SWOT Analysis

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Overview: 

A SWOT Analysis is used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for a business. This analysis can be used to help in the creation of strategic plans for the future. You will perform a SWOT Analysis for a real-world organization and complete your assignment as a PowerPoint presentation. 

Instructions:

Choose a real-world organization. 

Perform a SWOT Analysis on the organization, creating a PowerPoint with your results. Follow this format: 

• Slide 1: Title slide with your name and the organization’s name.

• Slide 2: Mission of the company. 

• Slide 3: Explain 4 to 6 strengths of the company (add more slides if needed).

• Slide 4: Explain 4 to 6 weaknesses of the company (add more slides if needed). 

• Slide 5: Explain 4 to 6 opportunities of the company (add more slides if needed). 

• Slide 6: Explain 4 to 6 threats for the company (add more slides if needed). 

• Slide 7: Your conclusion. Provide your opinion on the strategic position of the organization based on the findings of your SWOT. 

• Slide 8: Reference page. 

Requirements: 

• Create a PowerPoint presentation, at least 8 slides. 

• Include at least 2 valid, credible resources. 

• Use APA formatting for citations, include in-text citations on slides 

The Social Injustices of an American Education

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Have a thesis statement constructed by 4:00 PM, US Eastern Standard Time, on Wednesday, Jul. 7th, 2021. A rough draft must be completed by 8:00 AM, US Eastern Standard Time, on Sunday, Jul. 10th, 2021 and the final draft should be finished by 6:00 AM, US Eastern Standard Time, on Thurs. Jul. 15th. These are hard deadlines, so appropriate work submissions well before them, if possible will be greatly appreciated! The finished product needs to be a minimum of 5 paragraphs, with at least 5-8 sentences each. Read all the articles below and use them, accordingly, to support your arguments. 

  • “Why American Schools Are Even More Unequal Than We Thought”
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/upshot/why-american-schools-are-even-more-unequal-than-we-thought.html

  • “School Segregation, the Continuing Tragedy of Ferguson”
  • https://www.propublica.org/article/ferguson-school-segregation

  • “The Good News About Educational Inequality”
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/opinion/sunday/the-good-news-about-educational-inequality.html

  • “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here”
  • https://main.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/486-who-are-you-and-what-are-you-doing-here

  • “Grade Inflation Gone Wild”
  • https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/0324/p09s02-coop.html

  • “The Other College Scandal”
  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2019/03/30/the-other-college-scandal-grade-inflation-has-turned-transcripts-into-monopoly-money/?sh=219f693a4182

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You have TWO CHOICES for this assignment; CHOOSE ONE! 

OPTION 1: Consider Mark Edmundson’s claims alongside the ideas raised in “Grade Inflation Gone Wild” and “Doesn’t Anyone Get…” Write concerning these author’s complaints and proposals about an improved educational experience to advance your own argument for a “real education” that includes an evaluation you believe is fair and useful.

OPTION 2: Nikole Hannah-Jones shares a concern with Susan Dynarski and Sean Reardon, Jane Waldfogel and Daphna Bassok, all of whom examine the impact of economic inequality on children’s educations. Perhaps beginning with Hannah-Jones’s paragraph 8 as a helpful starting point, bring together these three authors ideas on the multiple aspects of persistent poverty that keep students from accessing meaningful education. Analyze the ways these authors frame the problems and solutions, and assert your own position about what changes can—or should—be made, while addressing the challenges described in these readings.

CSIA

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Before you begin read: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/03/f13/C2M2-v1-1_cor.pdf

Our class focuses on integrating many different aspects of cybersecurity, information security, and information assurance.  Recent developments in the field of cybersecurity have resulted in a number of “maturity models” which can be used by external assessors to evaluate the maturity level of an organization’s cybersecurity management program.

For this discussion paper, you will need to research the Department of Energy’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model and then compare it to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and other frameworks listed in the course readings. After you have done so, write a position paper in which you recommend a cybersecurity framework or maturity model as the basis for assessing the cybersecurity program for Padgett-Beale Financial Services. Assessments will be performed on an annual basis beginning one year after the company launches its new operations.

Your 5-7 paragraph position paper must answer the following questions (at a minimum). (You will need to write clearly and concisely to fit all required information into this restricted length.)

