Choose an organization with which you are familiar or one in which you have an interest. Research and analyze the organization’s Human Resource Management programs, policies, procedures, or initiatives. Evaluate their effectiveness and select a program, policy, procedure or initiative which you believe needs to be changed.

Write a one (1) page paper in which you:

1. Assess the current Human Resource programs, policies, procedures, or initiatives in terms of effectiveness.
2. Hypothesize the changes that require improvement.
3. Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
   1. Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
   2. 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.

 The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Evaluate an organization’s readiness for change.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in managing organizational change.
• Write clearly and concisely about managing organizational change using proper writing mechanics.

Find an article or site that provides practical use of Big Data Analytics

 • Introduce and examine the content of the case study.

 • What were the key problems that needed to be resolved? 

• Identify key components that led to the company’s success. 

If you were the state epidemiologist and it was suspected that smoke from the local toy factory was connected to adverse health outcomes among the town’s residents, what type of cohort study would you conduct to further investigate this concern? Why? What limitations exist in your choice of study? Remember to cite sources where necessary. At least 300 words.

The way the prompt has been constructed this week feels like it forces you into selecting one of the cohort study designs. However, this might be rushing it. Remember, each week builds upon a previous week and we should not think that this week occurs in a vacuum.

Prospective cohort studies can be some of the most expensive and powerful study designs that we have in our methodology arsenal. Think about the steps you would need to take prior to using this method. In the prompt, it describes “smoke” however it falls to you as the student to consider regulations and assess whether or not any current regulations have been violated. It can help to look up studies that examine what chemical components can be within smoke and epidemiologically what you would be looking for within your population.

Retrospective studies are quick and dirty. They are cheap and can be conducted in weeks or months. However, the quality and sources of data for this are a huge limitation. Think about what diseases are mandated reportable? Are these diseases influenced by smoke? Think back to our sources of data chapter. What sources of data could be used to investigate specific conditions associated with air pollution? What are those limitations.

What other methods have we read about that might be useful in evaluating our community to even assess if there is an impact?

1. Cross-sectional studies: These can be conducted using medical data or syndromic surveillance data. Are you observing an increase in the diseases associated with the condition? If not, there is probably nothing to be concerned about. Remember, we have these weaker studies because they can be done cheaply and assess if there has been a change in morbidity.

Many students make the error of just saying, I would conduct a cohort study, without considering these above implications. Please consider these as you construct your post this week.

Write notes in the margins of the readings or on a separate sheet of paper or separate file. Then answer the following questions in full sentences (either handwritten or typed is fine). Your answers should be 2-6 sentences, depending on the question. Include page numbers in your responses so that you can refer back to the reading during the discussion or when asking questions. 

Questions for Blumer ([1962] 1969), “Society as Symbolic Interaction”, in Symbolic Interactionism, pages 78-89:

1. What are the key ideas that Blumer (1969) draws from George Herbert Mead? 

2. How does Blumer view social interaction and society? 

3.  According to Blumer (1969, 84), how does his theory differ from “general sociological views”? [By “general sociological views”, Blumer (1969 84) was referring to the dominant theories at the time that he wrote this article, the early 1960s.]

Questions for Berger and Luckmann (1966), The Social Construction of Reality, pp. 1-3, 53-62, 72-79, 89-91, 129-137:

4. How do Berger and Luckmann (1966) define the terms institutions and roles? How are they related? (Note: They are using the concept of roles in a different way than functionalist theories).

5. Interpret the following quote: “…institutions, as historical and objective facticities, confront the individual as undeniable facts. The institutions are there, external to him, persistent in their reality, whether he likes it or not. He cannot wish them away” (Berger and Luckmann 1996, p. 60).

6. What is reification (as Berger and Luckmann [1966] define it)? How does the concept fit into their overall argument?

7. How do they define socialization? What are the two stages of it? How does the concept of socialization fit into their overall argument?

8. What is an example of something that is ‘socially constructed’ that is relevant to your own life experiences, or is relevant to current events/issues? In what way (or ways) is it socially constructed?

