1. Properly designed incentive programs work because they are based on two well-accepted psychological principles: (1) increased motivation improves performance and (2) 

control-based compensation

the Rucker plan

recognition is a major factor in motivation

the Scanlon plan

2. Employee demotions usually involve.

a reduction in pay but no loss of opportunity, status, or privilege

a cut in pay, status, privilege, or opportunity 

an increase in pay and more responsibility

a decrease in status and privilege but no loss of opportunity or pay

3. When conduction a performance feedback discussion, active listening requires

interruptions to get your point across

verbal communications only

summarizing what was said and what was agreed to

summarizing your key points

4. Which of the following is a distinctive feature of the U.S. system compared with other countries? 

Wages set by arbitration councils

Low union dues and small union staffs

All agreements are of unlimited duration

Exclusive representation

5. ____________ is the biggest hurdle to overcome in a pay-for-performance plan.

Compensation equation

Salary cap performance level

Merit-pay increases

Inflation

6. _____ analysis is the level of analysis that focuses on employees specifically. 

Environmental

Individual 

Employee

Operations

7. Title VII of the _____________ states that top executives in companies receiving government support can retract bonuses, retention awards, or incentives paid to the top five senior executive officers or the next 20 most highly compensated employees based on corporate information that is later found to be inaccurate.

Pay for Performance Act (2009)

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) 

Sarbanes–Oxley Act (2002)

Equal Pay Act (1963)

8. What is our country’s income maintenance program?

Social Security

COBRA (1985)

PPA (2006), 401(k)

ERISA (1974)

9. Which question should not be important in evaluating the value of training? 

Is the change positive related to organizational goals?

Is the change due to training?

Was the cost of training within the budget?

Did change occur?

10. _____ implies that appraisal systems are easy for managers and employees to understand and use.

Sensitivity

Reliability

Practicality

Acceptability

11. This made extensive changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 that governs employer-sponsored, qualified (for tax deferral) retirement-benefit plans.

Short-Term Severance Pay laws

Employer Cost Shifting laws

The Pension Protection Act (PPA) of 2006 

Short-Term Disability laws

12. When companies discover they can communicate better with their customers through employees who are similar to their customers, those companies then realize they have increased their _____ diversity. 

internal 

primary

external

secondary

13. For organizations, _________ is an indirect cost associated with downsizing.

outplacement

an increase in the unemployment tax rate

severance pay

administrative processing

14. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 offered what for victims of unintentional discrimination?

Adverse impact

Monetary damages and jury trials

Affirmative action

Race-norming

15. Organizations periodically turn to _________ to meet demands for talent brought about by business growth and a desire for fresh ideas, or to replace employees who leave.

outside labor markets

entry-level employees

former employees

their subsidiaries

16. To avoid legal difficulties related to performance appraisals and enhance credibility in court, employers should 

document appraisal ratings and reason for termination

have friends testify

present only the manager’s perspective

present only the employee’s perspective

17. Which is not a quality of Generation Y?

A blurring of the lines between work and leisure time while on the job

Short attention spans

The constant need for stimulation/entertainment

Inability to handle numerous projects

18. Training that results in ______ is costly because of the cost of training (which proved to be useless) and the cost of hampered performance.

applicability of training

reinforcement of training

simulation of training

negative transfer of training

19. What can affirmative action assist organizations in achieving that diversity initiatives cannot?

Increased productivity

Correcting specific problems of the past

Maximizing workforce commitment

Maximizing creativity

20. _____ proceeds from an oral warning to a written warning to a suspension to dismissal. 

Procedural justice

Due process

Positive discipline

Progressive discipline

21. Because practical considerations make job tryouts for all candidates infeasible, it is necessary to __________ the relative level of job performance for each candidate on the basis of available information.

predict

assign

abandon

accept

22. If employers fail to check closely enough on a prospective employee who then commits a crime in the course of performing his or her job duties, they can be held liable for

negligent hiring

quid pro quo

hostile environment

loss of consortium

23. ________________ include everything in a work environment that enhances a worker’s sense of self-respect and esteem by others.

