Friday, April 4, 2014
The Wealth of Nations
In his
famous book The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith stated: “It is not from
the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our
dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not
to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own
necessities but of their advantages.”
What do you think Adam Smith meant in this statement? Try to use concepts seen in this unit such as specialization, mutual gains from trade, market coordination, etc in your interpretation
What do you think Adam Smith meant in this statement? Try to use concepts seen in this unit such as specialization, mutual gains from trade, market coordination, etc in your interpretation
business psychology
Select a job that requires a moderate level of physical ability, such as security staff, office delivery personnel, door-to-door salespersons, retail salesperson, or nurses at hospitals and conduct an interview to determine their level of physical activity. Create a list of 8-10 interview questions and conduct an interview to determine their level of physical activity. Based on your interview, create a physical ability test plan for this job. While it is important you develop a list of questions based on your reading of the individual assessment some of the questions you may want to include for the interview include:
- Prior to being hired were you asked to take any physical ability tests?
- What do you perceive to be the physical demands of your job?
- On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 meaning very physically demanding and 1 meaning not at all physically demanding, how physically demanding would you say your job is?
- Are there physical demands you were unaware of prior to accepting your position?
- Do you believe physical ability tests should be given to individuals being considered for your type of work? if yes, what types of physical tests would you recommend?
Create a detailed physical ability test plan for this position. Use the template provided. The plan must include a minimum of five physical ability tests. Please describe each test in detail, and indicate how the tests will be administered and evaluated. Make sure you also include the interview questions you asked.
Training and Development", Leadership
In the online lectures in Module 3 and your textbook readings ("Training and Development", Leadership", and "Motivation, Job Satisfaction, and Job Involvement") you learned about the importance of training your employees. However, training is only effective when employees can retain the information and incorporate what they learn to improve their job performance.
You have just learned that your company is looking for ways to cut back expenses. One of the cost cutting measures being considered is to terminate the training department, as the company considers this an expense and they do not believe training is contributing to the profitability of the company. As the head of the training department it is your job to defend the value of the department. You realize that well trained employees perform their jobs more efficiently and consequently can contribute to higher productivity and profits for the company. One way to show the value of training is to have tools that will allow a manager to track the performance of an employee both before and after they have received training.
- Report
Write a report that will be shared with senior management on why training is a very important part of the company’s overall financial success. Discuss the advantages of having well-trained employees.
- Report
- Evaluation Tool
Using what you have learned about transfer training and the evaluation of training programs create an evaluation tool which can be used to evaluate how effective any given employee training program is in terms of:
- Increasing the level of transfer of knowledge (knowledge retention)
- Monitoring the effectiveness of the skill performance in the job performance improvement
- Include common attributes in your evaluation tool which could be applicable to most employees at the organization such as: employees showing concern for saving the company money or consistently turning in error free work. Your training tool should contain a minimum of 10 evaluation criteria.
Your training evaluation tool must be included with your report defending the value of the training department. You know that your report will be shared with senior level managers and eventually to the board of directors. However, you are uncertain whether or not you will be allowed to present your work at a later time or in a different manner. Therefore it is important that your report is well written and professional.
Report Details
The report should be 5-7 pages in length and include:
The report should be 5-7 pages in length and include:
- Executive Summary highlighting all the factors in the scenario.
- Justification of the importance of retaining the training department in the company and explanation of how the training department is important to the overall success of the company.
- Training Evaluation Tool to evaluate knowledge retention and job performance improvement (10 criteria minimum).
- Explanation of how the evaluation tool will be implemented.
- Describe how the evaluation tool will help evaluate the level of transfer of knowledge and skill performance for current training programs as well as, monitor and improve planning for future training effectiveness.
- Summary and conclusion of tool’s effectiveness.
Personality
Assignment: Personality
This assignment is designed to reinforce the core principles of personality development during the human lifespan. Please write a 400 word essay (do not simply address each question, your assignment must be written in fluid essay form) to address the concepts below.
Write your essay in your own words however you will need to review your text as well as relevant research literature to validate your own perspectives. Please use APA format to cite all resources.
Personality traits may be defined as "the characteristics or dimensions of personality on which people vary". Traits can be thought of as falling along a continuum that ranges from traits considered by many to be desirable (e.g., happy, self-confident, considerate) to traits that are often considered to be undesirable (e.g., aggressive, spiteful, crude). Presented below is a list of some common personality traits. The list is far from exhaustive and you should have no difficulty coming up with an additional list of traits if needed.
Passive
Outgoing Unsociable Active Careful Talkative Sober Optimistic Thoughtful Responsive Rigid Impulsive |
Peaceful
Easygoing Moody Changeable Controlled Lively Anxious Excitable Reliable Carefree Reserved Aggressive |
Even-Tempered
Depressed Restless Calm Quiet Lonely Touchy Sociable Pessimistic Confident Jealous |
Successful completion of the assignment requires that you select one personality trait and then review your text as well as relevant research literature in order to answer each of the following questions:
- How does the personality trait develop in humans? Where does it appear to come from?
- What purpose or function does the trait appear to serve?
- How does the trait affect the individual's social behavior? How does the trait impact upon interpersonal relationships?
- [answer either (a) or (b) depending upon which alternative is appropriate]
- If the trait that you selected is closer to the desirable end of the trait continuum, then what methods or techniques might be used to increase, or at least maintain at a high level, the quantity of the trait? (e.g., make a person more self-confident).
- If the trait that you selected is closer to the undesirable end of the trait continuum, then what methods or techniques might be used to decrease the quantity of the trait? (e.g., make a person less aggressive).
Source: Hittner, J. B. (1999). Fostering Critical Thinking in Personality Psychology: The Trait Paper Assignment.Journal of Instructional Psychology, 26, 92-97.
life cycle of an information systems
- Explain the life cycle of an information systems
- Apply the steps of the life cycle to the scenario listed below
Imagine that you run a photography printing store. Your employees have been using punch cards for time entry since you started the business. This has lead to many problems including lost cards, inaccurate hours, and employees punching in other employees. Because of these problems you are considering implementing a computerized time entry system. Describe each step of the life cycle, and apply it to your problem in your business.
You are to select one business that does not already have a website and develop an Internet strategy for it. Most large corporations already have websites so you may have to think of something on a smaller scale, for example a local bike store by your house.
You are to select one business that does not already have a website and develop an Internet strategy for it. Most large corporations already have websites so you may have to think of something on a smaller scale, for example a local bike store by your house. Sole proprietorship businesses that provide services like car repair, house cleaning, tax preparation, and use the Internet and similar services are also good options. You will also consider and describe how the business you select can use social media to achieve its objectives. Use the Internet and the library to research and analyze markets and competitors.
After selecting a business, you will need to answer the following questions:
1. What Internet business model would be appropriate for the company to follow in creating a Web site and why?
2. In what ways can the business benefit from a Web site? What functions should it perform for the company (i.e., marketing, sales, customer support, internal communications, etc.)?
3. In what other ways might the company use the Internet for its own benefit?
4. Prepare functional specifications for the company's use of the Web and the Internet. Include links to and from other sites in your design.
5. Prepare a list of technological specifications for implementation (i.e., what hardware and software are necessary to support your design)?
- Discuss how the business can leverage social media to enhance its business success.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)