Discussion replies #1 and #2

/0 Comments/in /by

Question

Submission Instructions:

You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. 

All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.

Discussion #1

  • Difference Between Not- For-Profit and For-Profit Organizations
  • There is a grey area between the two terms when it comes to describing the nature of for profit and not-for-profit organizations. The purpose of each of these organizations is where they diverge the most. While for-profit businesses cater to niche markets by providing valuable goods and services, non-profit healthcare organizations prioritize social and humanitarian causes (Ogochi et al., 2022). Typically, these goods and services are offered by businesses with the intention of making a profit.

More distinctions may be drawn between for-profit and non-profit entities. Ownership, principal and secondary missions, income sources, employees, responsibility, and tax status are all possible factors that contribute to the variation. Under some circumstances, healthcare organizations that are not for profit are not taxed, although for-profit companies are always taxed. A primary goal of not-for-profits is to serve society rather than generate profit to share among shareholders, in contrast to for-profit organizations. Donations and grants support non-profit organizations, whereas investment profits and product sales fuel for-profit enterprises. Both paid and unpaid workers make up the staff of non-profits, while for-profits rely only on paid workers.

What Happens if an NFP Organization Makes a Profit

For non-for-profit businesses, taxation is a bigger issue when they make profit. In most cases, non-for-profit organizations do not have to pay income taxes. The rationale for the exemption is that these groups primarily serve to benefit society, rather than for financial gain (Zare et al., 2022). It is possible, nevertheless, for non-profits to make money via their operations. When this occurs, the funds might be used to pay for certain costs. Nevertheless, tax issues may only be expressed when an organization’s actions depart from its original objective and purpose. Consequently, no amount that might be considered a “profit” from an organization’s operations would be subject to taxes (Rosko et al., 2020). The existence of the company depends on the profits made from its operations.

Advantages and Disadvantages of For-Profit vs Not for Profit

One major perk of being a nonprofit organization is being free from paying taxes. Also, limited liability companies offer legal protection for nonprofits since they are distinct legal entities. The owner is shielded from legal responsibility in the event of a breach of contract since the business is liable for its own contractual and other legal duties, unlike when the firm is under the control of a single individual. The members, executives, and directors of a limited liability corporation are shielded from personal responsibility in any legal action against the business (Treinta et al., 2020).

It takes a lot of time and money to create a non-profit organization, which is a major drawback. Additionally, the organization will need to pay extra to get your tax exemption status applied for. The process of applying for a tax exemption may be lengthy and expensive, especially when the services of an accountant, lawyer, or other specialist are required.

Establishing a business with the express purpose of making a profit is a smart move. The group can earn a profit because it can sell products and services. One potential benefit of launching a for-profit business is the opportunity to earn capital that may be reinvested or share among the different owners or shareholders. But businesses can’t apply for some exemptions or grants from the government if they’re structured as for-profits. There are no tax breaks for contributors and investors in for-profit businesses, in contrast to non-profits (Cronin et al., 2021).

Risk Management Influence on Nursing Documentation

The purpose of risk management in healthcare is to detect potential dangers and make plans to deal with them. In order to prevent risks from becoming more damaging to the community and businesses, effective risk management helps in identifying them and then putting measures in place to prevent and deal with them. Legal actions alleging misconduct by nurses pose a substantial threat to healthcare companies. That is why it is fundamental and critical to document patient care in order to make known the actual patients’ health condition and interventions that were performed (Bunting & de Klerk, 2022). Nurses are responsible for providing safe and exceptional care, and this can, most of the time, only be verified by good nursing documentation.  

Discussion #2

Discuss the difference between not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. 

         Healthcare organizations classified as for-profit or not-for-profit primarily differ in their goals and financial structures.  Healthcare companies that are for-profit (FP) function to make money for their owners or shareholders (Horwitz, 2005). Any revenue beyond operating expenses is liable to be allocated as profit. Non-profit organizations (NFPs) are guided by a mission. Reinvesting surplus income helps the organization fulfill its objective, as opposed to giving it to owners or shareholders. Financial gain is an FP organization’s main goal. One of the main objectives is to maximize profits, and market forces and shareholder interests frequently influence decision-making. Northshore Medical Center, Florida Medical Center, and Palmetto General are a few FP healthcare organizations. 

         Non-profit organizations focus on a specific mission or purpose, for example education, or providing healthcare services. The money the organization gets supports its mission rather than individual gain. For-profit organizations must incorporate income taxes and other taxes on profits. NFPs are exempt from taxes because their mission is charitable.  For-profits are governed by shareholders and board of directors that must financially keep the hospital or facility at bay. Not-for profit is governed by a board of trustees or directors, with a focus on fulfilling the organization’s mission and serving the community. Jackson Memorial Hospital is an example of an NFP in Miami.  

What happens if an NFP organization makes a profit? 

        If a not-for profit (NFP) organization generates surplus or profit, it does not distribute these funds to owners or shareholders, as there are typically none. Instead, the surplus is reinvested back into the organization to further its mission and objectives. This reinvestment helps the NFP organization enhance its services, expand programs, improve facilities, or support its charitable purposes. Reinvesting profits into the organization allows NFPs to achieve long-term sustainability and better fulfill their mission. It distinguishes them from for-profit entities, where profits are distributed to shareholders or owners. It’s important to note that NFP organizations still need to manage their finances responsibly and transparently.  

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of organization? 

         For-profit has many advantages. FPs have the potential for significant financial gains, attracting investors and facilitating access to capital (Mogyorósy, 2004). The profit motive can drive efficiency and innovation, as organizations aim to optimize operations for financial success. FPs can quickly adapt to market demands and changes, responding to consumer needs. Prioritizing profit may sometimes lead to decisions that prioritize financial gain over patient care or community service. Profit-driven models may contribute to healthcare inequalities, as services may be directed toward more profitable demographics. Not-for-profit (NFP) organizations are guided by a mission or purpose, emphasizing the provision of community service and addressing societal needs. Enjoying tax-exempt status allows NFPs to allocate more resources to their mission. NFPs build strong community trust by demonstrating a commitment to social causes. The disadvantages of an NFP vary. NFPs may face financial limitations, relying on donations and grants, which can affect their ability to invest in technology or facilities. Due to the mission-driven focus, decision-making may involve more bureaucracy, slowing down certain processes. In a competitive healthcare environment, NFPs may face challenges in recruiting and retaining talent due to potentially slowing down certain processes.  

Describe two specific examples of how risk management has influenced nursing documentation. 

          Risk management ensures the safety of the patients and the staff. A risk management initiative is to decrease medication errors in a healthcare facility. In response, nursing documentation protocols were enhanced to include additional checks and verifications when administering medications. Nurses were required to document not only the administration of medication but also the specific steps taken to verify the right patient, medication, dose, route, and time. This improved to reduce the risk of medication errors, enhance patient safety, and provide clear record of the safety measures taken. Another example is preventing falls throughout the hospital. Risk management aids in the prevention of falls by making sure the nurses know the proper steps to take when there are risk for fall patients. The proper steps should be followed. A patient should have a bed alarm first, medication next, and a sitter last. Nurses and PCTS are educated on reporting and following the proper steps to prevent falls.   

LDS week 2

/0 Comments/in /by

QUESTION

GIVE A POSITIVE FEEDBACK TO EACH OF THE POST. USE PORPER APA FORMAT.CITE SCHOLARLY SOURCES.

POST#1 Paige: The ability to effectively control oneself, one’s behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in order to accomplish personal and professional goals is referred to as self-leadership. Basically, it’s about leading oneself before others. The relationship between self-leadership and leadership competency is significant because self-leadership serves as a foundation for effective leadership. A leader who possesses strong self-leadership skills is better equipped to understand their own strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and values. This self-awareness enables them to lead with authenticity, integrity, and empathy, which are crucial elements of effective leadership. A leader’s self-leadership skills directly impact those they lead in several ways such as role modeling and empowerment. Self-leadership abilities like emotional intelligence, resilience, and self-control are exhibited by leaders, who provide a good example for their subordinates. Team members are more likely to model their leader’s successful behavior and emotional control when they see it in action, fostering a culture of self-leadership inside the company. Numerous studies have highlighted the connection between employee initiative and improved organizational and individual job performance (Kang et al., 2022).  

One leadership skill that I consider to be a strength is self motivation. Coming from a sports background I have always been competitive with others and myself. I have noticed that I enjoy setting the standard high for myself and attaining those goals.  One leadership skill that I could improved on is assertiveness. Sometimes I feel I do not want to step of toes or challenge other people intellect and them take it personally or a bad way so I will avoid any confrontation. 

