Public Relations in Australia Term Paper

Public Relations in Australia
Public Relations in Australia

Public Relations in Australia

Order Instructions:

What are the single most significant issues facing the Australian system of government at local, state and national levels in the short and longer terms? Pick one short term and one long term issue at one level of government and outline the reasons you have chosen those issues.

Short-term issue: tackling use/addiction of methamphetamine (ice).

Long-term issue: privatization of state assets.

Current state of play:

Ice addiction and use in NSW is currently exploding. It is readily available and infiltrating communities state and nation wide. NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley recently described Ice use in the state as being an “epidemic” (SMH, Feb 26, 2015).

The recently re-elected Liberal state government of NSW is currently in the process of the privatization of the state’s electricity poles and wires. There has been much debate over the merits of such an act which will provide a short-term financial boost for the government and will raise taxes for the state’s residents.

Background:

1. Ice addiction and use in NSW has risen rapidly over the last decade. A 2006 report indicated there was about 37,000 regular Ice users in NSW with about 28,000 addicts (Drabsch). The rate of Ice use more than doubled between the years of 2010 and 2013, rising from 22% of speed users to a whopping 50% (National Drug Survery, 2013). The Salvation Army has also reported a 122% increase of Ice users presenting to their drug recovery programs since 2010. NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione recently wrote in the Daily Telehraph that: “if we don’t adequately address this problem, it is not an overstatement to say that it could bring us to our knees as a nation.” (Hildebrand, March 31, 2015) Ice is an incredible addictive drug, which can draw extremely violent behaviour from its users.

2. Mike Baird’s NSW Liberal party has promised to sell off the state’s electricity poles and wires having recently won the state election. The government will lease 100% of Transgrid, which runs the electricity network, for the next 99 years, while 50.4% of Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy will be offered for lease (SMH, March 30, 2015). The government hopes to raise about $13 billion from the sales while generating a $300 billion boost to the economy and adding over 100,000 jobs over the next 20 years (SMH, March 30, 2015). Money made from the sales will be invested into state infrastructure in the form of roads, re-developments etc.. However, there have been arguments against the merits of the move as the lease of pubic assets removes an income-generating asset for current and future governments (ABC News, March 17, 2015). In essence, the lease of public assets will create a short/medium-term economic boost, but it also removes what would have been guaranteed income for future governments.

Main points of contention:

It is important to discuss the way Ice has grown in NSW and how best to curtail the increasing rates and effects of its use. Looking at who will be responsible for the implementation of strategies to battle Ice use (government, police etc.) is also of importance.

In regards to privatization, the main discussion point is whether the government is making the right call by selling off the rights to a public asset. Do the short-term benefits balance out the possible long-term shortcomings?

Where I have gained my information:

I have obtained information by reading through studies on methamphetamine rates in Australia as well as a number of news articles. The NSW government website also provides fact sheets and advice for Ice users on their website.

Most of the information I have gathered on privatization plans have come from various news articles and the NSW government website.

QUESTIONS:

  • From your knowledge, is Luke Foley right in his claim that Ice use in NSW at “epidemic” levels?
  • A major collaboration between the NSW government and NSW police force is required to tackle methamphetamine use in the state. However, is one side more responsible than the other (law making vs law implementation)?
  • What would be an effective strategy to implement in the fight against increasing rates of Ice use?
  • Do the short/medium term benefits of privatisation (boost in economy, creation of jobs, more taxes) outweigh the negative aspects of losing public assets?
  • Do you think previous acts of privatisation (Qantas, Telstra, power stations, etc.) been successes for both governments and the organisations themselves?
  • How will privatization effect the people of NSW?

SAMPLE ANSWER

Public Relations in Australia

Introduction

On the platform of public relations in the Australia, government of this country is faced with short and long-term disturbing issues, which comprise of ice (methamphetamine) addiction and privatization of public assets respectively. Therefore, the following discussion will engage in discussing some of the controversial issues revolving about ice use and public-asset privatization in Australia.

Discussion

Ice addiction is an epidemic that needs to be wiped out as it has physical, psychological, and emotional effects that are detrimental to health population of Australia (Babor, 2010). The collaboration between the NSW police and NSW government can help eradicate addiction. However, NSW police is more responsible than the federal government on ice addiction, as they are within the grassroots where use of this drug is executed. However, due to corruption, the police let the criminals to go on with selling of these drugs (In Baker, In Robards & In Buttigieg, 2015). The effective strategy to fight against those increasing rates is by the NSW government being responsible for the use of ice by drafting policies that it oversees their implementation to the latter.

Privatization of public assets such as electric wires and poles poses a risk to NSW government in future. Although privatization will have an immediate boost of economy, creation of jobs and more tax pool, this does not outweigh the pain of losing the assets (Chinyere & Xu, 2012). Instead, Gaffey (2010), due to reduced dividends, the government will be forced in future to tax its citizens more heavily as they will have no stable investment sources. The previous acts of privatization of Qantas and power stations have not been beneficial for both the government and organizations (Warner, 2010). This is because privatization has led to the privatized companies trying to make use of the existing plants rather than invest in new ones. The people in NSW will lose trust to the government, as they will view that the government is mainly concerned about their current concerns, but not future demands of which are more critical than current ones.

Conclusion

In summary, the government can address the issues of ice addiction and privatization of public assets. The government, taking into consideration the effects of its action can either increase the use of ice or its decrease. On the other hand, the NSW should avoid privatization of its assets due to future adverse effects such as lack of investment structures.

References

Babor, T. (2010). Drug policy and the public good. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chinyere, I. and Xu, X. (2012). Public-Private Partnerships: The Underlining Principles of             Infrastructure Investment, Finance and Development Projects. International Journal of Business and Management, (7): 109-125.

Gaffey, D. W. (2010). Outsourcing infrastructure: expanding the use of public-private partnerships in the United States, Public Contract Law Journal, 39(2): 351-372.

In Baker, S., In Robards, B., & In Buttigieg, B. (2015). Youth cultures and subcultures: Australian perspectives.

Warner, M. ((Dec 2010). The Future of Local Government: Twenty-First-Century Challenges. Public Administration Review, suppl. Special Issue on the Future of Public Administration in, 2020 70: S145-S147.                                                                                     

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Forecasting Assignment Help Available Here

Forecasting
Forecasting

Forecasting

Order Instructions:

This is a forecasting assignment for Business Analysis and Modelling MBA module. The core text used Quantitative Analysis for Modelling by Render and Stair.
This forms part of a group assignment.
Further details will be sent across attached later.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Forecasting Assignment

Forecasting is widely regarded as a method of predicting events that may happen in the future. The accepted definition of forecasting is the process of generating predictions concerning the future by analyzing trends emanating from past and present data (Hirschmann, 2008). Data from forecasts is considered to be estimation since the future is unpredictable, but it is a reliable source of information for planning purposes owing to the future projections of the firm. Due to the unpredictability, forecasting methods provide an allowance for risk and uncertainty, and such a degree of uncertainty is usually indicated succeeding the forecast (Hirschmann, 2008). On a wider scope, however, forecasts are imperative by enhancing the quality of decisions due to risk reduction. Forecasting relies on the statistical discipline by applying models such as time series analysis and relies on data generated from vertical and horizontal analysis (Hirschmann, 2008).

Vertical analysis is the assessment of data amongst different organizations in the same industry, and in most cases organizations of similar sizes (Hirschmann, 2008). This is also called longitudinal analysis. Horizontal analysis is the examination of data for an organization over a period, for instance the past ten years. It can also be referred to as cross-sectional analysis (Hirschmann, 2008). Forecasting methods can be categorized into quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative methods predict future data by the assumption that the data is function of past data. The model utilizes past numerical data to develop trends that can be extrapolated to predict future data (Hirschmann, 2008). Exponential smoothing, linear predictions and moving averages are some of the quantitative methods of forecasting. Unlike quantitative forecasting which relies on speculative data, qualitative forecasting is quite subjective (Hirschmann, 2008). The latter predicts the future by relying on judgements and opinions, for example of experts. This method is mostly used in instances where past data is not available. Examples of such models are the historical life cycle analogy and market research (Hirschmann, 2008).

