Layoffs

Have you ever been involved in a layoff or involuntarily separated from an organization, either as a manager or as an employee, or do you know someone who has had this experience? How was it handled? How could it have been managed better?

Assignment 2: Quality Of Work/Life Initiatives

Lifestyle benefits or quality of work-life (QWL) issues are very important for achieving a competitive edge in efforts to attract and retain top talent. These benefits are a prominent feature of organizations consistently earning a place on various “Best Place to Work” listings.

The workforce is clearly diverse, and there are many features of HR policies designed to capture the needs of a diverse workforce. The full range of work-life balance programs is meant to extend to all members of the workforce without any preference to age, gender, or family status. The competitive advantage of these programs is seen in recruitment, retention, and worker productivity.

Using the Argosy University online library, the Internet and other resources for research, locate and explain a specific QWL benefit program of interest to you. Address the following questions in your response giving examples and rationale in support:

• What are the main features of the program?
• How might an organization formally assess whether the implementation of any of these QWL initiatives has been effective?
• What was the most important or noticeable outcome resulting from the implementation of the benefits initiatives? In particular, are there specific pay model outcomes the organization might aim to impact through the use of QWL programs? In what way?

Write your initial response in 3–4 paragraphs.

By the due date assigned submit your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Use the same Discussion Area to comment on your classmates' submissions and continue the discussion through the end of the module.

Comment on how your classmates would address differing views.

     Grading Criteria  Maximum Points    Quality of initial posting, including fulfillment of assignment instructions  16    Quality of responses to classmates  12    Frequency of responses to classmates  4    Reference to supporting readings and other materials  4    Language and grammar  4    Total:  40

Unit 3 Discussion Board

The purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question. Because it is not possible to engage in two–way dialogue after a conversation has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.

Discuss the following:

• What involvement does management need to have to achieve buy-in from internal and external stakeholders?

Business O

 If a journal is peer-reviewed, does that mean anything within the journal is credible for your writing and research? Why or why not? How do you know if a journal is peer-reviewed?  What does it mean to critically analyze an article?  

Legal Issues: Contract & Agency Law

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400 to 600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.  In the Unit 1 Discussion Board, you analyzed a corporation’s social responsibility with regard to its customers. Not only do corporations have responsibly to their customers, but their corporate officers or directors owe fiduciary duties to their corporation and its stockholders. Corporate officers, such as a chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, treasurer, corporate secretary, and so on are agents and carry out the daily operations of a corporation.  You are Phishy Pharmaceuticals' CEO, and therefore an agent of Phishy Pharmaceuticals. This week you have learned agents have fiduciary duties they owe the corporation (principal)?  Choose a fiduciary duty, and complete the following:  Based on the first initial of your last name, complete the following steps: First initial A – L: Provide an argument as an agent (CEO) with a duty to the principle (Phishy) that supports the decision to leave the diet pill on the shelf.

