Test Instructions: 

1. Please answer both of the questions below.  Answer each sub-question as well.

2. Each answer should be approximately 600-900 words per answer.  Your total test should be roughly between 1200-1800 words. 

3. Only use course materials for this test. Cite the sources for any quotes in your test or in any instances where it is not clear which author you are paraphrasing. In-text citations, including the last name of the author and page number (Asch, 1653), are ideal for this purpose. No separate reference sheet is needed. 

4. You alone should answer your test questions. You may review any class readings with class member, but carefully avoid discussing your response to the test questions. If I find too many similarities between any two persons’ answers, I retain the right to test them further. 

5. Remember to explain yourself. Think carefully about your answers and explain them clearly and thoroughly (though keep the word count in mind). You may quote class texts to strengthen or clarify your answers. I recommend a separate paragraph for each major point.

6. Please submit a copy of your test using the link under Tests on Blackboard.  

Test Questions:

1. Read the following case and answer the questions below: 

Case: 

Susan, a 75 year old retired accountant, wife, mother of two and grandmother of three, has Alzheimer’s disease. Now six years into the diagnosis, her family finds that Susan can have a relatively comfortable life by attending an adult day center during the day while they work, and then they care for her in the evenings and weekends.  Susan has mood swings and sometimes angry outbursts, but usually, she enjoys singing and dancing at the day center. She cannot make new short or long-term memories, and she does not recognize friends and family.  She cannot be left alone.  Further, certain aspects of her health are beginning to fail.  Most importantly, the muscles she uses to swallow are beginning to atrophy.  Doctors tell her family that Susan will lose the ability to swallow in the new few months.  Her physician has offered to insert a feeding tube into her abdomen. Such a tube would, he believes, allow her to live several more years. The family is not sure whether to have the tube inserted. 

Questions: 

a. Susan’s family consults a family friend about whether to insert the tube who is a nurse with significant experience in end of life care.  The nurse advises the family that, in his experience, inserting such a tube for a patient like Susan would be futile. Using Wicclair’s categories of futility, what might the nurse mean by this statement?  In what sense(s) might the treatment be reasonably considered futile?  Please explain.

 b. What might the U.S. Bishop’s Committee say as to whether it would be ethical for Susan’s family to not insert a feeding tube for Susan?  Please briefly explain your answer, and refer to their text to support your answer. 

c. After Susan had kids in her early 30s, she and her husband filled out living wills, gave them to one another, and filled them with their providers. In Susan’s living will, she explained that she did not want to be kept alive through life-sustaining medicaltreatment if she is terminally ill and the treatment would provide little benefit other than keeping her alive.  What might be good reasons to not use this living will to make the family’s current decision regarding Susan’s care? 

d. Which of the ethical factors above do you find most compelling for the family in making this treatment choice as Susan’s surrogates?  Please briefly explain.  Is there one or two other ethical issues that you think are important for the family to consider in making this choice

2. PGD, Reproduction and Ethics   

Please read the case below and answer the questions at the end.  There are two questions: a and b.  

Case:

John and Martha have been married for three years.  They have always wanted to have children, and now they are ready to try to have their first child. Martha has a rare genetic condition that would pose a great risk of suffering and a shortened lifespan to any child of theirs.  A genetic counselor has suggested that the couple could use Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) as a way to avoid passing this genetic condition on to a child.  To use PGD, the couple would undergo IVF (in vitro fertilization) to reproduce like many parents, and doctors would select an embryo to implant that did not have the genetic condition they hoped to avoid.  

John and Martha are also both deaf, and they are active in communities that support deaf culture. They speak sign language and hold professional jobs they enjoy.  They believe that they live uniquely rich lives because they are deaf, and they want to share their unique culture with a child.  When they discuss PGD with the medical professionals at the clinic overseeing PGD procedures, they ask them, while they are selecting an embryo, to also select for an embryo that has the gene for deafness.  The parent’s first priority is to avoid the harmful disease, but if possible, they would like to select for deafness.  Is it ethical in this case to select for deafness?   

