the Current Ratio. 2. Profitability Ratio: For each of the five (5) indicated years, you need address only the Return on Investment. 3. Activity Ratio: For each of the five (5) indicated years, you need address only the Asset Turnover. 4. Leverage Ratio: For each of the five (5) indicated years, you need only address the Debt to Asset Ratio. 5. Other Ratios: For each of the five (5) indicated years, you need only the Dividend Yield on Common Stock.

Present your findings in a table, titling each row with one of the five ratios, as follows: 1) Liquidity Ratios, 2) Profitability Ratios, 3) Activity Ratios, 4) Leverage Ratios, and 5) Other Ratios. Your table should have six columns, each labeled for one year, plus a column for the mean value for the entire period.

Part B Next, review Apple’s stated strategy for each of these years and analyze each Apple ratio from one year to the next during this time period. Be sure to explain what the ratio indicates in general, as well as with respect to the specific period. Discuss whether the ratios support Apple’s strategies or if changes are indicated. Identify any trends that you detect from one year to the next. As an example, let us state, hypothetically, that Apple’s Current Ratio has been declining over several periods. You will want to assess its implications for Apple’s stated strategy. (40 points) (A 3-page response is required.)

Locke maintained that each of us has the power to decide which religious community to join, if any. He also maintained that no religious community has doctrinal jurisdiction over any other, and maintained that those communities and their members should tolerate the existence of diverse communities with diverse doctrines. Finally, he believed that no individual should be subject to civil prejudice or penalty due to his or her religious convictions and that religious authorities should have no special civil powers or authorities.

Locke also believed that governments do not have — and cannot be given by the consent of the people — the right to force its members to hold specific religious beliefs or to engage in specific religious behaviors.

Please discuss Locke’s conception of religious toleration and the separation of church and state in an essay that answers the following questions:

Do you find Locke’s expansive vision of toleration useful and ethical? Why or why not? Do you believe that there are ever cases where it is acceptable for a society to decide not to tolerate religious communities whose beliefs or practices seem ‘too extreme’ to be tolerated. If so, what considerations or principles can help one to determine exactly which religious communities should be treated as intolerable? Do you believe that it is ever acceptable for individuals’ religious beliefs to affect the administration of law? Why or why not? Please ensure that your essay addresses each component of the assigned questions and that your answer is well-organized, uses excellent, college-level prose, and makes judicious use of textual evidence. Your essay should be 600-900 words long

Social and behavioral intelligence is crucial to presenting yourself as a professional and collaborating successfully with your peers and supervisors. In Units 1 and 2 you explored and learned about what defines a professional presence. You reflected on your own current professional image and where growth and change would strengthen it.

In this Assignment you will create a standard PowerPoint presentation representing yourself as a professional. Be sure to reflect on what you have learned thus far in the course as you complete this Assignment. Instructions for creating a PowerPoint are listed in the Unit 3 Learning Activities.

Instructions:

Your PowerPoint presentation should include a total of 5 slides using the following format:

•Slide 1: Cover page that includes your name, course, section number, date, and the Assignment title. •Slide 2: Introduction – who you are and your chosen professional field. •Slide 3: A brief overview of how you perceive yourself professionally. You may include a photo. •Slide 4: A description of attributes which contribute to professionalism in your chosen field such as professional attire, communication, and behavior. •Slide 5: Cite all sources you have used. Save the PowerPoint in .ppt format and submit it into the Unit 4 Dropbox. When you are ready to submit it, go to the Dropbox and complete the steps below:

•Click the link that says Submit an Assignment

Plant Structure Lab Report Form For this lab you will need: magnifying glass, two stalks celery, red food coloring, cup of water, and knife. Examine the various leaf samples shown in the course. Identify simple and compound leaves.  Make a quick sketch of an example of each leaf type, and label the petiole, axillary bud, leaf blade, and leaf veins.

Simple leaf sketch Compound leaf sketch 1) What is the characteristic venation pattern of monocots?

2) What is the characteristic venation pattern of dicots?

Sort the leaves shown in the course into monocots and dicots on the basis of the leaf venation. Dicot or moncot? 3) Coffee leaf 4) Sugar maple 5) Horse Chestnut 6) Oak 7) Carya 8) What cell organelle would you expect to be abundant in the parenchyma of the leaf?

9) What gas is necessary for photosynthesis to occur?

10) What gas is a product of photosynthesis?

Examine the image of the epidermis of lilac leaf. This slide was prepared by peeling the epidermal layer from a leaf. 
Paradermal section of lilac leaf, lower leaf epidermis. 11) You should be able to find guard cells and stomata. Are the stomata open or closed?

Make a sketch of the guard cells as you see them in the above photograph.

Sketch of guard cells

Obtain one or two stalks of celery.  Use a sharp knife and slice cleanly across the bottom of the celery stalk. Repeat the process at least once on another stalk. Place the cut stalks into a glass. Add water and red food coloring solution to the glass, at least one inch deep of solution. Place the glass and stalks in a sunny spot, and check back periodically.

