Now, imagine that you have recently had several parents in your classroom ask you about why their child is playing in the classroom.You have decided to write a letter to the parents to help them understand why play has been incorporated into your classroom and how it is benefiting the development of their children. Please post your letter as your initial response to this discussion.Your letter should include the following:
A description of why play is an important part of a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Be sure to support your statements with at least one scholarly source.
An explanation of how play can help to support a child’s physical, cognitive, and affective development.
An example of one play-based activity that demonstrates to parents how play supports their child’s development. For instance, you could explain how playing a game of hopscotch can help a child with their gross motor skills (physical development) and counting (cognitive development). Please make sure that your play-based activity is an original idea or that if you use an idea from an outside source it is properly formatted according to APA as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Also, this should be a brief description of an activity. It is not a lesson plan.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Learning Centers and Play
A developmentally appropriate curriculum must incorporate play due to various reasons. Scholarly texts indicate that play is a very vital way for a child to comprehend and memorize a concept, skill and task that is required for purposes of setting a firm foundation for success in later school and life. Play involves many aspects such as the ability to exercise free choice, self-motivation, adherence to rules of play, the roles played by the children participating in the play, and the environment in which the play is happening (Johnson, Christie & Yawkey, 1999). Accordingly, children play not because of such rewards as food, money, or praise, but because they like to play (Wardle, 1987).
Play can help in supporting the physical, cognitive, and affective development of a child. Physical play assists a child’s development in gross and fine muscle strength as well as integration of brain, nerves and muscles. According to Shore (1997), there is a remarkable connection between brain development and stimulating activity. Children can also develop affectively through social play which helps them to learn how to interact with others and other aspects such as sharing, cooperation, reciprocity, and give and take. Different interactions in the various stages of development also help children to learn to apply moral reason in their daily endeavors. Cognitive development is achieved through a child’s ability to manipulate the environment and innovate new things. This kind of play takes place in terms of the child counting objects, constructing cities and towers with blocks, drawing, and playing in the sand. Constructive play provides a child with opportunities to experiment with things around them. After such kind of play, a child develops a sense of accomplishment and becomes motivated to take control over the environment.
References
Johnson, J.E., Christie, J.F., & Yawkey, T.D. (1999). Play and early childhood development.(2nd ed.). New York: Longman.
Shore, R., (1997).Rethinking the brain. New insights into early development. New York: Families and Work Institute.
As the authors of our text note:
Since its founding in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has been an influence on early education in the United States, but never so strongly as it has been since it began writing position statements in the 1980s. (Estes & Krogh, 2012, p. 98)
One of the position statements that NAEYC created focuses on developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). Understanding what DAP is and how it will influence your work with children is critical to being a quality early childhood educator.
To deepen your understanding of developmentally appropriate practice, spend some time exploring NAEYC’s website. Pay particular attention to the section of the website dedicated to DAP. While exploring the site, you can learn more about what DAP is, read NAEYC’s position statement on DAP, and learn how DAP can be implemented with different ages of children. When you are finished exploring the site, complete the following:
In your own words, explain what the term developmentally appropriate practice means to you.
Describe at least two personal connections you made with the DAP information you discovered on the NAEYC site.
Summarize three main things you learned from exploring the site. How will they impact your career in early childhood education?
SAMPLE ANSWER
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
The term developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) involves the teaching of children in line with factors that directly and indirectly affect their development and learning. The aim of DAP is to ensure that children achieve optimal development and learning. DAP is guided by three major principles (NAEYC website). The first principle is with regards to understanding the aspects of a child’s early learning and development at every stage and age. This knowledge plays a vital role in making decisions on the experiences that are more suitable for the learning and development of the child. The second principle involves the knowledge of the appropriateness of the learning approaches applied to every child. The third principle is the understanding of the cultural appropriateness of the learning and developmental practices applied on every child. These principles ensure that the curriculum and teaching practices encourage individual learning and development and group work. The teachers are able to appreciate every individual child’s strengths and weaknesses in order to get the best out of all the children.
There are two personal connections that I can relate with in the DAP information. The first connection is with regards to the child’s development and learning at an individual level. At the individual level, I remember how my teacher specialized on my drawing skills and helped me come out as the best artist in my class. At the group level, working in a group helped me learn new aspects from other members of the group as I shared what I thought they lacked.
Accordingly, three main things that I have learned from the NAEYC site in line with DAP include: the creation of a caring environment for learners, the development of a suitable curriculum for the learners, and the evaluation of the learning and development of the children. These three things will impact my career in early childhood education on the ground that I need to appreciate every child’s capacity at an individual level and at a group level.
Becoming a professional in the field of early childhood education requires you to become familiar with the various developmental theories as well as research that studies the effectiveness of various learning approaches. Throughout the last two weeks, you have learned about these different theories and approaches to learning. After engaging in discussions with your classmates, you now have ideas about which theories and approaches you would like to use in your work with children. Using the steps below, you will sort through these theories and approaches to shape who you are as a teacher and what you believe about how children learn best. This assignment will also help you prepare for your final assignment.
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, access the APA template for assistance with the writing process, formatting, documentation, and citations in your written work.
Step 1: Reflect back on your initial response in the “Aspects of Theories” discussion from Week Two and the “Learning Approaches” discussion from this week.
• Using the theories and approaches that were discussed, fill in the table below by ranking each according to how you connected with them (“most connected” at the top and “least connected” at the bottom). Be sure to delete the example row provided.
Theorists/Theories – Most connected to least connected Learning Approaches – Most connected to least connected
Ex: 1. Piaget – Theory of Cognitive Development Ex: 1. High Scope
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
7. 7.
8. 8.
•
Step 2: Using the table as a guide, research your top two theories and top two learning approaches. You will create a PowerPoint presentation that contains your responses to the points below as they are applied to each of your top two theories and top two learning approaches.
• Summarize the underlying principles or ideas for this theory/approach.
• Explain why this theory/approach is important to understand and how it will benefit your work with children.
• Discuss how this theory/approach will help you to be an effective teacher.
• Explain why this theory/approach is ranked at the top of your list.
• Summarize the similarities you see between the theory and model of those you ranked first. For example, if Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was your top theory and the Reggio Emilia approach was your top learning approach, share how these two ideas support one another.
Step 3: you can submit your assignment as a Power Point that contains your table from Step 1 and your responses to the questions from Step 2. Whichever option you choose, you will also need to follow APA format and include title and reference pages. In addition, the information in your assignment needs to be supported by the textbook and at least two additional scholarly sources. PowerPoint and list them on the reference pages/slides.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Learning Approaches, Theory, and Practice
Theorists/Theories – Most connected to least connected
Learning approaches – most connected to least connected
1. Skinner: Operant Conditioning Theory
Acquisition of rules
2. Vygotsky: Sociocultural Theory of Development
Concept learning
3. Erikson: Theory of Psychosocial Development
Stimulus/response learning
4. Bandura: Social Learning Theory
Signal learning/recognition
5. Piaget: Theory of Cognitive Development
Motor chain learning
6. Gardner: Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Multiple discrimination
7. Kohlberg: Theory of Moral Development
Problem solving
8. Feud: Psychosexual Theory of Development
Verbal chain sequence
Operant conditioning theory
The underlying idea for this theory is that external learning experiences greatly influence the behavior of a person. According to behaviorists, learning occurs through the change in behavior. Positive behavior, skill or knowledge can be achieved through reinforcement. Some examples of reinforcement for learners include the giving of stickers for good work or praising the learners in a selective manner (Krogh & Estes, 2012).