One strategy to cultivate my self leadership skills is to clarify my personal goals and values. In order to perform this, I can establish clear, specific, and challenging goals that align with your values and aspirations. These goals are meant to be meaningful and evoke a sense of purpose. Breaking these goals into smaller more attainable goals to maintain motivation. Another strategy is to develop consistent habits. Humans are cultures of habit. Routines and habits that support your goals and enhance productivity are key when you are within the workplace. Consistent habits create a sense of structure and discipline, reducing reliance on fleeting motivation. By implementing these strategies, individuals can cultivate their self-motivation and enhance their self-leadership skills. This enables them to proactively pursue their goals, stay resilient in the face of setbacks, and achieve long-term success and fulfillment. The intrinsic motivation theory suggests that employees exhibit high levels of motivation and engagement in their tasks when they feel a sense of autonomy and control over both themselves and their environment (Inam et al., 2023).

References

Inam, A., Ho, J. A., Sheikh, A. A., Shafqat, M., & Najam, U. (2023). How self leadership enhances normative commitment and work performance by engaging people at work?. Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 42(5), 3596–3609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01697-5

Kang, H., Song, M., & Li, Y. (2022). Self-Leadership and Innovative Behavior: Mediation of Informal Learning and Moderation of Social Capital. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 12(11), 443. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12110443. 

POST#2 ASHLEY: This week course content involved leadership skills and styles in advanced nursing practice. Effective leadership embodies, motivates, and enables professional nursing success. Functional leaders possess foundational emotional intelligence and interprofessional attributes that promote healthcare competency. The relationship of self-leadership to leadership capability is complex. To further elaborate, leadership competency can be described as an ability to impact others to reach projected goals. On the contrary, self-leadership can help stimulate one to obtain goals through self-motivation. Self-leadership and communication skills are known to have a positive result on nursing outcomes (Ae & Sim, 2020). A leader’s self-leadership skills can influence those they lead by providing a pathway example to follow.

As documented in the lesson plan content, self-leadership skills are crucial in the development of organizations and of oneself. One self-leadership skill I consider to be a strength is my own emotional intelligence (EI). Xu et al. (2023) infers that the EI theory impacts relationships, career aspirations, and emotional responses. Self-leadership skills are built by maturity. EI comes from the comprehension and management of emotions and the emotions of those around them. My expressive feelings can be mimicked by my peers or within my patients. Throughout the years that I have been in healthcare, I have successfully been able to manage and identify my emotions. By doing so, I have seen a positive change in the way I provide care. For example, I have learned to set aside my own personal biases and maintain professional boundaries.

One self-leadership skill that I have identified that needs improvement is the topic of self-care. Self-care is detrimental in the growth of a leader. As described in the section of leadership skills for advanced practice nursing, self-care cultivates an atmosphere of resilience. I have found myself overworked, overwhelmed, and burnt out in various situations throughout my career. There are times where I struggle to delegate my time appropriately to tasks that could be done later. When I am faced with a momentous amount of work in my personal or professional life, I seem to want to tackle things all at once. To my demise, the eagerness can become brief and my self-care suffers.

As explained previously, my self-care diminishes as I focus too heavily on tasks that do not need to be performed all at once. Two examples of strategies to help alleviate my stress and improve my self-care techniques could be sustaining my emotional, mental, and spiritual wellness. I can begin on ensuring I develop a sense of gratitude, continue to strengthen my relationships with my family, and separate my work and education when appropriate. By performing these tasks, I can nourish my self-leadership competencies.

References 

Ae, Y. K., & Sim, I. O. (2020). Mediating Factors in Nursing Competency: A Structural Model Analysis for Nurses’ Communication, Self-Leadership, Self-Efficacy, and Nursing Performance. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6850. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186850

Xu, J., Zhang, L., Ji, Q., Ji, P., Chen, Y., Song, M., & Guo, L. (2023). Nursing students’ emotional empathy, emotional intelligence and higher education-related stress: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing, 22, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01607-z

POST #3 MONDESTIN: Comprehending the notion of self-leadership is crucial for nurses to cultivate successful leadership abilities. The ability to take the initiative, inspire oneself, and exhibit sincerity in directing one’s own actions and behaviors is referred to as self-leadership. A leader’s talent for internal leadership has a direct bearing on their potential to motivate and sway others under their direction (Diggele et al., 2020). Self-leadership abilities have a significant influence on people under a leader’s direction because they provide a model of sincerity and responsibility. Team members are inspired to trust and believe in leaders that exhibit self-awareness, confidence, and integrity in their behavior. A culture of openness and transparency is fostered by authentic leadership, which promotes teamwork and creativity (Restivo et al., 2022).

Working together and in a team is one self-leadership trait that I think is strong. I am great at encouraging team members to work together, show respect for one another, and accomplish goals as a group. I actively contribute to a healthy work atmosphere and improve team performance by actively participating in collaborative decision-making and appreciating varied opinions. I believe there is room for progress in the self-leadership competency of conflict resolution. Even though I work hard to keep everyone on the team happy, I recognize that I can still improve my skills in conflict resolution. In order to resolve conflicts amicably and foster team unity, effective conflict management needs assertiveness, empathy, and active listening (Smith & Bhavsar, 2021).

In order to enhance my abilities as a self-leader, namely in handling conflicts, I intend to put two tactics into practice. I will look for chances to advance my career and receive instruction in methods of resolving conflicts, such negotiation and mediation (Smith & Bhavsar, 2021). By gaining new information and abilities, I can improve my capacity to resolve disputes amicably and encourage favorable results. In order to identify my conflict management strengths and areas for improvement, I will reflect on my performance and ask for input from colleagues. I can spot possibilities to improve my strategy and create more potent conflict resolution techniques by aggressively seeking out input and remaining receptive to constructive criticism.

CU Delta Air Lines A Legacy of Aviation Excellence Data Analytics Question

/0 Comments/in /by

Question

Introduction:

Business analytics techniques are used to facilitate decision making by transforming large amounts of raw data into meaningful information. Many businesses rely on analysis of relevant historical data to make key strategic and operational decisions. Therefore, understanding how to use techniques such as graphical representation and descriptive statistics to translate raw data into useful information can be a valuable skill in an organization.

In this assessment and the next, you will have the opportunity to sharpen your analytics skills by locating and interpreting real-life stock data.

You have been learning about how to explore data. In this assessment, you will apply those skills by downloading a practical dataset and creating graphical representations of that data. The work you do in this assessment will lay the foundation for future assessments in which you analyze and interpret those graphical representations. Since the purpose of business analytics is to make sense of large quantities of raw data, this assessment helps you develop skills in applying analytics to business contexts by practicing the exploration and display of data.

In addition to graphical and tabular summary methods, numeric or quantitative variables and data can be summarized numerically using various techniques of Question and display.

Descriptive methods, which describe existing data, are also methods for using a subset of the available data to estimate or test a theory about a measurement on a larger group. This larger group is called the population, and the measurement being studied is the parameter. The smaller group, or subset, of the population that is taken in order to make an inference (to make an estimate or test a theory) is referred to as the sample. The measurement taken on that sample is then referred to as the statistic, which is usually the best single-number estimate for the population parameter of interest. Most often, however, the estimate should not be restricted to a single number that would be exactly correct or incorrect. Instead, it is preferable to calculate some range of possible values between which there can be a certain percent confidence that the true population parameter falls. These are referred to as confidence intervals.

Scenerio

Business analytics techniques are used to facilitate decision making by transforming large amounts of raw data into meaningful information. Many businesses rely on analysis of relevant historical data to make key strategic and operational decisions with the goal of gaining or maintaining competitive advantage. Therefore, understanding how to use techniques such as graphical representation and descriptive statistics to translate raw data into useful information can be a valuable skill in an organization.

In this assessment and the next, you will have the opportunity to sharpen your analytics skills by locating and interpreting real-life stock data, creating a business report, and presenting the information from the business report with your supervisor and colleagues as part of a decision-making effort.

Your Role:

You are a member of a business analyst group interested in a publicly traded company. Your supervisor has asked you to create a presentation, including graphical representations from raw stock data. From that raw stock data, you are to create a business report for a company-wide meeting at the end of the quarter. Your work and the work of others will result in a Business Report, which will be utilized to help company leadership make decisions.

Your first task is to pick a publicly held company with only one business platform. So do not pick Apple, Amazon, Disney, et cetera. You want a company that plays in only one industry. Then you are to provide an overview of the company, including business context. Remember that business context includes many aspects of the company, industry, competition, et cetera.

The second task is prepping stock history data from the business or company and creating scatter plots and a histograms.

The third task is to calculate mean, median, mode, and standard deviation of the adjusted daily closing stock price and the stock volume.

The fourth task is to provide a summary of the information you provide (including data analysis) without bias and with factual information including citations.

