List three processes in your organization that are considered “best practices” and describe how they meet the critical questions from Chapter 15 in the text. If your organization does not have a best practice, use the knowledge gained from the case studies and article reviews in class to describe your idea of a best practice. Respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ postings. 

Best practices

Use of life cycle phases

Standardization and consistency

Use of templates [i.e., for statement of work (SOW), work breakdownstructure (WBS), risk management, etc.]

Providing military personnel in project management positions with ex-tended tours of duty at the same location

Use of integrated project teams (IPT)Control of contractor-generated scope changes

Use of earned value measurement” 

 “CRITICAL QUESTIONSThere are several questions that must be addressed before an activity is recog-nized as a best practice. Three frequently asked questions include:

Who determines that an activity is a best practice?

How do you properly evaluate what you think is best practice to validate that in fact it is a true best practice?

How do you get executives to recognize that best practices are true value-added activities and should be championed by executive management?” 

In completing your reading for the week you read through a great interview in Chapter 8 titled “An Interview with a CEO You Might Want to Work For.”  It provides great insight into the kind of leadership and strategy that would create a recipe for success.  Intrigued by the interview, you share it with Emma.  Like you, she finds it interesting  and asks you to write your own version of the interview.  Choose four of the questions asked by Cokins in the interview then write your own answers as though you were the CEO of CM Tech.  

Your interview paper should include the following key elements: 

1. Provide an introduction to your interview that explains the purpose of the interview (what value can you get from thinking through these questions). 
2. Choose a minimum of four questions used in the interview in the text.  You may add more of your own if you choose.  Be sure to include the question(s) in your paper.
3. Provide answers to each of the questions as though you were in the role of the CEO of CM Tech.  Support your answers with reasoning and examples or experiences.
4. Provide a conclusion to your interview that summarizes the key points.

Your report should outline the key concepts in each area listed above and provide complete examples as appropriate.  Be sure your report is a minimum of 4 pages, includes an introduction and conclusion paragraph, title page, and references page.  The title and references pages do not count toward the total page count.  

The report should be formatted in APA style and be supported by a minimum of one scholarly reference. Since CM Tech is a fictitious company, you may use great liberty in this assignment in creating or imagining the details needed in order to write your report.  

Discussion Question 2 (50 points)

Describe the areas that are typically addressed in developing leaders. What are specific issues to consider when developing women and members of minority groups?

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.govwebsite, 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.

Purpose 

In this project, you will gain an understanding of the control function in a business setting.  You will compare actual performance with standards, and measure the progress toward the organizational goals, addressing any deviations through corrective action.

Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment

• develop measures and assess outcomes against plans and standards to improve organizational effectiveness

How to Set Up the Paper

Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced using 12-point font.  The final product will be 3-4 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.  Write clearly and concisely. 

Create a title page with a title, course number and section, your name and the instructor’s name.

Scenario

The following chart displays the results of the first year’s production of a new electric-car produced by Sleek Motors.  The table was created from data supplied by the company’s entire production department managed by Isaac Newton, as a means of controlling production output.   You recently joined the production department as a quality assurance associate after grading with a degree in business.   Your manager, Tomas has asked you to do an analysis on the first year’s production results.  Tomas indicated that this information will be used by the Vice President in his evaluation of areas of improvement, change, or processes used by the production department in the production of the mini-car.  The company aims for the highest possible quality products for consumers. 

The chart below describes the standards set by the department and the results for each branch of Sleek Motors.  A comparison of the standard to the results allows the reader to form conclusions about the success or failure of the production department to meet the goals envisioned by the company. It also allows the reader to recognize patterns from the data from which conclusions can be drawn as to the relationship between elements (e.g. cost expended vs time expended; those who spent more time had a higher cost).

MetricsStandardFort WayneGeorgetownKoenigseggKansas CityLingottoTotal Cost to Manufacture (per unit)13,50015,25014,10012,75016,00014,250Manufacturing Cycle Time (time to complete single vehicle – in hours)151816121214Yield (percentage of cars produced to specifications first time without rework)98%99%97%96.50%97.50%95.15%Defective Rate/Recall Rate2%1%3%3.50%2.50%4.85%Scrap Rate2%3%4%2.50%2%1.90%Average Production Downtime0.50%1%1.50%0.75%0.50%0.75%Training Time (hours per month)863574Shipping Problems/Damage (per 10,000 units)124213Safety Incident per Employee1.50%2.25%0.75%3%2%1.90%Number of units manufactured per year45,00043,00027,00042,50048,00045,500Utilization Rate (Capacity rate facility is utilizing during available production time)81.82%78.18%49.09%77.27%87.27%82.73%

Use the following headings and instructions to complete the project:

Introduction

• Write an Introduction paragraph.  The Introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and will be used to describe to the reader the intent of the paper explaining the main points covered in the paper.  This intent should be understood prior to reading the remainder of the paper so the reader knows exactly what is being covered in the paper. 
• Consider writing the introduction last to ensure that all of the main points are covered.