Understanding this theory is important because it helps a teacher to appreciate and utilize any form of reinforcement as well as punishment to control the behavior of students. According, I will become an effective teacher if I utilize this theory because I will learn how to get the best out of my students. This theory is ranked at the top of my list because I believe that behavior plays the most significant role in determining the outcome of a learning experience.
Socio-cultural theory of development
The basic idea presented by this theory is that an individual’s development is highly shaped by the social and cultural interactions around him/her. Thus, a learner can obtain knowledge from a teacher, another learner, or a family member. Ideally, Vygotsky’s theory exhibits some similarities with Piaget’s theory in the sense that teachers are considered to play an important role in supporting the opportunities for learners to gain knowledge with some independence (Krogh & Estes, 2012).
It is important to understand this theory because it helps a teacher to appreciate the socio-cultural aspects that influence learning (Pritchard, 2013). Accordingly, this theory will help me to be a good teacher by helping me utilize group work and partnerships with family for purposes of ensuring that students develop in the best way possible. I have ranked the socio-cultural theory as the second-most important on my list because I believe it is useful in the established of home-school partnerships. This theory is similar to the behaviorist theory in the sense that society greatly influences a child’s learning and development.
References
Krogh, S. L. & Estes, L. (2012). Pathways to Teaching Young Children: an Introduction to Early Childhood Education.
As we have learned this week, there are many different aspects to development that we need to know when working with children from birth to age 8. We must ensure that our classrooms help to stimulate the physical, cognitive, and affective development for all students. For this assignment, you will bring together your knowledge of theories, developmental domains, and learning environments to design a learning environment. The steps for the assignment are:
Step 1: Create your learning environment
Access the APA template for assistance with the writing process, formatting, documentation, and citations in your written work.
Choose an age group (birth to age 2, ages 2 to 5, or ages 6 to 8) to design a learning environment for. ( I pick 8 years old)
Go to the Classroom Architect website or to the Gliffy website. You will use this website to design the layout for the learning environment. When designing your layout, consider how the design you have created will support the developmental needs of your students based on the age group you chose.
After creating your learning environment, take a screenshot of your design. Then, copy and paste your screenshot into a Word document. If you need help taking a screenshot, please view this tutorial.
Step 2: Written support for your learning environment design
Introduction (one paragraph)
Describe the learning environment that you have designed including the setting of your learning environment (school, home daycare, center, etc.) along with the age of children with whom you will be working.
Physical Domain
Explain how your learning environment design supports the physical development of the children with whom you are working.
Include at least two specific examples from your design.
Cognitive Domain
Explain how your learning environment design supports the cognitive development of the children with whom you are working.
Include at least two specific examples from your design.
Affective Domain
Explain how your learning environment design supports the affective development of the children with whom you are working.
Include at least two specific examples from your design.
Developmental Theories
Discuss which of the developmental theories discussed this week are represented in the learning environment you created.
Include at least two specific examples from your design.
Conclusion (one paragraph)
Summarize the main points of your learning environment design and how it will support the developmental needs of your students.
Step 3: Assignment Submission
Submit your assignment as a two page Word document, not including the title and reference page.
Your document should include a screenshot of your classroom along with the written support for your classroom design (answering all questions from Step 2 above).
Along with the textbook, you will need to include at least two additional scholarly sources.
Be sure to mention your sources in the paper as well as including them on a reference page.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Learning environments and development domains
Introduction
The age of the children with whom I would be working is 8. The setting is an elementary school. The designed learning environment comprises wide spaces, 3 computers, 2 classroom rugs, 1 kidney table, 3 student tables, 1 teacher desk and 1 television. There are also 5 shelves, 4 storage areas, 1 fridge, 1 sink, 3 beanbag chairs, and 28 chairs.
Physical domain
The designed learning environment supports the physical development of 8-year-olds in that two areas where the children can engage in play are included in the design. Two specific examples from the design that support the physical development of 8-year-old children are the large open spaces and classroom rugs. Eight-year-old children require active play for their healthy physical development. Active play helps the kids to maintain or build energy, muscular strength, or joint flexibility (Sanchez, 2012). The children can play in the open spaces or in the classroom rugs and the play would contribute to their gross and fine motor development as well as body awareness since they utilize their bodies actively. In small motor development, the natural progression is basically from scribbles to shapes and forms to representational images. It is notable that playing with writing tools will help these kids in refining their fine motor skills. Gross motor development for instance, skipping and hopping develops in the same way (Sanchez, 2012). Playing using their bodies will also enable the 8-year-olds to feel physically secure, self-assured, and confident.
Cognitive domain
The learning environment is designed to enhance the cognitive development of the 8-year old children. There is a square rug and a circle rug. The children can use these two rags to play which supports their cognitive development. In essence, the teacher can develop the cognitive abilities of the children by providing different kinds of play during their school day in the classroom. For instance, children can play board games on the square rug and on the circle rug aimed at enhancing their cognitive development. Games such as hangman, tic-tac-toe and checkers are particularly useful and can be played very well in the classroom rugs.
Affective domain
Besides growing physically and cognitively, 8-year-olds also grow emotionally. Affective development essentially relates to the emergence of emotional capability of experiencing, recognizing, and expressing various emotions and adequately responding to the emotional cues in other people (Sanchez, 2012). The learning environment is designed to enhance the affective development of the 8-year-old kids and two specific examples are the television and expansive play area/open space. They can watch television programs such as Dora cartoon and learn to identify emotions, understand why emotions occur, and the way in which emotions could be managed appropriately. By playing together in the wide spaces, they would become more aware of their feelings. In addition, they would be better able to recognize the feelings of other children and understand them.
Developmental theory
The development theory represented in the learning environment is Piaget theory of cognitive child development. Jean Piaget pointed out that kids are usually born with an extremely fundamental mental structure upon which all later knowledge as well as learning is based. Piaget pointed out that cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental processes due to biological maturation as well as environmental experience (McLeod, 2009). The phases of development according to Piaget include: sensorimotor zero-two years; pre-operational two years to seven years; concrete operational seven years to eleven years; and lastly formal operational eleven years and above (McLeod, 2009). The 8-year-olds are in Piaget’s concrete operational phase; at this phase, they begin to solve problems in a manner that is more logical. For the child to build proper mental constructs from her environment, she has to work with actual or concrete objects, should have time for investigating and testing her ideas in her own ways, and should talk about her ideas with other people, include peers (Sanchez, 2012). Two examples from my design that are represented in learning environment which support child learning and development at this phase are objects inside the shelves and objects in the storage compartments.
Conclusion
To sum up, a learning environment has been designed intended for 8-year-old elementary school children. The kids can play in the wide spaces or in the classroom rugs and the play would contribute to their gross and fine motor development. They can play board games on the square rug and on the circle rug and enhance their cognitive development. They can watch television programs such as Dora cartoon and learn to identify emotions and understand why emotions occur. This learning design supports Jean Piaget’s theory.
Health Level Seven International (HL7) is a not-for-profit, standards-developing organization dedicated to providing a comprehensive framework and related standards for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information that supports clinical practice and the management, delivery, and evaluation of health services.
After reading “Strategic Initiatives” (see Module 4 assigned readings), refer to the journals listed:
Search the GCU Library and the websites of professional health care informatics organizations, such as the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Useful periodicals include:
•Health Data Management
•Health Management Technology
•Healthcare Informatics
•Healthcare IT News
Locate a case study that discusses how a health care organization solved a communication problem with a hardware solution while maintaining existing software.
Prepare a professional report (1,250-1,500 words) as if you are the informatics director of a 300-bed facility and the chief operating officer (COO) has given you the following directives:
1.Improve communication and coordination between admitting, laboratory, pharmacy, and clinicians to increase throughput; assume that each department has its own system currently in place.