  • What approach should the organization take in developing the Cybersecurity Management program? (What standards or frameworks should be used?)
  • What laws and regulations must be addressed by the Cybersecurity Management Program in a financial services firm?
  • What are the best practices that should be put into place to assess the maturity of PBI-FS’s cybersecurity management program?

Post your position paper as a reply to this topic. Remember to cite your sources and place your reference list at the end of your posting.

Analyze data

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To make sense of all the data available to them, business leaders work alongside data scientists who generate data visualizations to understand business questions via analytics. This process gives companies insight on what is working and what is not: for example, whether the products or services offered are meeting expectations, or if a shift in strategy is necessary.

Prompt

For this assignment, you will take on the role of a business leader who wishes to analyze if a new product their company has introduced is meeting the expectations. Imagine that you would like to create a post in the company intranet that summarizes your findings in an easy-to-read format for your team. Pay special attention to creating meaningful data visualizations. You should use techniques that make content easy to follow but that also display charts accurately without distorting or skewing data. Your company’s profit goal is 25% of the cost of goods sold (COGS). Remember, COGS is the cost of manufacturing the product, including labor, materials, and overhead. You will need to build trust and an open channel of communication with other leaders on your team. Pay close attention to the story that data visualizations tell you and others reviewing your post.

The purpose of this analysis is to better understand the cost, revenue, and profit associated with the new product launch. Review the Cost, Revenue, and Profit spreadsheet retrieved from the company’s data center and consider the following while developing your ideas in this assignment.

  • What is the importance of data analysis?
  • What are the results of your analysis?
  • Think about your analysis and its findings, including visuals. Use visuals and text to re-state the purpose of your analysis and summarize your most important findings.
    • What are you trying to represent with this data?
    • What kind of graphic have you selected and why?
  • How did adding visual representations of the data change your analysis?
    • Does the target audience influence the way you display information?

Guidelines for Submission

Complete the Making Data Driven Decisions worksheet in your Soomo webtext, download your completed work, and submit it in Brightspace for instructor feedback. You should write using a professional voice, and any sources should be cited according to APA style. Your assignment must be between 400 and 800 words in length.

Course Project Phase: Project Proposal Assignment

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 Course Project Phase: Project Proposal Assignment Instructions

Overview

The course project will assess your ability to solve a complex Information System (IS) problem/challenge in an IS context of your interest. A specific focus of the project will be placed on Human Computer Interaction (HCI). 

Instructions

To complete this phase of your course project, you will need to submit the Project Proposal. The project proposal must be at least 1,200 words of text that answers all the items listed below, must follow current APA format, contain a title page, and reference page with a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed sources.

Project Proposal

1. Company description

o Select a company

o Describe the company (introduction/background)

o Explain the current state of the company

2. Problem Statement (Opportunity Statement)

o State the unmet business technology problem

o State the HCI problem your information system will attempt to resolve

o Explain why this problem needs fixed

o State your reasons for choosing to fix this problem

3. Purpose Statement

o Project purpose or business case justification

o State the type of information system you will be creating or fixing

o Describe the information system

o Explain the most critical services being offered by this information system or webpage

4. Project description

o Select a poorly designed HCI information system or HCI web interface

o Review its features

o Analyze its features

5. Identify the User

o State the users

o Define the users

o Describe the user requirements

o Identify the target audience

6. State your reasons for choosing this company and system or website

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

Submit your assignment to the Turnitin Draft link to check for potential issues with plagiarism. When you are ready, submit the final version of your assignment to the designated Turnitin submission link.

Topic 2: Quoting and Paraphrasing Ideas from Sources

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In this discussion, you will share one of your reasons and connect it with information from one of the previously assigned readings.  You will also give and receive feedback from your classmates.