It is your responsibility to present visually and to interpret the data into meaningful information using analysis and descriptive statistics

Instructions:

Select a publicly traded business or stock that plays in only one industry in which you have interest. Download the raw data on the company’s stock history.

Follow these steps to locate and download stock history from Yahoo! Finance:

  • Go to Yahoo Finance.
  • Search for and find the stock information of your chosen company. Remember do not use a company that plays in multiple industries.
  • Once you pull up the general data on the company, review the screen links throughout until you find the link for Historical Data. Click on the Historical Data link. Then select the following settings above the table:
    • Select Time Period of one year.
    • Select “Historical Prices.”
    • Select Frequency as “Daily.”
    • Click Apply.
    • Click Download Data. Go to the bottom of your screen or your Downloads folder to open the Excel file you just downloaded. Open the Excel file. Check to be sure that you have enough lines to show the whole year. If not, reset the settings at the top of the Historical Data chart and try again.
    • Once you are sure that you have a year’s worth of data, save the Excel file.

Using the Excel file with the year’s stock data, conduct descriptive analysis as follows:

  1. Create a scatter plot of the highest stock price (in the column labeled “High”) against time. Write several sentences explaining the process/steps by which you created this graph.
  2. Create a scatter plot of the lowest stock price (in the column labeled “Low”) against time. Write several sentences explaining the process/steps by which you created this graph.
  3. Create a histogram of the adjusted daily closing stock price (in the column labeled “Adj Close”). Make sure the histogram is meaningful by adjusting the bin size so you can see the shape of the histogram. Write several sentences explaining the process/steps by which you created this graph.
  4. Create a histogram of the stock trading volume (in the column labeled “Volume”). Make sure the histogram is meaningful by adjusting the bin size so you can see the shape of the histogram. Write several sentences explaining the process/steps by which you created each graph.
  5. Complete the following for each of the four graphs:
    • Make sure the x and y axis have appropriate labels—“Stock Price in USD” or “Date D/M/Y” for example.
    • Change the title of the graph to communicated what the graph is communicating.
    • Add options—color, trendlines, legend, other?
  6. Calculate the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation of the adjusted daily closing stock price.
  7. Put answers of calculations in table format for easy review.
  8. Write several sentences explaining the process by which you calculated these statistics.
  9. Calculate the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation of the stock volume. Put in table format for easy review. Write a sentence explaining the process by which you calculated these statistics.
  10. Prepare a 5-8 page report that you would present to your supervisor, including the following:
    • An APA-formatted title page.
    • A 1-2 page introduction describing the background of your chosen company and its practical extensive business context. You should use at least four sources of information on the company, industries the company participates in, history, mission, platforms, products, competitive advantage, and competitors by industry.
    • A section labeled Graphical Representations of Data, in which you include the four graphs you created above and short Questions of the process you used to create each graph.
    • A section labeled Descriptive Statistics, in which you include the statistics you calculated above and explanation of the procedures you followed to calculate the statistics.
    • A summary of what the data suggests. No opinion please. See textbook information on how to interpret data. Please remain unbiased in your summary. You may use additional resources (and cite) to help you interpret the data. For example: What does Standard Deviation say about stock volatility?

Your paper should be APA-formatted with in-text citations and a corresponding references page. Remember to cite the sources of your financial data. Include at least four sources of information for your page and reflect on reference page.

Walkthrough: You may view the following media piece to help you understand concepts addressed in this assessment:

MGT 3210 DB 9

/0 Comments/in /by

QUESTION

Case 9: Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, Established a Minimum Salary of $70,000 for All Employees

Dan Price grew up in a family of seven, whose evangelical Christian parents homeschooled him and his siblings until they were 12. The family had strong roots in reading and studying the Bible, which was a daily activity. Price was very interested in learning the scriptures and reached the finals of a Bible-memorization contest in the fifth and sixth grades.

In 2004 Price, then 19, started Gravity Payments with his brother Lucas. The brothers initially had a 50-50 stake in the company, but about 18 months later Lucas Price ended his direct involvement in the company and Dan Price became the majority owner.

Gravity Payments is a credit card processing company. According to an article about the company in Bloomberg Businessweek, “The day-to-day work at Gravity Payments is pretty unglamorous. Gravity is a middleman between merchants and payment networks, namely Visa and MasterCard, which in turn connect to banks that issue credit cards.” The office is a conglomerate of “desks and computers in bland cubicles—but the space is reorganized every six months so people can sit near different colleagues.” Price does this because he doesn’t want people to get too comfortable.

The corporate home page describes the company as follows: “‘Take care of your team, and they’ll take care of your clients.’ Gravity Payments recognizes the value in establishing an entrepreneurial, goal-oriented, rewarding, honest, and innovative culture, which is what makes our company such a remarkable place to work. We believe in a holistic and balanced lifestyle, supporting our team members with:

  • $70,000 minimum wage
  • Unlimited paid time off
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Bonus opportunities
  • Flannel Fridays
  • Company-sponsored outings
  • Volunteer opportunities
  • Catered breakfasts and lunches

A survey of comments on Glassdoor reveals a combination of pros and cons about working at Gravity. A sampling of comments includes the following:

Pros:

“I have never worked for a company that cares for their customers more than Gravity. Company culture is the best I have worked with.”

“The company is built on a foundation of community and teamwork. I have built some long-lasting friendships. We are a community of people who are competitive, love to learn, and want to grow.”

“I love the team of people I work with! They value the unique skills and experience that I have, support me in accomplishing my goals, challenge me to bring my best, and inspire me to push to new heights.”

“Gravity Payments offers an incredible opportunity for employees to seize responsibility and grow personally and professionally.… You really do get out what you put in as far as effort being rewarded with additional responsibilities and trust.”

“Management genuinely cares about your success and professional growth. Even though people work hard … the environment is fun and social.”

Cons:

“It can be intimidating to work with such high quality and capable people. Personal sacrifice is often necessary to provide a high level of service and support for our customers and teammates.”

“It’s no secret that this industry is tough. As a rep you have to be very driven and handle plenty of rejection.”

“Be prepared to work long hours …”

“Many days are filled with rejection and apathy.”

“This is not easy work. Anyone who is just looking to do the minimum and collect their paycheck will not be happy nor successful here. Be prepared to operate at 100 percent at all times, as there is rarely down time.”

Price made international headlines in 2015 when he announced his plan to raise the minimum salary of his 120 employees to $70,000. At the time, the average employee salary was $48,000.

He decided to phase in the salary increase over three years. The minimum starting salary became $50,000 in 2015 and $60,000 by December 2016 and $70,000 by December 2017. Price plans to pay for this increase without raising prices to customers by reducing his own salary from about $1 million to $70,000, and by diverting about 80 percent of company profits for 2015. This strategy is critically important because profit margins are slim in this industry, and any price increases are likely to result in a loss of customers.

Many employees were ecstatic at the news of the salary rise. One hundred received an immediate pay increase, and 30 saw their pay double. Others were not so happy and perceived the decision as inequitable. Maisey McMaster, a 26-year-old financial manager, said, “He gave raises to people who have the least skills and are the least equipped to do the job, and the ones who were taking on the most didn’t get much of a bump.” She felt it would have been fairer to give smaller increases with the opportunity to earn a future raise with more experience.

McMaster told Price about her feelings, and according to an interview in The New York Times, he suggested she was being selfish. She quit.

Grant Morgan had a similar reaction in his Times interview. “I had a lot of mixed emotions,” he said. His salary was raised to $50,000 from $41,000. “Now the people who were just clocking in and out were making the same as me. It shackles high performers to less motivated team members.” He also quit.

Some customers left the company because they viewed the pay increase as a political statement or a prelude to higher fees.

A few key events seem to have prompted Price’s decision to raise wages. One was a 2011 conversation with Jason Haley, a phone technician making about $35,000 a year. Haley told Price, “You’re ripping me off.” A surprised Price said, “Your pay is based on market rates.” Haley shot back that “the data doesn’t matter. I know your intentions are bad. You brag about how financially disciplined you are, but that just translates into me not making enough money to lead a decent life.” Price was shocked and upset.

Price also came to feel that pay inequality between himself and his employees was simply wrong. He told a reporter from The New York Times that income inequality “just eats at me inside.”

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Price’s original pay was “atypical for a company of Gravity’s size” and profitability. The company’s profit was $2.2 million in 2014. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that “at private companies with sales like Gravity’s total revenue, salary and bonus for the top quartile of CEOs is $710,000.… At companies with sales like Gravity’s net revenue, the top quartile pay falls to about $373,000. At those with a similar number of employees as Gravity, the top quartile of CEOs makes $470,000 in salary and bonus.”