Once the red color has risen at least half-way up the stalk, place one of these stalks on a plate or cutting board and slice as thin a slice as you can across the stalk base.  Place this small slice on a clean plate and observe the slide with a magnifying glass. Do you see any cells? Make a sketch below of what you see.

Sketch of celery slice: STEMS:

12) What is transported in the xylem?

13) What is transported in the phloem?

14) Examine the image of a prepared slide of a cross section of Medicago stem (pictured in the drop and drag activity) Notice that the vascular bundles are arranged in a circular arrangement. Is this the stem of a monocot or dicot?

Label the oldest and the youngest xylem in the picture of a woody stem cross section of the woody dicot Tilia shown in the drop and drag activity. The inner rings are the oldest of the sample with the outer rings are the youngest. The oldest rings of xylem are generally filled with resins and metabolic wastes and are consequently no longer important in transport within the plant. This heartwood is often the most aromatic and beautiful wood of a tree.

15) What is the age of the stem you are examining above?

16) The original pith is still located in the center of the stem (inside the vascular bundles). What type of cells makes up the pith?

ROOTS: Examine the photograph of a prepared slide of the root cross section. Notice that the section is circular in outline since it was cut across the root.  The vascular tissue of the root is concentrated in a single vascular bundle or stele in the center of the root.

17) How does this compare to the number of vascular bundles in the stem?

A layer of cells called the endodermis surrounds the stele. Xylem is found towards the center of the stele and phloem towards the outside of the stele. 18) How does this compare to their arrangement in the stem?

19) The meristematic region is protected in the root by the presence of a root cap. How is the meristematic region protected in the stem tip?

20) In which of these regions would you expect to find the specialized cells of vascular tissue?

21) In which of these regions are the cells genetically identical?

22) Why?

nimal Lab Report

Procedures: 1. Visit http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/phyla/phyla.html; Introduction to the Metazoa: Animals, Animals, Animals!, University of California, Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. Click the Systematics link and learn more about a group you desire to begin researching for this lab. Note: The boxes without images have not yet been developed. 2. If possible, visit a local zoo and try to learn more about the animal group you are researching. Take pictures, talk to the zookeepers, etc. 3. Visit a number of websites (a few starters are listed below) that deal with the great diversity of animals and their biological, ecological, and economic impacts on life and human society. Gather (and cite!) information and images to allow you to prepare a poster or PowerPoint presentation. 4. In your poster or PowerPoint presentation, you will need to detail the classification of the group of creatures you are detailing. 5. Required elements include: the time of first occurrence, fossil record (if any), economic and societal impact of the group, and its evolutionary importance (for example the green algae are not terribly important save as a stem group for the evolution of plants).

Example sites: http://www.tolweb.org/tree/ Tree of Life Web Project. Maintained by scientists and collaborators, this site organizes over 5000 web pages about the classification and relationships of the domains and other taxonomic groups. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html Links for Systematics. This site compiles many links to aid your research.

 

1. When advertising expenditure is increased, which of the aggregate and average (cost and revenue) curves shift their positions? Explain the direction of the shift. As an industry moves from being a monopoly to a monopolistically competitive one (due to the entry of new competitors as the monopoly’s patents expire, for example), what happens to the elasticity of the demand curve facing the firm? Why?

2. What is the service or product supplied by your firm? If there are more than one, pick one. What is the market structure for the market in which your firm supplies this product? Why? What does economic theory tell you about the short-run and long-run economic profits for a firm operating in this market structure?Do you observe that for your firm? Why or why not?

3. In the presence of excess capacity, firms sometimes launch new brands in an effort to increase their profits. Why would a monopolist not launch a new brand? Why do you think that launching a new brand is often done in monopolistic competition? Has your firm launched a new brand (provided a slightly differentiated service) in an effort to increase profits? Should it do/have done so? Why or why not?

4. Why is it that firms can earn profits in the long run in monopoly and oligopoly but not in monopolistic competition and perfect competition? What can firms do in monopolistic competition or perfect competition to make the short run last as long as possible since they can only make profits in the short run? Have you observed any firms employ such tactics? Can you give some examples?

Rx’s R Us is a mail order dealer of homeopathic medications. It has 6 phone lines for receiving orders. Order takers answer the phones, check that inventory is available, and then prepare “picking tickets” for the warehouse stock pickers. One order may consist of several lines, with a different medication or multiples of medications ordered on each line. Each order taker can prepare picking tickets at a rate of one line every three minutes. The telephones are normally answered from 6 am to 4 pm Pacific Time. Stock pickers can fill and package the meds at a rate of one line every five minutes. RX employs 8 stock pickers who normally work weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm (except for one lunch hour).
a. What is the effective capacity of order taking (in lines per week) vs. stock pickers?
b. The eight warehouse employees work 10 hours per day between 7 am and 6 pm, 6 days a week for 3 weeks after the fall catalog is mailed in October. What is the peak capacity of the system, in lines per week? [State whatever assumptions you make in order to generate your response.]
c. During the second week of October, Parts R Us filled 5,000 order lines. What is the utilization as a percent of effective capacity vs. peak capacity?