How does UPS use information      systems technology to achieve its strategic goals of being more efficient      and customer oriented? 

  
It is important to understand what information systems are and why they are essential for running and managing a business. It is also important to understand the different systems that support different groups or levels of management. In addition, digital technology and the Internet play a key role in executing major business processes in the enterprise. Also, it is important to understand the ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems. 
The case studies below provide you with an opportunity to critically analyze events that are taking place in real-life businesses. This helps to develop your critical thinking and research skills as you research each of these scenarios. You will review each case study, and provide a thorough analysis of each that demonstrates critical thinking and application of the concepts like
Information Systems in Global Business Today 
Global E-business and Collaboration 
Chapter Case, Big Data and the Internet of Things Drive Precision Agriculture
Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy 
Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Read the case study “UPS Competes Globally with Information Technology,” and write an analysis that addresses the following: 

How does UPS use information      systems technology to achieve its strategic goals of being more efficient      and customer oriented? 
What would happen if the      automated package tracking system was not available? Discuss how      globalization has “flattened” the world. 

Read the case study “The City of Mississauga Goes Digital” and write an analysis that addresses the following: 

Describe the problems the      City of Mississauga hoped to address using digital technology.
What technologies did      Mississauga employ for a solution? Describe each of these technologies and      the role each played in a solution.
What management,      organization, and technology issues did the City of Mississauga have to      address in developing a solution? How did the technologies in this case      improve operations and decision making at the City of Mississauga? 

Read the case study “Shipping Wars,” and write an analysis that addresses the following: 

Why is shipping so important      for e-commerce? Explain your answer. 
Compare the shipping      strategies of Amazon, FedEx, and UPS? How are they related to each      company’s business model? 
Will FedEx succeed in its      push into ground shipping? Why, or why not?

Read the case study “Your Smartphone: Big Brother’s Best Friend” and write an analysis that addresses the following: 

Describe how new technology      trends may cause ethical dilemmas. 
Discuss at least one ethical,      social, and political issue raised by embedded cyber connections in smart      devices. 
Discuss how big data      analytics are being applied to all of the data generated by smart vehicles      and other smart devices. 

Submit all four case analyses in a single paper. When constructing your paper, do not use the question-and-answer format; instead, present a thorough and insightful analysis using strong arguments and evidence as you apply course concepts. Your final submission must be an APA formatted paper of at least five pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages). You are required to use a minimum of two peer-reviewed, academic sources that are no more than 5 years old (one may be your eTextbook) in each of the four analyses. All sources used, including the eTextbook, must have citations and references properly formatted in APA style
eTextbook used is
Management Information Systems
Kenneth C. Laudon; Jane P. Laudon

What value does the company deliver to the customer?

Overview
Raising money to invest in innovation is hard. Companies both large and small work to strike a balance between executing an existing business model and thinking ahead to advance their business. As individuals think critically about how their business should move forward, they should first get a 360-degree view of their environment. This journey starts with research on the current state of the business and critical thinking questions that can help leaders drill down deeper.
Prompt
In this blog post, you will take on the role of the recently-promoted chief innovation officer (CIO) of an established U.S.-based company of your choosing. It is within your responsibilities to discover new ways to improve an existing product or service in North America, or to introduce a new product or service to the market that will give the company a market edge over competition and fit within the company’s core competencies. For the purposes of this blog post, and for this entire course, you will do the latter.
The new product or service must be something that cannot be easily duplicated and takes into account consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). If a consumer doesn’t have a problem or need for the product or service offered, they will not be willing to exchange money for the solution.
The first step of such an undertaking requires research and an examination of the selected company’s financials and current resources. Moreover, this new product or service offering must leverage the strengths of the company.
Using MarketLine, Yahoo Finance, and the investor relations page on the company’s website, select and research an established company of your choice. Specifically, look at the company’s 10K Report with a focus on the company’s business in North America. You will continue to research and work with this company throughout this course in the milestones and project.
In your blog post, identify the company you researched and describe its potential new and unique product or service. Include an image of the company’s current SWOT from the Shapiro Library and address the following questions:

Value proposition: What is the company’s main business?

What value does the company deliver to the customer?

Profitability: Is the company currently profitable?
SWOT analysis strengths: What are the company’s main strengths to be leveraged to create a new product or service?
Product or service singularity: What is unique about the new product or service?
New product or service projections: How can the new product or service improve profitability? Note: this is an estimation based on research of the company’s current market position.