2.Propose a solution that maintains existing software in each department and is supported by the HL7 initiatives.
In addition, define your focus and select a hardware solution; it may consist of a phased approach or an approach that directs attention only to one of the groups, or it may involve all of the aforementioned departments.
Provide a solution; emphasize interoperability.
Discuss how HL7 will improve communication and coordination between the departments.
Address the challenges of incorporating interoperability mandates from the Office of the National Coordinator.
Consider the challenges of an environment that is best of breed and the desire to move to a standard EHR across a health care enterprise.
Your solution may not implement new EHR software, but must provide a hardware solution to increase throughput.
Be creative with the context and formatting.
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to Turnitin.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Improve communication and coordination
This Healthcare facility is experiencing operational stress due to reduced financial stability. The profit margins are low and the bed capacity records are at their highest. The management demands that there is need to raise the bed capacity to meet the healthcare demands. The most effective approach would not be an addition of new physical building but rather increase of their service capacity to enable serving more patients through an effective management system that increases the throughput (NCBI, 2013). This calls for a technology that will improve communication between the healthcare professionals as well as their coordination by offering real-time patient particulars such as laboratory updates, physician’s information, as well as information from the pharmacists. The system should facilitate the flow of information in the inpatient setting and the emergency department. This sort of technology is not common in most healthcare environment, especially in the surgical environment (Peter et al., 2012).
The HL7 standards aim at establishing set of values and specifications that facilitate free exchange of healthcare information. This will reduce healthcare services incompatibility due to reduced interoperability. For this reason, the proposed healthcare applications should support effective communication of information between the various environments, and should be available in common programming languages. Additionally, the program should have all the elements of each medical field and segments that can be customized (CDC, 2012).
In this context, the researcher is required to eliminate the information gaps in the healthcare system, which often results to expensive healthcare costs such as diagnostic error or medication error. For this reason, the proposed software should be in a position to tackle the challenges by improving interoperability without slowing down the care delivery process or putting patients at risk. Real-Time location system software enables increase interoperability in the healthcare industry by supporting the alignment of the physician through exchange of relevant healthcare information, which facilitates the management of care transitions. Consequently, responsible care is delivered at lower cost. The system involves physical keying of patient particulars, and the patient is provided with a tag that when used in the healthcare system, it reflect the patient particulars with ease. This way, nurse in charge would know the exact dosage for a particular patient, the physician would easily identify referral cases, and pharmacists would learn the patient particulars with ease (Vast & Gamm, 2010).
To increase throughput, the solution is to ensure that the proposed solution is readily available, and is compatible with the preexisting systems; ensuring that relevant data is captured, and is transmitted in a standardized way, such that the quality of information is not lost during the sharing of information. The part of the process will include ensuring that there is a standard code for all of the departments so that information shared is matched. This will ensure that each department gets a system that contains data in the format needed. The system supports teamwork, staff coordination and promotes patient engagement (CDC, 2012).
The benefits associated with the implementation of this technology includes increased throughput and is evidenced by healthcare variables such decreased length of stay, improved billing system (charge capture, reduced ambulance diversions as well as increased patient quality of life and satisfaction. Additionally, the standard implementation is rather straightforward and considerably customizable to meet the healthcare facility demands (Vast & Gamm, 2010).
Challenges of incorporating interoperability
The main challenge of integrating interoperability is the inadequate sustainable models, which can be used to guide the changes, and to assure that the data sources and storage are secure, offer technical support and a system is cost effective. There are increased risks of questions and distrust over who is responsible in controlling of information collected. Additionally, there are concerns on the standardization process. This implies that there are reduced agreements on which set of standards should be used, and in some cases, the standards used are too general and are susceptible to multiple interpretations. This could result to serious errors (King Et al., 2013).
Technology incompatibility is another issue. Although technological systems have similar objectives, some systems have differing ontologies as well as terminologies about the same healthcare or medication concept. This makes it difficult for interoperability (Vast & Gamm, 2010).
Overcoming the challenges
The main approach to overcome these key challenges is the standardized integration of applications and pricing by the manufactures. This will lower the installation, operation, as well as maintenance cost. The healthcare system should explore on ways to improve a culture that adopts changes. Additionally, legal barriers and hospital policies should be annulled. This includes working in partnership with the healthcare providers to debunk the misconceptions that prevails. The healthcare facility should establish a standard coding system and medication symbol and format, which largely influences the rate of interoperability. More efficient as well as effective software should be established to ensure that their i.e. effective communication and coordination between the stakeholders (NCBI, 2013).
Peter, B. Et al. (2012). Mining electronic health records: towards better research applications and clinical care. Nature reviews 13; p395 -407
Vest, JR., & Gamm, LD. (2010). Health information exchange: persistent challenges and new strategies. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2010 May-Jun; 17(3): 288–294 doi: 10.1136/jamia.2010.003673
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
All key elements of the assignment covered in a substantive way.
• 1,050 to 1,400 word paper.
• A variety of assessment or evaluation practices (i.e.: commercially produced unit tests, teacher-created tests, rubrics, and portfolios) being used in the classroom to assess learning.
• Discuss at length three of those examples that represent effective and ineffective practices.
• Provide a supported analysis of these methods.
• Provide supported suggestions for making changes to the above three models.
The content of the paper is comprehensive, accurate, and/or persuasive.
The paper develops a central theme or idea, and links current assessment practices to relevant experience and educational practice.
Major points stated clearly; supported by specific details, examples, or analysis; and organized logically.
• Three examples of effective and ineffective assessment practices.
• Analysis of and suggestions for each of the methods chosen.
• At least three scholarly journal articles used to support the analysis of the practices.
The introduction and conclusion provide sufficient background on the topic, logical, flows from the body of the paper, and covers the major points.
Paragraph transitions are present and logical and maintain the flow throughout the paper.
The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment.
Sentences are well-constructed, with consistently strong, varied sentences. Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought.
The paper and presentation, including the title page, reference page, tables, and appendices, follow APA guidelines for format.
Citations of original works within the body of the paper and presentation follow APA guidelines.
The paper and presentation follow rules of grammar usage, spelling, and punctuation
SAMPLE ANSWER
Introduction
Research indicates that the process of learning to teach is similar to children/ student growth, i.e. it is developmental. There have been various theories that have proposed on the professional development process. The proposed theories are sometimes fixed, sequential, or flexible. Irrespective of theory applied, it is important to establish learning processes that encourage increased systematic inquiry as well as reflective assessment strategies. Reflective assessment strategies are important because they are used to evaluate a student’s level of understanding, improve learning, and identify learning challenges. Effective assessment strategies are those, which involve purposeful planning (Salvia, Ysseldyke, & Salvia, 2013).
Assessment practices: effective and non effective
One example of assessment is the portfolios. In this type of assessment requires student to assemble the specific topic information in a systematic approach to ensure the whole picture of their growth and achievement is reflected. This is because it normally contains speech in the form of term paper, thereby ensuring that work is produced in realistic in context. This method is effective because the student is able to document their ability for critical thinking because they actually include actual samples, which require creative thinking and problem solving ability. This takes the tutor on the processes or stages the student is going through when assigning tasks. The potential issues arise because it is possible for teachers to be convinced by fuzzy tasks, which normally would require extraneous performance. Additionally, there is potential danger if teachers are allowed to use this type of assessment because it might not fit into course needs/demands (Salvia, Ysseldyke, & Salvia, 2013).
