(8 pages, abstract, cover, and references)

Write a research paper concerning this scenario: You have been charged with the development of a Crisis Management Plan for the real or hypothetical health care organization that you chose earlier in this course.

Your research should be based on the following criteria:

• Select a real or hypothetical crisis, such as a natural disaster (hurricane, tornado, flooding, or earthquake), a catastrophic building failure, or an act of terrorism.
• Discuss resource management based on ethical approaches used during crisis management.
  • Consider issues such as patient triage or current as well as incoming patients, supply, and personnel availability.
• Discuss and develop an authoritative chain of command for crisis management.
  • Include such responsibilities as Incident Commander, Communications Officer, and other members of the chain of command for the incident.
• Discuss the importance and implementation of community communication, involvement, and coordination.
• Discuss the necessary policies for personnel management and safety.
  • Include provisions for lock-down status and family communication abilities.
• Outline the steps for supply chain management, both for personnel and the supplies needed to provide care.

Assignment Details (3-4 pages, abstract, conclusion, and references)

Quality Improvement in the Health Care Organization Accreditation

The mandate for improving the way in which health care is delivered was stimulated by the public outcry over the estimated 98,000 deaths because of medical errors each year according to the Institute of Medicine in 1999. Since then, health care organizations have sought means by which the public can be reassured that they were meeting quality and safety standards. Accreditation agencies (e.g., The Joint Commission) and quality awards provide a means for the public to evaluate where the agency is meeting minimum standards.

You have been assigned by your manager to determine which accrediting agencies or quality improvement programs your hospital will utilize in its upcoming revenue cycle. Your hospital is a magnet hospital in a large urban area that provides multilayered services. You have previously used The Joint Commission for your accreditation but feel that you might be better served by using another accrediting body. You have three months in which to gather data and present the information to your manager.

Complete the following for this assignment:

• Choose 3 quality improvement or accreditation-related programs to consider in replacing The Joint Commission for your organization, and briefly describe them. Your agency accepts Medicare and Medicaid payments; therefore, you will need to explore, as background, the conditions of participation for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This is important information because you will need to compare your list of accrediting agencies and quality improvement programs with the conditions of participation to see if they meet the criteria.
• Analyze the costs and benefits of each quality improvement or accreditation-related program by stakeholder group (e.g., patient, provider, and third-party payer).
• Rank your quality improvement or accreditation-related program suggestions with rationale.

You and your assigned classmate(s) have formed a human resource consulting company. You have been hired to provide training to the sales force for an automobile dealership. As part of your preparation for this consulting engagement, you and your team members must determine how best to approach the automobile dealership to engage the interest of the decision makers. Your part of this assignment is to propose the types of needs assessment tools that could be used to determine how to design and develop the automobile dealerships training programs. These could include software, models, or analysis methods. Once you complete your needs assessment, you must now meet with the owner of the dealership to discuss the needs assessment.

From the perspective of a team member, write a 34-page paper in which you do the following:

1. Prepare, in outline form, the process your team could use to conduct the needs assessment for your client based upon the articles you selected.
2. Identify two possible impediments to this approach and discuss how you will overcome them.
3. Evaluate the feasibility of your approach to what is commonly done in the field.
4. Explain why your needs assessment is critical to the development of the training program you plan to deliver.
5. Go to https//research.strayer.edu to find at least two (2) academic resources …in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with 1-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the students name, the professors name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are as follows:

• Plan a needs assessment approach that includes methods for overcoming challenges and reasons why its critical to a training program. (CL5)

 Imagine  that you manage human resources for a small business. You have recently  prepared a report on the market rate of pay for salespeople, and the  companys owner says the market rate is too high. The company cannot  afford this level of pay, and furthermore, paying that much would cause  salespeople to earn more than most of the companys managers. Why is  this a problem? Should managers automatically be at the top of the pay  scale? Suggest three possible measures the company might take to help  resolve this conflict 

While representative of possible situations faced by the Brooklyn Nets, all scenarios in this assignment are fictional.

