Case Analysis: Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch

Read the case, “Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch” on page 702-718. Use the case analysis format provided below to address to identify the problems and provide several suggested solutions that the Bank of America executive team can review for possible implementation.
 

Be sure to identify “identify 2 to 3 problems” and “develop 2 to 3 possible solutions to the problems identified”, and use this as the focus for making your case in the case format. Note: The case questions provided at the end of each case can be used as an insight to what the problems might be; so be sure to investigate the case carefully.

 *** Required reading attached (Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch) 

Case Format
 

I. Write the Executive Summary

· One to two paragraphs in length

· On cover page of the report

· Briefly identify the major problems facing the manager/key person

· Summarize the recommended plan of action and include a brief justification of the recommended plan

II. Statement of the Problem

· State the problems facing the manager/key person

· Identify and link the symptoms and root causes of the problems

· Differentiate short term from long term problems

· Conclude with the decision facing the manager/key person

III. Causes of the Problem 

· Provide a detailed analysis of the problems; identify in the Statement of the Problem

· In the analysis, apply theories and models from the text and/or readings

· Support conclusions and /or assumptions with specific references to the case and/or the readings

IV. Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions

· Identify criteria against which you evaluate alternative solutions (i.e. time for implementation, tangible costs, acceptability to management)

· Include two or three possible alternative solutions

· Evaluate the pros and cons of each alternative against the criteria listed

· Suggest additional pros/cons if appropriate

V. Recommended Solution, Implementation and Justification

· Identify who, what, when, and how in your recommended plan of action

· Solution and implementation should address the problems and causes identified in the previous section

· The recommended plan should include a contingency plan(s) to back up the ‘ideal’ course of action

· Using models and theories, identify why you chose the recommended plan of action – why it’s the best and why it would work

VI. External Sourcing

· 2 to 3 external sources (in addition to your textbook) should be referenced to back up your recommendations or to identify issues.  This information would be ideally sourced in current journals, magazines and newspapers and should reflect current management thought or practice with respect to the issues Identify.

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

· Write between 750 – 1,250 words (approximately 3 – 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style, see example below.

· Use font size 12 and 1” margins.

· Include cover page and reference page.

· At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing.

· No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.

· Use at least three references from outside the course material, one reference must be from EBSCOhost. Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the three reference requirement.

· Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) in the paper and list on a reference page in APA style.

References must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, CNN, online newspapers such as, The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. are not acceptable for academic writing. 

Community Policy Proposals

You will be using the results of your Unit 3 Community Assessment assignment as the basis for this assignment. You have examined the social change and public policy environment of your home community by surveying the population demographics (taking into account gender, race, and sexual orientation, as well as varied nationalities and their social and economic status) and explored public sources of information in order to identify demands for social changes in businesses, non-profits, and government. These demands reflect the possible need for public policy development. 

• Draft and present two possible policy proposals that respond to the specific public demands you identified in your community in the previous assignment. 
  • These demands may apply to businesses, non-profit organizations, or government.
  • Utilize the document entitled, “Elements of a Standard Policy Statement,” which is located in your Social Policy Toolbox, to guide your development of these proposals.
  • Include a title for each proposal.
• Write a 750-word summary of your two possible policy proposals, emphasizing these elements:
  • State the proposed policy on which you have decided, with the following:
    • A descriptive title.
    • A statement of the public entity for which the policy is intended.
    • The beneficiaries of the policy.
    • The human service outcome for social change.
  • State which actors in the home community may play a constructive and active role to advance the policy process, and identify the actors or factors that may pose as obstacles to your proposed policy.
  • State the key discussion points raised by your peers in support of or in opposition to your proposed policy.
  • State your rationale for choosing the policy proposal.

Assignment Requirements

• Summary Length: 750 words.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• Formatting: Present your paper in APA format. 
• Written communication: Written communication must reflect graduate-level writing skills and successfully convey the message.

Reference the assignment scoring guide to help you complete this assignment.

Submit your Community Policy Proposals summary in the assignment area.

Resources

• Community Policy Proposals Scoring Guide.
• APA Style and Format.

Assignment 2: Business Expansion and Sustainability

Due Week 10 and worth 280 points

In order to complete this assignment, refer to the scenario that you chose in Assignment 1.

Note: You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of these assignments.