Personal Selling :

Choosing a sales compensation plan is an important decision.  However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. What are some of the factors involved in the compensation process? Are there any best ways to compensate sales personnel? After reviewing this week’s resources and your research, in your own words identify at least three factors involved in the compensation process.  Share with your classmates your plan and why you feel it will be effective and adequately motivate your sales team towards organizational goals.

Perform an analysis of the social / demographic, technological, economic, environmental / geographic, and political/legal / governmental segments to understand the general environment facing Union Pacific. 

Describe how Union Pacific will be affected by each of these external factors.

Please conduct research on “Effective Communication and Self-awareness” 

and draft a Powerpoint Presentation.

Each topic much have 5 slides per topic for a total of 10 slides (not including the reference page). Must include footnotes. Must use APA Format. Must have (2) references. 

Many historical analyses assume technological determinism, but is it not more truthful to say that social invention is more important to historical change than technological invention?

Resources & Readings

Required Readings

History of technology. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_technology

Matusitz, J. (2009). The impact of the railroad on American society: A communication perspective of technology. PASOS: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 7 (3), 451-460. Retrieved from http://www.pasosonline.org/Publicados/7309special/PS0309_9.pdf

Mr. Andres Agostini. (2012, March 8). The intelligence revolution – Visions of the future – BBC [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__zgAY4o1ho

TED. (2009, November). Kevin Kelly: Technology’s epic story [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_tells_technology_s_epic_story

Technology. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology

The characteristic of B2B markets that is most opposite of B2C markets is the concept of derived and fluctuating demand. These concepts explain why when consumer purchasing goes down, the effect on the economy is multiplied by all the transactions that occur throughout the channels. A slowdown in consumer spending is not good for the economy.

Here are some examples of derived demand.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/example-derived-demand-80611.html 

https://product2market.walkme.com/examples-derived-demand-product-marketers/

A good way to illustrate derived demand is to study the LeBron effect, the economic boost the basketball superstar LeBron James brought to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Watch this video as the LeBron effect illustrates how businesses throughout the Cleveland area prospered and declined as a result of his choice of where to play.

Cleveland’s Basketball Boom Brings Economic Vigor:

https://www.econedlink.org/resources/making-sene-with-paul-solman-clevelands-basketball-boon-brings-economic-vigor/

This article will help you understand derived demand in a different way more easily.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccabagley/2014/08/01/the-lebron-effect-why-narrative-matters-to-regional-innovation/#3212547a1caa

Can you think of another situation similar to the LeBron effect in which derived demand was created by something that happened in the external environment, something that caused other companies to sell their products to other businesses to meet new demand?

Another example, after 9/11, many people were concerned for their safety or their ability to survive during an attack. This prompted companies to market safety kits for home and auto. Most of these kits were compilations of existing products, but the derived demand for bandages, flashlights, etc. increased.

You might remember Joy Mead, associate director of marketing at Procter & Gamble, when she spoke about consumer behavior. Listen to this clip to hear Mead talk about the research techniques and methods Procter & Gamble uses to develop consumer insight. You will learn that the company isn’t just interested in what consumers want now but also years into the future.

http://app.wistia.com/embed/medias/c89771530a

Primary marketing research is generally used when all other options for gathering marketing data have been exhausted. It is very expensive, and sometimes the research itself is flawed in its design. 

One of the areas of primary marketing research we are all familiar with is the customer satisfaction survey. Even this supposedly simple type of survey is difficult to design to elicit the most accurate responses from customers. Let’s get a little experience in question design. 

Go to surveymonkey.com. Click on “Solutions,” then “Customer Satisfaction,” then on the Customer Satisfaction Survey Template, click “Preview.” On the right side, click on “Surveys 101.” (You should not have to sign up for an account to access this information.) 

Scroll through the tutorial on survey design, paying special attention to the section on “How to Design a Survey.”

Then create one question you would ask UMUC students about this class for the purposes of improving the course, or measuring student satisfaction. The question type can be multiple choice, comment/essay, rating scale—your choice based on the objective of the question.

Give a few brief comments as to why you felt this question was an important measurement of customer satisfaction and why you chose the particular question format.