Questions: 

a. Describe two ethical issues from class that will help you analyze the ethics of this case (e.g. professional ethical duties, etc.).  Explain how these issues apply to the case and what the issues reveal about what is right or wrong in this case, specifically regarding selecting for deafness. (Please quote from class text in describing the ethical issues you’ve chosen to apply to this case.)

b. Last, but not least, what do you think Adrienne Asch would say about the ethics of this case?  Here, please address ethical issues that you did not discuss in part (a). 

c. Lastly, do you think it is ethically acceptable to use PGD to make such a choice?  Please explain.

In this discussion you are asked to consider these topics/questions:

·  What factors within the external environment affect businesses, especially uncertainty and stability, that drive towards efficiency and control for management strategy? 

·  How do demographic and society-wide shifts as well as technological developments create both challenges and new opportunities for business? 

· As a manager, how would you integrate these issues into your work for building co-worker relationships and for having negotiation skills to make unexpected decisions? 

Note:  At 1st glance the readings and other resources in this guide will look big or long.  There are 3 major categories that align with the bullets above.  Aim to choose 1-3 resources from each topic for your research.  You may read more if the topics catch your attention.

1. Resources to help you:  Understanding External Forces

Review carefully the commentary link for Content Session 6.  In that document you will find a good overview of external forces facing organizations.  Pay attention to Exhibit 15.4 which enables you to organize an analysis of uncertainty and stability. 

Porter’s Competitive Forces Theory

Michael Porter is recognized for his work on how to see and then use competitive forces, found in the environment, to influence profitability.  Researched since the 80s, these forces include: 

· The number and power of a company’s competitive rivals

· potential new market entrants

· existing suppliers

· customers

· substitute products.

Porter explains the role for competition.  The video is about 13 min, from Harvard School of Business, where Porter is distinguished faculty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYF2_FBCvXw

So, it’s important to see how Porter’s competitive forces work because they set up attention or focus to what groups (divisions, team projects) hold attention.  The following video applies Porter’s principles to Tesla,which is an innovative company, but also does not dominate the market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F0dI8zaotU

Take away:  Keep in mind that as you examine the impact of competitive forces, Porter’s theory, that if you assess the threat as “low” then the work unit is likely to be more stable.  If you assess the competition as “high” then the impact is risky and but also has more options.   

Often wider social trends influence what managers perceive they should do, or what seems important, especially for inclusion when faced with diversity.  Select two (2) or more issues that you believe are relevant to understanding social diversity background.

2. The diversity/inclusion issues include–

Race

Race and Work opportunities

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/most-americans-say-there-is-too-much-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s-but-fewer-than-half-call-it-a-top-priority/

Race attitudes in the US

… https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/10/06/amid-national-reckoning-americans-divided-on-whether-increased-focus-on-race-will-lead-to-major-policy-change/

Meet Yvonne Cheek (2-3min video, describing the real world of an African American’s approach to leadership    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7CpQlU_c

Millennials and their work expectations

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/

Video with Simon Sinek characterizing Millennials (under 20 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU

Distinguishing between younger workers and their older cohort, the Millennials for technology practices

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/

An overview of the American Workforce and technology

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/29/facts-about-american-workers/

Perceptions of how Americans use technology since the pandemic started…suggests communication challenges for any large technology change.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/18/what-weve-learned-about-americans-views-of-technology-during-the-time-of-covid-19/

Hispanics  and how they see themselves in the US

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/24/the-ways-hispanics-describe-their-identity-vary-across-immigrant-generations/

A Hispanic success story (video)

Meet the V-Chancellor of the Univ. of Chicago… Francesca, who tells her story of professional advancement from a modest farm family to the 1st woman of color to hold her position.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE788oP2jXE

What’s been learned about technology adaptations and worker satisfaction from experience with the pandemic:

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/12/09/how-the-coronavirus-outbreak-has-and-hasnt-changed-the-way-americans-work/