Guidelines for Submission

 Explain both the technical and the interpersonal processes as essential elements of providing quality health care. What is the synergy between them? What are the benefits and the challenges we must be aware of?

Before starting on any of the assignments. Please ensure that you check over the required readings and follow the directions as instructed.
Assignment Overview
In all settings, healthcare quality processes must be designed and implemented in a way that meets or exceeds the expectations of patients. Accreditation requirements must be met or exceeded as well, and all applicable laws must be obeyed. With the bar constantly being raised on the quality and safety indicators of patient outcomes and experiences, we must be prepared to provide consistently excellent patient care experiences, to only provide necessary services, and to do all of this at the lowest cost possible.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in cooperation with the Institute of Medicine, currently promotes six quality aims/dimensions for health care provision. Considered together, these six dimensions provide us with a timely framework to begin understanding the foundation of quality assurance in health care provision in both the public and the private sectors. The first Case allows you to explore what each of these six quality dimensions are, and understand how we assess them in terms of their quality indicators. Under this framework, the technical and interpersonal processes of providing health care come together—and we examine that interaction for both its benefits and its challenges.
Homework Case Assignment
Using the information in the required readings as well as some additional research in peer-reviewed sources, complete your Case Assignment by answering the following:
1.  Research and articulate the six current quality aims/dimensions of providing health care as promoted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Institute of Medicine.
2.  Provide a summary of how each of the six aims/dimensions are commonly assessed and then managed in terms of quality. What are the identified best practices for ensuring quality in each of the six dimensions? Be specific in your explanations.
3.  The Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) recognizes that health disparities impact the health status of different groups creating a higher rate of disease and increased rates of death and suffering.  AHRQ has developed specific health guidelines to combat these health challenges in an effort to improve health outcomes. Using the link below, choose two health programs and develop a short summary of the remediation efforts of for each and their effectiveness. https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/cultural-competence/research-protocol
4.  Explain both the technical and the interpersonal processes as essential elements of providing quality health care. What is the synergy between them? What are the benefits and the challenges we must be aware of?
Assignment Expectations
1.  Conduct additional research to gather sufficient information to support your analysis.
2.  Provide a response of 3-5 pages, not including title page and references.
3.  As we have multiple required items to be addressed herein, please use subheadings to show where you’re responding to each required item and to ensure that none are omitted.
4.  Support your paper with peer-reviewed articles and reliable sources. Use at least three references, and a minimum of two of these from peer-reviewed sources. For additional information on how to recognize peer-reviewed journals, see:Angelo State University Library. (n.d.). Library Guides: How to recognize peer-reviewed (refereed) journals. Retrieved from https://www.angelo.edu/services/library/handouts/peerrev.php
and for evaluating internet sources:Georgetown University Library. (n.d.). Evaluating internet resources. Retrieved from https://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content
5.  You may use the following source to assist in your formatting your assignment:Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General APA guidelines. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.
6.  Paraphrase all source information into your own words carefully, and use in-text citations.

Researchers often use a method called an experiment in order to study the causes of human and animal behavior. Design such an experiment based on a change in behavior you have observed in yourself or your roommates this past semester . What is the hypothesis you will test in your experiment?

Researchers often use a method called an experiment in order to study the causes of human and animal behavior. Design such an experiment based on a change in behavior you have observed in yourself or your roommates this past semester . (e.g., eating or sleeping habits, exercise regime, game playing, etc.). Select a behavior that you are particularly interested in studying, and then design the experiment to investigate a possible cause of that behavior. Address the following questions.

What is the hypothesis you will test in your experiment?
What are the independent and dependent variables?
Who will be the subjects or participants in your study?
What are the experimental and control group conditions? Here, you may assume that you have the resources necessary to conduct your experiment and that you can control, or manipulate, the environment of your subjects as necessary. For example, suppose your hypothesis is as follows: Higher levels of stress from a heavy course workload increase eating activity. Assume that you have the ability to control the workload, etc., of your subjects.
How will you assign your subjects to groups?
What are the possible results of your study, and what might these results indicate about your hypothesis?

In a multi-paragraph essay, describe your experiment and explain how you will conduct this experiment to test your hypothesis. Be sure to propose your hypothesis, and then describe the independent and dependent variables, the experimental and control conditions, the subject or participant groups, and the conclusions you can draw based on the results of your experiment. Include information from class materials and readings to support your discussion.

