Research Paper

The final assignment for the course will be a research paper.  The Research Paper will contribute 25% to the course grade.

Focus of the Research Paper

This final research paper must demonstrate the understanding of new learning in the field of project management and how it relates to purchasing and supply management.  This is an assignment with a length of 10 – 12 pages that should integrate the reading, multi-media, and class discussion boards.  It is mandatory to have research from the classroom text as well as at least five sources from reputable sources or online library to support your views.

Consider the validity of your resources carefully before using them in academic papers.  It is recommended to use examples from your professional experience where possible or build from your learning in the discussion boards.  Use at least one project of which you have been a team member or a project manager as an example to describe the topics below:

The following topics must be included in order for the paper to be complete:

• Summarize the concepts of procurement and contract management and the importance to the business world.
• Evaluate RFP selection tools and how to improve the assessment of proposals.
• Summarize the concept of procurement planning and evaluate the various strategies necessary for project success.
• Assess how to select the most qualified vendor in a proposal.
• Appraise the contract and in particular, the legal aspects of procurement within the contract.
• Compare the critical elements of a contract including relationships between the client, supplier, completion terms and payment terms.

The final Research Paper for the course must be submitted by 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 Research Paper

The Paper:

• Must be 10 – 12 double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.
• Must include a cover page that includes:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.
• Must use at least four scholarly sources, including a minimum of two from the Ashford Online Library, in addition to the textbook.
• Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources.
• 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 5: A Household Name

Due Week 10 and worth 150 points

One of the ultimate goals of marketing is to generate sales and translate the message or product into something the targeted market embraces.

 

Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:

1. Argue the significance or need of a salesperson to push products. Address whether or not the type of product makes a difference with an example.
2. Consider the expectation of a sales professional and discuss if this is a position you would be interested in. Provide support for the claims you make regarding the career.
3. Develop a policy that you would use to ensure you remain ethical in your advertising activities.
4. Compare and contrast public relations, publicity, and corporate advertising, and discuss the value each presents along with an example for each one that you think has been executed well.
5. Think about the role of publicity and speculate whether or not you think publicity will be impactful in the future. Be sure to discuss what factors you considered when developing your response.
6. Use at least five (5) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

For this assignment, you will write an essay that evaluates the effectiveness of an argument by examining the choices the author has made in order to convince a general reader. Examining a written argument gives you practice in three main areas: 1) Reading closely and carefully; 2) Learning to detect the strategies used to “sell” you on an idea, thus giving you a better vantage point from which to judge the motives behind and credibility of various texts; and 3) Learning various strategies of argumentation to integrate into your own writing in order to make your own writing more persuasive. A rhetorical analysis essay requires that you decide whether or not the argumentative techniques used in an essay effectively convince readers. Your opinion on the topic is irrelevant in a rhetorical analysis, but your opinion about the quality of the of the author’s argument is very important in a rhetorical analysis.

 

Pick 3 to analyze the essay

Analogy, anecdote, assertion, authority, allusion, ethos, pathos, or logos.

 

 

2 PAGES LONG

 

Speech: A More Perfect Union- Barack Obama

Report 8 (this company is VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC)

This report summarizes your findings from the data presented in Report 7, and examines in depth any salient features of that data.

Audience: Think of this as a report for potential investors from a disinterested advisor. You are not trying to sell the company, rather you are giving an objective overview in the following order:

Introduce your company and give a little background about its history and performance.

Summarize how your company’s stock performed relative to the S&P 500 over the entire period, and how your company performed in the recession and recovery. Be sure to refer to the relevant graphs and/or tables explicitly. Discuss any other salient features of your company revealed in the data. You should refer to each graph and table at least once. For example, did your company stop paying dividends? If so, try to find out why. Does your company have a usually high or low Tobin’s Q value? If so, try to investigate what might be behind this measure. Identify any events or developments that help explain sharp decreases or increases in your company’s stock over the period, as identified in your first graph. You may also look at daily stock data from wrdrs site, if there was a particular news event that impacted your company’s stock. You may add a graph depicting daily stock movements to enhance your explanation.

Briefly conclude where you think this company is headed. If you dare, predict the stock return in the coming years.

We will discuss the many possible resources for this report in class. General Guidelines: Maximum length 2 pages, double spaced, with normal 12 point font, not including outside sources which should be cited in standard format. When you refer to or quote a specific reference, give enough detail to find the source in your citations. Don’t use footnotes, since this is only a short paper. For example, you may write: According to the Wall Street Journal (Sept. 24, 2011), Company X fired their chief executive office, Jane Doe, causing a sharp increase in stock price we can see in Figure 1 between September and October 2011.

Then list the Wall Street Journal article by name, date, and author in a list of your sources at the end.

Original work only no plagarism …..

Assignment 4: Presenting for the Future

Due Week 10 and worth 150 points

In this last assignment,you will present on the issue you identified in Assignment 1 and provide your recommendations to improve or resolve the issue.