Nonfinancial rewards

General business strategies

Social responsibilities 

Internal pay objectives

24. A _____ occurs when parties are unable to move further toward settlement.

mediation

grievance

lockout

bargaining impasse

25. Hard quotas

are a concerted effort by the organization to actively expand the pool of applicants so that no one is excluded because of past or present discrimination

systematically favor women and minorities in hiring and promotion decisions

are a commitment to treat all races and sexes equally in all decisions about hiring, promotion, and pay

represent a mandate to hire or promote specific numbers or proportions of women or minority group members

26. In determining the competitiveness of benefits, senior management tends to focus mainly on

worth

cost

security

value

27. In _____, workers have been fired for refusing to quit smoking, for living with someone without being married, drinking a competitor’s product, motorcycling, and other legal activities outside of work. 

constructive discharge

lifestyle discrimination

invasion of privacy

defamation

28. Mary arrives at her new job. Before she can begin actually doing the work, she must complete a series of activities including role playing and virtual reality interactions. What type of training method does Mary’s new employer use?

Simulation

On-the-job training

Information presentation

Organizational development

29. If objective performance data are available, which of the following is the best strategy to use? 

summated rating scales

BARS

work planning and review

MBO

30. ___________ is the process where managers provide feedback to the employees regarding their past and present job performance proficiency, as well as a basis for improving performance in the future.

Placement

Recruiting

Performance management

Selection

Assignment: Design of Ethics Program 
In a 5–7 page document, outline an ethics program designed for a new company. Tables 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, and 5.12 in PDF Attachment will provide assistance with the elements that you choose to include.
Guide on how to complete the Assignment:
The “outline” required for should be presented in standard written format, i.e. not in an outline format. If for example I am asked to outline the most important factors of parenting I might provide the following. 

The most important factors of parenting are structure, safety, nurture, and guidance. These factors help to ensure that the child will grow up to be well rounded and mentally balanced. Blah, blah, blah. NOTICE: these are my primary points of interest. The remainder of the paper will discuss why these four points are important, how they may impact the child now and in the future, etc. 

Thus there should be a discussion of the points that you deem are important in an ethics plan, and not just a list of bullet points.
The document is to be well-referenced and in APA format.
APA Required Format as follows.
References listed on the Reference page should be cited in the text. Please use in-text citations, consistent with APA formatting. In-text citations give credit to other authors and highlights areas in the paper that are explicitly not your original work. Content requires, “References are applied substantively to the paper topic”. Absent in-text citations, the paper does not address this content requirement. Similarly, Analysis requires a demonstration of, “strong higher-order critical thinking and analysis”. If your thoughts and analysis are not distinguished from those of other authors, assessing your analytical ability is difficult. The following formatting issues should be addressed for future papers: APA formatting requires a title page, there should be a page break to separate the reference page from the body of the text, and include a running header. Separate paragraphs with indentions. Indented paragraphs increase the quality of the content and readability of the paper the text should be double spaced and new paragraphs should be indented. Your score for this paper was based on the following rubric: 
Direct quotes may constitute no more than 10-15% of student papers and assignments. Excessive quotation – more than 15% – does not reflect the student’s original thinking. Submissions with excessive quotation will be marked down for lack of originality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History Homework

Name

Institution

Course

Date

 

 

 

 

                                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In our modern world, we like to boast and explain how science has greatly benefited the public via its various interventions. In many occasions, we adore the innovation but fail to give credit to the inventors. For instance, we argue how various types of X-ray machines detect flaws in bones and metal elements lodged in them. However, what we fail to realise is that these scientific innovations began a long time ago in the times of our great ancestors.  Therefore, there are many scientific innovations discovered in the pre-1700 period that positively transformed the health industry and ought to be remembered.