Co-Vid Pandemic Issues:

Impact of Co-vid 19

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/09/24/economic-fallout-from-covid-19-continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest/

https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/08/04/coronavirus-economic-downturn-has-hit-latinos-especially-hard/

Loss of Visibility for Minorities during work at home

Without the networks and encounters that offices provide, companies must foster the visibility of Black and Hispanic workers, diversity experts say.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/06/business/economy/working-from-home-diversity.html?smid=em-share

3. Understanding/Negotiating Conflict:

Conflict is a key factor in the case scenario.  Justine must decide whether to accept the last minute demands of Mathias from Allied, or what? For more understanding of conflict and negotiation, look to the top of this post.  See/review the attached file “Conflict Management-Negotiation, SPRING 2021”.   Consider a review of the 2nd file, which has video clips of important ideas about negotiating.

Guide Details for Your Thread (main post)  

· Read the scenario of Morton Papers and Justine Woods carefully.  There are several important topics in the case, which offer insights and ideas for helping Justine, who must effectively find a way to negotiate.

· 1st consider the external forces influencing Morton Paper and Justine’s success. Explain two (2) or more by writing at least one paragraph.  Using the analysis chart found in Commentary, for session 6, determine the uncertainty/stability of Morton.

· Identify two (2) social trends likely to be influencing Justine. Explain by writing 1-2 paragraphs.

· Each trend should be researched–using a minimum of one (1) source.  

 Use in-text cites.

· Return to the events of the case and find nuggets of information that point towards a negotiation for Justine.  

· Conclude with a paragraph that describes your best advice to Justine.  What would you do if you were in her position?

• Scenario:

  Justine Wood is the top salesperson for Morton Paper Company.  She also leads the sales team that supports Morton’s largest client, Allied Office Supplies, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.  Justine is very proud of her accomplishments–she is the 1st African-American woman to lead the sales team.

• Allied is an international office supply chain that is growing rapidly in the global market. But due to rapid growth, Allied has adapted a blockchain software record-keeping system to track all vendor transactions and offer strategy to its sometimes complex, but until recently, mostly stable set of external forces, from which senior levels determine Allied’s overall strategy.  During the past months, Justine and her team members, Andy and Ronnie underwent intense negotiations with Allied’s purchasing agent, Jaime Matías, and Allied’s CEO, to restructure the current sales contract so that everyone had a level playing field around the blockchain software used by Allied. 

  The new contract spelled out Allied’s yearly paper requirements (contracted sales amounts) as well as payment and credit terms. But, the negotiations had been particularly hard for several reasons: 