You are a medical professor in charge of creating college assignments and answers for medical college students. You design and conduct lectures, evaluate student performance and provide feedback through examinations and assignments. Answer each question separately. Include and Introduction. Provide an answer to this content

Researchers often use a method called an experiment in order to study the causes of human and animal behavior. Design such an experiment based on a change in behavior you have observed in yourself or your roommates this past semester (e.g., eating or sleeping habits, exercise regime, game playing, etc.). Select a behavior that you are particularly interested in studying, and then design the experiment to investigate a possible cause of that behavior. Address the following questions.

What is the hypothesis you will test in your experiment?
What are the independent and dependent variables?
Who will be the subjects or participants in your study?
What are the experimental and control group conditions? Here, you may assume that you have the resources necessary to conduct your experiment and that you can control, or manipulate, the environment of your subjects as necessary. For example, suppose your hypothesis is as follows: Higher levels of stress from a heavy course workload increase eating activity. Assume that you have the ability to control the workload, etc., of your subjects.
How will you assign your subjects to groups?
What are the possible results of your study, and what might these results indicate about your hypothesis?

In a multi-paragraph essay, describe your experiment and explain how you will conduct this experiment to test your hypothesis. Be sure to propose your hypothesis, and then describe the independent and dependent variables, the experimental and control conditions, the subject or participant groups, and the conclusions you can draw based on the results of your experiment. Include information from class materials and readings to support your discussion.

. Do not write who you are in the answer.

Read one of the articles from the professional, peer-reviewed journal articles provided in the Learn section of Module 1, Week 1. You will then write an article review based on your chosen article

Journal Article Review Assignment InstructionsOverviewFor this Journal Article Review Assignment, you will read one of the articles from the professional, peer-reviewed journal articles provided in the Learn section of Module 1, Week 1. You will then write an article review based on your chosen article. InstructionsYour Journal Article Review Assignment must be approximately 4–5 double-spaced pages (not including the title and reference pages) and must be created in a Microsoft Word document. Use the following guidelines to create your Journal Article Review Assignment: 1. Provide a title page in current APA format.Divide your summary into sections with the following Level One headings: Summary, Interaction, and Application (review the current APA Manual for guidance on levels of headings if needed). An abstract is not needed for this assignment. For more information on how the title page should look according to Liberty University Standards, please reference this website: 2. Develop a summary of the main concepts from the article. Do not duplicate the article’s abstract. If the article describes a research study, include brief statements about the hypotheses, methods, results, discussion, and implications. If any test measures or statistical methods used are given in the article, do not provide detailed descriptions of these. Short direct quotations from the article are acceptable, but avoid long quotations in a paper this size. This section is the foundation of your Journal Article Review Assignment (at least a third of your paper). Make sure that you include the core points from the article, even if it means a longer section. 3. In your own words, interact (in approximately 2 pages) with the article. Appropriate comments for this part of the Journal Article Review Assignment should include, but are not limited to: your initial response to the article, comments regarding the study’s design or methodology (if any), insights you gained from reading the article, your reasons for being interested in this particular article, any other readings that you may plan to do based upon having read the article, and other thoughts you have that might further enhance the discussion of your article. Your subjective comments in this section must be clearly tied to main points from the article, not peripheral ideas. You are highly encouraged to consider any other information from previous articles or textbooks you may have read in previous courses, or in other places you have encountered information relating to the themes in the article you are reviewing. For example, does the ACA Code of Ethics have anything to say about the themes being discussed in your journal article? Are there passages of Scripture that directly relate to the article? Are there ideas and concepts from previous courses you have taken in your program here at Liberty or elsewhere that relate to the article you have chosen? You are encouraged to include them, and make sure you include proper citations and references at the end of your Journal Article Review Assignment. The best papers from this assignment will be from students who share other ideas from at least two other academic sources (with proper citations) in this section, along with Scriptural insight.4. In your final section (in approximately 1 page) write how you would apply the information you have learned from this article to a particular counseling situation. This could be in a church or clinical session. Develop this section as if you are a clinician, or even a pastor, and your parishioner or client has come to you with a problem—grief, depression, substance abuse, infidelity, etc.—and is needing your help. Adequately describe the counseling scenario, including the presenting problem. Draw out concepts from the article and apply the concepts from this article to the scenario. Show the reader how you are expressly drawing from the journal article in this application section; be sure to cite correctly in current APA format. 