The period before the 1700’s is commonly referred to as the age of reasoning or the enlightenment period. It is the name that has historically been used to refer to the time in America and Europe when man was awakening from centuries of blindfolding ignorance into a new age of knowledge by science, reason and respect for the inherent nature that makes us respect humanity.  Such an argument arises from the fact that individuals from this period became fully convinced that their human reasoning capacities had the power to do three essential tasks. These were the power: to discover the world’s universal or natural laws, determine man’s natural rights and further their knowledge where both their moral values and technical achievements could be realized.

The technological innovations and advancements of the age of reason were made possible by the various factors that motivated people to innovate. This is to say that every innovation aimed at solving a problem that was common among peoples of the Enlightenment period. For instance, politically, wars motivated the need for weaponry as well as the need to come up with the mechanisms of saving wounded soldiers. Similarly, the epidemics that arose due to interactions between soldiers of this period, their war enemies and looted women created the need for physicians of the time to create joint efforts in order to end such epidemics. A good example is the Japanese Influenza epidemic that arose during the war. Economically, trade generated wealth. It came with a social class of people who had more privileges than others. It also socially structured the communities by placing each member according to their stature. It is commonly uttered that necessity motivates inventions. The superiority of inferiority of these social classes motivated individuals into going the extra mile in seeking any solution that could move them from a lower social strata to a higher one. Furthermore, these social and economic stratification reinforced the need for a joint religion, a fact that further paved way for advancements in literature. It was then after literature establishments that major technological innovations of the time were made and advanced over time.

In 1590, Zacharias Janssen invented the first microscope. He made this invention while comparing the power of different lengths sizes and curvature. Having been a lens maker, many scholars believe that Zacharias might have acquired some hints concerning the microscope from the works of his aging father, Hans. Hans was also a single lens maker apprenticing his son.

 Even though the invention of the first microscope was ridiculed by most of the health practitioners of the time, it later became to be recognized as a breakthrough in the field of medicine for both physicians and patients. This is because the physicians of the time firstly used it in different ways, all leading to the improvement of health services and patient health outcomes at the time (Hadju, 2002). For instance, they first used it to study the fossils of different organisms, their diatoms and later moved to study and analyse the first notable cells of the organisms.  Later, lab researchers could use it in pathology, whereby they examined the chemical properties, such as the presence or absence of certain properties in the selected pathogen specimens. By analyzing the pathological nature of most of the visible disease-causing microorganism, researchers were able to make treatment recommendations (Hadju, 2002).  As a result, many disease-causing microorganisms and parasites such as tapeworms, roundworms, liver flukes and many others were identified. The latter opened a chance for the quest of finding cures to most of the infections caused by such microorganisms. Furthermore, as the researchers in the laboratory kept of identifying these pathogens, their treatment options were also being discovered (Hadju, 2002).  Consequently, the health outcomes of the patient’s improved. The latter owes to the fact that the rate at which patients were diagnosed and cured increased, hence improving the clinical outcomes of patients in the pre-1700 period.

The greatest and most significant influence of the first microscope was achieved when its advanced version allowed doctors to examine the anatomy of both animals and humans.  This is because the greatest invention of it centred on the anatomy of the heart and kidney. By learning how the heart, the blood vessels and the kidney functioned, the search for curative medicine to cure deceases that afflicted these parts began. Moreover, the physiological functioning of these major organs were determined, making it easy for doctors to diagnose their related infections and even give safety procedures to avoid their re-infection.

Another advancement of the age of reasoning was in surgery. In the middle ages, surgery was used as the last resort to any medical ailments. According to Starthan, (2005) this was because after trying all possible cures to certain diseases and wounds, the surgeons and doctors had nothing else but to amputate the infected part and save the patient. Furthermore, other cultures such as the Egyptian had even learned how to cure migraines by drilling a hole in the skull of agonizing patients. However, this was partial amputation and the instruments for complete amputations were yet to be advanced.   Consequently, the Omate bow frame amputation saw was invented in the 1500s (Starthan, 2005).  This discovery completely changed the way surgery was done. As a result, patients suffering from acute infections that spread to other body parts and infected them were saved by the Omate bow framed amputation saw. Furthermore, this discovery was very important because it simplified the art of surgery. By uniformly applying force, physicians could reduce the time taken to amputate an infected hand, food or cut across any bone. Furthermore, the lesser the time of amputation, the less the pain endured by the patient. According to Carlisle, (2004) this invention was so powerful and handy due to its simple make up. It only consisted of two metals that could be easily sterilized for safe medical operations. It also remained in existence for more than two hundred and fifty years saving the lives of patients with rotten wounds (Carlisle, 2004). 