Price told a CNBC anchor in 2011 that he was making “probably $50,000” in 2011, which he noted was the “most I’d ever made in my life.” This statement contrasts with data reported in a lawsuit filed by Lucas Price, who retains a 30 percent stake in the company. According to a reporter for Geekwire.com, “The filing discloses Price’s compensation as CEO dating back five years. It says Price received $957,811 in compensation in 2010, $908,950 in 2011, and more than $2 million in 2012, which represented more than 20 percent of Gravity Payment’s $9.9 million in sales that year.”

Price’s compensation is at the heart of his brother’s lawsuit, filed about a month before the wage increase was announced. Lucas Price claims Dan Price was taking millions out of the company, detracting from the financial benefits of being a minority owner.

Bloomberg Businessweek reviewed court papers and stated that the lawsuit claims Price “‘improperly used his majority control of the company’ to overpay himself, in the process reducing what Lucas was due. ‘Daniel’s actions have been burdensome, harsh and wrongful, and have shown a lack of fair dealing toward Lucas,’ the suit alleges.” Lucas Price wants his brother to pay for damages and buy him out.

A judge ruled in July 2016 that Lucas Price had failed to “prove his claims that Dan had overpaid himself and inappropriately used a corporate credit card for personal expenses. The judge also ordered Lucas to pay Dan’s legal fees,” according to a reporter for The New York Times.

  1. What is the problem?
  2. What are the causes?
  3. What solutions will you propose to address the problem? (How do you, as an HR manager address this issue? Think of practical solutions – explain why you think they are appropriate)

English Question

/0 Comments/in /by

QUESTION

Argumentative Essay

BEFORE YOU START

Consider revisiting the tutorial Supporting an Argumentative Thesis. Just like in previous Touchstones, your stance needs to be stated in a thesis statement and your evidence in body paragraphs should work to support your claim. For help citing evidence in body paragraphs, revisit the tutorial Source and Quotation Formatting in APA to learn how to quote and paraphrase sources using APA style.
ASSIGNMENT: Write a 4-6 page (approximately 1000-1500 words) argumentative essay arguing one side or stance of an academically appropriate debate using the classical model supported by evidence and research. If the writing exceeds the 1500 word maximum, it will be returned back for revision.

Sample Argumentative Essay

In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.

CopyLeaks Originality Checker: All writing will be checked for originality. Ensure that all references are credible and include page and paragraph numbers if the source is longer than four pages. If a source cannot be accessed by a grader, you might need to provide digital proof that you possess the source (for example, a photo of the print book). Text from any third party source is prohibited, including internet or chatbot searches, without proper APA-style citations. Focus on developing your own ideas and use evidence sparingly to support your own original claims, following the classical model of argumentation.

A. Directions

Step 1. Choose a Topic

Today, there are many different debates being had all around the world about topics that affect our personal, professional, civic, and/or academic lives. Some of these debates have been such hot topics for so long that it has become very difficult to add to the conversation with new and original ideas or stances to take. To move beyond this trend, we have created a list of topics that may not be written about for this Touchstone. This includes example topics that are used in Unit 4. Feel free to access a tutor if you would like support choosing a topic for this essay.

Please AVOID choosing any of the following topics:

Abortion Rights

Animal Testing (Unit 4 example)

Climate Change (Unit 4 example)

Belief in God(s) or Afterlife(s)

Death Penalty / Capital Punishment

Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide

Fad Diets (e.g., Keto, etc.)

Funding/Defunding Law Enforcement

Immigration

Legal Alcohol/Tobacco Age

Legalization of Marijuana

Legalization of Sex Work

Paying Student Athletes

Second Amendment Rights (i.e., Gun Control)

  • Social Media’s Impact on Mental Health
  • Universal Healthcare
  • Vaccines
  • Choosing to write about any of the above topics will result in a non-passing score.
  • Step 2. Write an Argumentative Essay
  • Remember the word “argument” does not mean a fight in a writing context. An academic argument is more like a thoughtful conversation between two people with differing viewpoints on a debatable issue. However, you are required to take a position on one side of a debatable issue that is informed by academically appropriate evidence.
  • For the purposes of this assignment, expressing or relying on your personal opinion of a debate is discouraged. Rather, the essay must argue one side or stance of the debate using the rhetorical appeals (logos, ethos, and pathos) and be supported by academic or scholarly sources. These include physical sources in public libraries, digital sources in academic libraries, online sources (excludes unreliable sources like procon.org and wikipedia.org, which are discouraged), and published expert reports, preferably peer-reviewed by experts in the field to maintain utmost credibility. Consider revisiting the tutorial Finding Sources for more information on appropriate sources for argumentative writing.
  • Your submission must include an APA style in-text citations and a reference page following the essay. In your research, you will need at least 2 and no more than 4 credible primary or secondary sources to use as support in your essay. 
  • All sources cited in the writing submitted must be locatable by a grader; include hyperlinks to the sources in the reference page. 
  • The use of any source that requires payment for access is strictly prohibited for this assignment.
  • Avoid using sources that exceed 20 pages in length, as they may be overly extensive for the purposes of this assignment. 
  • Including more than four sources may cause delays, and you might be asked to provide additional evidence of the credibility for each source.
  • The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment:
  • Purdue Online Writing Lab’s APA Formatting and Style Guide
  • This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA style, as well as individual pages with guidelines for specific citation types.
  • Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style
  • This page on the official APA website addresses common questions related to APA formatting. The “References,” “Punctuation,” and “Grammar and Writing Style” sections will be the most useful to your work in this course.

APA Style: Quick Answers—References

This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous examples of reference list formatting for various source types.

Step 3. Think About Your Writing

On a separate page, below your reference page, include thoughtful answers to the Think About Your Writing questions. References and Think About Your Writing questions are NOT included in the word count for this essay.

Below your reference page, include answers to all of the following reflection questions. 

What have you learned about how to present a strong argument? How could/will you apply this knowledge in your professional or everyday life (3-4 sentences)? Sophia says: Think about the specific skills and techniques that you used while developing and writing your essay. What tools will you take with you from this experience?

Consider the English Composition I course as a whole. What have you learned about yourself as a writer (5-6 sentences)? Sophia says: What did you learn that surprised you? Is there anything that you have struggled with in the past that you now feel more confident about?

Step 4. Review Rubric and Checklist

Your composition and reflection will be scored according to the Touchstone 4 Rubric, which evaluates the argumentative topic and thesis statement, argument development and support, organization, flow, research, style, use of conventions (grammar, punctuation, etc.), and your answers to the “Think About your Writing” questions above.

Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.

  • Argumentative Topic and Thesis Statement
    ? Have you included a thesis that takes a clear, specific position on one side of an academically appropriate, debatable issue?
  • Argument Development
    ? Are all of the details relevant to the purpose of your essay?
    ? Is the argument supported using rhetorical appeals and credible, academic source material?
    ? Is your essay 4-6 pages (approximately 1000-1500 words)? If not, which details do you need to add or delete? 
  • Research
    ? Have you cited outside sources effectively using quotation, summary, or paraphrase?
    ? Are the sources incorporated smoothly, providing the reader with signal phrases and context for the source information?
    ? Are the sources explained with regard to your topic and how they relate to the argument?
    ? Have you referenced at least 2 and no more than 4 credible sources?
    ? Have you included an APA style reference page below your essay?
    ? Have you included a hyperlink to each source in the reference page?
  • Organization and Flow
    ? Is there an introduction, conclusion, adequate body paragraphs, and a counterargument?
    ? Do the topic and concluding sentences reiterate the argument to maintain a sharp focus on the purpose of the essay?
    ? Is the argument presented in a logical order and easy for the reader to follow?
    ? Are there transitions within and between paragraphs?

Style
? Are the word choices accurate and effective?
? Are the sentence structures varied?

Conventions and Formatting
? Have you properly cited your sources according to APA style guidelines?
? Have you double-checked for correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting, and capitalization?
? Have you proofread for typos?

  1. Before You Submit
    ? Have you answered all of the Think About Your Writing questions on a separate page below your reference page? Are your answers thoughtful and included insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses?
    ? Does your submission include your essay, followed by your reference page, followed by your Think About Your Writing questions?

Develop “groupthink-No-More” guidelines

/0 Comments/in /by

Question

Develop “Groupthink-No-More” guidelines for teams and complete Option 1 or Option 2 for the second deliverable.

Expand All

Introduction

Many organizations aspire to be “innovative environments,” but are plagued with suboptimal outcomes. The executive team may decide to hire a social psychologist to identify the root causes of poor decisions and provide coaching on creative and independent thinking.

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

Describe the process of group formation, including why and how groups are formed.