Clarence opened a farm supply store in Montana during the early 1940s. His neighbors in the county were also his customers. Every person who walked into his store felt comfortable. In fact, they would often sit, sip a cup of coffee, or shell some peanuts, and solve the world’s problems before loading up their purchases. Clarence prided himself on knowing what his customers needed to be successful farmers, and he freely gave them advice about which brand of flea dip would work best on their cattle and which tonic would help a colicky horse. By the time he retired, and his son Seth took over, the company had expanded to three stores in three towns and had 14 full-time employees. As a youth, Seth had attended the state college and earned a degree in agricultural business. When he took over the company in 1975, he eagerly applied what he had learned to the family business. He was convinced that technology was the key to success, not personal relationships. Over the years, he struggled to convert all his father’s old, handwritten records to electronic files. Eventually, he installed a completely computerized information system that tracked inventory, personnel, and accounts. He sometimes boasted about being an entrepreneur, but Clarence snorted at that term. “Just do what’s right for your customers, and you’ll be doing what’s right for yourself,” he would retort. When Seth retired in 2015, his daughter Kathy took over the company, which now had 23 stores with 228 employees in three states and one wholly owned subsidiary of 18 gas stations. Kathy’s vision involved offering a broader range of products than farm supplies. She wanted to sell the image of the family farm. Her stores stocked Western clothing; boots, hats, and jewelry; home furnishings; and even CDs featuring country music. Kathy found herself traveling extensively from the corporate office to the various stores. Finding time to manage everything was a problem, but she had a staff of 12 professionals in the corporate office to assist her. E-mail, laptops, and smartphones helped tremendously. Questions How did communication practices and expectations differ for Clarence, Seth, and Kathy? How do you think the management behaviors differed for the three owners? What contingency factors might each owner have faced while they managed the company?

 
Contemporary Communication Case Study  
Select ONE Case (1-1 – 1-3) from Communicating in Contemporary Organizations, Ch.1,  and discuss the communication problem stated in it, based on the concepts you learned from Module 1 readings and additional scholarly sources. Your response should be prompted by the questions for case analysis and include your main thesis, argumentation, and conclusion (2-3 paragraphs). Please remember to cite and reference your sources in APA 7 format.
Case 1-1
Women in the White House
During Barack Obama’s presidency, women on his staff were frustrated about their lack of influence. They were often outnumbered by men in meetings. They struggled to contribute to the conversation. When they did get a chance to speak, their contributions were often ignored, or a man would repeat the idea and get the credit.
To counteract this behavior and make their voices heard, the women used a strategy called amplification. “When a woman made a key point, other women would repeat it, giving credit to its author. This forced the men in the room to recognize the contribution—and denied them the chance to claim the idea as their own.”
President Obama soon noticed the technique. He began calling on women more, and the number of women staffers increased as well.
Questions

Why might women be reluctant to speak up in meetings?
What are the potential consequences of letting one demographic dominate workplace discussions and decisions?
What other strategies can people who have been traditionally underrepresented in the workplace use to make their voices heard?

Case 1-2
Ethics and Technology
Chris smiled as he received the analysis packet from his supervisor. He had been working from home for GEH Mortgage Company, analyzing mortgage applications, for the past 3 years. This particular application involved not just a home mortgage but also an entire farmstead, a home and business. Whenever he received an assignment, he did not know how to analyze, he would call on his friend Joel, whom he had known since high school, to help him accomplish such tasks. He compensated Joel, usually with a case of beer, when they got together on the weekends. Chris knew he could trust Joel to do a good job on the analysis, because Joel had double majored in finance and accounting at a regional university. Chris would then tailor the analysis according to the way the firm expected reports to be submitted. He quickly e-mailed the application packet to Joel.
Chris was perceived as one of the most dependable analysts in the division because of his past work, much of which had been farmed out to Joel. He had received accolades and raises as a result and was enjoying his successful career with the firm.
Questions

The method used by Chris is obviously successful, and the company is satisfied with the results. Is it just good business, or is there an ethical dilemma present?
Should Chris confess to his supervisor or just continue the successful deception?
What are the privacy issues, given that the information used in these analyses is proprietary and sensitive?
Does this activity fit the notion of plagiarism?
Do electronic communication and the telecommuting arrangement make Chris’s actions more likely than if he were in the office?