Furthermore, the invention of surgical bow framed also motivated the need to make patients more conformable and reduce the pain of the surgical processes. This was later was improved via the use of anaesthetics. For instance, anaesthesia-inducing substances such as opium, obtained from the poppy plant were discovered. Similarly, others such as strong wines were also used (Carlisle, 2004).  The idea behind their administration is that they were soaked in cotton and held over the patient’s nose to inhale them. Other anaesthesia soaked in these cotton rolls were termpentine, mandragora and hemlock juice.  How these substances numbed the patient’s sensory nerves made the experience of surgery less traumatising when compared to the past where patients almost fainted and died in the surgery process. They also advanced surgery to other parts such as the eyes, nose, head and ears. The latter led to the invention of ether as a pain reliever and chloroform in the early 1800s (Carlisle, 2004).  However, these inventions greatly saved the life of men who were maimed in war or those who faced tragic accidents. The latter progressed to the modern times where we no longer fear surgeries because that they are painless.

In 1656, Sir Christopher Wren invented the first intravenous blood transfusion. He performed this experiment by using a sharpened quill and an animal bladder attached to it. Even though the experiment was successful, it wasn’t adopted until Karl Landsteiner invented the blood typing system in 1900 (Carlisle, 2004). However, it did enlighten physicians that certain ailments could be cured and lives saved. The latter led to the many studies and experiment that successfully led to the first successful human intravenous injection in 1662 by J.D Major.

Furthermore, the first invention of the thermometer in 1593 by Galileo Galilei made it easy for physicians to measure patient’s temperatures (Starthan, 2005).  By comparing the temperature changes of patients, physicians of the time could not whether the patient was progressing well or not (Carlisle, 2004).  As soon as the patient’s temperature levels seemed to improve, the doctors were sure that the treatment option they used worked well and tried them on other patients. However, when the patient’s temperature recordings consistently remained abnormal, the doctors knew that the treatment option they used was not valid. Therefore, they kept on changing the treatment strategies until when the patient seemed to recover (Starthan, 2005). Through this single instrument, patient’s health outcomes were improved. Also, many lives were saved.

In conclusion. The pre-1700 period was revolutionised by many scientific discoveries. Examples of such were the discoveries of the first microscope, thermometer, surgery tools and the first intravenous injection technique. These innovations positively impacted patient’s lives and transformed the health industry, hence the need to be remembered.                                                               

 

 

                                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference List

Carlisle, R. P., & Scientific American, inc. (2004). Scientific American inventions and discoveries: All the milestones in ingenuity–from the discovery of fire to the invention of the microwave oven. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Eras, A. (1997). Pre-1600: Science, medicine, and technology overview. Retrieved from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2536600146.html

Hadju, S. (2002). The First Use of the Microscope in Medicine. Retrieved from:http://www.annclinlabsci.org/content/32/3/309.full

Strathern, P. (2005). A brief history of medicine from Hippocrates to gene therapy. London: Constable  & Robinson.

 

 

 

BMGT 495

Analysis of Mission and Vision Statements and the Company’s Strategic Direction (20%)

The Analysis of Mission and Vision Statements and the Company’s Strategic Direction paper is an individual assignment that focuses on the analysis of the mission and vision statement and strategic direction of a fairly well known company. Students should select from the list of companies below.