Teacher-based assessment embraces a broad spectrum of activities and is effective for teachers to evaluate their strengths as well as weaknesses. This is because it enables the instructors chose the best or the appropriate format to evaluate the achievement of their targets. In this case, the test items often match the student objectives ensuring that there is adequate content validity. The main issue with this task is the problem of authenticity. In some cases the students could feel that the assessment does not mirror the skills, and could become anxious, especially if they compare their performances with their peers (Kitiashvili, 2014).
Rubrics assessment practices have been widely used to assess educational values. It enables the enactment of learning goals and objectives. It is a way of improving on student weaknesses. It enables reflective thinking because it establishes a multidimensional performance with time. This approach does not only assess student knowledge and abilities but also improves attitudes and values. This assessment helps the teacher to improve explicitly shared purposes. The power of the assessment is not episodic but rather cumulative (Kitiashvili, 2014).
It enables the student to identify relevant strategies that will facilitate credible and suggestive decisions that are applicable. According to this assessment, the important issue is not to collect date and return results, but a process that helps the student to analyze and interpret data, which will allow the students to improve. Through this process, educators are in a position to produce responsible students in the society. This is because responsibility goes beyond reporting of results but also involves attempts to improve the challenges that prevail (Salvia, Ysseldyke, & Salvia, 2013).
Some of the bad assessment practices are those, which assume that a student knows the information being evaluated. Summative assessments assume that the student requires no influence or no change. Such type of assessment has a backwash effect on learning. This is because it makes students memorize rather than understanding the facts. Additionally, norm referenced assessments are associated as league tables which indicates the best and the brightest student. This undermines the education standards as it distracts the student’s attention on what ought to be done. This method of comparing students with peers makes the teacher fail to have insight on values and standards of the institution. These methods of assessment have been prohibited in most of the public universities in Europe. This is because it corrupts the mind of the graduate as well as university’s systems. The society needs graduate with higher levels of skills and who are able to work autonomously. In this context, the best type of assessment is the criterion and standards referenced is the most proposed form because it addresses the dynamic demands of the population without deciding that one student deserves a certain percentage than others (Astin & Antonio, 2012).
Some assessment does not treat students equally. Additionally, there are assumptions that students will cheat the exams. Even so, exams have been found as the only way to avoid impersonation and plagiarism. This has resulted to emphasis on memorization which ill befits the modern student. The best approach is to used the open book tests which will ensure that the student is assed based on their understandings rather than prioritizing memorization. Arguably, when student cheat, they do so because they have an incentive that encourages their acts and that they are not likely to be discovered. Additionally, if the assessments are not tailored to assess the student’s interests and those tasks are made and recycled such that it is easy for a student to copy. Anonymity results to breeding of an examination cheating population. Therefore, it is important for the faculties to emphasize assessment activities, which are fresh (Baird, 2014).
Therefore, an effective assessment practice is one, which will influence the teaching as well as the studying pattern. This implies that each student assessment should have an agenda. The main carrier of an effective assessment is the tutor’s experiences and the associated distress. No matter the academic success, most people have had unpleasant experiences. Most of the examiners have fear associated with humiliation experienced in the past. For this reason, most of the examiners have made assessment charged with some degree of emotion, which does not act in the interests of the students. This has led to a pattern of setting assessment, i.e. if it was humiliating, the assessment must also be humiliating; or if it was easy for the tutor, then it should be simplified for the students (Sotelo-Dynega & Dixon, 2014).
Conclusion
None of the measures is superior to the other. Assessment practice must be designed in a way that it prevents unnecessary tension. The assessment should be thorough enough to help the student remained charged enough and not inflaming the academic situation. This implies that teachers should be mindful by briefing the requirements of the assessment. The teachers must remain explicit on how the assessment will be marked; and in ensuring that the students work is judged according to the student’s presentation and that marking is not influenced by ethnic or socioeconomic status. The assessment practice should signal the student on the most valuable or important thing in their profession, and the desired outcomes.
References
Astin, A., & Antonio, AL. (2012). Assessment for excellence: the philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education. Maryland. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Baird, J. (2014). Teachers’ views on assessment practices. Assessment In Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 21(4), 361-364. doi:10.1080/0969594x.2014.960689
Kitiashvili, A. (2014). Teachers’ attitudes toward assessment of student learning and teacher assessment practices in general educational institutions: The case of Georgia. Improving Schools, 17(2), 163-175. doi:10.1177/1365480214534543
Salvia, J., Ysseldyke, J., & Salvia, J. (2013). Assessment in special and inclusive education. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Sotelo-Dynega, M., & Dixon, S. (2014). Cognitive assessment practices: a survey of school psychologists. Psychol. Schs., n/a-n/a. https://www.doi:10.1002/pits.21802
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
The identified project for PROJMANICS LTD is the development of new, innovative dishwashers. This project helps the business strategically by generating profit for PROJMANICS LTD. The leadership style during the project is democratic. The Project Manager for this project, Joey Brooks, will have the role of planning, implementing and closing the project. The project risks include scope creep/change in scope, insufficient funds, lack of skilled personnel, and some personnel leaving before completion of the project. The project is budgeted to cost £5 million and it would be carried out in a period of 1 year and 6 months.
Project management
Introduction
PROJMANICS LTD is involved in the manufacturing and retailing of innovative electronic products. The project that has been chosen that would generate profit for the organization is the development of a new and innovative product: dishwasher. This novel product is attractively designed, quiet and very energy efficient. This report provides a detailed Project Management plan that details the proposed idea.
Project organizational structure
Company CEO
Matrix organization structure: this organization structure draws employees from dissimilar functional disciplines for assignment to a team without having to remove them from their respective positions. In this organizational management, individuals who possess similar skills are pooled for work task (Perrin, 2009).
Project coordination
Staff
Green boxes represent personnel who are involved in project activities.
Belbin roles: Belbin pointed out that by understanding one’s role in a given team, one can be able to develop his/her strengths and manage his/her weakness as a team member and therefore improve how he or she contributes to the team (Schmidt, 2009). The Belbin model is used in this project in order to create teams that are more balanced. The team roles defined by Belbin are based upon observed behaviour as well as interpersonal styles.
Role
Explanation
Action-oriented roles
Shaper
Leader who is pushy shapes efforts of the team into a cohesive whole
Implementer
This individual translates ideas into concrete tasks and carries them out. The individual makes objectives clear, defines roles and tasks
Completer-Finisher
Persistently makes the team achieve in time. Injects urgency and raises standards. The individual is compulsive about deadlines (Morris, 2013).
People-oriented roles
Coordinator
Observes team processes, is detached. Absorbs every alternative and takes the decision of the team. Soothes conflict, encourages.
Team worker
Dampens arguments, promotes group harmony. Arrives at logical conclusions by means of analysis. The individual checks feasibility and practicality.
Resource investigator
The individual communicates to and from the outside world. He knows a lot of people. He sells ideas to others (Morris, 2013).
Thought-oriented roles
Plant
The individual is the source of original proposals and ideas. He looks for dissimilar approaches. Has an independent outlook and is concerned with major issues.
Monitor-evaluator
The individual is a dispassionate analyst. He or she arrives at logical conclusions through analysis. He or she checks feasibility and practicality.
Specialist
Provides unique skills to the project. Has specialist knowledge necessary to implement the project effectively (Morris, 2013).
Democratic Leadership style: for this project, the style of leadership that would be adopted during the project life cycle is democratic leadership style. The project manager will invite ideas from the team members during the process of decision-making and then goes with the majority. This style of leadership is also referred to as participative or consultative (Perrin, 2009). Generally, project managers who do not guide or lead at all do not fall under democratic management leadership style. Due to the democracy atmosphere, every member of the project team is allowed input, although this may lengthen the project’s time. Nonetheless, an upside to the democratic management leadership style is employee morale.