Real Business

For a large discount retail store like Target and Walmart, it can  be difficult to get the marketing mix just right for a given product.  There are so many products in the store fighting for the attention of  customers. There is also the challenge of helping the suppliers of each  product maximize their profits while making sure the store is making  money. With so many things to consider, working in marketing for such a  large business can be a challenge.

Your Role

This week, youll be acting as a Marketing Manager in the sporting goods section.

WHAT IS A MARKETING MANAGER?

Marketing Managers are responsible for developing, implementing  and executing marketing plans, either for an entire organization or for  particular categories or products within the organization, in order to  attract potential customers and keep existing ones.

Their day-to-day tasks include managing and coordinating marketing  and creative staff, leading market research to improve existing  products and services, working with advertising agencies, and  determining the best way to get products in front of customers.

As a marketing manager for a discount retail store in Brooklyn,  you have been asked to evaluate a marketing plan for basketballs to  ensure that the 4 Ps of marketing are being applied well. Using your  knowledge of the 4 Ps and the best approach to generating sales, youll  take a look at a number of marketing recommendations and choose the  approach that you believe will sell the most products.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Product

In the Marketing Analysis Presentation provided by your marketing  team, youll see three different basketballs that need to be included in  the product display on Slide 2. Each product has unique features.

• Based on the information provided about the customers that  shop at the store location on Slide 3, choose the basketball that you  think will sell the most. Explain the rationale for your decision.
   

Step 2: Place

On Slide 4 of the Marketing Analysis Presentation, youll see the  results of a survey that asked potential buyers about where they are  most likely to purchase these products.

• Use your knowledge about product placement to choose the  best place to sell the products, deciding between traditional stores and  online. Explain the rationale for your decision.
   

Step 3: Promotion

Slide 5 of the Marketing Analysis Presentation shows three  recommended advertisements, including a special deal promotion, for the  product that is expected to sell the best.

• Based on the information provided about the customers that  shop at this store location on Slide 3, determine which promotional  activity will sell the most product at this particular store. Explain  the rationale for your decision.
   

Step 4: Price

Finally, Look at the pricing options available for each of the three products together on Slide 6.

• Based on your knowledge of the Pricing Strategies discussed  on pages 186-187 in the textbook, choose the option that has the best  pricing mix for all three products. Refer to the customer information on  Slide 2, if needed. Explain the rationale for your decision.
   

Note: You should complete Step 5 after reading the material in Week 7.

Step 5: Brand & Sales Pitch

The company that makes one of the basketballs is looking to  rebrand the product. They have asked for your input on possible brand  ideas.

• First, read the Brand Vision statement which summarizes the  goal for the new brand. Then, look at the logo, name, and tagline  recommendations. Which of the two brand directions do you think best  meets the goals of the brand vision? Please support your decisions.
   
• Second, write a 2-3 sentence sales pitch that you would use to try to convince someone to purchase this product.
   

Step 6: Market Segmentation

The marketing plan for the basketballs at the Brooklyn store has  been in place now for four months, and the marketing team has assembled a  report reviewing sales data and customer feedback for the last  quarters basketball sales. Overall, the results are lower than you  expected and you are concerned that your marketing and creative staff  have not properly segmented your target customers. Remember, like many  products in the marketplace, the basketballs marketing campaigns must  target two different groups of customers: (1) adults who purchase the  item as a gift and, therefore, do not actually use the product; and (2)  adults and teenagers who purchase the item for their own use and  enjoyment. Both groups have different reasons and expectations  surrounding the item in question, and those reasons and expectations  will have significant impacts on the buyers purchasing decisions.

• Review the five customer segments detailed on pages 194-195  of your textbook: Behavioral, Sociographic, Psychographic, Geographic  and Demographic. Select one focus area of each segment that you feel is  most relevant to the sale of basketballs at this store location.
   
• Keeping in mind the 4 Ps, write 1-2 questions for each  focus area that will guide your staff as they investigate these aspects  of your campaign.
   

Example:

• Segment: Geographic
   
• Focus Area: Neighborhood
   
• Questions: What combination of marketing and media channels  did we use to reach current and potential customers? How are we  gathering information on where current customers live who purchased a  basketball?
   