Due to the advent of technology, there are several software that have been developed that are able to predict future outcomes. Amongst such include excel QM and QM for windows that are used in forecasying. Excel QM is one of the applications developed by Microsoft corporation and it is mainly used in mathematical and statistical computations. QM for windows is also an application by microsoft, with a centre focus on statistics (Hirschmann, 2008). Such applications are vital in easening the forecasting work, and provide a great deal of accuracy compared to the traditional methods such as regression analysis and use of coefficients such as the Pearson’s coefficient (Hirschmann, 2008). Such software are capable of determining variants such as coeeficients of correlation and coefficients of determination.

In this milieu, focus will be on the quantitative methods to predict future data, specifically the method of moving averages. The moving average method, also referred to as the running average, is among the several time series methods that utilize historical data in the estimation of future outcomes. This method analyzes data points through generating a succession of averages that are derived from a series of values or various segments that are successive (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005). Periodical data such as monthly sales may have random fluctuation every month despite a general trend being evident. Moving average helps in smoothing away these random changes (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005).

A moving average is the forecast for a period that takes the average of the previous periods (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005).The moving average takes the average of previous series collected from a preliminary fixed subset. This subset is shifted forward, hence creating a new subset of numbers. The average of this new subset is determined, and the process is replicated on the remaining data in the series (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005). The moving average results to the smoothing of fluctuations that are short-term and in the process underlining the long-term trends from the given data.

Among the functions of the moving average method is the identification of reversals and trends of data over a period. The method is also imperative in the determination of the levels of support and resistance (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005). In stock trading, the moving average is key in imparting vital trading signals, particularly by the identification of uptrends and downtrends. The moving averages are considered to be lagging indicators, per se, since they only confirm trends but do not predict new ones. There are two moving average methods that are commonly used; the simple moving average and the exponential moving average (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005). The simple moving average is the simple average of data such as securities spanning a number of time periods. The exponential moving average, on the converse, puts much focus on recent data compared to data relating to a past time period (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005).

The moving average has various characteristics. Foremost, the more the number of periods in the moving average, the greater the smoothing effect (Appel, 2012). Different moving averages produce different forecasts. Another charectiristic is that the more the randomness of data with underlying trend being constant then the more the periods should be involved in the moving averages (Appel, 2012). Moving averages, however, have various limitations. They depict equal weighing with disregard to how more recent data is more relevant. Moving average ignores data outside the period of the average thus it doesn’t fully utilise available data.Also, where there is an underlying seasonal variation, forecasting with unadjusted moving average can be misleading (Appel, 2012).

Exponential smoothing is a method that involves automatic weighing of past data with weights that decrease exponentially with time (Hyndman, 2008). Exponential smoothing has certain characteristics. Amongst them is that more weight is given to the most recent data (Hyndman, 2008). Secondly, all past data are incorporated unlike in moving averages. Less data is needed to be stored unlike in periodic moving averages (Hyndman, 2008).

Both the methods rely on time series. Time series, however, possesses various characteristics. They have a long term trend, and the tendency of the whole series is to rise and fall (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005). They also posess seasonal variations, implying short term periodic fluctuations in values (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005). Time series have cyclical variations, and these are medium term changes caused by factors which apply for a while then disappear, and come back again in a repetitive cycle (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005). Cyclic variations have a longer term than seasonal variations, for instance seasonal variations may occur once every year while cyclic variation occurs once every several years. Time series also have random residual variations, whereby these are non-recurring random variations for instance war, fire or a political coup (Chiarella, He & Hommes, 2005).

Differences between actual results and predictions may arise from many reasons. They may arise from random influences, normal sampling errors, choice of the wrong forecasting system or alpha value or simply that the future conditions turn out to be radically different from the past (McAuliffe, 2011). Whatever the cause, persons involved with forecating wish to know the extent of the forecast errors and various methods exist to calculate these errors (McAuliffe, 2011).

A commonly used technique, appropriate to time series, is to calculate the mean squared error of the deviations between forecast and actual values then choose the forecasting system or parameters which gives the lowest value of mean squared errors, such as akin to the least squares method of establishing a regression line (McAuliffe, 2011). Moving averages tend to be used for short to medium term forecasting (McAuliffe, 2011). Longer term forecasting is usually less detailed and is normally concerned with forecasting the main trends on a year to year basis. Other techniques could be used depending on the assumptions about linearity or non- linearity, and the number of independent variables. The least squares regression approach is often used for trend forecasting (McAuliffe, 2011).

References

Appel, G. (2012). The moving average convergence-divergence trading method: Advanced method. Toronto: Scientific Investment Systems.

Chiarella, C., He, T., & Hommes, C. (2005). A dynamic analysis of moving average rules. Amsterdam: Tinbergen Institute.

Hirschmann, K. (2008). Forecasting. Edina, Minn: ABDO Publishers.

Hyndman, R. J. (2008). Forecasting with exponential smoothing: The state space approach. Berlin: Springer.

McAuliffe, B. (2011). Forecasting. Mankato, MN: Creative Education.

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Ambulatory Care Nursing: Health Care

 

 Ambulatory Care Nursing
      Ambulatory Care Nursing

Ambulatory Care Nursing

Order Instructions:

Select an advanced professional or advanced practice nursing specialty. How has past and current regulation/legislation affected the role and scope of this nursing role? What, if any, discussions are currently underway relative to the scope and role of this specialty? What resources are available to assist nurses in advocating for these roles?
Select a professional or specialty nursing association. What impact has this organization had on health care legislation in the past 2 years?

This task is due 22nd may 2015\

SAMPLE ANSWER

Health Care: Ambulatory Care Nursing

This case focuses on ambulatory nursing, which significantly differs from other nursing specialties at the level of the scope of practice. Patient care demands change with time and adjustment in various practices in ambulatory nursing are vital. In most cases, the changes require allocation of more roles to nurses. As such, the scope of ambulatory nursing has expanded to improve patient care.

Both past and current regulations have affected ambulatory nursing from different perspectives. As Stokowski (2011) noted, the current views on ambulatory nursing are different from what used to be the understanding ten years ago. The earlier regulation allowed only a narrow scope for ambulatory nursing. Policy makers have made changes in the scope of the field to suit the current patient care requirements. Differences in health care setting have necessitated most of the changes. For instance, there are differences in the occurrence of chronic diseases, lengths of hospitalization, as well as the complexity of procedures performed on patients (Stokowski, 2011). With the new regulations, nurses can attend patients from other more different settings. They can attend patients from offices, community health facilities, homes, schools, and gastrointestinal laboratories among others (Stokowski, 2011).

There are discussions on ambulatory nursing that aim at defining the practice, and describing it in a comprehensive manner. In addition, there are discussions on relating the specialty to general practice as well as those on framework expansion. Stakeholders also address the standards of performance expected from the ambulatory nursing specialists.

To advocate for their roles, nurses use general practice as well as specialty associations. For instance, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nurses (AAACN) offers a platform on which nurses in the ambulatory field can discuss and express their opinions. Within the last two years, the AAACN has expressed that ambulatory nurses have a rich background in nursing and that they employ their knowledge to offer quality ambulatory services. In so doing, the association backs nurses in their practice.

Reference

Stokowski, L. A. (2011, September 26). Ambulatory Care Nursing: A Specialty. Retrieved May 20, 2015 from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/749906

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Dividend and Non-Dividend Stock Valuation

Dividend and Non-Dividend Stock Valuation
 Dividend and Non-Dividend Stock Valuation

Dividend and Non-Dividend Stock Valuation

Order Instructions:

The writer will have to pay attention to grammatical errors when completing this papers. APA is critical and the writer will have to clearly respond to all the items in the questions clearly in two page word document. I have included some resources for the writer to use where necessary. The writer must elaborates on all explanations and must clearly demonstrate proper understanding of the subject matter.