Project charter
The project entails new product development for the company; developing dishwashers. Development of a new product is a crucial activity for an organization given that it provides the company with future business opportunity. This project is required since it would enable the company to diversify its product range, increase sales, and improve the company’s profitability. It helps the business strategically by generating profit for PROJMANICS LTD.
With regard to the expectations of the client, PROJMANICS LTD expects a product that is innovative and captivating that would be able to generate profit. The identified product, dishwasher, is innovative and captivating in that it would feature the following characteristics: very attractive design; automated and equipped with an LCD screen highlighting the product’s minimalist style; compact, portable or built-in; various colours, including black, blue, white, and red; made of stainless steel; and two independent drawers. Moreover, the product features spaces designed specifically for small plates and for pans and pot. The product also has an adjustable rack which could be modified to suit the needs of the user.
The project manager in this project, Joey Brooks, cultivates the people skills required for developing communication and trust amongst all the stakeholders of the project: the sponsors of the project, individuals who would utilize the results of the project – dishwasher buyers –, project team members, and individuals who command the required resources. The project manager will have the role of planning, implementing and closing the project; he is responsible for realizing the defined objectives and goals of the project (Stoshikj, Kryvinska & Strauss, 2014).
Critical success factors (CSF): also referred to as Key Results Areas, CSFs are the crucial areas of activity which have to be carried out well if the goals and objectives of the project are to be achieved. Critical success factors help everybody in the project team know precisely what is most significant and this helps people in carrying out their own work within the right context and so pull together toward the same overall goals/objectives (Morris, 2010). For this project, the critical success factors are as follows: (i) agree on goals of the project – it is important to ensure there is an agreement with the senior executives of PROJMANICS LTD, sponsors of the project, in addition to other stakeholders on the project’s goals and purpose. In essence, understandable measurable goals would help in defining the scope of the project. (ii) Develop clearly delineated plans with assigned accountabilities and responsibilities. Every deliverable has to be delineated together with the essential tasks for producing them and possible risks. Responsibilities have to be assigned to the tasks and deliverables with apt due dates and accountabilities (Perrin, 2009). In addition, the process of planning has to include risk management activities as well as communication requirements. It is worth mentioning that developing the schedule of the project is just a part of the planning process. (iii) Cultivate continuous effective communications: the necessary channels of communication required to inform the pertinent stakeholders of the project’s progress should be determined. Project sponsors and PROJMANICS LTD’s management might want regular status reports or they may want only the exceptions and the highlights. The client might also want statements of work as well as progress assessments. Furthermore, members of the project team would need task assignments and frequent updates. The types and frequency of communication for every channel has to be described and managed. This communication plan would have to be included in the project plan and communication should be done regularly (Perrin, 2009). If there is poor communication, the project may fail.
(iv) Manage the scope of the project effectively: the scope is defined during the goal setting and planning phases of the project. In general, it would be fine if the scope of the project does not change, but the scope may actually change. It would be very important for the project manager to constantly be watchful and aware for alterations to the project scope and manage those changes well. (v) Ensure there is support from the senior management: the management of PROJMANICS LTD has to agree that the project is significant and that it would add value to the company. If PROJMANICS LTD’s management sees no value of the project, then they are likely to be unwilling to support it. Without management support, funding resources and human resources for the project may be unavailable.
The high level project scope basing upon business and compliance requirement is as follows: The project’s purpose is to develop a new product for PROJMANICS LTD Company. The deliverable of the project would be new, innovative dishwashers. There is demand in the marketplace for innovative, novel and ground-breaking dishwashers that are attractively designed, quiet, and energy efficient. The project is therefore intended to meet a market demand. The high-level risks for the project include project not being delivered within the defined time frame, the funds budgeted for the project being inadequate, lack of enough skilled personnel to complete the project, and client changing the requirements. Success would be determined by the Sponsor as soon as the new, innovative product is developed and launched into the marketplace and meets the project objectives without discrepancies.
SMART Objectives: The objectives are Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-bound. The objectives of this project are:
To develop novel, innovative dishwasher products by December 2016 to generate 25% increase in PROJMANICS LTD Company’s revenue.
To increase profit by 20% by December 2016 through selling 1,300 units of new dishwashers.
High level risks: high-level risks are identified and they would be utilized as the starting point for a more comprehensive analysis of the risks that face the project. The high-level risks for this project include the following: (i) resource risk – the funds set aside for the project, £5 million, may not be adequate to deliver the project. There may also be a scarcity of skills for the project (Carvalho & Rabechini, 2015). (ii) Strategic risk – the money set for the project may be used up in an inappropriate way and impede the ability of PROJMANICS LTD Company to deliver other corporate goals. (iii) Schedule risk – this level of risk may affect the duration of the project. For instance, there could be delays in obtaining the parts for developing the dishwashers. There could also be decision delay for instance decisions pertaining to the specifications and features of the product. Other high-level risks include client insisting on new requirements; client insisting on technical decisions which extend the schedule; important personnel leaving prior to the completion of the project; development of product that does not meet user requirements resulting in redesign and implementation; requirements are not well known at project commencement; and the total product features specified could be beyond what the new product development team are able to deliver within the available time (Carvalho & Rabechini, 2015).
Stakeholders specific to the project: stakeholders are understood as organizations or persons who participate in the project actively, or whose interests might be affected due to implementation of the project or completion of the project (Kerzner & Saladis, 2009). For this project, the stakeholders include PROJMANICS LTD Company, which is the client organization including its senior executives and management; the project team members involved in the execution of the project; and members of the public since they are the end-customers of the new, innovative dishwashers being developed in this project. Other stakeholders include the government since the new, innovative dishwashers must be developed in compliance with the government standards and requirements; suppliers as they would supply the parts used to develop the product; and business analyst.
Project milestones:
Task
Date
1
X1 Feasibility study
July 1, 2015
2
X2 Concept testing
November 17, 2015
3
X3 Detailed design
February 27, 2016
4
X4 Develop and test prototype
May 22, 2016
4
X5 Test product
July 15, 2016
5
X6 Finalize design
September 28, 2016
6
Y1 Set up production (Procure manufacturing capability and start up production)
November 12, 2016
7
Y2 Product launch
December 3, 2016
The new product development project is expected to cost £5 million.
Issues and approach: the main issues that may be encountered during new product development are uncertainties. These would be managed by having a decision gate or check point/stage-gate – at the ending of major stages. It is notable that the stage-gate methodology fits very well with the typical techniques of project management for instance Gantt chart, wherein the gates would correspond to milestones. In general, the stage-gate approach applies simultaneous engineering and defines obligatory activities for different phases such as develop stage, test stage, and launch stage (Schmidt, 2009).
Project Charter Template
Project Name: New Product Development – Dishwashers
Authorizing the project formally: This Charter formally authorizes the New Product Development Project to design and develop new products for PROJMANICS LTD Company. The new products are dishwashers. A project plan would be formulated and submitted to the Sponsor for her to approve. The project plan would include statement of scope; schedule of the project; cost estimate of the project; budget of the project; as well as provisions for schedule, procurement, resource, scope, risk, stakeholder management, quality, and project control. Every resource would be assigned by the Sponsor of the project, Dora Hitchcock.
Project Scope: The project’s purpose is to develop a new product for PROJMANICS LTD Company. The deliverable of the project would be novel, captivating dishwashers. There is demand in the marketplace for innovative, novel and ground-breaking dishwashers that are attractively designed, quiet, and energy efficient. The project is thus intended to meet a market demand. The high-level risks for the project include project not being delivered within the defined time frame, the funds budgeted for the project being inadequate, lack of enough skilled personnel to complete the project, and client changing the requirements. Success would be determined if the project meets the project objectives without discrepancies.