Lateral Leadership

What opportunities for lateral leadership exist in your current professional role?

After watching this week’s videos and reviewing the course materials, consider how you would improve your approach to getting support for your initiatives in situations where you don’t have management authority.

Post your initial response by Wednesday, midnight of your time zone, and reply to at least 2 of your classmates’ initial posts by Sunday, midnight of your time zone.

respond 1

 Yalanda Edwards RE: Week 7 Discussion

The opportunity for lateral leadership in my current professional role occurs when I can advise college students on the importance of the journey they have taken on. I recently change work careers from being an office manager in manufacturing to administrative assistant to Dean of Education at a college. This transition is a lot different from what I have been use to yet a lot more rewarding. The lateral leadership now is talking with young people making sure they understand this education journey they are taking will be challenging, but the reward will come.

There is a lot of support education; the problem exists when trying to bring all or most of the resources together improving on getting support for initiatives in situations where management can also help with supplies. The problems come when attempting to get everyone on the same page. We tend to have the same goals in mind; just reaching the target the same way is the problem.

Ideas to getting support:

1. Give Subtitles for research
2. Creating teams
3. Bring teams together for brainstorming
4. Define an ultimate reachable goal

Article I found interesting:

Five winning strategies for Lateral leadership

Published on April 24, 2014

Chihttps://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140424064618-21659755-5-winning-strategies-for-lateral-leadershipef Control Officer, Digital HSB

References:

Welch, J.: Chapter 18: Hard Spots

 Huffman, E.: 7 Tips for Managing Sideways

Prentiss, B.: Lateral Leadership: Tips for Leading Colleagues Even If They Don’t Report to You

respond 2

We are talking this week about working relationships and ways to make our relationships with coworkers more productive and efficient.  We have to make sure, as Jack says, that you have the most capable and highly developed people on your team. This encompasses more than technical knowledge and capability. It encompasses the ability of the team members to interact well with each other and contribute to the work of the organization. It also includes the concept of lateral leadership which is the ability to influence those with whom you work without occupying a position of formal authority.

The article below offers a unique perspective on this mandate. 

 You are the president of the Local Union 312 Chapter. As the president of the union, you are the chief spokesperson and representative of the Local Union 312 to management. Next month, you will start the collective bargaining process with management to get your union members greater wages and benefits and better and safer working conditions. 

Read Ch. 5, Incident 2, I am Qualified, Why Not Me?

Write a 700- to 1,400-word analysis, using your research, of the incident, “I am qualified, Why Not Me?” Include the following in preparing your response:

• Discuss whether or not Bobby has a legitimate complaint. (Consider HR principles and employment law along with motivation principles). Does any organization, like Crystal Productions, have a responsibility to provide training and development opportunities to enhance promotion from within?
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of a promotion from within policy and whether such a policy would be appropriate for Crystal Productions.
• Identify what the Head of HR should consider as the first step in creating the policy, who should be involved in developing the policy, and what should be done in preparing for implementation. (avoid first person language).
• Recommend the desired goals/outcomes of such a policy and the impact the new policy would have on staffing and performance management strategies for the organization.
• Summarize what impact the changing workforce might have on the new policy.
• Summarize a brief policy that addresses hiring from within.

Include a minimum of 3 sources to support your work comprised of the course text and 2 peer reviewed journal articles (see Announcements section for definition of a peer reviewed journal source). Government and professional organization websites are good sources but will be considered as additional sources to the 3 required.

Format the paper to APA standards. There is a template in the Announcements section to help with proper formatting of the cover page. There is another handout posted in the Announcements section that has the main general rules of APA.

Purpose of Assignment

For this assignment, you will write an executive summary of either Part 3 or Part 5 of the Duarte textbook. You choose whether you want to summarize Part 3 or Part 5.  You will synthesize the main points of what you read. Assume the audience is a class member who needs to understand the purpose and main points of that Part of the text. 