How does cohesion influence groupthink?

Can conflict within a group ever be productive?

Preparation

This assessment has two deliverables. Read the Assessment 4 Context document for information about the subject of this assessment.

  • Many organizations and institutions launch initiatives to promote independent, creative, and innovative thinking within management and teams. The reality, however, may fall far short of the ideal. “Groupthink” occurs when group members pressure each other to avoid conflict because the culture values and rewards consensus and penalizes in some way those who dare to disagree or challenge assumptions. Disagreement does not have to be an unpleasant or intimidating experience. Conflict directed toward producing a positive outcome can improve decision-making throughout the workplace.
  • Use the Capella library and the Internet to research social psychology theory related to group process, group formation, group cohesion, group belonging, conflict and individual behaviors within groups, and Groupthink and intervention activities that promote effective teams.
  • Instructions

Assume the consultant role in the scenario below.

Scenario

The executive director of a large hospital-based mental health center with three private practice-model outpatient offices in three neighboring communities has hired you as an outside consultant to help increase client referrals to these three private practice offices. These private practice outpatient offices are managed by a medical director and staffed with support staff, counseling and clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychometrists, social workers, Licensed Master’s level therapists, and specialists in substance abuse treatment. Historically, the referral base has been the hospital staff physicians.
Despite the fact that the private practice offices are all losing money due to low rates of referral and changes in insurance reimbursement, the staff continues to follow the directions of the medical director to make referrals. This medical director insists that the physicians on the hospital’s medical staff need to “step up to the plate” and increase referrals to the outpatient clinics. Referral development meetings continue to focus on this medical-based referral system largely because none of the non-physician staff will present a different perspective to the well-loved medical director.
Groupthink is alive and well in this group.
There are five hospitals within easy driving distance, and another dozen within an hour’s drive, most with their own counseling/therapy offices and experiencing the same decline in referrals. In addition, the neighboring communities have all the normal and expected social services, community and family services, institutions, schools, and religious organizations we expect to see in established communities with a comfortable mix of lower, middle, and upper socioeconomic classes.

Deliverables

For this assessment.

Develop “Groupthink-No-More” guidelines for teams.

Complete either Option 1 or Option 2 for the second deliverable.

Use the professional format of your choice.

Address issues of groupthink as well as ways to expand thinking beyond the narrow, referral-based perspective currently monopolizing this hospital-based system.

Analyze a workplace problem by applying social psychology principles related to group processes.

How does this research affect teams?

Under what conditions does groupthink occur?

Assess the influence of the social context on individual emotions and behavior in group decision-making.

How would you instruct an individual to be more or less conforming, compliant, or obedient given society’s need for some conformity, compliance, and obedience, and humanity’s need to sometimes question authority?

How does personality play a role?

How do people react to conflict?

How do these principles relate to creativity and innovation in a group?

  • Integrate social psychology principles and research to develop guidelines for minimizing groupthink.
  • How should teams be constructed?

What is the role of conflict?

What cultural shift needs to occur within the organization?

Option 1: Develop one original, research-based individual activity to use in a group training workshop that demonstrates how to maximize independent, creative, and innovative thinking in a group.

Option 2: Propose a research-based team-training program with a minimum of three activities that demonstrate how to maximize independent, creative, and innovative thinking in a group.

The following criteria apply to both Option 1 and Option 2:

Integrate methods and principles of social psychology to develop training that promotes independent, creative, and innovative thinking.

Support guidelines and training with references from scholarly and professional literature.

Context
Groups
A group is defined as two or more individuals who influence one another through social interaction. Groups evolve norms, or shared perceptions, of what constitutes appropriate behavior. Groups also tend to develop expectations and either formal or informal roles about how each individual member of the group should behave. Group members also depend on one another to achieve group goals and therefore influence each other greatly.One important aspect of groups is the amount of cohesiveness they display. Cohesiveness is the strength of the relationship that links members of the group to one another. Many researchers (including Carless & DePaola, 2000; Dion, 2001) have looked at factors related to group cohesiveness.Understanding Organizations Using Social Psychology
It is useful to identify how educational programs and other organizations are studied and understood. One aspect of this process is the theory of planned behavior. You may be surprised to find out that attitudes do not always predict behavior. LaPiere (1934) was the first to document that, often, attitudes and behaviors do not match. Since that time, many researchers (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977; Ajzen, 1991) have looked at factors that determine whether attitudes will be predictive of behavior.A systemic methodology based on sociocultural analysis of change using sociocultural tools is cultural historical activity theory (Engeström, 1987). Activity theory identifies the impact of mediational tools to a system undergoing change (Vygotsky, 1978). These tools can be both technical, such as a computer, and psychological, such as dialog. Both types of tools provide an immediate link between human activity and an external object. Wertsch (1998) maintained that a fundamental claim of sociocultural learning theory is the focus on human action mediated by cultural tools within the cultural, institutional, and historical context in which that action occurs. Cultural tools are “both material and symbolic; they regulate interaction with one’s environment and oneself” (Cole & Engeström, 1993, p. 9). This methodology is used to understand, from a sociocultural perspective, the integration of technologies into varied settings.This perspective has the potential to define the interactions in an organization based on the changes in the social dynamic through the integration of new tools, as well as providing a reasoned evaluation of the potential for change in varied settings (Russell, 2008).There are several theories concerning the interpersonal and individual dynamics of understanding organizations. As a result of reviewing these studies and related concepts, one might develop new awareness of one’s role in developing findings from observations of a social dynamic; for example, how does understanding fundamental attribution error reduce the potential of an error in an analysis of data and the definition of findings?References
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 888-918.Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.Carless, S. A., & DePaola, C. (2000). The measurement of cohesion in work teams. Small Group Research, 31(1), 71-88.Cole, M., & Engeström, Y. (1993). A cultural-historical approach to distributed cognition. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognition: Psychological and educational considerations. Cambridge University Press.Dion, K. L. (2001). Group cohesion: From “field of forces” to multidimensional construct. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 5(1), 7-26.Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Orienta-Konsultit Oy.LaPiere, R. T. (1934). Attitudes vs. action. Social Forces, 13, 230-237.Russell, D. (2008). The mediated action of educational reform: An inquiry into collaborative online professional development. In C. Ramesh, C. Sharma, & S. Mishra (Eds.), Cases on global e-learning practices: Successes and pitfalls (pp. 108-122). IDEA Group.Skiba, D. J. (2010). Back to school: What’s in your students’ backpacks? Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(5), 318-320.Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.Wertsch, J. V. (1998). Mind as action. Oxford University Press.

POCCCCC SIM – 02

/0 Comments/in /by

QUESTION

About

SIM Country Government is an Assignment where you unpack the term government and compare the governments of three countries.

What is Government?

According to Government – WikipediaLinks to an external site. , “A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.” Typically, when we think of “government” the concepts of democracies and dictatorships come to mind because these are readily held concepts. However, government is more complicated than simply labeling a country as a democracy or dictatorship.

A broader definition of government used by the Central Intelligence Agency’s World FactbookLinks to an external site. “includes the entries dealing with the system for the adoption and administration of public policy.”

Government includes the following:

Country name

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system

International law organization participation

Diplomatic representation (in the and from the US)

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

  1. International organization participation
  2. Flag QUESTION
  3. National symbol(s)
  4. National anthem
  5. What are different government types?
  6. According to References :: Definitions and Notes — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency (cia.gov)Links to an external site., the following are definitions of major government types:
  7. Absolute monarchy– a form of government where the monarch rules unhindered, i.e., without any laws, constitution, or legally organized opposition.
  8. Anarchy– a condition of lawlessness or political disorder brought about by the absence of governmental authority.
  9. Authoritarian– a form of government in which state authority is imposed onto many aspects of citizens’ lives.
  10. Commonwealth– a nation, state, or other political entity founded on law and united by a compact of the people for the common good.
  11. Communist– a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single – often authoritarian – party holds power; state controls are imposed with the elimination of private ownership of property or capital while claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people (i.e., a classless society).
  12. Confederacy (Confederation)– a union by compact or treaty between states, provinces, or territories, that creates a central government with limited powers; the constituent entities retain supreme authority over all matters except those delegated to the central government.
  13. Constitutional– a government by or operating under an authoritative document (constitution) that sets forth the system of fundamental laws and principles that determines the nature, functions, and limits of that government.
  14. Constitutional democracy– a form of government in which the sovereign power of the people is spelled out in a governing constitution.
  15. Constitutional monarchy– a system of government in which a monarch is guided by a constitution whereby his/her rights, duties, and responsibilities are spelled out in written law or by custom.
  16. Democracy– a form of government in which the supreme power is retained by the people, but which is usually exercised indirectly through a system of representation and delegated authority periodically renewed.
  17. Democratic republic– a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them.
  18. Dictatorship– a form of government in which a ruler or small clique wield absolute power (not restricted by a constitution or laws).
  19. Ecclesiastical– a government administrated by a church.
  20. Emirate– similar to a monarchy or sultanate, but a government in which the supreme power is in the hands of an emir (the ruler of a Muslim state); the emir may be an absolute overlord or a sovereign with constitutionally limited authority.
  21. Federal (Federation)– a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided – usually by means of a constitution – between a central authority and a number of constituent regions (states, colonies, or provinces) so that each region retains some management of its internal affairs; differs from a confederacy in that the central government exerts influence directly upon both individuals as well as upon the regional units.