Dividend and Non-Dividend Stock Valuation

One primary reason individuals invest in stocks is to receive returns on their investment in the form of dividends. Not all companies opt to offer dividends to their investors, however. In their article The Dividend Discount Model in the Long-Run: A Clinical Study, the authors discuss the importance of three variables that affect the valuation of a dividend and non-dividend paying stocks. They note how valuation is influenced by the size, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows that the asset will generate for investors over its lifetime.

Use the Internet to access financial sites to find a company that does not pay dividends.

From a theoretical view, explain the merits and/or pitfalls of using the dividend growth model to estimate the stock price of a non-dividend paying stock.

Then, compare and contrast how these variables affect the valuation of a dividend paying stock and a non-dividend paying stock.

Resources.
• Article
• Foerster, S., & Sapp, S. (2005). The dividend discount model in the long-run: A clinical study. Journal of Applied Finance, 5(2), 55–75. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

In this study, the authors research over 100 years of historical information on one company to determine the actual share price of stocks and then compared this with the expected price, determined using dividend discount models. They find that the models accurately predict the share prices, much more so than other financial methods.
• Cardinale, M. (2007). Corporate pension funding and credit spreads. Financial Analysts Journal, 63(5), 82–101. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

This study explores the relationship between pension funding and corporate financial policy and how they affect stock market valuation.

• Cai, N., & Jiang, X. (2008). Corporate bond returns and volatility. Financial Review, 43(1), 1–26. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

After studying 10 years of corporate bond excess return volatility, the authors conclude that there is a direct relationship between volatility and idiosyncratic risk as significant predictors of corporate bond excess returns.

• Bali, T., Demirtas, K., & Tehranian, H. (2008). Aggregate earnings, firm-level earnings, and expected stock returns. Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, 43(3), 657–684. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

In performing an analysis of methods for establishing expected stock returns, the authors conclude that earnings yield have the best explanatory power.

• Bulan, L., Subramanian, N., & Tanlu, L. (2007). On the timing of dividend initiations. Financial Management (Blackwell Publishing Limited), 36(4), 31–65. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

After studying the timing and significance of dividend initiations in the lifecycle of a firm, the authors conclude that certain characteristics can be used to explain the reasoning behind the timing.

• Bosch, M., Montllor-Serrats, J., & Tarrazon, M. (2007). NPV as a function of the IRR: The value drivers of investment projects. Journal of Applied Finance, 17(2), 41–45. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Introduction

Dividend Growth Model is one of the fundamental concepts for analyzing and determining the average value of a company’s stock. It’s also referred to as Gordon Model. It’s utilized as a strategy for estimating investments that are based on the actual gains that have been pegged on the dividend yield. The growth model estimates the value of stock based on the current payment of dividends and the general pattern of payment of dividends over the years by the company.

One of the companies that currently don’t pay dividends is Gilead Sciences (GLD) and is one of the companies 500 SP companies.

Companies that have good dividend yields together with reasonable and better payout ratios are mostly considered safe and reliable investments that also have good income and offer better opportunities for capital growth. Generally, the dividend growth model indicates the past performance of a company. To calculate the growth model, the current dividend payout and the dividend growth rate together with the required or expected rate of return are utilized to arrive at the growth model (Brav, Graham, Harvey & Michaely, 2004).

The conventional standards are that the DDM (Dividend Discount Model) cannot be utilized to value a company’s stock that either pays very low dividends or no dividends at all. This concept is wrong; the dividend payout ratio should be adjusted to accurately reflect the changes that are expected from the growth rate. A fairly reasonable value for the firm can be thus obtained even for firms that don’t pay dividends. A company that has a high growth rate and which is not paying any dividends currently can still be rated and valued based on the expected dividend payout when the growth rate reduces or declines. But if the company’s payout ratio is not accurately adjusted or not adjusted at all to reflect the current changes in the rate of growth then the DDM will underestimate the total value of the non-dividend paying company stocks or the low-dividend company stocks paying (Bulan, Subramanian & Tanlu, 2007).

The DDM is mostly criticized on the grounds that it’s too conservative when estimating values. This notion stems from the results that are based on the value that has been determined by another value that’s more than actual present value of the expected dividends (Bosch, Montllor-Serrats & Tarrazon, 2007).  For example, its mostly argued that the DDM on average does not represent the values of unutilized assets. There is no justification whatsoever that the unutilized assets cannot practically be valued separately and later added to the DDM value. However, some of the ignored assets by the DDM like brand names and their values can for all be accommodated within the models context. The model does not incorporate ways of compensating stockholders in cases of buybacks. The new version of the DDM has however countered this argument or inadequacy.

Finally, the DDM model is considered contrarian. As the market for stock increases, less stock will be undervalued using the DDM approach. This argument is not entirely true. If the stock market improves or grows its largely because of the market’s fundamentals such economic growth in the country or may be due to reduced interest rates which means that the stock values may also follow the same trend. However, if the growth trend is not due to the economic fundamentals, then the DDM would also not follow the trend, in brief, the reactions of the values of the DDM represent positions of strength and not weaknesses for the model. The model may be signaling that stock market has been overvalued in relation to the cash flows and dividends hence a cautious investor will follow the cue. The DDM provides very impressive results eventually in the long term (Foerster & Sapp, 2005).

References

Brav, A., Graham, J.R., Harvey, C.R. and Michaely, R. (2004) Payout Policy in 21st Century Working Papers, Duke University, Durham, NC.

Bosch, M., Montllor-Serrats, J., & Tarrazon, M. (2007). NPV as a function of the IRR: The value drivers of investment projects. Journal of Applied Finance, 17(2), 41–45. Retrieved from Business

Bulan, L., Subramanian, N., & Tanlu, L. (2007). On the timing of dividend initiations. Financial Management (Blackwell Publishing Limited), 36(4), 31–65. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Foerster, S., & Sapp, S. (2005). The dividend discount model in the long-run: A clinical study. Journal of Applied Finance, 5(2), 55–75. Retrieved from Business Source Premier Database.

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Patient with a Communicable Disease Paper

Patient with a Communicable Disease
Patient with a Communicable Disease

Breaking the Chain: the Patient with a Communicable Disease Paper

Order Instructions:

he M6A4: Breaking the Chain: the Patient with a Communicable Disease Paper counts as 30% of your grade for this course.

We suggest that you develop and outline and use the following time-line as your guide for completing your paper:

Week 1: Review the requirements for the paper.
Week 2: Begin developing an outline for your paper.
Week 3: You should have your outline completed.
Week 4: You should be using your outline to write your paper.
Week 5: Continue work on your paper.
Week 6: Finalize your paper and submit by the end of the week.
Information on how to use the Excelsior College Library to help you research and write your paper is available through the Library Help for AD Nursing Courses page.

Information on using an outline and writing a scholarly paper is available through the Excelsior College Online Writing Lab (OWL).

If you have questions, reach out to your instructor via My Messages.

linked item M6A4: Breaking the Chain: Patient with a Communicable Disease Paper
The registered professional nurse plays an important role in infection control and prevention. The purpose of this written assignment is for you to apply your findings from evidence-based practice (professional nursing references) to a patient with an infectious and communicable disease.

Using APA format, write a six (6) to ten (10) page paper (excludes cover and reference page) that addresses the topic. A minimum of three (3) current professional references must be provided. Current references include professional publications or valid and current websites dated within five (5) years. Additionally, a textbook that is no more than one (1) edition old may be used.

The paper consists of two (2) parts and must be submitted by the close of week six (6).  Each part must be a minimum of three (3) pages in length.

Choose one (1) of the following diseases:

  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection/Acquired
  • Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS)
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Hepatitis C
  • Pertussis
  • Tuberculosis

Part 1 – The Chain of Infection (minimum of three (3) pages)

Describe each of the six (6) elements in the chain of infection in terms of the disease you chose for this paper (infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, means of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host).  Provide supporting evidence, epidemiologic statistics, and pertinent laboratory data where appropriate.

Part 2 – Nursing Management (minimum of three (3) pages)

Identify treatment options utilized to break the chain of infection and prevent contagion for the disease you chose for this paper. Explore evidence-based practice nursing interventions when managing short-term and long-term consequences for the patient with the disease you chose for this paper.  Consider and describe how the registered professional nurse would support patient adherence to these treatment options.