Case 1-3
Like Grandfather, Like Granddaughter?
Clarence opened a farm supply store in Montana during the early 1940s. His neighbors in the county were also his customers. Every person who walked into his store felt comfortable. In fact, they would often sit, sip a cup of coffee, or shell some peanuts, and solve the world’s problems before loading up their purchases. Clarence prided himself on knowing what his customers needed to be successful farmers, and he freely gave them advice about which brand of flea dip would work best on their cattle and which tonic would help a colicky horse. By the time he retired, and his son Seth took over, the company had expanded to three stores in three towns and had 14 full-time employees.
As a youth, Seth had attended the state college and earned a degree in agricultural business. When he took over the company in 1975, he eagerly applied what he had learned to the family business. He was convinced that technology was the key to success, not personal relationships. Over the years, he struggled to convert all his father’s old, handwritten records to electronic files. Eventually, he installed a completely computerized information system that tracked inventory, personnel, and accounts. He sometimes boasted about being an entrepreneur, but Clarence snorted at that term. “Just do what’s right for your customers, and you’ll be doing what’s right for yourself,” he would retort. When Seth retired in 2015, his daughter Kathy took over the company, which now had 23 stores with 228 employees in three states and one wholly owned subsidiary of 18 gas stations. Kathy’s vision involved offering a broader range of products than farm supplies. She wanted to sell the image of the family farm. Her stores stocked Western clothing; boots, hats, and jewelry; home furnishings; and even CDs featuring country music.
Kathy found herself traveling extensively from the corporate office to the various stores. Finding time to manage everything was a problem, but she had a staff of 12 professionals in the corporate office to assist her. E-mail, laptops, and smartphones helped tremendously.
Questions

How did communication practices and expectations differ for Clarence, Seth, and Kathy?
How do you think the management behaviors differed for the three owners?
What contingency factors might each owner have faced while they managed the company?

Is transparency the great equalizer?