Federal republic– a state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives.

Islamic republic– a particular form of government adopted by some Muslim states; although such a state is, in theory, a theocracy, it remains a republic, but its laws are required to be compatible with the laws of Islam.

Maoism– the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism developed in China by Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), which states that a continuous revolution is necessary if the leaders of a communist state are to keep in touch with the people.

Marxism– the political, economic, and social principles espoused by 19th century economist Karl Marx; he viewed the struggle of workers as a progression of historical forces that would proceed from a class struggle of the proletariat (workers) exploited by capitalists (business owners), to a socialist “dictatorship of the proletariat,” to, finally, a classless society – Communism.

Marxism-Leninism– an expanded form of communism developed by Lenin from doctrines of Karl Marx; Lenin saw imperialism as the final stage of capitalism and shifted the focus of workers’ struggle from developed to underdeveloped countries.

Monarchy– a government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch who reigns over a state or territory, usually for life and by hereditary right; the monarch may be either a sole absolute ruler or a sovereign – such as a king, queen, or prince – with constitutionally limited authority.

Oligarchy– a government in which control is exercised by a small group of individuals whose authority generally is based on wealth or power.

Parliamentary democracy– a political system in which the legislature (parliament) selects the government – a prime minister, premier, or chancellor along with the cabinet ministers – according to party strength as expressed in elections; by this system, the government acquires a dual responsibility: to the people as well as to the parliament.

Parliamentary government (Cabinet-Parliamentary government)– a government in which members of an executive branch (the cabinet and its leader – a prime minister, premier, or chancellor) are nominated to their positions by a legislature or parliament, and are directly responsible to it; this type of government can be dissolved at will by the parliament (legislature) by means of a no confidence vote or the leader of the cabinet may dissolve the parliament if it can no longer function.

Parliamentary monarchy– a state headed by a monarch who is not actively involved in policy formation or implementation (i.e., the exercise of sovereign powers by a monarch in a ceremonial capacity); true governmental leadership is carried out by a cabinet and its head – a prime minister, premier, or chancellor – who are drawn from a legislature (parliament).

  1. Presidential– a system of government where the executive branch exists separately from a legislature (to which it is generally not accountable).

Republic– a representative democracy in which the people’s elected deputies (representatives), not the people themselves, vote on legislation.

  1. Socialism– a government in which the means of planning, producing, and distributing goods is controlled by a central government that theoretically seeks a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor; in actuality, most socialist governments have ended up being no more than dictatorships over workers by a ruling elite.

Sultanate– similar to a monarchy, but a government in which the supreme power is in the hands of a sultan (the head of a Muslim state); the sultan may be an absolute ruler or a sovereign with constitutionally limited authority.

  1. Theocracy– a form of government in which a Deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, but the Deity’s laws are interpreted by ecclesiastical authorities (bishops, mullahs, etc.); a government subject to religious authority.

Totalitarian– a government that seeks to subordinate the individual to the state by controlling not only all political and economic matters, but also the attitudes, values, and beliefs of its population.

  1. Instructions

Step 1: Select two countries to learn about their “government type”

  1. Go to Country Summaries – The World Factbook (cia.gov).Links to an external site.

Select two different countries that you want to learn more about.

  1. Step 2: Review the United States’ Summary @ The World Factbook (cia.gov)Links to an external site.

Step 3: Explain each of the following comparisons in 3 or more sentences.

  1. Compare government type of country 1 to the United States.

Compare government type of country 2 to the United States.

  1. Compare government type of country 1 to country 2.

Discussion Thread: Coding Qualitative Data

/0 Comments/in /by

QUESTION

The following is the ORIGINAL Discussion Thread: Discuss the key benefits and strategies of coding. What are the potential dangers to avoid while coding interviews?

First Student: John

O’Leary (2009) warns the qualitative researcher that efforts to reduce observations to meaning are intricate and complex and threaten the richness of the data collected. Cautioning students of the discipline that given the wide array of data analysis that has developed, they frequently spend a great deal of time trying to determine the best path forward, haphazardly select a methodology, press on without a well-defined method, or an assortment of each of these to properly code their data. Qualitative researchers attach a different meaning to the word “code” than other disciplines, according to Glesne (2016). Glesne stated that qualitative researchers use the phrase code to describe the process of placing similar pieces of information discerned from research into categories for further analysis. Hopefully, the researcher will be able to identify themes, patterns, and processes from this analysis and discover links between these pieces of information. To avoid confusion, some commentators refer to coding in this context as indexing, though Glesne does not, as it deprives the value of linking concepts of great importance in the process. Viruru and Rios (2021) define coding as breaking down into useful chunks of information, which can now be done through computer software programs.

Knowing what coding is does not lend itself to understanding what strategies might be in play for its deployment. Mock and O’Connor (2022) suggested the strategy of emergent coding when confronting a large task. Emergent coding allows the codes to arise from frequent data reviews, which the researchers evaluate before establishing codes. The predominant strategy of coding, relying on pre-set codes the researchers impose on the data at the outset of the project, risks the misclassification or overlooking of a critical category that could have been observed with patience. Emergent coding requires the researchers to conduct several iterations of the data before settling on coding categories. Allen et al. (2017) stated that emergent coding allows for categorization only after the researcher has examined the data through an iterative process. Busetto et al. (2020) laid out two main strategies for qualitative research, each resulting in the necessary coding of the data. Regardless of the strategy pursued, they explain that there is a strong preference for two researchers to engage in the coding process. This is especially true at the beginning of the coding when useful parameters for each category have not yet been fully developed. Frequently, the common meaning for each code matures during the process.

Campbell et al. (2013) recognize that the reliability of results remains an issue for qualitative researchers. There is a great risk that different coders, raters, and observers will come to different conclusions. Intercoder reliability remains a challenge in many interview-based projects. Cheung and Tai (2021) agree with this analysis and believe that researchers must better explain their coding techniques and transparency in their processes to combat this problem. Ryan (2009) endorses that greater transparency in the qualitative research process should relieve some of the stress regarding the reliability of the observations and coding that supports the project.

Christian Worldview

Scripture directs people to be curious. The unknown world is God’s glory, and kings are to uncover it (King James Bible Online, 2007, Proverbs 25:2). I believe a modern trope exists that Christians reject science. If this is true, this is odd to me. God expects people to study his great works (King James Bible Online, 2007, Romans 111:2). Understanding qualitative research methods is consistent with this theological direction.

References

Allen, K.-A., Kern, M. L., Vella-Brodrick, D., & Waters, L. (2017). School values: A comparison of academic motivation, mental health promotion, and school belonging with student achievement. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 34(1), 31–47. https://doi.org/10.1017/edp.2017.5 

Busetto, L., Wick, W., & Gumbinger, C. (2020). How to use and assess qualitative research methods. Neurological Research and Practice, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-020-00059-z 

Campbell, J. L., Quincy, C., Osserman, J., & Pedersen, O. K. (2013). Coding in-depth semistructured interviews. Sociological Methods & Research, 42(3), 294–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124113500475 

Cheung, K. K., & Tai, K. W. (2021). The use of intercoder reliability in qualitative interview data analysis in Science Education. Research in Science; Technological Education, 41(3), 1155–1175. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2021.1993179 

Glesne, C. (2016). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson.
King James Bible Online. (2007). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1769) www.kingjamesbibleonline.org

Mock, B., & James O’Connor. (2022). Taxonomic categories for commissioning and startup hot spot strategies. Construction Innovation, 22(1), 120-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-07-2020-0118

O’Leary, Z. (2009). Researching real-world problems: A guide to methods of inquiry. Sage. 