List of Company Selection:

· Arena Pharmaceuticals

· Office Depot

· Monster Worldwide

· The Washington Post

· Blackberry

· Education Management (EDMC)

· Eastman Kodak

· Sears

· JCPenney

· Best Buy

· Netflix

· Hewlett Packard

 

There are two parts to this assignment.  Part 1 focuses on the mission statement of the selected organization.  Part 2 focuses on the strategic direction of the selected organization.

Part 1:

·         Select an organization from the list above;

·         Research the organization’s website and identify the mission statement and vision statement;

·         Research the challenges the organization is facing consider the objectives the organization has established for revitalization;

·         Evaluate the mission and vision statements to determine whether these statements align with the objectives of the organization (this requires research to identify new objectives);

·         Using the Characteristics of the Mission Statement website http://www.zainbooks.com/books/management/strategic-management_6_characteristics-of-a-mission-statement.html

·         Create a three-column table in which you (1) list the salient characteristics of the mission statement; (2) identify those elements of the mission statement that comport with the characteristic from the article, and (3) provide any comments, recommendations, or criticism of the company’s mission statement.

·         The table should be no more than one page.

Part 2:

Students will identify strategies presented in this course that are currently being used by the company. The strategies should be identified and discussed at the corporate, business, and functional levels.

Required Elements to include in Strategic Analysis:

·         Identify strategies

·         Discuss strategies used at the corporate, business and function levels using the concepts learned in the course.

Required Formatting of Paper:

·         This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and four to five pages in length excluding the title page and reference page;

·         Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;

·         Use headings;

·         Write in the third person.

·         Include references with at least one reference other than the course material;

·         Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;

·         Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.

 

Financial Analysis Assignment (18%)

This assignment focuses on Dun and Bradstreet’s key business ratio analysis, a current financial situation analysis, and strategy development. 

Fourteen Key Business Ratios Used by D&B https://www.dnb.com/product/contract/ratiosP.htm

The Seven Key Ratios Used in Key Ratio Analysis

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Seven-Key-Ratios-Used-in-Key-Ratio-Analysis&id=5873597

Required Elements to include in Financial Analysis:

·         There are numerous qualitative and quantitative issues to address.  Develop a strategic plan addressing both qualitative and quantitative  issues;

·         Review the financial data provided at the end of the case study and calculate the key financial ratios important to Sheldon, potentially to his bank or other investors, and apply them to your analysis;

Required Formatting of Paper:

·         This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and five to six page written analysis excluding the title page, reference page and .spreadsheets;

·         Provide projections of the company’s financial position.

·         Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;

·         This paper should be written in the third person.

·         Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;

·         Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.

 

Final (Group) Project: Final Paper, Presentation, and Peer Assessment

This assignment is a group project. Students will be placed into groups consisting of four or five students each. Groups will be assigned early, and the expectation is that the groups will work on the various parts of the assignment as relevant material is covered throughout the course. The group will act as a self-directed team, and will therefore determine its own timetable, task list, guidelines for communication, goals, and so forth. As an individual member of the team, you are expected to participate fully in the project. Everyone in your group will receive the same grade for the project. However, if a student fails to contribute to the project, the student will earn a zero for the assignment and/or PowerPoint presentation.

Your group will create a strategic plan and present the plan in a professional manner. The plan requires a paper turned in to the Assignment Folder and a PowerPoint presentation that is presented in the last week of class.

Required Elements to include in Applied Final Project:

· The strategic plan should include:

Ø vision and mission

Ø background organization

Ø industry analysis

Ø competitive analysis

Ø financial analysis

Ø technique analysis (using one technique from week 4)

Ø alternative strategy generation

Ø SWOT analysis

Ø strategy and prioritization selection

Ø action plan

Ø evaluative plan

·         Identify strategies

·         Discuss strategies used at the corporate, business and functional levels using the concepts learned in the course.

Required Formatting of Paper (Due in Assignment Folder –Week 8):

·         This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and no more than 15 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page;

·         Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;

·         Include a reference page;

·         This paper should be written in the third person.

·         Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;

·         Submit in Assignment Folder