• Allied’s sales had increased internationally causing shipping and customs duties to increase the cost to Morton, resulting in an increase in sales price to Allied; 
• Morton’s overall sales profits have increased domestically due to technological advances such as e-records, e-contracts, etc., that allowed for a reduction in workforce.  While Morton is facing performance issues, generally the management consider external forces to be manageable, with projections for low to moderate instability or uncertainty.  The CEO of Morton was especially pleased with their current contract control measures.
• The volume of sales for Allied required Morton to offer a volume sales discount to remain competitive with other paper companies, and every supplier was consistently monitoring its external competitors.  The market was very competitive, even in the times of the Covid Pandemic.
• Morton’s CEO has been reluctant to tie so much of the company’s future success to Allied.  The concern was raised because in the last six months, Allied was paying down the credit line every 60 days rather than in the 30 days that had been agreed to. This delay signaled a little more instability and uncertainty.  Allied did not appear to have credit issues but Morton was not able to give interest-free loans for 60 days. 
• The world market has been made more challenging for distribution of Allied office products, including paper from Morton, due to the impact of the pandemic.  Shipping and tracking are now somewhat difficult due to workforce being co-located and dependent on virtual team/project planning.  The sales force team, led by Justine, has felt the stress and loss of informal, intelligence gathering they relied on pre-pandemic.  Although Zoom sessions and TEAM software was used with more skill, communication gaps persisted.
• But, this week, in time for the Labor Day holiday vacation, there was GOOD NEWS!  Morton and Allied reached an almost final agreement–to be signed off on Tuesday after the holiday.  
• On Friday evening, Justine was packing her belongings readying to leave the office, when her cell phone pinged.  “This phone call could not be good” thought Justine.  
• The caller was Jaime Matías, the Purchasing Agent for Allied. It appeared that a recent deal with UMGC tripled Allied’s need for office supplies, especially copy paper from Morton, due to the education institution demands for paper–the University perceived it needed a heavy reliance on paper documentation.  This deal would raise the total contract sales to $22.5 million.  Allied now faced more business, but also needed to change the line of credit in the new contract. Matías made it clear to Justine that if the new terms were not agreed on by the end of the evening, he was prepared to seek a contract offer by Morton’s biggest competitor, King Paper.  Matías further stated that, while Allied is pleased with Morton’s work, money is always the most important factor in purchasing.  Allied’s president wanted an immediate answer.  
• Justine was aware that most of Matías’ talk was a negotiating technique but did not doubt that competition was waiting in the background.  Images of last month’s negotiation talks raced through Justine’s mind as she listened to Matías. 
• Overall, the month’s negotiation process had been long and difficult.  The thought of going over it all again to make the changes seemed mind-numbing to Justine.  Yet, making the decision on her own, in a 1-2 hour window of time, would mean obligating the company to an even greater cash flow commitment.  Her boss would not be happy with this obligation because he specifically warned her there was nothing to prevent Allied from a delayed payment in the new contract agreement.  
• Justine rationalized the facts and thought to herself, “Allied knows we are not likely to cut them off easily.  They are too big a customer to us.  However, the extra sales volume should offset the lost interest due for ten days in late invoices.” 
• Justine told Matías that she would get back to him quickly about the proposal.  When Justine hung up the phone, she thought about all the work that went into the external environmental analysis they did prior to the negotiations to take in the strengths, opportunities, and some of the concerns that came up in the world market.  She wasn’t sure what she should do. 
• Further, Justine perceived that as a black woman in a visible position in her company, there was extra scrutiny.  Was there a way to hold her authority while also finding negotiating options that gained resources for her and the team?  And, what/when should she alert her CEO about this important change in this very important contract?

  Imagine that you are Justine and that you have her job as the sales manager.  Describe what you would do and why you would do it.  Make sure that you understand and explain the business situation for Morton and Justine, as well as for Allied.  Your initial post (thread) is due by Feb 23with replies to 2-4 other classmates before Mar 2.  Show an understanding of the situation, likely external forces influencing expectations for performance, and your thoughts about expanding the negotiation process, particularly for being inclusive of minority leadership.

  

Final Exam DPEE

Note: 

· For demonstrating conceptual understanding, you are required to work on the model that is easier to handle or compute, not necessarily the more suitable (or more complicated) model for the dataset. Follow the question description. 

· You don’t need to check the assumption of a model unless the question asks for it. For example, if the question asks you to make prediction based on a model, you don’t need to check the assumption for the model before making prediction. 

· For any of the testing (hypothesis test) problem, define Ho/Ha, compute the test statistic, report the exact p value, and state the conclusion. The default alpha value is 5%, unless specify. 

· Elaborate your reasoning clearly and show relevant plots, R results, and tables to support your opinion in each step and conclusion. 

· Submit the Rmd file and the corresponding pdf file knitted from it, along with your answer, this format is similar to your homework. 

· The data is real, just like the project you are working on. Hence it is possible that even after the remedial method has been done, the model is still not perfect. When this happens, evaluation will be based on the level you execute the methods covered in Stat512 to improve the model. Don’t worry if your model is not perfect, try your best to demonstrate the skill set you learn in this class. 

Study the data with a linear analysis and complete the problems. The data set, dataDPEE.csv has 3 continues predictors and two categorical predictors. 