Introduction     Is transparency the great equalizer? Our current government for one claim to be the most transparent administration ever.  The common argument involves whether full transparency is achievable without a self-service motivation behind it.  This discussion will explore the role of transparency in markets and the impacts on society.  The following areas will be discussed: (1) current trends, and (2) future research.
Current Trends      The concept of transparency and its impacts on society has been researched on numerous occasions.  Political figures, businesses, and governments tout their policies or financial decisions to their stakeholders as a sign of them being fully transparent in their dealings.  Edwards (2020) discusses transparency and its relationship with publicity as an underlining thought behind the concept of full transparency.  He further defines transparency and publicity in this way.  Transparency is generally associated with those who lead or govern and is used as a way to assign accountability to their actions.  Whereas publicity is a self-service act which is done to sway public opinion towards an idea or concept that is beneficial to the benefactor.  The current trend in discussing these two concepts is a term called promotional publicity which combines the idea that businesses are social actors, and they have a responsibility to respond to the market and society’s many demands for transparency.  The act of being transparent is supposed to be a formal nod towards certain moral and regulatory standards which will counter corruption while protecting citizens.      So, can you really quantity transparency and its impact on the markets and society?  My argument is that you can see the results (i.e., quantify them) of an organizations transparency decisions.  In Kempeneer’s (2021) research, it tries to do this very thing by evaluating the 2008 financial crisis as a case study.  The intent of this study was to determine how the use of big data played a role in making several wrong financial decisions.  Oftentimes data is presented to support transparency but if the benefactors mistrust the decisions or the process in formulating the data transparency will not be achieved.  Therefore, transparency can only be achieved through the confidence of the benefactor in the person or group presenting the data and not just based on self-service motivations.  Zook and Spangler (2023) supports my assertion that most benefactors accept big data when they trust the specific procedures that produces the outcome.Governments also play a vital role in determining how transparency impacts the markets and society.  Throughout this discussion, the concept of self-service has been presented to explain the motivations behind a benefactor’s use of transparency in their decisions.  In reviewing Marques et. al.’s (2021) study it supports my argument that transparency or an institutional void in transparency can impact the market and society.  This study examined the repercussions of a lack of transparency within the Brazilian economy that allowed unfair working conditions at the ground level to occur.  Since Brazil is an emerging economy, workers are not privy to numerous information streams (i.e., legitimate governmental regulations, social media, etc.) or regulatory guidance that allows them to combat faulty data masquerading as transparency efforts.  However, Brazil is not the only Government that touts transparency in their policy decisions.  Velut’s (2021) research examined transparency efforts in US trade policymaking.  A review of this study shows that during Barack Obama presidency (2009-2016), which claimed to be the most transparent ever, literally failed when it came to being transparent with their trade policy decisions.  As a result, US markets were negatively impacted by the constrained decisions made by the Obama administration.
Future Research     Based on my research, the role of transparencies in the market and on society is critical to stabilizing financial decisions made by business and individual benefactors.  The role of transparency in today’s markets and society is also a complex question.  Future research on the impacts of transparency is numerous in nature.  Edwards (2020) seeks further research that involves examining the compromises that a business or government makes in their own transparency decisions and whether they are self-serving.  Kempeneer’s (2021) believes that additional research in the areas of relational transparency would benefit society.  To combat institutional voids, Marques et. al. (2021) study supports the need for more research on the impacts of how transparency is influenced by governmental legislation.  This is in-line with Marques et. al.’s (2021) study which questions whether the current crisis in US trade policy will lead to more demands by US markets and society to be more transparent in future policy decisions.  Lastly, Zook and Spangler (2023) suggests that future efforts should focus not just on transparency practices but should also explore the organizational decisions-making process behind their independent decisions.   
References:Edwards, L. (2020). Transparency, publicity, democracy, and markets:  Inhabiting tensions through hybridity. American Behavioral Scientist, 64(11), 1531–1544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764220945350
Kempeneer, S. (2021). A big data state of mind:  Epistemological challenges to and transparency in data-driven regulation. Elsevier, 38(3), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2021.101578
Marques, L., Erthal, A., Silva da Costa Moreira Schott, C. & Morais, D. (2021). Inhospitable accessibility and blurred liability:  Institutional voids in an emerging economy preventing supply network transparency. BAR – Brazilian Administration Review, 18(2), 1-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1807-7692bar2021200078 
Velut, J. B. (2021). Transparency in us trade policymaking:  Inclusive design or exclusionary process. New Political Economy, 27(4), 567-580. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2021.1879764
Zook, M. & Spangler, I. (2023). A crisis of data? Transparency practices and infrastructures of value in data broker platforms. Annals of American Association of Geographers, 113(1), 110-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2022.2071201 

Analyze how an organization’s goals influence organizational planning that informs strategic decision making

The final project for this course is the creation of a decision-making and principles of management paper.
As you continue on your path to earn a degree in business administration, you will deepen your understanding of how effective management is a crucial aspect of overall business success, especially in today’s complex business world. As business and society continue to evolve, there will continue to be demand for managers who are able to organize their resources and strategically implement the functions of management to achieve the goals of an organization.
The final paper for the course is divided into two parts: Final Project One and Final Project Two. Both parts of the assessment will focus on decision making and the fundamental principles of management.
In Final Project One, you selected a successful company from the list provided in the Final Project One Document. You analyzed the company’s best practices and effective implementation of the fundamental principles of management.
In Final Project Two, with the help of your instructor, you will select a struggling company from the list provided below. You will analyze the company’s ineffective implementation of the fundamental principles of management. Once you analyze the struggling company, your task will be to make recommendations for a management improvement plan explaining how the company’s management team can improve in areas such as decision making, employee performance, and sustainability. Final Project Two consists of the selection of the struggling company (a non-graded task due in Module Five) along with one milestone, which will be submitted to scaffold learning and to ensure quality final submissions. This milestone will be submitted in Module Six. Final Project Two will be submitted in Module Eight.
In Final Project Two, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

?  OL-215-01: Analyze how an organization’s goals influence organizational planning that informs strategic decision making
?  OL-215-02: Analyze the functions of management and ethical principles for executing effective decision making in organizations
?  OL-215-03: Apply management techniques that ensure the continuous improvement of personnel and business processes to measure organizationalperformance
?  OL-215-04: Apply communication techniques aimed at increasing employee performance, thus achieving organizational goals and objectives
?  OL-215-05: Illustrate the important connection between management and organizational culture

Prompt
The general manager has reviewed your analysis of a successful company and was impressed with your work. As a result, you have been asked to provide recommendations for a management improvement plan for a struggling company.
For the second part of the final project, you will focus on a struggling company and make your recommendations in a management improvement plan. Be sure to focus on the company at the time of their struggle. Your recommendations will show how management performance, employee perception, and organizational success intersect. You must select a company from this list of suggested companies. Resources related specifically to the struggling companies listed are provided.
Enron

?  Enron Case Study – https://app.sophia.org/tutorials/enron-case-study
?  Enron Scandal (4:48) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PEnWd4MetY

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

Profile of a Struggling Company

Assess how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function. You could consider using the fundamental principles of management in your explanation.
Describe how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance. You could consider the connections between management and its impact on culture.
Explain how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance. You could consider the connections to specific communication barriers that exist within the organization.