Initial Post 

Think about the development of your case study and write a post where you:

(1) state one of your reasons in support of your thesis

(2) post a quote from one of the previously assigned readings that you will use as evidence for your reason

(3) paraphrase the quote and explain how the quote relates to your thesis and reason

(4) demonstrate use of quotations, accurate APA in-text citations, and an academic voice

(5) demonstrate the grammar and writing skills covered in previous weeks

Peer Response (

Respond to at least one of your classmates and provide feedback on her/his reason and quote. Here are a few things you might consider when writing your response:

  • Is the reason clear and logical? Why or why not? Suggest possible revisions to make the reason clear and logical.
  • Does the selected quote relate to the reason? If so, how? If not, why not? Suggest an alternative quote that better relates to the reason.
  • Is the paraphrase of the quote effective? If so, how? If not, why not? Suggest possible revisions to improve the paraphrase.
  • Is the connection between the quote and the reason clear and logical? Why or why not? Suggest possible revisions to make the connection clear and logical.
  • What other insight or suggestions might you offer your classmate regarding her/his topic, thesis, and reasons?

weekly Discussion 1

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Impact of State Privacy Laws on InfoSec

Within California SB1386, one of the greatest concerns for information security and privacy professionals is language that includes liability related to the personally identifiable information of California residents, regardless of where that data is collected and stored.

Tasty Candy Store is a candy manufacturer in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has a special line of high-priced chocolate liqueur truffles that are a popular favorite of visitors to Las Vegas. Tasty Candy owners saw the potential for expanding their sales by creating a Web site, allowing customers to purchase their favorite sweet treats over the Internet. Their predictions were accurate, and soon the Tasty Candy Web site was busy processing orders from customers all over the world. Their customer base includes a large number of California residents.

Two years after Tasty Candy set up their Web site, the site fell victim to hackers who gained access to all of the credit card and demographic data for all of Tasty Candy’s 12,000 customers.

Use the study materials and any additional research needed to fill in knowledge gaps. Then discuss the following:

  • What are the mitigating factors that would work to the benefit of Tasty Candy in meeting the requirements of SB1386 that pertain to information breach reporting related to California residents?
  • What are responsibilities of Tasty Candy in terms of reporting this breach of data specific to California residents?
  • Are there other state or federal regulations that would impact how and when Tasty Candy reported this data breach to the general public or to specific segments of their customer base?

Organizational Management

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Goal: Create a case study analysis based on two scholarly studies that utilize metaphors (Morgan’s, or similar) to describe the functionality of organizations. After a concise, but thorough, analyses of the cases, summarize the benefits of using metaphorical devices in management practice.

Instructions: Students will write a 600-750 word case study analysis based on two case studies that involve the use of Morgan’s metaphors (or similar) as a tool to understand organizations. Review the Case Study Analysis procedure as presented in a document located in this week’s reading resources (see Lessons). Obtain your case study articles from scholarly peer-reviewed journals in the APUS online library. Use case studies that were published within the last ten years. After a concise, but thorough and clear delineation and analysis of the cases, complete the paper with a summary of what you gleaned from using metaphors to understand management practice within organizations. 

Write using the APA style format, including a title page and references page (no abstract is required). When you upload your paper, also upload pdfs of BOTH case studies, so the professor can check your analysis.

Use the following outline in your summary (in APA format with a Title page and References page): 

  1. Identify the business problems of each of the cases; describe the metaphor(s) used.
  2. Rank-order the critical issues stated in the cases
  3. Evaluate the proposed solutions. Are the solutions valid? Why or why not? How/why did the use of metaphor(s) assist in the solution?
  4. Submit recommendations you propose beyond what is already stated in the cases.
  5. State how the solutions will be communicated in each case. Do you agree? Why or why not?
  6. At the end of the paper, write a paragraph expressing the takeaways/benefits of using metaphors in management practice.

NOTE: Do not use macros or automatic referencing in your papers for this course. The auto features usually cause unforeseen problems in format.

Follow the Submissions Guidelines as listed in the Syllabus: This assignment should be submitted as Word.doc attachment in the Assignment section of our virtual classroom. The file name of your paper should be named in the following manner: Last name–truncated Week Number-Assignment name (abbreviated if necessary).

For example: Smith-Wk04-Metaphors Case Study Analysis 

The accompanying articles upon which your work is based should be saved to your computer as a pdf files and then uploaded along with your assignment, named as suits you, EXCEPT put your last name first in the following manner: Last name–the name of the respective article (abbreviate as needed).