Project Manager: The Project Manager, Joey Brooks, is authorized to interface with the management of PROJMANICS LTD as required, assign roles within the project’s framework, negotiate for resources, and to communicate the company’s management and contractors, as required, in order to ensure that the project is actually finished timely and successfully. It is the Project Manager’s responsibility to create the project plan, monitor the schedule, scope and cost of the project during execution. He is also to keep control over the project by measuring performance as well as undertaking any relevant remedial action.
Summary of milestone schedule: The plan of the project would be submitted and approved according to the milestone schedule shown below. After the plan of the project is approved, resources would be assigned to the project and then work would begin within 4 business days. The following is the high level schedule:
Date
Task
1
July 1, 2015
Project plan complete and approved
2
November 17, 2015
Concept testing completed
3
February 27, 2016
Prototype testing completed
4
May 22, 2016
Pre-test market completed
5
July 15, 2016
Test market completed
6
September 28, 2016
Finalize design
7
November 12, 2016
Set up production
8
December 3, 2016
Launch
Project Budget
The budget for the new product development is £5 million. This amount is to be funded by PROJMANICS LTD’s finance department.
Project Charter template
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
The project has a number of phases such as design of the dishwasher product, testing of the product, production, as well as arranging for marketing of the product. This listing formed the starting point of the high-level WBS.
Table 1: work breakdown structure for dishwasher development
Life cycle of new product development (dishwashers)
X1 Idea generation
Identify needs and requirements of the customer
Assess quality of the existing products
Describe the objectives of the new product for instance cost, quality, aesthetic, functional
X2 Concept design
Creative generation of idea
Refining the concepts
Retrieving previous design intent
X3 Feasibility study
Ensure strategic feasibility such as SWOT
Ensure there is technology capability
Ensure resources are available
Ensure schedule feasibility
Ensure fiscal feasibility
Ensure there is market
Decide whether to proceed or not to proceed
X4 Detailed design
Define the specifications
Design the main features
Make drawings
Make prototype
X5 Test product
Test for user satisfaction
Test main characteristic such as engineering
X6 Finalize design
Evaluate the product design
Seek approval from the board
Rework product design
Freeze the design
Y1 Set up production
Acquire the necessary manufacturing capability
Design the tooling
Make the tools
Modify the building
Get the equipment
Find the manufacturing personnel capability
Start up production of the dishwashers
Obtain first parts from production
Test the parts
Confirm quality tolerances
Manufacture in volume
Y2 Arrange marketing
Identify the main benefits of the product
Identify the likely users
Plan the strategy for marketing
Produce advertisements and catalogues
Produce rainforest campaign
Y3 Arrange distribution of the new products
Create sales chain
Get local representatives
Develop business procedures for ordering, transportation, accounting, as well as repair
Establish technical support capability
Create user manual
Create service manual
Make a decision on conditions of warranty
Get personnel capability
Make lifetime spares requirement
Decommission production
Archive documentation
Closure of project
Project plan and responsibility matrix
Figure 1: Gantt chart showing project plan
Task Name
Jul 2015
Aug
‘15
Oct
‘15
Nov
17th
‘15
Nov
19th
‘15
Dec
‘15
Jan
2016
Feb
27th
‘16
Mar
‘16
Apr
‘16
May
22nd
16
Jun
16
Jul
15th
16
Aug
‘16
Sep
28th
‘16
Oct
‘16
Nov
12th
‘16
Dec
3rd
‘16
Idea Generation
Concept design
Feasibility study
Detailed design
Test product
Finalize design
Set up production
Launch (arrange marketing and distribution of the new products)
Task responsibility matrix
The RACI model is used to develop the task responsibility matrix. RACI means Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (Haughey, 2015). Responsible: this individual is the one who carries out the work in order to accomplish the task. In essence, they are responsible for getting the decision made or work performed. Generally, this is one individual, for instance, a business analyst. He/she owns the work. Accountable: this individual is accountable for thorough and proper completion of the task. Haughey (2015) reported that this has to be one individual and is usually the Project Sponsor or the Project Executive. This is basically the role that responsible is accountable to and endorses their tasks or work. Consulted: this is the individual that provides information for the project and with whom there is 2-way communication. The Consulted are often several persons, in most cases they are subject matter experts (Haughey, 2015). He or she delivers the information needed to carry out the work. Informed: these are the individuals that are kept informed regarding progress and with whom there is 1-way communication. The outcome of the tasks affects them so they must be kept up-to-date (Haughey, 2015).
Who
Activity
Project Sponsor
Project Manager
Business Analyst
Project team member, Nancy Frome
Project team member, Phil Davies
Stakeholder
X1 Idea generation
Identify needs of the customer
A
R
I
I
I
I
Evaluate the quality of the existing products
A
R
R
R
I
Describe the objectives of the new product for instance cost, quality, aesthetic, functional
A
E
C
I
I
I
X2 Concept design
Creative generation of idea
I
A
I
R
R
I
Refine the concepts
A
R
C
R
R
I
Retrieve previous design intent
I
A
R
R
I
X3 Feasibility study
Check strategic feasibility such as SWOT
I
A
I
R
R
I
Check technology capability
I
A
R
R
I
Check for resources available
I
A
R
R
I
Check schedule feasibility
1
A
R
R
I
Check fiscal feasibility
I
A
I
R
R
I
Check market
C
I
Make decision to proceed or not to proceed
C
A
C
R
R
I
X4 Detailed design
Define the specifications
C
A
R
R
I
Design the main characteristics
C
A
C
R
R
I
Make drawings
C
A
C
R
R
I
Make prototype
C
A
C
R
R
I
X5 Test product
Test for user satisfaction
C
A
R
R
I
Test main characteristic such as engineering
C
A
R
R
I
X6 Finalize design
Review the product design
I
A
R
R
R
I
Seek approval from the board
A
R
R
I
Revise product design
I
A
I
R
R
I
Freeze the design
C
A
C
R
R
I
Y1 Set up production
Acquire the necessary manufacturing capability
I
R
I
Design the tooling
C
A
C
R
R
I
Make the tools
I
R
C
I
Modify the building
C
A
R
R
I
Get the equipment
C
A
I
R
R
I
Find the manufacturing personnel capability
I
A
C
I
Start up production of the dishwashers
C
A
C
R
R
I
Obtain first parts from production
I
A
C
R
R
I
Test the parts
I
A
C
R
R
I
Confirm quality tolerances
I
A
R
I
Manufacture in volume
C
A
C
R
R
I
Product Launch
C
A
I
R
R
I
Project budget breakdown
Project Budget Breakdown
Item
Description
Amount
1
Research costs
Costs incurred in conducting research to determine the appropriate design and product specifications for the new product
£327,860
2
Labour cost
Payment of staff salaries. Staff members include the project team members. There would be 10 participants in the project each would be paid £100,000 for the 18 months of the project
£1,000,000
3
Equipment cost
Equipment for making the prototype, testing the prototype, and making the final product
£945,000
4
Material costs
Materials for manufacturing the new product – dishwashers. Some materials are imported from China and Europe since they are not available locally in the United Arab Emirates
£1,350,000
5
Facility costs
Costs – including utility costs – of using the facility to manufacture new, innovative dishwashers
£527,000
6
Overhead costs
These include office overheads and other costs that cannot be directly accountable to a cost object
£120,000
7
Allowances for contingencies
The project scope may change and this would mean an increase in costs
£400,000
8
Project consultant
Provide vital input as an expert
£180,000
9
Other costs
Other costs that are specific to the project
£150,140
Total
£5,000,000
To monitor and control the specified costs, the following methods would be used: frequently forecasting the project budget; forecasting usage of resources regularly; keeping the project team informed; and managing scope carefully considering that scope creep is a major cause of project overruns (Morris, 2009).