The purpose of this assignment is to:

• Further familiarize you with the Executive Summary form and have you strategically communicate in that form

Using information delivered in class and shared materials (on Canvas):

• Summarize either Part 3 or Part 5 of the Duarte textbook
• Audience: Your classmates

Format:

Your Executive Summary should contain the following section headers:

• Purpose: What was the main point of the Part of the text? 
• Findings: What are the most important things you learned from the text in the Part you chose?
• Recommendations: What recommendations do you or the authors have?

You may refresh your memory with what an Executive Summary is:  and http://polaris.umuc.edu/ewc/web/exec_summary.html. You may review some good vs. poor examples of Executive Summaries here:  

You are required to use the standard executive summary format, which can be found on in the links shared above.

• Stay within 2 pages.
• Single-space your assignment.
• Your assignment should be skimmable and employ “chunking” of text.
• Use bulleted or numbered lists as needed.

Discussion 1:

HR Knowledge 6: Compensation   

Based on your review, please respond to the following:

As important as compensation is to employees so is how compensation is communicated by the organization. As Chief HR Officer for the company what key ideas would you implement in the company to ensure communication of the compensation plan is effective? Be specific.

NOTE: You may not use more than 2 references for your response, and you must comment to a minimum of 1 other student’s response.

Discussion 2:

HR Knowledge 7: Employee Benefits  

Based on your review, please respond to the following:

The video shares a discussion specifically on 9 benefits related to voluntary employee benefits. Review the VEB’s and if you could only have 4 of them, which 4 would you select? Be sure to explain why you made those choices.

NOTE: You may not use more than 2 references for your response, and you must comment to a minimum of 1 other student’s response.

Discussion 3:

HR Knowledge 8: Multi-Topic HR

Select and READ one of the following case studies (located in your textbook):

CASE 14-2 YOU ARE NOT HURT? GOODYOURE FIRED! 
CASE 15-1 CEO COMPENSATION: DO THEY DESERVE ROCK STAR PAY? 

Next, analyze the case and provide an overview of key points or discussions. An overview is not a detailed description or regurgitated statements from the case, but instead key points in the case. Then, make 2 recommendations for improvements for any parts of the case (think like an HR leader). Saying that someone should have did this, or what you would have done are not considered improvements.

NOTES:

• One to three small sentence-responses for analyzing the cases are not considered substantive.
• You may only have no more than two references for your response and each must be appropriately cited in the words.
• You may not copy and paste any part of another student’s response as part of your response.
• For this course, you must comment to a minimum of 2 other students’ responses…No Exceptions!
• Although not mandatory, you are strongly encouraged to make your initial post by Wednesday of each week so that you have plenty of time to respond to your classmates.

Assignment 3: Strategic Value of Employee Benefits Programs 
Due Week 8 and worth 170 points 

To attract, motivate, and retain good workers, companies need to define what an employee wants from the employment relationship. One way to define employee needs is to consider total rewards, which are everything an employee perceives to be of value resulting from working for the company. Benefits are a core element of total rewards and the ever-growing package of offerings have evolved. You must now work with the company to define precisely where the various programs will be categorized. 

Write a six to seven (6-7) page paper in which you: 

• Identify and discuss at least three (3) important variables that almost always should be considered by organizations when providing employee benefits programs. Be sure the response is specific and relevant.  
• Compare and contrast income protection programs and pay for time not worked programs, both of which are usual elements of benefits programs. How are the programs similar? Are they mandatory? 
• Research and discuss at least four to five (4-5) of what may be referred as Other Benefits that you could recommend to the management team as necessary elements for the benefits package. HINT: Flextime and product/service discounts are good examples. 
• Develop an employee benefits package for any exempt or non-exempt position level of your choosing, making sure you support the selection of your program elements. NOTE: The preferred method for presenting your benefits package information is using a table or exhibit, but either approach is not mandatory. HINT:
• Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements: 
  1. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. 
  2. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment (with running head), the students name, the professors name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length. 
  3. Include a reference page. Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length. Use the Strayer University Library at https://research.strayer.edu to locate additional sources to support your work. 

The specific course outcome associated with this assignment is:  

• Establish the importance of compensation and benefits, and how they support business strategy.