Management Plan Recommendations: For this section of the summative assessment, you will make recommendations for the management improvement plan.

Describe how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within your company. You could consider the factors that interfere with or prohibit effective management.
Identify how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated to all personnel within the company. You could consider thinking about this from a training standpoint.
Describe how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance. You could consider what needs to improve the most to help increase employee performance.
Explain how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company. You could consider using the rational decision-making model to show how this process can help with ensuring long-term success.

Conclusion: For this section of the summative assessment, you will provide a summary of your recommended changes to the management improvement plan using examples revolving around the fundamental principles of management.

a. Summarize how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success. Be sure to provide examples of how these changes will have the most direct impact.
Milestones
Milestone One: Profile of a Struggling CompanyIn Module Six, you will submit a one- to two-page document that will provide a profile of your chosen struggling company. This milestone will serve as a rough draft and must cover the three critical elements in Part I of Final Project Two. You are expected to provide a minimum of two to three paragraphs for each of the three critical elements, which include: management planning, employee’s perception and organizational culture, and communication. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Two Milestone One Rubric.

Final Submission: Management Improvement Plan for a Struggling CompanyIn Module Eight, you will submit Final Project Two. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Two Rubric.
Final Project Two RubricGuidelines for Submission: Final Project Two must be three to four pages in length (plus a cover page and references) with double spacing, 12-point Times New
Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA formatting. Include at least two references cited in APA format.
Attached is the completed assignment for Module 6. Feedback from the instructor from module 6 is below:
“you did a good job with your assignment this week.  When you go back and make revisions to your work, make sure you are citing where you retrieved the information you noted in your work. I am looking at the first section of your paper. Other than that, it is perfectly fine”

You have been assigned a new case involving a family from a culture about which you know nothing, what can you do in preparation for your first meeting with the clients? What can you do in the initial session with the clients to enhance your relationship with them? How can you know what the experience was like for the client?