Using the scenario from Assignment 1, write a six to seven (6-7) page paper in which you:

1. Identify three (3) job requirements (e.g., needed certifications, previous work experience, external influences, etc.) that could apply to your chosen scenario. Determine two (2) ways these requirements could impact staffing at your organization. Next, suggest one (1) strategy that you could utilize to ensure that all applicants meet the identified job requirements for your organization. Justify your response.
2. Outline a long-term recruitment plan that contains at least four (4) components, is aligned with your company’s recruitment strategy, but also addresses possible job skill or credential shortages. Note: Consider concepts such as succession planning and hiring retirees.
3. Describe three (3) branding strategies that you would employ to attract qualified applicants to your organization. Next, suggest three (3) communication methods that you would utilize to reach out to applicants. Predict the outcome of integrating your branding strategies and communication methods at your organization. Provide a rationale for your response.
4. Determine two (2) selection processes for recruiting new employees that could apply to your chosen scenario and then identify five (5) selection criteria that you could use when hiring new employees. Next, analyze the effect of the five (5) identified selection criteria on long-term employee retention and preservation of organizational knowledge. Justify your response.
5. Suggest two (2) assessment methods that you could employ to select new employees for your organization and then analyze the validity and reliability of each method in regards to the job your organization is offering. Next, identify four (4) job predictors that you believe can assess candidates’ knowledge, skills, abilities, and other skills and experiences (KSAOs). Provide support for your rationale.
6. Go to https://research.strayer.edu to locate at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as quality resources.
7. Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
   • Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
   • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
   • Include a reference page. Citations and references must follow APAthe Strayer Writing Standards format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
   • This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.

You are to provide a paper (case studies) of a minimum of 2 pages and a maximum of 3 pages (not including your cover page, abstract, or reference page).

You need at least 3 references in addition to your text. The case study and the references are to be in APA format  

Case Study

Three employees of a company located in Texas come to HR to complain that their manager has suspended the departments 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon due to work volume. The employees state the company is in violation of DOL law?

Assume that you are the Human Resources Manager: Are they right? How do you deal with the three employees?How do you deal with the department manager?

Two Questions:

Q I Journal

Instructions

The pay model policies play a crucial role in an organization’s pay strategy. The second step of the total compensation strategy identifies with the objectives, alignment, competitiveness, contributions, and management in developing a successful strategy. What are your thoughts on your current or past compensation pay grades, levels, and/or categories, and how you are awarded? What would you change? Please explain.

Your journal entry must be at least 200 words in length. No references or citations are necessary.

Q II PowerPoint Presentation

Instructions

Compensation: Direct and Indirect = Total Compensation (Research)

Per the textbook, compensation can come in the form of financial returns, tangible services, and benefits. The two types of compensation are direct and indirect. Direct consists of pay for work performed. Indirect consists of the perks and benefits associated with the position/employment.

Imagine that you are a human resources (HR) manager, and it is your responsibility to identify data to help strategize, benchmark, and develop proper pay compensation for all positions within the organization. There are tons of software, vendors, and/or other services available to help with developing the pay grades, levels, and/or categories. Some sites you may consider using include the www.bls.gov, website where you can search via the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the www.onetonline.gov website where you can select career choice, scroll down to Wages & Employment Trends, click Local Salary Info, then select State.

For this assignment, you will create an eight- to ten-slide PowerPoint presentation. You will first choose a job title and a location to present the findings/results. Imagine that you are presenting to your company leaders, and ensure that you identify the following components:

• core compensation (direct compensation),
• benefits (indirect compensation), and
• benchmark benefits with the industry average.

As you create the content slides for your presentation, be sure to use the speaker notes function to explain the content in detail for each of the slides.

Note: Keep the 6×6 PowerPoint rule in mind (i.e., slides should only include six to seven lines of content with no more than six to seven words per line). Any illustrations should relate to the content being discussed. Be creative!

Include a title slide and a references slide in your presentation; however, please note that these slides do not count toward meeting the total slide count requirement.

Instructions

To read the case study below, click the provided link.

Read the case study indicated below, and answer the following questions:

James, M. L. (2010). Accounting for business combinations and the convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles: A case study. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 16(1), 95-108. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/845495985?accountid=33337

1. What key financial ratios will be affected by the adoption of FAS 141R and FAS 160? What will be the likely effect?
2. Could any of the recent and forthcoming changes affect the company’s acquisition strategies and potentially its growth?
3. What were FASB’s primary reasons for issuing FAS 141R and FAS 160?
4. What are qualifying SPEs? Do they exist under IFRS? What is the effect of FAS 166 eliminating the concept of qualifying SPEs on the convergence of accounting standards?
5. If the company adopts IFRS, what changes should management be aware of?
6. What are the principle differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP?

Your submission should be a minimum of three pages in length in APA style; however, a title page, a running head, and an abstract are not required. Be sure to cite and reference all quoted or paraphrased material appropriately in APA style.

An exploration of the evolving role of a Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) topic that moves to a human capital perspective.

Guidelines

Students will complete a major research paper on a SHRM topic of their choice, that traces the evolving perspective of moving from an administrative to a human capital position on a topic of their choice. In addition to functional topics, including issues in staffing, employee learning, employee relations, performance management, total rewards, and HR information systems, students can include topics that mirror the course’s primary perspectives of human capital management, HR metrics, or line/HR partnering as their primary subject. 