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Use a 12 font size, double space your work and use APA format for citations, references, and overall format. Information on how to use the Excelsior College Library to help you research and write your paper is available through the Library Help for AD Nursing Courses page. Assistance with APA format, grammar, and avoiding plagiarism is available for free through the Excelsior College Online Writing Lab (OWL). Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you submit your assignment.

You are required to submit your paper to Turnitin (a plagiarism prevention service) prior to submitting the paper in the course submission area for grading. Access is provided by email to the email address on record in your MyExcelsior account during week 2 of the term. Once you submit your paper to Turnitin check your inbox in Turnitin for the results. After viewing your originality report correct the areas of your paper that warrant attention. You can re-submit your paper to Turnitin after 24-hours and continue to re-submit until the results are acceptable. Acceptable ranges include a cumulative total of less than 15% for your entire paper, and no particular area greater than 2% (excluding direct quotes and/or references).

SAMPLE ANSWER

Patient with a Communicable Disease

Human immunodeficiency virus infection/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is the number one infectious killer in the world with reported 39 million deaths since the first cases were reported in 1981.The majority of people living with this disease leave in low-income and middle-income countries. (Organization, 2014, pg 16)  The following report is about the HIV/AIDS and it is divided into two parts.

The first part is meant to look at the chain of infection of the disease.

Infectious agent

The infectious agent for HIV/AIDS is the human immune deficiency virus (HIV).  This virus has a single strand, positive sense and the RNA virus enveloped in the genus Lentivirus .For the infection to occur, a significant amount and concentration of the virus must be present. Once in the body the virus affects one’s immune system this is through destroying a special type of cells called the T helper lymphocytes (T-cells). The T-cells are crucial in the functioning of the immune system and the immune response.HIV then replicates itself over a number of times and eventually outnumbers the number of T-cells. (Lala & Merchant, 2012, pg 39)

Reservoir

The virus leaves in the human blood or other body fluids of the infected person. In the blood the virus stays in blood cells whereby it is usually able to remain hidden within the cells. The cells after time adapt the HIV genetic code and remain invisible to the immune defense mechanisms of the body and become insensitive to the drugs. (Lala & Merchant, 2012, pg 39)

Portal of exit

The HIV leaves the body of the infected person to the body of another person through the following mediums.

Firstly, it can be through the infected blood that is if the blood of the infected person comes into contact with the blood of another person. The blood contact can occur through a number of ways for example, through blood transmission, sharing of syringes and through the transplantation of body organs and tissues with an infected person.

Secondly, it can be through the semen and other vaginal secretions. This usually occurs when an infected person has unprotected sex with another person.

Thirdly, it can be through breast milk whereby an infected mother breast feeds a baby.

Statistics show that the concentration of HIV is usually high in the blood followed by the semen and vaginal secretions then the breast milk. (Hall, Hall & Cockerell, 2011, pg 57)

Means of transmission

Transmission usually occurs when there is an interaction between the blood or body fluids of two people and one of them is infected with the virus. There a number of ways through which the infection can be transmitted and this is as follows.

Firstly, it can be through unprotected sexual contact with an infected person and this is usually transmitted through the semen, blood or vaginal secretions. Sexual intercourse can either be through penile, vaginal or rectal tissues. The risk to acquire the infection through this means of transmission usually depends on: the number of sexual partners, one has, the infection prevalence among these partners and lastly the probability of the transmission of the virus during sexual intercourse. Apart from sexual intercourse the virus can also be transmitted through deep kissing.

Secondly, it can be through the direct injection of with syringes and needles which contains HIV infected blood or blood products. This means of transmission has usually been found to be common among drug users who share such needles and syringes when using drugs such as cocaine.

Thirdly, it can be transmitted from a HIV-infected mother to the baby and this is usually through two main ways. Firstly, it can be during the process giving birth. Secondly, an infected mother can transmit the virus to the baby through breastfeeding. This occurs although, the concentration of the virus in the breast milk is minimum because the immune system of a newborn baby is usually very week.

Fourthly, the transmission can be through the transfusion of blood from an infected person to another person. The same can also be transmitted through the transplant of body organs and tissues from an infected person (Hall, Hall & Cockerell, 2011, pg 63)

Portal of entry

There are three main ways through which the HIV can enter into the body of a healthy person. For the virus to enter into the body of a healthy person, the number of the virus must be adequate to cause the infection.

Firstly, the main means of entry of the virus is usually through the blood. This occurs when the blood from an infected person comes into direct contact with the blood of another person for example, sharing of syringes with an infected person. The entry can also be through semen, for example, during sexual contact.

Secondly, the entry can be through semen and vaginal secretions. This usually occurs during sexual contact for example, unprotected sex.

Lastly, the entry can be through the skin membrane which occurs when the membrane is splashed with a body fluid from an infected person. It has been shown that the entry of the virus through this means is usually rare and accounts for less than 1% risk of infection. (Lala & Merchant, 2012, pg 41)

Susceptible host

Any person whose blood or body fluids come into contact with HIV infected blood or body fluids can become infected with the same disease. Statistics show that the people who usually have unprotected sex with a number of different people are at the highest risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.  In 2013, an approximated 35 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS. Out of this population, children under the age of 15 years were 240,000. (Organization, 2014, pg 16)

The second part is meant to look at the treatment options that can be used to break down the chain of infection and prevent contagion for the disease, explore evidence based practice nursing interventions when managing short-term and long term consequences for the patients suffering from the disease and describe how a registered professional nurse can support patient adherence to the treatment options.

Treatment options utilized to prevent transmission of HIV

The main treatment use to break down the chain of infection of the disease and prevent contagion is the antiretroviral treatment (ART). The treatment usually works through minimizing the number of microorganisms (HIV) in the blood, semen, vaginal and rectal fluid to an undetectable number. There are a number of options in using this treatment and this is as follows:

Treatment can be given to infected pregnant mothers and a newborn baby so at to prevent transmission through the mother to child infection. The pregnant mother and the baby is given zidovudine (AZT). It has been shown that this treatment has been able to reduce the mother to child prevention from 25% to 8%. Infected mothers using Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) have also been found to reduce the risk of a mother to transmit the disease while breastfeeding.

The other treatment option used is the Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This treatment usually works through people who are HIV-negative using ARV drugs before being exposed to HIV. This treatment has been showed to reduce the risk of the disease up to 92%.

Post-exposure prophylaxis treatment is also used although it is a short term treatment It usually involves using the ARV after being exposed to the virus. Initially, this treatment was used by health workers who had been exposed to infected fluids. Recently, treatment has been used on those who might have been exposed in only one event for example, in cases of sexual assault (Sachdeva & Dutta, 2012, 377)

Evidenced based practice nursing interventions

There are two types of nursing interventions based on whether the consequences are short-term or long-term.

For the long-term consequences, the following nursing interventions would be necessary;

Firstly there is the recommending of the patient to guidance and counseling sessions so as to boost their morale. This will be very useful when it comes to taking the treatment since the patient would now be able to positively appreciating the disease.

Secondly, there would be need to subject the patient to HIV/AIDS awareness education and this is so as to minimize the risk of the patient in transmitting the disease to other people.

Thirdly, the infected person should be supplied with sex protection such as condoms so as to reduce the risk of one infecting his/her spouse. There is also need of counseling the spouse of an infected person and this is also aimed at reducing the risk of infection to the spouse.

Lastly, there is the need of making the patient to appreciate the importance of the treatment that is prescribed to him/her and ensure that the patient adheres to the treatment as prescribed.

As for the short term consequences, the following interventions would be necessary;

Firstly, the nurse can conduct once in a while visits to the patient’s home so as to ensure that the patient is using drugs as prescribed.

Secondly, the nurse can prescribe preferable nutrition to the patient that will ensure that the immune system of the patient is properly working so as to prevent the patient from being infected with other diseases which are related to HIV/AIDS such as Tuberculosis (TB).

Lastly, the nurse could ensure that he/she has the contacts of the close family of the infected person and this is to help in case of any emergency or any other problem (J & S, 2012, pg 690).

Supporting of the patients to adhere to the treatments

There are a number of ways through which a registered professional nurse would support patients in the adherence to the treatment options.  Some of these ways are as follows.

The nurse can conduct some guidance and counseling sessions on the patient. During these sessions, the nurse could explain to the patient the importance of adhering to the treatment and also remember to explain to the patient the danger of not taking the treatment.

The nurse can carry out some follow-up on patients. This can be achieved in a number of ways for example, through carrying out of routine visits to the home of the patient so as to ensure that the patient adheres to the treatment.

A professional nurse can keep in touch with the close family of an infected person; the importance is so as to make sure that the patient uses the prescribed treatment. The nurse has to make sure that he/she has explained to the family the importance of the infected person to take the treatment and also remember to explain to this family the danger of the patient in failing to take the treatment. (M, C & M, 2012, pg. 904). In conclusion, although HIV/AIDS has no cure it can easily be prevented once its chain of infection has been understood.

References

Organization, W. H. (2014). World Health Statistics 2014. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Lala, M. M. & Merchant, R. H. (2012). Principles of perinatal and pediatric HIV/AIDS. New Delhi. Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers.

Hall, J. C., Hall, B. J., & Cockerell, C. J. (2011). HIV/AIDS in the post-HAART era: Manifestations, treatment, and epidemiology. Shelton, CT: People’s Medical Pub. House-USA.

Sachdeva, A., & Dutta, A. K. (2012). Advances in Pediatrics. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers

In foster, J. G. W., & In Prevost, S.S. (2012). Advanced practice nursing of adults in acute care.

In Alexander, M.F., In Brooker, C., & In Nicol, M.(2012). Alexander’s nursing practice.

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Audit Planning and Control Assignment Help

Audit Planning and Control
                                        Audit Planning and Control

Audit Planning and Control

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Assignment 2: Audit Planning and Control

It is common industry knowledge that an audit plan provides the specific guidelines auditors must follow when conducting an external audit. External public accounting firms conduct external audits to ensure outside stakeholders that the company’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) standards.

Use the Internet to select a public accounting company that appeals to you. Imagine that you are a senior partner in a public accounting firm hired to complete an audit for the chosen public company.

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:
1. Outline the critical steps inherent in planning an audit and designing an effective audit program. Based upon the type of company selected, provide specific details of the actions that the company should undertake during planning and designing the audit program.
2. Examine at least two (2) performance ratios that you would use in order to determine which analytical tests to perform. Identify the accounts that you would test, and select at least three (3) analytical procedures that you would use in your audit.
3. Analyze the balance sheet and income statement of the company that you have selected, and outline your method for evidence collection which should include, but not be limited to, the type of evidence to collect and the manner in which you would determine the sufficiency of the evidence.
4. Discuss the audit risk model, and ascertain which sampling or non-sampling techniques you would use in order to establish your preliminary judgment about materiality. Justify your response.
5. Assuming that the end result is an unqualified audit report, outline the primary responsibilities of the audit firm after it issues the report in question.
6. Use at least two (4) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Plan and design a generalized audit program.
• Determine the nature and extent of evidence accumulated to conduct an audit after considering the unique circumstances of an engagement.
• Evaluate a company’s various risk factors and the related impact to the audit process.
• Evaluate effective internal controls that minimize audit risk and potentially reduce the risk of fraud.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in auditing.
• Write clearly and concisely about auditing using proper writing mechanics.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Auditing Planning and Controls

Auditing can be viewed in a myriad of dimensions, the key determinant being the context and environment in which it is carried out. The widely accepted description defines auditing as the examination and analysis of source documents, books of original entry, books of accounts, financial statements, and other relevant accounting documents to ascertain whether they present a fair and true view of the financial performance of an organization (Robertson, 2010). Auditing is quite independent from accounting, with the aim of the latter being collecting, recording, summarizing, analyzing, classifying and interpreting financial accounting information for financial decision making by the users of accounting information (Robertson, 2010).

Auditing largely borrows from the International Accounting Standards (IAS), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Standards (GAAPs), and the laws of the particular country to affirm whether the books of accounts have been maintained properly (Robertson, 2010). Owing to this, auditing is a legal requirement and it is hence mandatory for books of accounts to be audited either at the lapse of a financial year or on a systematic basis after a certain period. Auditing is meant to safeguard the interests of stakeholders and ensure that there is maximization of their value (Robertson, 2010). Auditing also helps in the minimization of the agency problem, which arises when managers work to satisfy their own interests rather than the maximization of shareholder value. Auditing also ensures tax compliance. Either the managers of a firm who are the stewards can carry out auditing internally, or an independent auditor can do it externally (Robertson, 2010).

Auditing, like many other processes, occurs in stages. The preliminary stage is the initiation of the audit, followed by the initial preparation of the audit prior to the audit being conducted. After the audit is conducted, audit reports are prepared and the audit is concluded (Pickett, 2006). In these stages, there are a number of tools used to abet the audit work. These include working papers, the permanent file, the current file, and most imperative, the audit plan (Pickett, 2006). Audit planning takes place at the commencement of the audit work, and it entails formulating a framework of how the entire work will be conducted with major focus placed on areas that are potentially significant. It encompasses the nature, scope, and duration of the audit to ensure it is performed effectively, efficiently with consideration to timeliness (Pickett, 2006).

External public accounting firms conduct external audits to assure outside stakeholders that the financial statements of the company are harmonized with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Standards on Audit (ISA), and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Standards (GAAPs). Deloitte & Touche is among several public accounting companies and one of the big four, with the other three being Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG (Kettle & Cooper, 2002). The company spans over one hundred countries from various continents (Kettle & Cooper, 2002).

For companies such as Deloitte & Touche to conduct effective auditing of their clients, audit planning needs to be effected. The planning of the audit will involve several steps, the first being understanding of the business a client is involved in and analyzing the entire industry (Pickett, 2006). This is followed by the assessment of the client’s business risk. Preliminary analytical procedures are then performed, and an assessment is done to determine the inherent risks and audit risks that are acceptable (Pickett, 2006). Planning further calls for the clear understanding of the internal control system, and the control risk that may be posed. The development of the audit plan and program is thereafter preceded by the gathering of information vital in the assessment of fraud risks (Pickett, 2006).

There exist performance ratios that are utilized so as to determine which analytical tests to perform. These consist of the liquidity ratios and the profitability ratios (Pickett, 2006). Liquidity ratios are concerned with how a firm is capable of meeting its short-term obligations and some of the ratios include the quick and current ratio, and the cash ratio. The accounts majorly involved are current assets and current liabilities (Pickett, 2006). Profitability ratios are concerned with the effectiveness of a firm in the generation of revenue. Some of the ratios under this category are the earnings per share (EPS) and the profit margin. These ratios deal with sales, incomes, and the share structure of a company (Pickett, 2006). The ratios aforementioned are critical in determining the analytical measures auditors should enforce while auditing a business concern.

Analytical procedures involve the analysis of relationships that exist amongst financial accounting data to identify whether they depict a significant relationship and to identify consistency (Pickett, 2006). The analytical procedures utilize relationships and comparisons to determine whether the accounting information and account balances are reasonable. One analytical procedure is comparison between client data and that of the industry, as in regards to inventory turnover (Pickett, 2006). Another analytical procedure is comparing client data and previous data of a similar period. An example is comparing the net income of the period with that of the previous period. The third analytical procedure is the comparison of client data with auditor-determined expected results (Pickett, 2006).

Audit evidence can be obtained by means of substantive testing which allows the auditor to form an opinion. Methods that can be utilized to collect audit evidence entail observation, inspection, computation, sampling, analytical procedures, inquiry and confirmation, and representations by management (Kelting, 2011). From the analysis of the financials of Deloitte & Touche, analytical procedures are preferred for collecting evidence.

As previously mentioned, analytical procedures necessitate the analysis of financial data to identify consistencies and anticipated patterns. In this perspective, financial data will be the income statement and the balance sheet of the company. This method is bound to lead to evidence that is sufficient since, being generated internally from financial statements, it relates directly to the accounting internal control system that is usually effective. In addition, evidence that has been obtained in the form of documents and written representations are deemed more reliable compared to oral representations (Kelting, 2011).

Audit risk is the risk posed to an auditor by financial statements that are materially misstated, hence resulting to the auditor giving an inappropriate audit opinion (Kelting, 2011). The audit risk model consists of the inherent risk, the control risk and the detection risk (Kelting, 2011). Inherent risk is a result of lack of effective internal controls, leading to accounts and transactions susceptible to misstatements. The control risk arises in the existence of an effective accounting internal control system. It is where a material misstatement in an account or a transaction cannot be detected or prevented by the accounting internal control system. The detection risk arises when substantive procedures executed by the auditor will not be capable of detecting material misstatements in accounts or transactions (Kelting, 2011).

Audit sampling entails the application of substantive tests or compliance procedures to accounts and transactions that are less than a hundred percent of the entire items involved (Kelting, 2011). This facilitates an auditor to come up with a conclusion concerning the entire accounts and class of transactions. Audit sampling can take two approaches; judgemental or non-statistical sampling and statistical sampling (Kelting, 2011). Judgemental sampling engages the use of the auditor’s knowledge and experience pertaining the client’s business to decide on the sample to be used without necessarily involving any statistical or mathematical tools (Kelting, 2011).

Statistical sampling on the contrary involves the use of probability theory in the establishment of the sampling size by the application of various statistical and mathematical models. The statistical sampling is the best technique in this milieu, since it is scientific and the auditor is capable of justifying selected samples. This technique is also vital in the elimination of personal bias by the auditor since the end sample selected is unbiased. The method further results to uniformity amongst various auditors, making comparisons between results possible (Kelting, 2011).

References

Kelting, W. R. (2011). Audit Planning: An empirical investigation into the timing of principal substantive tests. Arbor, Mich: University Microfilms.

Kettle, R., & Cooper, E. (2002). Deloitte & Touche. New York, NY: Vault Inc.

Pickett, K. H. S. (2006). Audit Planning: A risk-based approach. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Robertson, J. C. (2010). Auditing. Homewood, IL: BPI/Irwin.

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Heroic vs. post-heroic leadership Essay Paper

Heroic vs. post-heroic leadership
Heroic vs. post-heroic leadership

Heroic vs. post-heroic leadership

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See attached instructions

SAMPLE ANSWER

Heroic vs. post-heroic leadership

Three key characteristics of heroic (unitary command) leadership

First, heroic leaders do not believe that regular people are as creative as they are. Whenever participation is proposed in the organization as a means of gathering ideas and insights from employees on a complicated problem, the firm’s senior managers will usually obstruct such activities (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). Secondly, heroic leadership depends upon the illusion that somebody can be in control (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). Heroic leaders consider engaging the entire system as a threat to their own control and power. In addition, heroic leaders always choose for control as well as the resulting disorder instead of inviting people in to solve complex and difficult problems. Thirdly, in unitary command, individual leaders are seen to personify corporate organizations and countries, and leadership is exercised by single individuals (Crevani, Lindgren & Packendorff, 2007).

Three key characteristics of post-heroic or shared leadership

In post-heroic leadership, the leader knows that problems are intricate. They know that to comprehend the entire intricacy of any issue, every part of the system has to be involved to take part and contribute (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). Secondly, post-heroic leaders know that people readily support the things which they have contributed in creating; they do not expect people to buy in to projects and/or plans that were developed somewhere else (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). The third characteristic is that in shared leadership, 2 competence areas and dissimilar personalities that complement each other are common. It could be collaboration between the CEO and chairman, or the COO and the CEO (Crevani, Lindgren & Packendorff, 2007).

Organizational advantages of unitary command perspective

One of the advantages of heroic leadership is that the leader is able to provide high control for high risk situations. Secondly, Wheatley and Frieze (2010) stated that as situations become more challenging and complicated, power has to move to the top with the leaders who really know what to do. The third advantage is that heroic leaders promise to get people from their mess and sometimes they actually have the answers to problems they face. They usually retreat into isolation with some of their advisors and try to find a quick and simple solution to an intricate problem (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). The fourth advantage of heroic leadership is that heroic leaders believe in positive thinking – they always think positively – and this makes them to anticipate winning. They always keep their eyes on the prize and not what they would like to avoid. Anticipating positive results may sometimes result in success.

Organizational advantages of shared leadership perspective

The leaders in shared leadership perspective are frank and open enough to acknowledge that they do not know what to do; they recognize that it is actually absolute idiocy to rely only on themselves for answers (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). Secondly, post-heroic leaders know that they can trust the commitment as well as creativity of other people in order to get the work carried out. They understand that regardless of where other people are in the organizational hierarchy, they could be as creative, diligent, and motivated as the leader, given the right invitation (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). Thirdly, shared leadership avoids concentrating power on the hands of just a single individual. This form of leadership is particularly important when a company is faced with complex challenges which necessitate a broad set of skills that only one single person cannot possess (Crevani, Lindgren & Packendorff, 2007). Fourthly, the leaders in post-heroic leadership invest in important conversations amongst people from several divisions of the system as the most productive way of engendering new insights as well as possibilities for action. These leaders believe that people have the willingness to contribute; they encourage other people and create opportunities for others to contribute (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010). They also believe that many people want very much to find meaning as well as possibility in their functions and lives. They understand that difficult and complex problems can only be solved by involving other people (Wheatley & Frieze, 2010).

References

Crevani, L., Lindgren, M., & Packendorff, J. (2007). ‘Leadership Virtues and Management Knowledge: Questioning the Unitary Command perspective in Leadership Research’, in M-L Djelic and R Vranceanu (eds), Moral Foundations of Management Knowledge, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp159-176

Wheatley, M., & Frieze, D. (2010). ‘Leadership in the Age of Complexity: From hero to host.’ Retrieved from http://margaretwheatley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Leadership-in-Age-of-Complexity.pdf

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Finding More Focus in a Qualitative Study

Finding More Focus in a Qualitative Study
Finding More Focus in a Qualitative Study

Finding More Focus in a Qualitative Study

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Discussion 1 – Week 3 Attachment

Finding More Focus in a Qualitative Study

You must always consider the research method you plan to use when collecting your data. This can have an impact on how you proceed. The five research approaches can vary in the variety of information collected, the scope of the issues, and the invasiveness of the data collection effort.
•Locate a qualitative DBA doctoral study from the Walden library. Review the methodology section and compare and contrast the design and the method with the information you have learned from the Creswell course text.
•Analyze and discuss the recursive relationship between research methods and data collection techniques and how that can help to bring focus to your study.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 3 a response to the topic.

Assignment #2
Articulating Your Business Problem Statement

My topic:Determining methods for leaders to motivate a multi generational workforce.

In the beginning of a design for study, a qualitative researcher should start by introducing a business problem statement. The objective of this statement is to provide the motivation for studying a particular area of interest. A business problem statement is a clear portrayal of the issues that will need to be addressed within your research.

This week, you will have the opportunity to solicit the assistance of your colleagues in refining and honing your initial business problem statement into a viable, researchable statement.

• Write a first draft of a business problem statement and post it to the Discussion board.

Please submit assignments on a separate page each.!!!!!

SAMPLE ANSWER

Week 3 Discussion 1 &2      

Discussion 1; Analyze and discuss the recursive relationship between research methods and data collection

Research is mandatory in our world today so that we can understand our world and its surrounding environmental factors better. Things are changing daily; new species are being discovered in large numbers due to research (Devers & Frankel,1999). In research,  there are many methods that can be used so as to conduct the studies required and one of the most used methods is qualitative/quantitative research methods. These two words are often confused with a study; qualitative methods involves the studying of reasons behind the problem, the opinion of people about the problem and what encourages the problem to pursue.  While quantitative approach implies the study of how big the problem is and it uses statics, formulae, etc. this method should be used together for better results of analyzing a given problematic in the society.

The qualitative method mostly involves open questions that allow each to give their opinion, and, therefore, the researcher has a broad range of information from the different point of views. The quantitative method deals with numbers and data collection is important since when \collecting of information in an area, the information should be accurate so that a solution can be obtained efficiently for the betterment of the society. In quantitative some of the methods used to collect data are face-to-face interviews, online survey, telephone interviews, just to mention but a few. After a problem is identified using the qualitative method and it is measured using quantitative method then data analysis is done and solutions strategies are aligned (Merriam 1998). Data analysis involves tables and charts, and then there is the summary of the study and with this information the world, is becoming better and solutions to arising issues are arrived at using the focusing methods and analysis in the field actually.

Discussion 2; determining methods for leaders to motivate a multi-generational workforce

The current working industry has different generations working in them, and the truth of the matter is that all the generations are essential for all activities to flow well. So far, four generations have been identified by the organization depending on the age group. These are; the traditionalist (born in the year 1945 and below), baby boomers (born between 1946-1964), Generation X (born between 1965-1980) and the final group is the Millennial (born between 1981-2000). These groups have very distinct ways of doing things that includes their culture, ethnicity, tolerance, ideas, among others. However as a leader one has to bring all these groups together since a company grows by linking the past success and failure with the present and future (Cassell, et al. 2009).

Traditionalists are defined as employees who are loyal, dedicated, respect authority and value their families. These individuals are as a result of growing up in economic crisis and are, therefore, experienced firsthand of what financial crisis can lead to and would do anything to prevent it. Baby boomers are more optimistic, want growth and world like to fulfill personal gratification. They are as a result of difficult childhood and hence they would like to fulfill for themselves what their parents were unable to. Generation X is more involved in their work and tends to have self-drive to make an organization better than they found it and tend to value the results more than the route of achieving the results. They also have value for their families. The final group Millennia’s also referred to as Generation Y are the children who were born and raised with technology, and therefore they create so much expectation for themselves and the work they do.

As earlier reported a leader has to find a way to make all these generations work together, and this is achieved by implementing particular strategies (Neumann 2005). Telecommunication is highly regarded so as to merge the generations because it allows workers to communicate, have a plan and ensure that all areas are flowing smoothly whether from a junior to a senior or vice versa. Education is crucial since it allows training of employees to understand their work and the work of others to avoid blame games and eventually failure. Flexible schedules allow the employees to have a work life and personal life without having one take over the other. In addition, the programs make the employees feel independent. Measures to merge generational groups should be implemented by leaders to have greater successful organization.

References

Cassell, C., Bishop, V., Symon, G., Johnson, P., & Buehring, A. (2009). Learning to be a qualitative management researcher. Management Learning, 40(5), 513-533.

Devers, K. J., & Frankel, R. M. (1999). Study design in qualitative research–2: Sampling and data collection strategies. Education For Health (Abingdon, England), 13(2), 263-271.

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education. Revised and Expanded from” Case Study Research in Education.”. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 350 Sansome St, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Neumann, R. (2005). Doctoral differences: Professional doctorates and PhDs compared. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 27(2), 173-188.

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Content Marketing Term Paper Available

Content Marketing
                        Content Marketing

Content Marketing

Order Instructions:

Topic is:Content is king!

Here is the concept:
Content Marketing
• A strategy involving creating and publishing
content on Web sites and in social media to
attract customers and prospects.
• Companies are organizing themselves as media
publishers online.
• All owned media can be considered content
marketing.

Just prove why concept is king with 2 points and evidence. (in e-marketing)

SAMPLE ANSWER

Content marketing is a marketing approach strategy mainly focused in generating and distributing a quality and consistent content that will attract a huge consumer base and generate and maintain a high profit. This marketing strategy usually utilizes websites and social media platforms.  The main purpose of this strategy is usually intended to changing or enhancing the behavior of the consumer so as it is compatible with the changing environment for example maintaining a high number of consumers despite the increase in competition. This strategy of content marketing has usually being hailed as being king in its field. (LIEB, 2012) Though there are numerous reasons why the strategy is referred to as being king, the following essay provides only two points supported with evidence.

Firstly, content marketing has greatly enabled branding of companies and the increasing of a company’s authority in a particular industry. This has been achieved through the massive selling of knowledge and expertise. This is not achieved through selling the products directly to the customer but rather through trying to convince the consumer through giving him/her the benefits of the product. For an effective content marketing strategy, the convincing power used must be very strong. This although comes with its challenge in that for it to be effective it should, the content must be shared a maximum amount of relevant times. The best way of ensuring that the content is shared at a maximum time is through the creating of traffic in the site. When  a content creates traffic In  a site users maybe guided to other relevant areas of the website meaning that the chances of users adequately exploring the content of the website is very high. The website should also be continuously and subsequently be updated with relevant content that is of high quality. An example of a company that has been able to utilize content marketing in such a manner is the Microsoft Company. (LEROUX MILLER, 2013) Microsoft which is a software company has become on of the most popular software brands in the world and over time it has become a leading authority in the software field and this is evidenced by the enormous amount of profit that it has been able to generate..

Secondly, content marketing has also helped in boosting the number of the customers and sales leads and this is achieved with a very minimum amount of budget. Nowadays due to the many unavoidable circumstances, most people usually prefer doing their business activities online and it has been shown that companies and organizations that have had an effective an efficient content marketing strategy have had a high number of customers and prospects. An example is the DollarShaveClub Company, a relatively small company, that was founded back in 2011 by a comedian by the name Michael Dubin and a businessman Mark Levine. The company sells quality razors for at a lesser price than the cost of brand razors but it receives a high number of customers.  The company used a video on which it spent $4,500. This video had about 9.5 million views which later resulted in them having a massive fan base on social media platforms that is about 23,000 followers on twitter and 76,000 facebook fans. Within two days, the company had had 12.000 new customers. (JEFFERSON & TANTON, 2012)

In conclusion content marketing can be an effective strategy in both big marketing organizations and small businesses.

References

LIEB, R. (2012). Content marketing: think like a publisher –how to use content to market online and in social media. Indianapolis, Que.

JEFFERSON, S., & TANTON, S. (2012). valuable content marketing how to make quality content the key to your business success. London, Kogan Page.

LEROUX MILLER, K. (2013). Content marketing for nonprofits: a communications map for engaging your community, becoming a favorite cause, and raising more money. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10748731.

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Investment Analysis Paper on Chesapeake

Investment Analysis Paper on Chesapeake
Investment Analysis Paper on Chesapeake

Investment Analysis Paper on Chesapeake

Order Instructions:

Can the writer complete a one page respond to the below questions and add it to the paper just before (Calculate the DuPont identity for both companies for the past three years.).

I completely forgot that question when I made the order and remember this is a continuation of #112896 and also #112856. And the writer has to number the tables and at times put them in the appendix when necessary. Please refer to instructions on using the table on the sample paper as the writer did not follow those instructions and also the paper is a continues paper meaning all this section goes to be added to the paper and the reference page has to continue to grow in alphabetical order as we progress. The writer did not do that so please get that corrected and then add this one page to the paper with the below mention questions.

– Competitive Financial Ratio Comparison
In week two, you will begin your analysis of the financial data. Remember to add this content to your week 1 paper; in other words, I will want to see that week 1’s feedback has been incorporated and I will see the new week 2 content, too.

– DuPont Identity
You will want to calculate the DuPont identity for your company and as many competitors as you want. This area will require a table or an appendix or both. Recommend a table or appendix that includes this information.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Investment Analysis Paper on Chesapeake

SECTION 1

Investment Analysis Paper on Chesapeake Energy Corporation

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is U.S based utility company dealing in natural gas exploration and production. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK and employs approximately 10,800 people (as of December 31, 2013). The company was incorporated in 1947 and has evolved to be a leader in the energy sector worldwide with over $7.4 billion in total assets (as of December 31, 2014).

Board of Directors

The board of directors is very important to the organization since they determine the direction to be taken by the business. In Chesapeake Energy Corporation, the board of directors is composed of a ten member team; nine of the ten are independent members. Each of the nine sits in a charter committee namely; audit committee, compensation committee, nominating committee and finance committee. The Chair to the Board is a member of nominating committee and finance committee.