  

Problem 1. Consider only the first order model with X1, X2 and X3, perform the following hypothesis. 

a. (10) whether X1 can be dropped from the full model. 

> dpeemod <- lm(y ~ x1 + x2 + x3)

> plot(dpee)

> summary(dpeemod)

Call:

lm(formula = y ~ x1 + x2 + x3)

Residuals:

Min 1Q Median  3Q Max 

-15.948 -11.640 -1.480 6.402 31.650 

Coefficients:

Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|) 

(Intercept) 90.79017 22.07408 4.113 0.00106 **

x1 -0.68731 0.47959 -1.433 0.17377 

x2 -0.47047 0.24227 -1.942 0.07254 . 

x3 -0.06845 0.46523 -0.147 0.88513 

—

Signif. codes: 0 ‘***’ 0.001 ‘**’ 0.01 ‘*’ 0.05 ‘.’ 0.1 ‘ ’ 1

Residual standard error: 14.75 on 14 degrees of freedom

Multiple R-squared: 0.6257, Adjusted R-squared: 0.5455 

F-statistic: 7.8 on 3 and 14 DF, p-value: 0.002652

 

Ho: X1 is significant and cannot be dropped from the model.

Ha: X1 can be dropped from the model. 

Using the model Y~X1 + X2 + X3, 

b. (10) whether X1 can be dropped from the model containing only X1 and X2. 

  

Problem 2 (10) Consider the first order model with X1, X2 and X3, simultaneously estimate parameters (beta1, beta2 and beta3)  with a confidence level of 75%. 

  

Problem 3 (20) Perform appropriate analysis to diagnose the potential issues with the first order full mode with X1 X2 and X3, improve the model as much as possible with the methods covered in Stat512. You should also consider the assumption checking for your revised model.  

  

Problem 4 

a. (10) Compute AIC, BIC, and PRESSP to compare the following two models. 

· The model on the first order terms for X1 and X2 and the interaction term X1X2.

· The model on the first order terms for X1, X2 and X3 

Do they all yield the same better model? If not, explain. 

b. (10) Select the model that you think is better to predict the mean response value, then predict the mean response for the following case, at a confident level of 99%. 

  

x1

x2

x3

 

45

36

45

Problem 5 

X4 and X5 are two factors on Y.

a. (10) Is there any significant interaction effect between X4 and X5 on Y? 

b. (10) With the ANOVA method, compute the 95% confidence interval for the following difference, respectively: 

D1= The difference in the mean of Y when (X4=high, X5=less) and (X4=high, X5=more) 

D2= The difference in the mean of Y when (X4=low, X5=less) and (X4=low, X5=more) 

c. (10) With the ANOVA method, compute the 95% confidence interval for 

D1-D2

Where D1 and D2 are described in b. 

How is your result related to a? 

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Imagine your team has been given the task of consulting with a local health care facility that has been experiencing some issues with its staff. Leadership of the facility has noted the main issues being communication, motivation, and teamwork, and has asked you to provide some strategies to improve these areas.

Note: Second-level bullets (considerations) are meant to guide the students in creating their responses; the expectation is not that the response would specifically address each component.  

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word proposal in which you:

• Explain strategies that can be used to create efficient and effective teams.
• What are the essential elements of effective teams?
• How are teams used in other industries, such as aviation, auto racing, and the military?
• What best practices from other industries could be applied in the health care industry?
•  Explain strategies that can be used to manage conflict within teams.
•  Explain strategies that can be used to communicate effectively in a health care organization.
• Why does an organizational model matter when considering communication?
• How should an organization communicate with or involve employees in formulating solutions to problems?
• What communication techniques are most effective for sharing information and ideas?
• What communication techniques have proven to be ineffective?
• How might technology also affect the communication process?
• Describe methods management can use to motivate employees. Consider what theoretical concepts support this.

Explain why you believe these choices would be effective.

Cite 3 references, one of which may be the course textbook.

Format your assignment according to APA guidelines.