Ryan, M. (2009). Making visible the coding process: Using qualitative data software in a post-structural study. Issues in Educational Research, 19(2), 142-161. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?u…

Viruru, R., & Rios, A. (2021). Needed methodological emancipation: Qualitative coding and the institutionalization of the Master’s Voice. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(10), 1146–1158. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004211021814 

2) Timothy, 

At this point in the course, we have shaped research questions, run trials to see if they are viable, examined ethics in research, and conducted an observation. Most of the activities thus far have revolved around the collection of data. Now it is time to start analyzing that data. Given the nature of open-ended questioning needed for qualitative research, there is a range of responses. Once the data is collected, the question remains of how to interpret that data. Inevitably there will be themes present and many respondents will have similar answers. One way to interpret the data is through coding. Coding done by people is a way to inductively find common themes or ideas from individual survey responses (Miner et al., 2023). There must be a way to decipher the information obtained.

    The process of coding varies by the researcher. As the process is not typically published, coding is not subject to scrutiny. Somewhat like taking notes. However, coding is necessary to help decipher data. Coding is an accepted method for qualitative researchers that involves breaking down data into much smaller narratives that are easier to decipher (Viruru & Rios, 2021). The process can be done manually or using software. I use the Leeds Method which develops relationship clusters when researching genealogy. Genetic genealogy research is time-consuming and can be difficult. It is necessary to investigate the ancestors who are related to each other in hopes of determining the most recent common ancestor between two individuals linked through a family tree (Erturk et al., 2022). That method involves color codes which help to demonstrate lineage graphically. I plan to use a similar method to group qualitative responses. Also, each response may fit more than one theme, so I plan to group by theme while allowing for overlap or even agreement between respondents on multiple factors. 

    Analyzing qualitative data has numerous decision points. The researcher must decide how to code responses and which factors to use. At many points during the research process, the researcher may look to the Bible for help. The Bible says, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (King James Bible, 2017/1769, Joel 3:14). The researcher is in a place somewhat like the valley of decision.

    Although this post may portray coding as being a difficult and daunting task, it is intended to assist the researcher and to make their analysis of the data better and more accurate. Such a system is needed to decipher the data, draw conclusions, and ultimately make recommendations. Inevitably, there will be themes that the researcher will find, and documenting those themes can become important to portray the topic that is being studied.

References

Ertürk, M. S., Fitzpatrick, C., Press, M., & Wein, L. M. (2022). Analysis of the genealogy process in forensic genetic genealogy. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 67(6), 2218-2229. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15127

King James Bible (2019). King James Bible Online. https://kingjamesbibleonline.org. (Original work published 1769). 

Miner, A. S., Stewart, S. A., Halley, M. C., Nelson, L. K., & Linos, E. (2023). Formally comparing topic models and human-generated qualitative coding of physician mothers’ experiences of workplace discrimination. Big Data & Society, 10(1), 205395172211491. https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517221149106

Viruru, R., & Rios, A. (2021). Needed methodological emancipation: Qualitative coding and the institutionalization of the Master’s voice. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(10), 1146-1158. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004211021814

MDC Social Media Good or Bad for Democracy Case Study

/0 Comments/in /by

Question

The philosopher Martin Heidegger spoke
of the relentless drive of technology as the world and its objects
become victim to humanity’s calculations and designs. But technology’s
indeterminacy implies an uncertain future since we cannot predict where
this drive will take us. A recent evolution of information technology
has been social networking. Social networking fuses together the
multimedia world described by Marshal McLuhan with virtual reality, and
it displaces the real world with an artificial one. The person now
dwells more extensively in an environment of texting, selfies, chats,
Instagram photos, newsfeeds, and blogs. There was some apprehensiveness
about the power of social media well before the immense popularity of
Facebook and Twitter became a reality. But few could have foreseen that
social media would also become a means
for spreading misinformation and magnifying political partisanship.

Techno
optimists once argued that social media had the potential to become a
great stimulus for democracy because it amplified the powers of free
speech. When Facebook and similar platforms first appeared, many
sincerely hoped that they would give voice to the marginalized in
society. People with different and unconventional viewpoints could
locate each other and mobilize to advance their interests. But while
these results have been realized to some extent, these sites have also
become purveyors of “fake news” along with vast amounts of
disinformation. The term “fake news” has been popularized by President
Donald Trump, but it was coined by Buzz Feed’s Craig Silverman.
For some, the proliferation of all this “fake news” and other forms of
online abuse has wiped away the great promise of the internet as a force
for semiotic democracy.

During
the 2016 presidential election there was considerable disinformation on
the web, along with heavy manipulation of information about the two
presidential candidates, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. This abuse
wasn’t supposed to happen on this democratizing technology, at least not
on this scale. But decentralized networks with no controls can become
powerful tools in the hands of extremists and opportunists. News sites
appeared printing sensational stories that were neither vetted nor
verified. For these sites, which sought eyeballs to attract ads and
generate revenues, there was little incentive to avoid misinformation
and the diffusion of propaganda.

Consider
the “fake news” entrepreneurs in Macedonia who created a number of
pro-Trump websites. They adroitly imitated actual news sites and
disseminated very partisan news stories that attracted Trump supporters.
Their website domain names included worldpoliticus.com and
trumpvision365.com. The sites published pro-Trump stories aimed at his
supporters in the United States. These young Macedonians had no interest
in advancing the candidacy of Mr. Trump. Rather, their sole interest
was in attracting readers, since the volume of readers on their websites
translated into greater advertising dollars. They also recognized that
the best way to generate online traffic was to get their stories about
the Trump campaign to spread on Facebook. Most of the websites had
Facebook pages with hundreds of thousands of followers. The more
sensational the content, the more attention the story got among Facebook
followers. And as Facebook engagements increased, so did their readers
who were attracted by their outlandish propaganda stories. For example,
within a week a spurious story from Conservativestate .com, “Hillary
Clinton in 2013: I Would Like to See People Like Donald Trump Run for
Office; They’re Honest and Can’t Be Bought,” generated 480,000
reactions, comments, and likes on Facebook. Virtually all of the stories
on these websites made false and misleading claims.

The
spread of propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation has become an
epidemic in cyberspace and threatens to strike at the heart of the
democratic process. Disinformation is the deliberate communication of
false or misleading information, while misinformation is the
communication of information without an intent to deceive. Often those
who disseminate misinformation have evidence that is indirect or
obscure. Democracies depend heavily on accurate and objective
information so voters can make informed choices. Fake news misleads
voters and contributes to the further polarization of political parties.
According to one political strategist, fake news disseminated on social
media is “the biggest political problem facing leaders around the
world.” This hyperbolic statement reflects the inability of governments
to deal with fake news narratives except through draconian measures that
are anathema to democracy.

But
fake news is not the only problem that bedevils social media. As the
leading social media platform, Facebook found itself at the center of
multiple controversies that involved the 2016 U.S. presidential
election. In March 2018, the British newspaper, the Observer, along with
the New York Times first revealed that a researcher had gained access
to the personal data of Facebook users for Cambridge Analytica, a
consulting firm hired by the Trump campaign. The researcher, Alexander
Kogan, created a Facebook app and invited Facebook users to take a
survey and download the app that harvested their Facebook data along
with the data of their Facebook friends. That data included names, birth
dates, and location data as well as lists of every Facebook page they
ever liked. And these data were downloaded without their knowledge or
consent and added to a massive database being assembled for Cambridge
Analytica. This political data firm has particular expertise in
developing persuasive ads using “psychographic” techniques to manipulate
voter preferences. By examining behavioral data such as what people
“liked,” it was possible to map out personality traits that could become
the basis for targeted ads. The personal data of 87 million users had
been mined in this way, and Facebook was aware of this activity since
December 2015. However, it said nothing to its users or to U.S.
regulators until the media published this story. Facebook has claimed
that Cambridge Analytica collected these data under false pretenses. The
scandal led to many questions about how Facebook monitors the apps
deployed to collect its user information and whether data should ever be
made available for psychological profiling for political purposes.

Facebook
has also been an unwitting catalyst for violence in vulnerable parts of
the world. Facebook entered Myanmar, a country unfamiliar with the
digital world, and was unprepared to deal with its deep political and
social divisions. Facebook seemed unaware of how its platform could be
manipulated and abused by extremists who could easily sway a naïve
population. In this country, Facebook was the internet, since most users
only had mobile phones with Facebook already installed. Buddhist
extremists wasted no time in using social media to spread disinformation
in order to inflame ethnic tensions against the Muslim Rohingya
minority. One of the country’s leading Buddhist monks ignited a deadly
riot when he disseminated a fake news story of a rape and warned of a
“Jihad against us.” According to one NGO, Facebook’s platform was used
for a “campaign of hate speech that actively dehumanize[d] Muslims.” By
March 2017 a million Muslims had fled Myanmar into Bangladesh. Facebook
monitors missed many posts full of disinformation that helped to spark
this ethnic cleansing. Moreover, when the tragedy intensified, Facebook
was quite slow to react and remove hateful content, despite
repeated
warnings from multiple sources. It also did little to prevent fake
accounts from being created. Zuckerberg himself recognized the company’s
tardiness, as the people of Myanmar wondered why a company with
Facebook’s resources could not have reacted more expediently.