Monitoring Potential of the Firm’s Board of Director

The strategic monitoring potential of the board is derived from the fact that 90% of the members have complete autonomy and sits on committees (MarketLine, 2014). The charter is also governed by constituency statutes that permit them to make decisions in favor of the company rather than the shareholders’ interests (Brian et al, 2013).

Strengths and Weaknesses of Board Structure

Intense market competition and structuring of the board might either erode or increase the company’s market share. This board strength and weaknesses include (See Table 1):

Ethical Concerns

The company lacks appropriate responsiveness to the shareholders concerns. This is because the directors have full autonomy over decision making. Despite the fact that their position is backed up by the constituency statutes, it amounts to lack of transparency in the overall organization (Bundy & Ann, 2013).

SECTION 2

Competitive Financial Ratio

Proper financial management is based on building upon the business strength while at the same time striving to overcome the company challenges. Financial analysis is imperative in determining the profitability of the business.  Financial ratios are based on the notion that trends and patterns always occur while doing business that can be quantified, interpreted and used by the management for decision making process (Brooks & Mukherjee, 2013).  However, this section discusses competitive financial ratios as well as DuPont identity in order to help determine the part of the business that is performing and the part that is underperforming.

By using Chesapeake Energy Corporation, we can calculate the company Return on Investment (ROE). This value can help us to determine the organization competitive position by comparing the value with the ROE of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. That is one of the company’s competitors.

ROE Calculations

ROE For CEC in 2012(See table 2)

=724, 000/15,995,000

=0. 0453

ROE for CEC in 2013 (See table 2)

=769,000/15,995,000

=0. 0481

 

ROE= Net income/ Shareholders equity

ROE for CEC in 2014(See Table 2)

= $1,917,000/$16,903,000

ROE=5.438

ROE for APC in 2014 is (See Table 3)

= (1,750,000)/19,725,000

= -0.0887

When we compare the two figures above, it is quite evident that Chesapeake Energy corporation (CEC) has a competitive advantage as compared to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation whose ROE is a negative value. Therefore, this implies that CEC management can to create value for the shareholders (Berk et al., 2013).

DuPont Analysis for the companies for the past three years

Return on Investment (ROE) is the is one of the most important company analysis tools that is used to measure how well a company manages and creates value to their shareholders. However, the values on the ROE can sometimes be misleading in terms of real value and risks associated with a particular investment. The numbers in the ROE can easily be misleading to financial analysis if the individual components of the ROE have not been broken down to their individual components. In this regard, DuPont can bridge the gap created by the ROE and provide a reliable measure of how the company creates value for its shareholders(Mitchell, Mitchell, &Cai, 2013).DuPont is the financial analysis tool that enables the breakdown of the ROE into its various individual components such as financial leverage, asset turnover, and profit margin (Haskins, 2013). The following is the financial calculation of DuPont of Chesapeake Energy Corporation, together with their competitor, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC)(Cheasapeake Corp, 2015).

DuPont analysis is used to break down ROE in order to get a more detailed understanding of the ROE and where the information is obtained from (Gitman & Zutter, 2014). In our case we will calculate the DuPont analysis for Chesapeake Energy Corporation for the last three years in order to understand the trend in the RO

In the year 2012;

The DuPont for Chesapeake Energy Corporation is given by (See Table 2)

Net Profit x Asset Turnover x Leverage Factor

(769,000/12,316,000) x (12,316,000/41,611,000) x (41,611,000/12,316,000)

= 0.0624 x 0.256 x 3.379 =0.054

The DuPont for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) is given by (See table 3)

(2,391,000/13,411,000) x (13,411,000/52,589,000) x (52,589,000/20,629,000) =

=0.1783 x 0.255 x 2.541 = 0.116

In the year 2013;

The DuPont for Chesapeake Energy Corporation is given by (See Table 2)

(724,000/17,506,000) x (17,506,000 / 41,782,000) x (41,782,000/15,995,000) =

0.041 x 0.419 x 2.612 = 0.045

The DuPont for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) is given by (See table 3)

(801,000/14,581,000) x (14,581,000/55,781,000) x (55,781,000/21,857,000) =

0.055 x 0.21 x 2.55 = 0.029

In the year 2014;

The DuPont for Chesapeake Energy Corporation is given by (See Table 2)

(1,917,000/20,951,000) x (20,951,000/40,751,000) x (40,751,000/16,903,000) =

0.091 x 0.514 x 2.411 = 0.113

The DuPont for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) is given by (See Table 3)

(1,750,000/18,470,000) x (18,470,000/61,689,000) x (61,689,000/19,725,000) =

0.095 x 0.299 x 3.127 = 0.089

Differences and trend that emerge

In the year 2012, the operating efficiency of APC (0.18) was higher than that of CEC (0.06) as can be seen in their profit margins. In the same year, it can be deduced that the asset use efficiency of between the two companies are almost the same since they stood at 0.255 for APC and 0.256 for CEC. On the other hand, the financial leverage for CEC was higher (3.4) than the financial leverage for APC (2.5).

In the year 2013, the operating efficiency of APC (0.05) was still higher than that of CEC (0.04). In the same year, the asset use efficiency of CEC was higher than the asset use efficiency of APC. Similarly, CEC had a higher financial leverage in the year 2013 than APC. Overall, it can be deduced that CEC performed better than APC in the year 2013.

In the year 2014, the operating efficiency of APC (0.095) was higher than that of CEC (0.091). However, the asset use efficiency of CEC stood higher (0.5) than that of APC (0.3). On the other hand, APC had a higher financial leverage (3.1) than CEC (2.4) as can be deduced from the financial calculations. The higher the financial leverage, the better a company is placed to provide good value for its shareholders (Brian, Sandra, & Jennifer, 2013).

Appendix

  1. Table 1

 

Strengths Weaknesses
Mainstream on vertical integration

Strong market position based on personnel

High debt resulting from heavy borrowing
Opportunities Threats
Increasing demand for natural gas in the world and key employees Increasing competition

Legal compliance and changing gas prices

 

  1. Table 2:Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CEC) Financials for the past three years
2014 2013 2012
Total Assets $40,751,000 41,782,000 41,611,000
Shareholders’ Equity $16,903,000 15,995,000 15,569,000
Revenue $20,951,000 17,506,000 12,316,000
Net Income $1,917,000 724,000 769,000

 

  1. Table 3:Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) Financials for the past three years
2014 2013 2012
Total Assets 61,689,000 55,781,000 52,589,000
Shareholders’ Equity 19,725,000 21,857,000 20,629,000
Revenue 18,470,000 14,581,000 13,411,000
Net Income (1,750,000) 801,000 2,391,000

References

Brian, J. H, Sandra, M. T. & Jennifer, C. H. (2013). Benefit corporation concerns for

Financial Service Professionals.Journal of Financial Service Professionals.74-82.

Bundy, J & Ann, K. B. (2013). Strategic Cognition and Issue Salience: Toward an Explanation of Firm Responsiveness to Stakeholder Concerns. Academy of Management Review. 38 (3) 352-376.

Chesapeake Corp. (2015). Company Profile: Chesapeake Energy Corporation. MarketLine

Brian, J. H, Sandra, M. T. & Jennifer, C. H. (2013). Benefit corporation concerns for

Cheasapeake Corp. (2015). Company Profile: Chesapeake Energy Corporation. MarketLine

Financial Service Professionals.Journal of Financial Service Professionals.74-82.

Haskins, M. E.(2013). A decade of DuPont ratio performance.Management Accounting Quarterly, 14(2), 24-33.

Mitchell, T., Mitchell, S., &Cai, C. (2013). Using the DuPont decomposing process to create A marketing model.Journal of Business & Economics Research (Online), 11(11), 485.

Brooks, R., & Mukherjee, A. K. (2013). Financial management: core concepts. Pearson.

Berk, J., DeMarzo, P., Harford, J., Ford, G., Mollica, V., & Finch, N. (2013).Fundamentals of corporate finance. Pearson Higher Education AU.

Gitman, L. J., & Zutter, C. J. (2014). Principles of Managerial Finance. Pearson Higher Ed.

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