For example: Smith-YadaYada Research

Please note that this week you should upload three items into the same assignment area: your paper (.doc) plus the two case studies (each as a .pdf) upon which your paper is based.

Capstone business intelligence

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 EVERY Question should have at least 300 or more words for sure.

1)   You are a member of the Human Resource Department of a medium-sized organization that is implementing a new interorganizational system that will impact employees, customers, and suppliers.  Your manager has requested that you work with the system development team to create a communications plan for the project.  He would like to meet with you in two hours to review your thoughts on the KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN.  What should those objectives be?
 

2) Discuss the team dynamics for a highly effective or ineffective team of which you were a member. Can you explain why the team performed so well or so poorly?

3) From Chapter 12, page 379 WEB-BASED CASE STUDY, THE FUTURE OF LIFE INSTITUTE.  Read the case and answer all questions (20 points).
Elon-Musk donated $10 million to a foundation called the Future of Life Institute.  The institute published an open letter from an impressive array of AI experts who call for careful research into how humanity can reap the benefits of AI “while avoiding its pitfalls.”  Go online and find out about the institute’s initiatives.  What are its primary goals?  How can humans establish and maintain careful oversight of the work carried out by robots?  How valid are Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Stephen Hawking’s concerns?  What ethical concerns should the public bear in mind as the technological revolution advances?
Sources:  Future of Life Institute.  http://futureoflife.org

4) QUESTION: How would one define business intelligence (BI)? Identify and briefly discuss a real-world application of BI?

5) QUESTION: Provide a real-world example or describe a hypothetical situation in which a legitimate organization used spam in an effective and nonintrusive manner to promote a product or service.

6)  How can one distinguish between an organizational weakness and a threat to the organization?

Summary Paper

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Summary Paper

As a graduate of this program, you will need to translate abstract academic theory into concrete organizational behavior in order to improve your company’s culture and performance. With that in mind, suppose your employer has paid your tuition for this class, and, in return for their investment, they expect you to present a report detailing specific suggestions to managers and/or executives on how to improve organizational culture. You are to write a 12-to-15 page paper that will be presented to the organization’s top executives. In your paper, include the following:

  • Executive Summary (1 page): Summary of the paper’s content and objectives. 
  • Body of paper (10-12 pages):
    • Introduction, including overview of current organizational culture (2 pages). In this section, discuss the importance of organizational culture in general and the need to appropriately and effectively manage it. In describing your organization’s culture, you may reference your current or a past employer, or any of the organizational case studies presented in the text (e.g., Digital Equipment Corporation or Ciba-Geigy, as discussed in Chapter 3).
    • Specific suggestions/Action plan (7-8 pages). Provide five actionable and detailed suggestions on how the organization’s leaders can improve organizational culture. Each suggestion should be specific and relevant to your organization, or the organization you have chosen, and should include a detailed rationale based upon the data/information presented in the course.
    • Conclusion (1-2 pages). Summarize the importance of effective leadership in managing your chosen organizational culture, along with a summary of the action items your organizational leaders should consider, and why. 
  • References page (1 page): Format according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA manual. Provide a minimum of five references in addition to your course text.

Writing the Research Report
The research report:

  • Must be 12-to-15 double-spaced-pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA manual (6th edition).
  • Must include a cover page that includes:
    • Student’s name
    • Course name and number
    • Title of paper
    • Instructor’s name
    • Date submitted
  • Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
  • Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources.
  • Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. 
  • Conclusion (1-2 pages). – summary of the importance of effective leadership in managing  student’s chosen organizational culture, along with a summary of the action items their organizational leaders should consider, and why

                                                        References, (you may use other references)

Chatman, J, A. & O’Reilly, C. A. (2016). Paradigm lost: Reinvigorating the study of organizational culture. Research in Organizational Behavior, Volume 36, pp 199-224.

Rijal, S., (2016). The influence of transformational leadership and organizational culture on learning organization: A comparative analysis of the IT sector. Journal of Administrative and Business Studies, Vol. 2(3): 121-129.

Warrick, D. D. (2017). What leaders need to know about organizational culture. Business Horizons, Volume 60 (3), May–June, pp 395-404.

Schein, E. H. (2016). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass:

  • Chapter 17. The Change Leader as Learner