 Controls

• Explain what control means in a business setting
• Explain why Sleek Motors needs to be concerned with the results for the electric-car

Standard Specifications

• Compare the actual performance with the standards for the electric-car drawing conclusions from what is evident from the data in the table.  Make sure to discuss each standard and explain the results for each branch.
• Analyze the deviations between the branches and the standards for each metric. 
• Determine whether more control is necessary or if the standard should be changed.  Explain the reasoning.

Corrective Action 

• Explain how implementing Total Quality Management can develop solutions to resolve Sleek Motors’ issues with meeting the standards and/or make changes to processes or behaviors.

Conclusion

Create a concluding paragraph.  The Conclusion summarizes the main topics discussed in the paper.

References

Review the Paper 

Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.

The following are specific requirements that you will follow.  Use the checklist to mark off that you have followed each specific requirement.  

Checklist

Specific Project Requirements

Proofread your paper

Read and use the grading rubric while completing the paper to ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible grade. 

Third person writing is required.  Third person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing).  If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person. 

Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.  

Paraphrase and do not use direct quotations.  Paraphrase means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document.  Removing quotation marks and citing is inappropriate.  Instead put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage to the source document.  There should be no passages with quotation marks.  Using more than four consecutive words from a source document would require direct quotation marks.  Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks.   If more than four consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade.  

You are expected to use the research and weekly course materials to develop the analysis and support the reasoning.   There should be a robust use of the course material.  Material used from a source document must be cited and referenced.  A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa.  Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks.   

Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains the reference associated with each in-text citation.

You may not use books in completing this problem set unless part of the course material.  Also, do not use a dictionary, Wikipedia or Investopedia or similar sources.

Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation presented.  Since the eBook does not have page numbers, include the chapter title and topic heading.  If using a video, provide the minutes and second of the cited material.

This paper will be Tyson Foods 

Supply Chain Information

Complete an information system analysis for your organization or select a fortune 500 company (i.e. Amazon, Google, or Coca Cola).  Be sure to identify the supply chain and logistics systems, while describing the interaction of supply chain information being available throughout the organization (real-time, accurate, and is the information trusted).  Lastly, discuss how the information is shared. Are value-created activities the result of your organization’s supply chain information systems?

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.  
 

Application: Improving a College Recruitment Program, page 260

Students will read assigned applications provided in the text. (minimum 3 pages). Be sure to include your name, double space, provide page numbers, and use a 12 inch font and proper APA formatting.  Do not add personal experiences.  Be sure to number your answers to ensure you do not overlook any. Using external research to support your response is expected. Be sure to include references.

BM35S : Marketing Management

Question 1 

When consumers share a strong need that cannot be satisfied by an existing product, it is called _____ demand.

negative

latent

declining

irregular

Question 2

When demand is __________, it implies that more customers would like to buy the product than can be satisfied.

latent

irregular

overfull

full

Question 3

 A __________ is a direction or sequence of events that has some momentum and durability; it reveals the shape of the future and can provide strategic direction.

fad

fashion

trend

megatrend

Question 4

Which of the following would be the best illustration of a secondary belief or value?

Belief in work

Belief in giving to charity

Belief in getting married

Belief in getting married early

Question 5

Total customer satisfaction is measured based on the relationship of:

expected value and total customer benefit.

perceived performance and expectation.

advertised outcomes and real outcomes.

past experience and present experience.

Question 6

Identify the four pillars of brand equity, according to BrandAsset Valuator model.

Relevance, performance, bonding, and advantage

Presence, performance, advantage, and bonding

Energized differentiation, relevance, esteem, and knowledge

Brand salience, brand feelings, brand imagery, and brand performance

Question 7

The __________ attack offers the firm an opportunity to diversify into unrelated products, diversity into new geographical markets, and leapfrog into new technologies.

bypass

flank

frontal

guerrilla

Question 8

__________ is the ability of a company to prepare on a large-scale basis individually designed products, services, programs, and communications.

Mass customization

Reverse engineering

Interoperability

Backward compatibility

Question 9

Costs that do not vary with production levels or sales revenue are known as _____ costs.

overhead

variable

average

opportunity

Question 10

Which of the following is a form of mass communications channel?

Interactive marketing

Personal selling

Public relations

Word-of-mouth marketing

I have a written assignment due. I will attach the requirements needed to complete this assignment. Please be advised that there is a 400 word minimum for this assignment. Must use required reading for in text-citations. Must use APA formatting.

Note: Only up to 20% of the content in the written assignment can be quotes from third parties.