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Paper Instructions:

Widgetco, Inc. has been highly successful over the past several years in making widgets.  As the company has grown, new people, new computers, new everything has been put in place.  One of the key challenges has been trying to ensure that everyone is paid correctly, performance evaluations are done in a timely fashion, and human resource metrics are captured in such a way as to frame efforts at retention and minimization of employee turn-over.  Widgetco, Inc. is great at making widgets, but as the company has grown, hasn’t been so great about taking care of employees.

They are bringing you in as a consultant to recommend a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) as a computer platform to help them work with their employees better.  Your job is to note what they are deficient at (as identified above) and then find a system through your research on the Internet that might best meet their needs that is easy to use, low-cost, and lets them focus on making widgets, but taking care of people too!

So, based off of the challenges they face, design a presentation using either Animoto (www.animoto.com), Prezi (www.prezi.com), or PowerPoint that identifies the correct HRIS system for them to use and explains the reasons why the choice is clear.  Remember you are a consultant, and create a presentation that would be designed to be given to the owners/key management of Widgetco, Inc. to help sell your solution.  You should target around 10 slides worth of content in whatever form you decide to present in.

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Paper Instructions:

Compare and contrast the views of management and accountants regarding the changes required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on internal controls and how these changes have affected corporations, accounting firms, and investors.

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Paper Instructions:

You are the hiring manager at a major home improvement retailer, Home Improvement Center, and need to fill a position for an exempt-status night shift supervisor. The applicants should have retail business experience, preferably in housewares, and at least some supervisory experience. You are looking for someone to fill third shift from 10 P.M.-6 A.M. There may be heavy lifting involved. Your company offers the industry standard for salary, benefits, and growth opportunities.

Write a comprehensive job description for this position that will help you prepare for the interview process and address any questions you might receive from applicants. Be sure to apply the guidelines for writing job descriptions you learned in your readings. You are also encouraged to conduct your own outside research on a major home improvement center and O*Net to help you complete this activity.

To successfully complete the assignments, you must meet the following minimum requirements:

Write a comprehensive job description using the information provided.
Apply the guidelines for writing job descriptions, as presented in your reading assignments this week.
Conduct your own outside research to help you create a more realistic job description.
Include a reference page to give credit to your sources.


Tips for Project Success  

Make sure that you include all basic categories for the job description. Research for the industry will be required. Your job description needs to be realistic! Please note this is NOT a job advertisement. Cite and reference sources and include your name on the paper.



Instructions:

This job description should not exceed 3 pages in length including the reference page. (Format: 12 point, single space, Times New Roman font). 
Please refrain from using a cover sheet (save the trees).
Insert your name as a header on each page. 
I will post a rubric, but here's something important to know - SPELLING and CORRECT WORDS are very important to me! 

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Paper Instructions:

Analyzing the internal environment 
Analyzing the external environmentand a few more considerations from the later chapters.
More comprehensive examination of the financial situation of the company 
Consideration of other strategy choices, or competing internationally or adding a diversification strategy

For the financial analysis:
Present one or more ratios to represent each of the four areas of financial analysis:
Profitability (more than Gross Profit Margin)
Liquidity
Leverage (what I call Risk)
Activity (what I call Efficiency)

Then, present a minimum ½ page discussion of the company’s financial situation, using ratios to evaluate the company’s profitability, liquidity, leverage and activity. 

Of course, most of these ratios are meaningless by themselves; they only have meaning as a comparison.  You must therefore compare the Nucor  ratios to one of three choices:

Where the company is now versus where it has been over time (last two years), or
The industry averages for the ratios, or
A significant rival’s ratios

The ratios and financial information should be in the Appendix so you have all the five pages of the report for your analysis and recommendation. The financial analysis should be a significant part of your internal analysis – What could be more important about a company’s strengths and weaknesses?

You are a consultant hired by the executive leadership of Nucor. Based on your analysis, you recommend to the company’s leadership what they should do strategically. Then, support your strategic recommendation. Why is it the best solution to the significant problem you have identified? Your recommendation should have as foundation at least 1-2 internal factors and at least 1 -2 external factors.  You can mix and match - what strengths should Nucor use to take advantage of an opportunity; or what opportunity should they take to solve one of its weaknesses.  What strengths could the company use to mitigate a threat; or what weaknesses must the company address so they do not fall victim to the threats facing the industry?

Yes - this is a SWOT analysis.  And the true payoff of SWOT analysis is learning enough to develop a strong strategic approach to gaining competitive advantage..

Problem Statement: State the main problem facing the firm (or industry) in one, succinct sentence.
Analysis: Summarize the main findings of your analysis. You may use bullet points, bold, italics – any means to convey and highlight the key factors you have determined based on your analysis. Don’t repeat items from the body of your report like the SWOT.  Summarize the major issues.
Alternatives: State briefly (one sentence or a bullet point each) 2 or 3 alternative courses of action that could be implemented
Recommendation: Choose one course of action and support your choice.
Implementation: Briefly (1 or 2 sentences are sufficient) present how the plan would be implemented.  This tests the viability of the choice.  For example, your plan would demonstrate that the company has the people, financial resources and time to implement your recommendation.

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Paper Instructions:

Businesses can have both positive and negative effects on the surrounding communities. Comment on both sides of the business/community relationship, illustrate with examples (one illustrating a positive impact; one illustrating a negative impact). Support your essay with examples clearly identifying the stakeholders affected (social and/or non-social).

Also, please identify at least two related ethical theories from the table of ethical theories

Follow APA citations and make sure to provide in text citations

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Paper Instructions:

Benchmark - Sales Results Excel Spreadsheet and PowerPoint Presentation

The purpose of this assignment is to utilize Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint to create a business presentation.

Part 1

As a sales manager at Sturgeon Point Productions, you are required to report your sales numbers weekly and share them with the vice president of sales. Create an Excel spreadsheet that provides the following information.

Total sales for each type of video.
Total sales of all videos.
Percentage of total sales for each type of video.
A chart that summarizes the sales data.
The data needed for the spreadsheet is as follows.

Pilates sold 156 videos at $29.99 each.
Step sold 392 videos at $14.99 each.
Weight Training sold 147 videos at $54.99 each.
Kickboxing sold 282 videos at $29.99 each.
Yoga sold 165 videos at $34.99 each.
In addition to the spreadsheet content, the spreadsheet will be assessed on the following criteria.

Use of appropriate worksheet, column, and row titles.
Correct use of formulas.
Use of chart title.
Appropriate labels on X and Y axis of chart.
Part 2

Create a 5-slide PowerPoint presentation based upon the Excel spreadsheet you created in Part 1 of this assignment. Utilize the chart from the spreadsheet as a graphic element on at least one slide in the presentation. The presentation should summarize the following information for the vice president of sales.

Total sales for each type of video.
Total sales of all videos.
Percentage of total sales for each type of video.
In addition to the content, the presentation will be assessed on the following criteria.

Slide structure includes correct use of bullet points and the 6 x 6 rule.
Slide appearance includes consistent theme, text alignment, readable font, clear photos/charts, and wise use of transitions/effects.
Slide content is accurate, concise, and focused on a single topic.
Use of chart enhances the presentation and illustrates slide information.
Slide spelling, grammar, and formatting are error-free.
Speaker notes are appropriate for explaining slide content and add details not presented on the slide.
Submit the Excel spreadsheet and PowerPoint presentation.

Refer to the resource, "Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations," located in the Student Success Center, for additional guidance on completing this assignment in the appropriate style. 

While GCU style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using GCU formatting guidelines, which can be found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. 

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. 

You are not required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:

BS Business Secondary Education

7.1: Demonstrate computer literacy skills.

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Paper Instructions:

The purpose of this assignment is to increase your ability to analyze business strategies of organizations.  Business strategy focuses on the strategy of individual businesses. Strategic analysis is critical for analyzing the competitive context in which an organization operates and for making reasoned and reasonable recommendations for how that organization should position itself and what actions it should take to maximize value creation. Actions taken by firms to improve competitive position engender responses by other firms, and the expected sequence of actions and responses must be understood to develop an effective strategy.

This assignment presupposes a working knowledge of business strategy and analytical techniques and quantitative tools. This paper will focus on critical evaluation of business strategies of three companies of your choice.

Using the framework of strategic analysis (e.g. Blue Ocean) students will select three strategies from three different companies, operating in different industries (the third being your current/past employer/ intern provider). In a 15-20 page paper, students will:

• Identify the companies
• Provide company profile
• Describe market/ industry strategy with supporting research
• Critically analyze the competitive strategy of each company in a socially  appropriate manner
• Suggest recommendations for strategic value innovation

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Paper Instructions:

Addiction Treatment Plan
For this assignment, you will use the same case selected for Unit 5 assignment and analyze the sections of the treatment plan template. This treatment plan will address both the addiction and any co-occurring mental health diagnoses identified in Unit 5 assignment. The conclusions reached in Unit 5 assignment regarding the specific DSM-based diagnoses, strengths, and challenges should take into consideration any feedback from your instructor. Make any needed revisions to Unit 5 assignment before developing the treatment plan. Include your revised assessment summary (the last section of Unit 5 assignment) as part one of this assignment. Follow the template provided to formulate a treatment plan for your selected case.

Assignment Instructions
Identify a specific counseling theory that will guide interventions to work with the client and family system.
Analyze the cultural considerations for the case and how the theory will guide multicultural appropriate application.
Based upon the assessment summary, analyze the appropriate level of care.
Analyze systemic interventions addressing how to include the primary support persons in treatment.
Analyze referrals that may be needed and a plan to coordinate with other treatment professionals.

Assignment Requirements
Written communication: Written communication is thoughtful and free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to the current APA style and formatting.
Number of resources: Minimum of 6 scholarly sources. Distinguished submissions will likely exceed this number.
Length of paper: 6–8 typed, double-spaced pages. Additionally, a title page and references page.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

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Paper Instructions:

Recount your greatest success or mistake and what you learned from it.

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Describe and discuss your favorite film, book, or story.

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Paper Instructions:

Discuss some mentors in your life. Describe who you most admire and why. Discuss the people who support you on your educational journey.

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Paper Instructions:

Describe your dream job.