Project risk and analysis management/project health and safety policy
Risk item
Description
Action plan to minimize occurrence
1
Shortage of expertise
There could be a lack enough skilled personnel to implement the project
Hire enough individuals who are skilled enough
2
Customer relations
Managing the demand of the client, PROJMANICS LTD
Properly understand customer needs and requirements
3
Insufficient funds
The budget may not be enough to complete the project
Continually forecast the budget and forecast resource usage regularly
4
Change of requirements
The client may change the requirements of the project during project execution
Prepare for and anticipate scope creep
5
Final product not satisfy customer needs
The developed product my fail to meet user requirements resulting in redesign
Properly understand customer needs and requirements
6
Project not finished on time
Parts may delay
Procure all the necessary parts and components on time prior to project implementation
Risk Map
Impact/severity
High
Insufficient funds
Shortge of skilled expertise
Moderate
Change of requirements
Finished product not satisfy customer requirements
Project not finished on time
Low
Customer relations
Low
Moderate
High
Probability
Project Health and Safety problems and solutions
The common problems are illustrated in the table below:
Problem
Solution
1
Serious incidents that involve unguarded machines
Machine guarding throughout the premises
2
Poorly ventilated premises
Ensure the facility has adequate ventilation
3
Workers working without protective gear or appropriate attire
Protective gear and appropriate clothing availed to all personnel
4
Poorly lit workplaces
Ensure adequate lighting in the working areas
5
Workers overworked
Ensure there are enough workers and no worker works beyond the set time limits
Project Health and Safety Policy Statement: the highest safety and health standards would be maintained throughout the premises for a safe working environment for every employee working with PROJMANICS LTD.
References
Carvalho, M. D., & Rabechini, J, R. (2015). Impact of risk management on project performance: the importance of soft skills. International Journal Of Production Research, 53(2), 321-340. doi:10.1080/00207543.2014.919423
Kerzner, H., & Saladis, F. P. (2009). What Functional Managers Need to Know About Project Management. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Morris, P. (2013). Reconstructing Project Management Reprised: A Knowledge Perspective. Project Management Journal, 44(5), 6-23. doi:10.1002/pmj.21369
Perrin, R. (2009). Real World Project Management: Beyond Conventional Wisdom, Best Practices, and Project Methodologies. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Schmidt, T. (2009). Strategic Project Management Made Simple : Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Stoshikj, M., Kryvinska, N., & Strauss, C. (2014). Efficient Managing of Complex Programs with Project Management Services. Global Journal Of Flexible Systems Management, 15(1), 25-38. doi:10.1007/s40171-013-0051-8
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
This is the last section of this paper and so far to be honest it has not gone very well as expected. The writer will have to complete this section and then I will send back all section of the paper with the comments from the prof for the entire paper and we make all amendments using the templates. The paper must be exactly as the templates before it will be finally graded for the final grades. But for this 2 days the writer should complete this section first and reverts while I gather all the other section so that we can revise it and make amendments base on the templates provided.
Hear beloe the writer will complete this section as you will notice it is clearly mentioned in one of the questions that we will need a table or an appendix so the writer should take note of that. Also they have mentioned that the writer will have to refer back to previous work to be able to complete this sections of the paper so let him take note of all that as we don’t have any chances hear to miss on anything. He must also obtain the latest information mentioned hear and include that in the paper in the appendix section, while referencing it in the discussion.
• Investment Analysis and Recommendation Paper – continued
This week you will prepare the final section of your Investment Analysis and Recommendation Paper, consisting of the capital structure choices, as well as an executive summary of your research.
You will examine the mix of debt and equity that your firm uses. After finding this information:
• Compare this to an industry average or a main competitor. What are the differences?
• Based on what you know about your selected company, do these differences seem appropriate?
• Relate your company’s capital structure choices to the appropriate capital structure theory (ies).
Also, as a component of your executive summary, obtain the current stock price for your company and use it as an additional calculation. Based upon all of your research, would you recommend investing in this company? Justify your answer.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Debt and Equity
Competitive Review of Debt and Equity Mix
The cost of equity is more expensive than the cost of debt. But the optimal structure of the company shows that equity capital is preferable to the company than the debt. The ratio of debt to equity in 2014 – 2012 was 4:6
APC
2014
2013
2012
Equity
19,725
21,857
20,629
Debt
15092
13065
13269
debt/Equity
0.4
0.4
0.4
Table 5
Market Value of Equity
APC
2014
Shares outstanding
52 million
Price as of 13.36 per share
Market value of equity
721 million
CAPM
27.35
(Yahoo Business Finance, n,d).
Debt
The cost of debt for APC for 2014 was 5.1 while for the years 2013 and 2014 it was 5.2 and 5.5 respectively.
APC (millions)
2014
2013
2012
Long term Loan
15092
13056
13269
Interest paid
772
686
742
Cost of debt
5.115
5.254
5.592
Table 6
Cost of Debt
APC
2014
Long term debt
Current Portion of Debt
Total Debt
15092 m
–
15092
Cost of Debt % before taxes
4%
Tax Rate
35.8%
(5)
Weighted Cost of Capital
Table 7
Weighted Cost of Capital Raw Data
Company name
Value $
%
Equity (Rs)
19,725
0.566
Debt (Rb)
15092
0.433
Total Value
34,817
1
(6)
= 15,092/34817 x 0.57 + 15092/34817 x 0.47 (1-0.358)
= 4.51%
Capital Budgeting Assumptions
The assumptions made are that the business has been taken as a going concern and it has been assumed that the directors of the business have no intention of closing the company in the near future (Brooks & Mukherjee, 2013).
Capital Structure Theories
The capital structure of APC reveals that the debt to equity ratio 4:6. It means that the ratio is optimal for the operations of the company. The capital structure theories can be traced to Modigliani and miller. The theories assume that the cost of capital is reflected by the country’s risk free rate which is also assumed to be constant while the growth rate is assumed to be zero as all the earnings supposedly paid out as dividends. The investors are assumed to have homogenous expectations while the market is perfect. The risk free rates have been taken as 4% while the calculated interest rates for APC are approximately 5% (Ross, Westerfield & Jaffe, 2013).
The theories state that the cost of equity is more expensive than the cost of equity especially where the concerned company has a lot of assets. The trade off theory applies partially to the capital structure of the firm as its struggling to maintain a balance between the debt and equity capital.
Summary
The shares of the company are fair and the prices of the shares are also high. In the last five years the shares of APC have fluctuated constantly between 80 and 83 but the lowest share price was 47.41 recorded in August 2010 while the highest was 112.69 recorded in August 2014. At 84.79 dollars the shares are very expensive but the company is facing a positive future given that the profits are reducing (Berk, DeMarzo, Harford, Ford, Mollica & Finch, 2013).
The company should analyze why the cost of sale is increasing rapidly from 10% in 2013 to 13% in 2014. I would certainly not invest in this company in the short term as the profits are currently non-existent and the situation is worsening. The net income for the last financial period dropped by a significant margin while the cost of goods also increased from 10% in 2013 to 13% in 2014.