Challenges In The Global Business Environment

According to the textbook, ongoing challenges in the global business environment are mostly attributed to unethical business practices, failure to embrace technology advancements, and stiff competition among businesses. Imagine that you have been appointed as Apple’s Chief Compliance Officer and must prepare a video presentation for Apple’s suppliers regarding Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct to deliver via a web meeting. To prepare for your presentation, review Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct, located at https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/. Next, use a tablet, smartphone, laptop, desktop, or traditional video recorder to record a maximum of a five to seven (5-7) minute dynamic video on Apple’s Code of Conduct. Alternatively, you may submit a four to six (4-6) page paper instead of the video submission.  In addition to the recorded video, you must also create a presentation using PowerPoint (or other equivalent software) summarizing the important changes and explanations regarding the code of conduct that you communicated in your video presentation to email to the suppliers after the meeting for future reference.  You must submit both parts of the assignment to receive full credit.  Note: If you are using a tablet or smartphone you will need to email the video file to yourself, then save it to a computer in order to upload to Blackboard. You may want to upload your video to a file sharing service, such as Dropbox, if your email will not let you send a large video file. Dropbox is accessible from all smartphones and tablets from the Dropbox app.  Once you are ready to upload your video to Blackboard, view the Kaltura video tutorial found in your online course shell (Week 9).  Please use the following naming convention in the popup window for your video once it is finished uploading: •Title: Your First Name, Your Last Name – Challenges in the Business Environment •Tags: BUS475, Business Environment •Description: First Name, Last Name – BUS475 Assignment 2 (Date Uploaded ex. 11-14-2014)  Part 1: Video Presentation OR Paper  Prepare and present a video that is a maximum of five to seven (5-7) minutes OR write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you: 1.List specific changes that Apple has made to its Code of Conduct in recent years. Provide at least one (1) example of each change. 2.Explain the identified changes to the suppliers in such a way that they will understand the standards that Apple requires in order to maintain their relationship with the company.  Part 2: PowerPoint Presentation  Create a six to eight (6-8) slide PowerPoint presentation in which you: 1.Summarize Apple’s Supplier Responsibility information. 2.Discuss Apple’s stance on each of the following areas: a.Empowering workers b.Labor and Human Rights c.Health and Safety d.The Environment e.Accountability 1.Identify the key ways that Apple’s Progress Report has changed since last year. 2.Examine the manner in which Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct helps the organization operate as a socially responsible organization. 3.Provide detailed speaker notes of what you would say if you were delivering the presentation. 4.Submit a reference page with at least two (2) quality references that you have used for this presentation / paper. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.  Your PowerPoint presentation 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 and reference slides are not included in the required slide length.  If you choose the written paper, your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: •Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. •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 and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.  The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: •Evaluate the influences of changing economic, political, social, cultural, and technological forces on business and society. •Use technology and information resources to research issues in business and society. •Write clearly and concisely about business and society using proper writing mechanics.

Cost Analysis

In a 4-5 page paper, please include the following:

• Explain the different types of costs (variable, fixed, sunk, opportunity, direct, indirect).
• Give 1-2 examples of each type of cost and explain how these costs will be applied during the manufacturing process.
• Conclude your paper by describing the importance of these costs in managerial accounting.
• Be sure that the paper has no spelling or grammatical errors.

Organizational Interventions

Submit a two- to three-page paper (excluding the title and reference pages), describing two types of Organizational Interventions used by corporations and the issues they address. Compare and contrast the interventions utilized by the corporations in your articles.

You must use at least two scholarly sources (which may be your scholarly/academic journal articles regarding Organizational Interventions

Corporate Finance (9th Edition) Chapter 18, Problem 16 SQP

Lone Star Industries just issued $195,000 of perpetual 9 percent debt and used the proceeds to repurchase stock. The company expects to generate $83,000 of earnings before interest and taxes in perpetuity. The company distributes all its earnings as dividends at the end of each year. The firm  

unlevered cost of capital is 16 percent, and the corporate tax rate is 34 percent.

What is the value of the company as an unlevered firm?

Use the adjusted present value method to calculate the value of the company with leverage.

What is the required return on the firm’s levered equity?

Use the flow to equity method to calculate the value of the company’s equity.

Corporate Finance With S&P Card + Connect Plus (9th Edition) Chapter 18, Problem 2QP

 " Gemini, Inc., an all-equity firm, is considering a $1.9 million investment that will be depreciated according to the straight-line method over its four-year life. The project is expected to generate earnings before taxes and depreciation of $685,000 per year for four years. The investment will not change the risk level of the firm. The company can obtain a four-year, 9.5 percent loan to finance the project from a local bank. All principal will be repaid in one balloon payment at the end of the fourth year. The bank will charge the firm $28,000 in flotation fees, which will be amortized over the four-year life of the loan. If the company financed the project entirely with equity, the firm’s cost of capital would be 13 percent. The corporate tax rate is 30 percent. Using the adjusted present value method, determine whether the company should undertake the project."