September 4 thru September 10, 2023 – An Ecological -Developmental Framework for Helping Children -TOPIC: CHALLENGES FOR PRACTITIONERS IN HELPING Based on your reading from Chapter 2 and other reading/videos reviewed please integrate the information and respond to the following questions. I.  Chapter 2, page 35, please respond to one (1) of the following questions: = 2.5 Pointsa) If you have been assigned a new case involving a family from a culture about which you know nothing, what can you do in preparation for your first meeting with the clients? What can you do in the initial session with the clients to enhance your relationship with them? How can you know what the experience was like for the client?or respond to:b) Suppose that in the case conference about Jose’ it becomes apparent that the foster care worker is vehemently opposed to the possibility of future family reunification following the mother’s discharge from prison. The school social worker, knowing how much Jose’ misses his mother continues to collaborate with the foster care worker in the face of this disagreement about goals. How would you reach a compromise? What things would you look at related to the best interest of Jose’? II. MANDATORY: Each Student will share her/his comments and impressions regarding the following YouTube video that you viewed last week entitled “What you can do to help: Uchenna| Umeh TedAlief . = 4.5 pts.Respond to this student response below. a) If you have been assigned a new case involving a family from a culture about which you know nothing, what can you do in preparation for your first meeting with the clients? What can you do in the initial session with the clients to enhance your relationship with them? How can you know what the experience was like for the client?If I was assigned a new case involving a family from a culture that I know nothing about, there are various ways that I can prepare for my first meeting with the clients. For example, I can do my own research about the individuals culture and understand the important aspects of their culture. At times, there can be gestures and words that are okay to say in one’s culture but in another person’s culture it might not be okay. An example of this is “in Iran and neighboring countries like Afghanistan, the thumbs-up is equivalent to the middle finger!” explains Dana Hooshmand, an author for Discover DiscomfortLinks to an external site., a language- and culture learning resource” (Jones, 2023). In the initial session with the clients in order to enhance my relationship with the client, it’s imperative that I make the client feel as comfortable as possible and allow them to tell me who they are, rather than me trying to say who I think they are based off my research. I should not step any boundaries but let my client know that I’m not there to judge them in any way but rather guide them in the most positive direction possible. After the meeting, there are many ways that I can know what the experience was like for the client. For example, the easiest way is for the client to tell me that they enjoyed the meeting or clients body language can be a cue as to whether they’re comfortable or not. Furthermore, at times clients will leave reviews on websites to ensure others know about their experience.Post the following in response to the “YouTube” video.ReferencesJones, Meghan. (2023, February 10). 10 common hand gestures that are rude in other countries. Reader’s Digest. Respond to this student’s response below- (student response 2)1a: As a social workers, you will be placed in various situations with clients from all walks of life. In this situation, how can a social worker address a client who comes from a culture different from their own? During the first session with this client, a few things need to be established. First, personal characteristics such as age, race, and gender should be defined. This provides the social worker with a good foundation for who this client is and can build from there. Secondly, a social worker should consider building a culturagram that defines the clients background, beliefs and values. Next, the social worker must consider their own self awareness. Even if unfamiliar with the culture the client has, it is important for a social worker to consider your own experiences, what you know of that culture and any information given by the client to make a connection to them. In recent years, social work programs have strived to bridge the game between cultures and backgrounds to prepare social workers for the field. Using those courses as well as understanding the NASW ethics regarding culture can help guide a social work through the process of growing their self awareness. Lastly, a social worker should emphasize with the client. The client needs to establish trust between themselves and the social worker. Feeling heard and understood can go a long way, especially in the first session. 2: Dr.Aimee had a lot to say about childhood trauma, most of which was incredibly impactful. Initially, her comparison of depression to “low hanging fruit” seemed dismissive, but as she went on to explain her reasoning for this, her thoughts on the topic rang true. Trauma can spark depressive thoughts, actions and feelings in all ages of people. It is isn’t limited to children. However, children often feel unheard during adolescence and struggle to trust those around them with these feelings. While depression is a leading cause of suicide in youth today, it is not the only factor, which she continues to explain. Guilt, shame and fear can also contribute to suicidal thoughts. It’s important to understand where these feelings are coming from and refrain from belittling a child who experiences them. While something small like watching a fight at school may seem normal for an adult, to a child that can be incredibly traumatic and set them off course. After the end of the video, I felt insightful and well informed. I was a crisis line operator before and I had to deal with calls from suicidal youth that struggled with depression while others struggled with the lingering feelings of a traumatic experience. People don’t often consider why someone may have these feelings. The thoughts of suicide may not even be tied to depression, so it was great to hear someone explain this in a way that continued the discussion. Lastly, I want to reinforce a factor of social work or mental health in general. I recently had a class discussion that focused on whether a person who has experienced a mental disorder or is currently in treatment for one can practice. It’s people like Dr. Umeh, people like me, who can use their trauma and their history to empathize and support support their clients. Trauma can be healed and in turn be used to help others heal and I think that’s a miraculous thing to see. Links to an external site.(2020). YouTube. Retrieved September 5, 2023, from  Post the following in response to the “YouTube” video.

Describe one of the current issues identified by State Boards of Nursing in the state you will be applying for your nursing license. Discuss how the nurse leaders and managers would educate the unit within the organization.

 
Directions:
Role of the Nurse Leader and Manager in Regulatory and Practice Standards
As a nurse leader or manager, you will be required to support the nurses on the unit to understand their role with regulation, practice standards, and mandatory reporting.
First Post
Describe one of the current issues identified by State Boards of Nursing in the state you will be applying for your nursing license. Discuss how the nurse leaders and managers would educate the unit within the organization.
Reply Post
Respond to at least one of your peers. Expand on your peer’s ideas.
Note:

“Expand on your peer’s ideas” needs more than 1 – 2 sentences for an acceptable reply.
If you refer to a website or article, be sure to cite it in APA format. This prevents plagiarism and allows your fellow students to review the cites and increase the class knowledge base.

Please make your initial post by midweek, and respond to at least one other student’s post by the end of the week. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.
 
(Notes: The state I will be applying for my nursing license is Minnesota).