Reference
Ross, S. R., Westerfield, R. W., &Jaffe, J. (2013). Corporate finance (10thed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
Self-Perception, Mental Health and Positive Behavior in School-Age Children
Self-Perception, Mental Health and Positive Behavior in School-Age Children
Order Instructions:
Write a brief explanation of one common self-perception, one behavior, and one mental health issue for school-aged children. Then, explain strategies for mitigating each issue that promote good self-perception, positive behavior, and mental wellness for school-aged children. Explain how you might educate parents on implementing these strategies with their children. Finally, suggest resources that you might recommend to parents for additional education and/or support.
Please refer to the following cites as resources for writing. Use these in citation, using APA format.
American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and Task Force on Mental Health. (2009). The future of pediatrics: Mental health competencies for pediatric primary care. Pediatrics, 124(1), 410–421.
Burns, C. E., Dunn, A. M., Brady, M. A., Starr, N. B., & Blosser, C. G. (2013). Pediatric primary care (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.
Hagan, J. F., Jr., Shaw, J. S., Duncan, P. M. (Eds.). (2008). Bright futures: Guidelines for health supervision of infants, children, and adolescents (3rd ed.). Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Self-Perception, Mental Health and Positive Behavior in School-Age Children
Mental wellness in people entails behavioral, psychological, neurological, as well as psychiatric developments (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009, Pg. 411). A variety of situations places school-age children at raised risks of developing mental unwellness. Among factors that could lead to mental insufficiencies in children is exposure to toxic environmental pollutants. Violence and neglect of children’s caretakers also contribute significantly to the development of mental illnesses (Burns, Dunn, Brady, Starr, and Blosser, 2012, Pg. 9). It is the role of healthcare practitioners to promote mental health among the young (Hagan, Shaw, & Duncan, 2008, Pg. 355).
It is commonly perceived that mentally ill children are dangerous, and it is bad to associate with them. In most cases, such children are socially unwelcome. In terms of behavior, mentally ill school-age children express combativeness, withdrawal from other persons, they could easily initiate trouble. Their relationships with the society are severe and impaired. Common illnesses that school-age minors express include anxiety and schizophrenia (WebMD, 2015, pg. 1).
Strategies that promote the development of desirable perception on mentally ill school-age juniors include educating the society. To enhance appropriate behavioral conduct, caregivers should counsel the sick minors on positive manners. Addressing the treatment of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia would require intensive research. In addition to establishing treatment strategies, research could also enhance the understanding of practitioners on mental illnesses. When practitioners are knowledgeable, they can identify endangered children early enough, and intervene to prevent the occurrence of mental insufficiencies.
Parents need education on enhancing desirable manners in their children. Their education should incorporate efficient strategies of imparting beneficial conduct in children. In terms of managing psychological illnesses, parents need an education that could allow them to recognize mental abnormalities early enough.
It is recommendable that parents offer early development services to their children. Using the tool could facilitate their handling of mentally sick minors.
References
America Academy of Pediatrics. (2009). The future of pediatrics: Mental health competencies for pediatric primary care. Pediatrics, 124(1), 410–421.
Burns, C. E., Dunn, A. M., Brady, M. A., Starr, N. B., & Blosser, C. G. (2012). Pediatric primary care (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.
Hagan, J. F., Jr., Shaw, J. S., Duncan, P. M. (Eds.). (2008). Bright futures: Guidelines for health supervision of infants, children, and adolescents (3rd ed.). Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
Drawing only on the readings for this topic, examine the tensions between the claim to individual autonomy and the obligation to conform to the expectations of the wider community. Answer with reference to immunization. You should discuss the tensions firstly in the broader, theoretical context, before using your chosen issue to illustrate the tensions. In other words, the issue is not the thesis or focus of the discussion of the essay—the issue merely illustrates the discussion. You can draw on sources from outside the reader but only to give the issue some context.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Individualism vs Commuunitarianism
Introduction
The friction between liberalism and communitarianism has become a prominent centre of argument in the world and today the issue remains both extremely complex and to a larger extent not resolved. Some scholars feel that it is an impasse between individual independence and communitarian thinking that dictates the differences. The constitution which is composed of the bill of rights talks about the rights of each person in the society. These principles are contained in the liberal argument. However, on the other hand, those who support communitarianism believe that a society is a social set up hence people complement each other (Coltheart, 2013).
Discussion
The health of the public health is controlled by rules and regulations. Communicable diseases require immunization so as to contain them. However, whether to force people to get immunized or to let people decide for themselves has remained a very controversial subject. To assume that it is easier to achieve human dignity without prior consideration of their social surrounding is to fail to appreciate the community as the defining factor of people’s identity. Communitarian critics argue that human rights advocates are the main cause of social breakdown. Human rights have been used to promote individual freedom. The customary law according to some scholars is used to enhance independence hence some level of worthiness among individuals. These factors promote social characters that ensure the community is well protected away from any form of threat like the infectious disease.
According to some scholars, communitarianism places more emphasis on the importance of respecting independence of every individual hence human rights. This is in contrast to the perception that they propose adherence to the universally acceptable principles which guide the way people behave.
On the other hand, based on individual autonomy, philosophers argue that the principle comes with a moral obligation. An individual has the powers to choose and evaluate each decision before agreeing to do anything. According to this principle, an individual is not mandated to subscribe to a universally accepted norm in society. Based on this argument, an individual is perceived to be rational hence reasons and makes an independent move. In the case of immunization, an individual is able to reflect on the end results of this undertaking including those he or she thinks are right and wrong. Individual analyses under liberal theory entails considering the effects that a decision has on others. The most important of all the interests thought about is the one that stands at a maximum point. Therefore the individual decision will be the one that enhances justice and protects individual rights to existence and liberty.
However, according to the communitarian critics of liberalism, the perception of individual autonomy in line with moral principle is not real. Based on this point, it is argued that moral agents in a realistic society do not decide what they want to do. Such kind of people does not have a uniform standing point in terms of their moral principles. Moral standpoint is ultimately determined by the environment. Based on this argument, what is considered moral is very particular hence deciding on what is moral is not very possible. According to Communitarians, what is good dictates what is right. A complete moral principle should therefore constitute all these moral norms (Kymlicka, 2012).
According to the above argument, communitarian as compared to individual autonomy respects the shared understandings of different individuals. However, liberal principles challenge the communitarian point of view in terms of moral identity of the whole society. In addition, the principle challenges the fact that internal evaluation is capable of differentiating between good and bad practices within the society. The liberals criticize the thinking that communitarian represents the views of all the people. According to these proponents, communitarianism only represents few individuals in the society (Mulhall & Swift, 2014).
Immunization is perceived by communitarians as being a direct link with the people within a society. The result of this association benefits every individual within the society. The shared good among all the individuals within the community enhances the bonding of all the members. Moral standing of the entire community is well defined by these principles besides its justification (Okin, 2013).
Conclusion
Individual independence and communitarian engagement are both very important principles when it comes to adoption of an immunization program. Every decision taken by either an individual or the entire community has a direct impact on the livelihoods of the whole society. The most important factor that dictates the way people behave in a society is the moral principles. One has to consider individual interest and the interest of the entire community when making any decision. Consequently, both principles are good hence ought to be chosen based on individual preferences. This move will eliminate cases of tension within the society when it comes to the immunization program which is a social activity.
References
Coltheart, L. 2013. ‘Desire, Consent and Liberal theory’ in C. Pateman & E. Gross (eds.), Feminist Challenges: Social and Political Theory. Boston: NorthEastern University Press
Kymlicka, W. 2012. Liberalism, Community and Culture. Oxford: Clarendon Press
Mulhall, S. and Swift, A. 2014. Liberals and Communitarians. Oxford: Blackwell