Create a ten to twelve (10-12) slide presentation in which you:

1. Create a title slide and references section (as indicated in the format requirements below).
2. Narrate each slide, using a microphone, indicating what you would say if you were actually presenting in front of an audience. Note: If you do not have access to a microphone, then you should provide detailed speaker notes with your presentation.
3. Summarize the issue you selected in Assignment 1..
4. Summarize the primary ways that organizational, human, and budget resources impact the issue.
5. Summarize the primary ways that policy and politics impacts the issue.
6. Summarize the ethical concerns surrounding the issue.
7. Summarize the relationship of constitutional law to the issue.
8. Provide two (2) recommendations to resolve or improve the issue.
9. Include at least four (4) peer-reviewed references (no more than five [5] years old) from material outside the textbook. Note: Appropriate peer-reviewed references include scholarly articles and governmental Websites. Wikipedia, other wikis, and any other websites ending in anything other than “.gov” do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Include a title slide containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The title slide is not included in the required slide length.
• Include a reference slide containing the sources that were consulted while completing research on the selected topic, listed in APA format. The reference slide is not included in the required slide length.
• Format the PowerPoint presentation with headings on each slide, two to three (2-3) colors, two to three (2-3) fonts, and two to three (2-3) relevant graphics (photographs, graphs, clip art, etc.), ensuring that the presentation is visually appealing and readable from 18 feet away. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Slides should abbreviate the information in no more than five or six (5 or 6) bullet points each.
• Slide titles should be based on the criteria being summarized.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Format the PowerPoint presentation with headings on each slide and three to four (3-4) relevant graphics (photographs, graphs, clip art, etc.), ensuring that the presentation is visually appealing and readable from 18 feet away. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a title slide containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The title slide is not included in the required slide length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Reconstruct the historical development of the field of public administration.
• Rearrange public administration, both the traditional and the new approaches, from structural, functional, and process perspectives, as well as the key goals of the public and private sector.
• Evaluate the role and functions of public administration as it relates to executive branches of government and public policies at federal, state, and local levels.
• Organize the concepts of public budgeting and policy formation essential to the study of public administration as it relates to political choice.
• Organize the concepts of planning and human resource management essential to the study of public administration as it relates to political choice.
• Compose the concepts of public leadership and management essential to the study of public administration.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in public administration.
• Write clearly and concisely about public administration using proper writing mechanics.

Click here to access the rubric for this assignment.

Select an assessment from Chemical Dependency: A Systems Approach with faculty approval and administer the instrument to someone you know who drinks, uses drugs, or both.

Provide an analysis regarding the following:

• Identify what assessment was used.
• Did you find the assessment useful?
• What additional questions might need to be asked to accommodate particular special populations?
• Include a summary of findings and a recommendation for treatment options.
• Do not disclose the interviewee’s identity in your analysis.
• Include peer-reviewed research as support for your answer.

The Reflective Paper should demonstrate understanding of the reading assignments as well as the implications of new knowledge. The eight-page paper should integrate readings and class discussions into work and life experience. It may include explanation and examples from previous experience as well as implications for future application.

The purpose of the Reflective Paper is for you to culminate the learning achieved in the course by describing your understanding and application of knowledge in the field of human resource management.

 

Focus of the Reflective Paper

The primary function of human resource management is to increase the effectiveness and contribution of employees in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. Consider all the areas of HRM that have been discussed in class:

• EEO and Affirmative Action,
• Human resources planning, recruitment, and selection,
• Human resources development,
• Compensation and benefits,
• Safety and Health, and
• Employee and labor relations.

Submit a Reflective Paper in which you explain how these aspects work together to perform that primary function. Are any aspects more important than the others? Why or why not? How do you believe the HRM role can be optimized for shaping organizational and employee behavior?

The Reflective Paper must: (a) identify the main issues in the chosen area, (b) demonstrate new learning that has occurred, (c) include class activities or incidents that facilitated learning and understanding, (d) identify specific current and/or future applications and relevance to your workplace, and (e) reflect the potential impact to your future career plans or even in your personal life at home. The emphasis of the Reflective Paper should be on parts ‘d’ and ‘e,’ and on the application of new learning. Explore, in depth, the benefits of the new learning and understanding that has taken place.

 

Writing the Reflective Paper

The Reflective Paper:

• Must be seven to eight double-spaced pages in length, excluding the cover page and reference page, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in your approved style guide.
• Must include a cover page that includes:
  • Name of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course number and name
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.
• Must use at least one scholarly source, in addition to the text.
• Must use APA style as outlined in your approved style guide to document all sources.
• Must include, on the final page, a Reference List that is completed according to APA style as outlined in your approved style guide.

Locate a state or local news report about a press release from your state or local government.

Write a paper of no more than 1,250 words that completes the following:

• Explain the role of the media in the dissemination of the press release.
• Describe key interest groups and their agendas in relation to the press release.
• Identify if the press release should be informative, persuasive, or a combination, and explain how this choice affects agenda setting.
• Identify the main points and subpoints of the press release.
• Identify the key points and subpoints as those of value or are fact based.
• Outline possible venues for delivery of the press release.
• Evaluate the effect of the media in agenda setting and public opinion.
• Identify the pros and cons of public relations.

you are the HRIS coordinator in the human resources department. As such, you enter data, run reports, and maintain the system. The HRIS system you are using is ten years old, located on a single computer, and not networked. You have been given a budget and approval to recommend a new system. Conduct academic research on HRIS software selection process.

In a 2-3 page report, prepared in APA style with at least two references, do the following:

• Define the processes you think the new system should be able to perform
• Describe why the system should be networked and available on the company server or in the cloud
• Explain how the new system will save money over the next two years