In
his defense to this series of crises, Zuckerberg has insisted that
fakes news is much less common than people imagine. He attributes the
company’s mistakes and missteps to an excessive optimism and a lack of
awareness of how some Facebook customers misuse their service. But some
analysts are quick to point out that while this explanation has some
merit, it ignores the company’s fixation on rapid growth and an
unwillingness to heed warnings from outsiders.

The
company has made some concessions. For many years Facebook did not
disclose the sources of funding for political ads. But now users can
find out on Facebook who paid for a political ad and whom the ad
targeted. The company is also considering ways to “impose friction” to
impede the spread of disinformation and misinformation. (Perhaps pop-ups
with warnings such as “Do you really want to share this item?”).
However, it is exceedingly difficult to control election propaganda or
slow down the spread of disinformation, short of draconian censorship
measures. With 2.7 billion people using Facebook’s services, monitoring
content is the most difficult challenge facing the company. Yet fake
news is a threat to liberal democracy, and Facebook must find a way to
deal with users who share these false or barely credible news posts. On
the other hand, it is perilous to have a small group of social media
companies determine what kinds of political speech people will see.
Hence the social media world faces a paradox: a greater emphasis on
truthful news and communications will lead to limits on free speech,
while too much speech opens the door for flows of disinformation and
reckless propaganda.

How can social media strike the right balance between these two competing objectives?

7-2 Final Project: Strategic Plan Presentation

/0 Comments/in /by

QUESTION

The final project for this course is the creation of a strategic plan presentation. The healthcare industry is constantly changing, and healthcare professionals should be prepared for the challenge. As the final stop in your journey toward your bachelor of science in healthcare administration, you will integrate the knowledge and skills you have developed in previous coursework and over the duration of the term into a capstone assessment. This assessment will allow you to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositional growth you have experienced during your program.

For the presentation, you will select an existing healthcare organization that fits one of the following areas of opportunity and develop a comprehensive strategic plan for this change.

Option 1: Organization Is Offering a New Service—Create a strategic plan that will guide the organization in bringing to fruition a new service, for example, offering portable MRIs, starting a new urgent care clinic, or opening a new outpatient surgery center.

Option 2: Organization Is Expanding an Existing Service Area—Create a strategic plan that will guide the organization in expanding an existing service to an underserved population that needs attention in this area. Examples include a population that has limited access to primary care services or a population-to-provider ratio that indicates a shortage or groups of persons who face economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to healthcare in the local area and reside in a specific geographic area.

  1. Evaluation of Capstone
    The project is divided into five milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. The final project will be submitted in Module Seven.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

  1. Engage diverse healthcare stakeholders using communications that reflect keen interpersonal skills, effective collaboration practices, and deep cultural competence

Demonstrate knowledge of microeconomic, macroeconomic and financial principles through monitoring and utilization of financial and economic data for decision-making and strategic planning

Utilize principles and functions of management to interpret market analyses for strategic planning and to foster organizational development, promote effective use of human resources, and enhance operations

Propose recommendations to improve the effectiveness and integration of information management systems at the various levels of healthcare organizations and achieve organizational goals

Assess contemporary policies, regulations, and governance structures relevant to the United States healthcare delivery system for their impacts to populations’ health and their implications for ethical decision-making

Promote dynamic organizational cultures that establish strategic visions, methodically analyze and interpret data based on sound epidemiological and statistical principles, and embrace change for continuous healthcare quality improvement

Prompt

After choosing the topic for your course project, you will work to develop the three phases of your strategic plan: the introduction and assessment phase; the implementation, communication, and management phase; and finally, the evaluation phase. The final strategic plan consists of a PowerPoint presentation that includes speaker notes and voice-over.

Your strategic plan must be submitted as a comprehensive presentation to the board of directors of your selected institution for approval and buy-in. You can use PowerPoint or another comparable presentation tool, with instructor approval. Your presentation is expected to be professionally crafted to the needs and specifications appropriate for the discipline, area of interest, and type of initiative you are proposing. Because your strategic plan will be different from those of others in your capstone experience, you will likely include different additional resources, information, visuals, and strategies for progress. At minimum, your presentation must address/include the following topics:

  • Phase I Introduction and Assessment: In this section you will give background on your organization and introduce the project that precipitates the strategic plan and what your assessment tools and approach will be. Your introduction and assessment should include the following:
  • The mission, vision, values statements, structure, and current community position of the organization
  • A project topic that is the focus of the strategic plan, including the goal(s) of this project
  • An appropriate analysis tool to assess the impact of your project on your organization
  • The effect of internal and external factors on the feasibility and development of the project
  • Phase II Implementation and Communication Plans

Implementation Plan: Provide a comprehensive plan for implementation that includes the following:

The target area or intended population and established goals

The timeline and implementation milestones of the initiative

The financial impact of the initiative, including any necessary capital expenditures, necessary fundraising, or potential financial benefits

  1. The resources needed to effectively implement the initiative, including staffing, equipment, and technology needs

Compliance with all federal and state regulations relevant to the proposed plan

Potential ethical challenges and plans for monitoring behavior, practices, and procedures

  1. Communication and Management Strategy: Your total communication plan should address the strategies and practices you will employ to communicate to the proper stakeholders at the proper times. In this section you should detail your comprehensive approach for how you will communicate this change and its impact, how you will keep people informed of the project’s progress, and how you will keep them informed of the project’s ongoing results.
  2. Phase III Evaluation Strategy: This plan for managing and measuring progress and success of your initiative should include the following:
  3. A discussion of the specific goals and milestones of implementation of the initiative. Lay out your goals in a clear, obtainable fashion to ensure that progress milestones are clear, reasonable, and consistent.
  4. Specific definitions of measures of progress toward obtaining the intended goals and a QUESTION of the tools that you would use to measure progress. What strategies will be used to measure success, and how will adjustments be made should progress toward these goals fall short or change?
  5. A plan to collect and analyze information to ascertain stakeholder satisfaction with the initiative. What information will be looked at, and who are the stakeholders that will be considered?

Possible Indicators of Success

Category 1: Engage diverse healthcare stakeholders using communications that reflect keen interpersonal skills, effective collaboration practices, and deep cultural competence

  1. Does the student demonstrate the following abilities?

Create buy-in among internal and external stakeholders for the proposed initiative

Apply ethical and cultural principles to their program planning, implementation, and evaluation processes

  1. Collaborate with others working toward a common healthcare goal
  2. Recognize the importance of developing their own interpersonal skills
  3. Category 2: Demonstrate knowledge of microeconomic, macroeconomic, and financial principles through monitoring and utilization of financial and economic data for decision-making and strategic planning
  4. Does the student demonstrate the following abilities?
  5. Effectively establish estimates of financial impacts of health initiatives
  6. Evaluate resources needed to effectively implement the project
  7. Work collaboratively with leadership and other key figures in the project’s development and implementation in designing and delivering an effective initiative

Illustrate the important data points required to support the financial decision-making process

  1. Category 3: Utilize principles and functions of management to interpret market analyses for strategic planning and to foster organizational development, promote effective use of human resources, and enhance operations

Does the student demonstrate the following abilities?

Formulate a target area or population

  1. Develop a project timeline and establish goals
  2. Evaluate findings and develop specific action plans intended to improve initiative outcomes/goals
  3. Effectively show the steps involved to change or enhance a service
  4. Category 4: Propose recommendations to improve the effectiveness and integration of information management systems at the various levels of healthcare organizations and achieve organizational goals

Does the student demonstrate the following abilities?

Identify internal and external strengths and weaknesses that could impact project outcomes

Develop a project timeline with integrated milestone completion dates

  1. Apply evidence-based practices and tools in creating an initiative to achieve organizational goals

Category 5: Assess contemporary policies, regulations, and governance structures relevant to the United States healthcare delivery system for their impacts to populations’ health and their implications for ethical decision-making

  • Does the student demonstrate the following abilities?

Assess federal and state regulations relevant to the project and their potential impacts

  1. Use evidence-based ethical decision-making and critical thinking to support outcomes and goals
  2. Address potential ethical challenges
  3. Employ communications skills that consider and are sensitive to stakeholders and those impacted by the initiative
  4. Category 6: Promote dynamic organizational cultures that establish strategic visions, methodically analyze and interpret data based on sound epidemiological and statistical principles, and embrace change for continuous healthcare quality improvement
  5. Does the student demonstrate the following abilities?

Integrate the organization’s mission, vision, and values into the project goals

  • Define measures of progress toward intended goals