Best Practices

Students can choose a topic of their own areas of specific interest on any HRM area covered in the course. Given the point of view taken in HRM591, the paper should reflect the strategic shift in HRM from labor as a cost to be controlled to labor as an asset in which to be invested. This perspective should treat the chosen topic and trace how it has changed to reflect the challenges presented by a technology-driven global economy. Research should trace the historical roots of the topic and how technology, globalization, and other strategic forces have shaped its changes. The paper length should be a minimum of 8–12 pages and comply with all formatting and APA style standards. Some suggested topics can include, but not be limited to, the following.

Most of the best known academic and popular journals will provide acceptable content. Primary among them are some of the following journals and publications.

• People & Strategy (formally human resource planning)
• Harvard Business Review
• Human Resource Management
• Academy of Management Journals (various titles included)
• Journal of Labor Economics
• Human Resource Management Review
• Personnel Psychology
• International Journal of Human Resource Management
• Journal of Management
• Sloan Management Review
• California Management Review
• Administrative Sciences Quarterly

This paper should reflect the collective efforts of the entire course content and the strategic evolution of HRM from a marginalized area of practice to one that assumes a position within management that is reflective of the potential role that effective workforce planning and development can play. The chosen topic should be framed in the above perspective and trace where it has been, where it is now, and what future direction it can take. Students’ research should defend why their chosen topic matters to senior management and the cost/benefit justifications that are required to defend that position. In short, the paper should speak to the two essential questions by which the course is framed. Those questions ask, “so what and now what?”

Include a cover page and reference page, formatting, in-text citations, and references are to be to APA standards.

• Indent paragraphs
• Paragraphs should have at least three sentences.
• Double space
• Numbers under 10 are to be spelled out.
• One font only- 12 pt Times New Roman (unless you need to use something different and larger that is okay, just make the paper consistent). The title page should be the same font.
• Be sure to included in-text citation for any information that you are mentioning that is not original content and include the full reference on the reference page per APA. Use Citefast or Citemachine to help with this. 
• Reference Page – Reference as a title is to be centered and not bold.
• References on the reference page are to have a hanging indention. 
• Many quotes used, keep in mind that each paragraph you write should be 80% original content from you and 20% can be from references. 
• Taking a quote and citing it is not answering the question. Use the quote to define your point. References should be use to validate the points you trying to make to give more validity. 
• In-text Citations ) one author)- (Author, year) or Author, year, p.)
• Submit using a word document not a PDF.

  MASTERS DEGREE QUALITY

MUST PAY ATTENTION TO ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Deliverable 3 – Workshop on Hiring People with Disabilities

Competency

Design reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of employees and the organization.

Scenario

You are the HR Director of a regional, non-franchised chain of restaurants. In a strategic meeting last month, you presented to the CEO that the diversity of the chain’s workforce is not up to standards. The CEO wants to increase the diversity of the staff and has asked you for recommendations. As you review the employee data for your firm, you realize that people with disabilities are not represented well in the organization and advise the CEO that an authentic effort should be made to increase hiring from this category of employees. She agrees but cautions that there will likely be pushback from the line managers about doing so. The CEO instructs you to gain support and buy-in from the line managers for hiring people qualified individuals with disabilities. You decide to do this by hosting a mandatory workshop designed to educate line managers on ADA and hiring people with disabilities.

Instructions

Prepare an outline for the workshop. Content should be listed in bulleted form. Include the time needed to cover each topic and provide an agenda for the workshop. The content should cover the following points:

• Demonstrates a business case for hiring people with disabilities, to include information stated in the ADA ACT.
• Discriminates between facts and common misconceptions regarding ADA, to include the legal definitions of impairment, and which disabilities are protected by the ADA.
• Provides examples of reasonable accommodations and actual costs of the same.
• Explains what constitutes a qualified individual according to ADA and how qualified individuals with disabilities can benefit the organization in the same way as those without disabilities.
• Provides attribution for credible sources used in your outline.

Resources

Article Databases:

• Business Source Complete via EBSCO
• Business via ProQuest
• ASP: Human Resource Management Online

 This research-based assignment focuses on the latest available information about creating, organizing, and managing a total rewards program. Envision a service-based (insurance, telemarketing, or other) profit organization that employs 20,000 employees in 17 different countries. There are 2,000 management-level individuals who speak a variety of languages. The company employs diverse individuals who are governed by multiple regulatory environments. Write an eight- to ten-page paper in which you: 

1. Create a brief overview of the company requirements for a total rewards system. 

2. Formulate a total rewards strategy to encompass the fundamentals of compensation and the regulatory environments. 

3. Explain the advantages of the total rewards strategy you are proposing and how it might satisfy the employees’ needs. 

4. Determine the key communication components of the total rewards system. 

5. Indicate your strategy for devising a competitive pay structure. 

6. Use at least five quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other websites do not quality as academic resources. 

Healthcare faces critical staffing shortages. Imagine you are part of the executive management team researching health care shortages. 

• Outline some of the staffing shortages in the market where you live.  Are they consistent with national trends? 
• Design a strategy that describes how your organization would alleviate some staffing shortages, including whether you would hire licensed practical nurses instead of registered nurses. Include concepts from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles.