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What is strategy? What is a core competency? What is a capability? How do these produce a competitive advantage for a firm? How do vision and mission statements differ in purpose and content?

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Strategic Management Exam

INSTRUCTIONS: You must answer the first 5 questions on the list and then you may select any additional 5 questions in which to answer. You will be answering 10 questions in total worth a total of 100 points.

1. What is strategy? What is a core competency? What is a capability? How do these produce a competitive advantage for a firm?
2. How do vision and mission statements differ in purpose and content?
3. Explain in detail the Five Forces Model of Michael Porter.
4. Explain in detail the five generic business-level strategies including the concept of being ”caught in the middle.”
5. Explain the levels and types of diversification. What is value-creating diversification? Explain the typical relationship between diversification and firm performance.
6. Explain the two different paradigms, or models, of strategic decision-making.
7. Explain VRIO Analysis and its usefulness to strategic analysis?
8. Explain how strategic competitiveness results when a firm’s internal capabilities match the external environment.
9. What is business-level strategy? How is it different from corporate level-strategy?
10. What is “disruptive innovation” and what role does it play in strategic choice?
11. What factors increase the “likelihood of attack” by competitors and what strategic action can be taken defensively?
12. What is the BCG Matrix and how can it be useful in thinking about asset restructuring?
13. Explain the most common reasons for corporate acquisitions and also the most common reasons they fail to produce the intended results.
14. Explain the basic characteristics of each corporate-level strategy and also explain when each is most appropriate.
15. Explain the international modes of entry and when each is most appropriate.
16. What is a strategic alliance and what forms are commonly used?
17. Why do firms use cross-border strategic alliances?
18. Explain the four business-level cooperative strategies.
19. What is corporate governance and why is it important?
20. What role does the Board of Directors play in strategic management? What are some common problems found in board management?

Discuss a relational conflict or challenge (such as an argument, transgression, break-up, etc.).  Analyze your relationship and the conflict by applying at least one theory, one concept, and one skill using any of the chapters from our textbook.

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Interpersonal communication

Learning Goals: The final paper is directly linked to all three of the student learning outcomes for this course. It will allow you to demonstrate familiarity with research and thought in the field of interpersonal communication, analyze your own relationships using concepts of interpersonal communication, and demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills in various contexts.

Instructions: For this paper, think about an interpersonal relationship you are currently in (such as a friendship, romantic relationship, work relationship, family relationship, etc.). You will analyze your relationship using the interpersonal communication theories, concepts, and skills we have learned about throughout the semester. In your paper, you will discuss a relational conflict or challenge (such as an argument, transgression, break-up, etc.).  Analyze your relationship and the conflict by applying at least one theory, one concept, and one skill using any of the chapters from our textbook. When applying the skill, think about what skill you used or could have used to effectively manage the conflict (for example: perception-checking statements, assertive “I” statements, self-monitoring, etc.).

You will also need to cite one library source for this paper. Your book should be used for the majority of the paper, but at least one library source is also required (such as a book or journal article). Make sure you cite your library source at the end of your paper (bibliography) and within the paper (in-text or parenthetical citation) in MLA or APA format. Click here for help with library research specific to Communication Studies.

Explain why this law/legal statue is important for managers. Create a hypothetical scenario in which a manager must deal with an employee related to this law/legal statute.

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Final Exam

There are four sections of your Final Exam. Write in complete sentences and include all of the information specified in the exam instructions. Make sure to thoroughly describe/explain your answers. There are no length requirements but I would expect at least 1-2 pages, minimum, would be needed to cover everything. Feel free to use subheadings “Section 1”, “Section 2”, etc. Use APA format for your citations and include a references page in APA style. The two current event sources that you find for Section 3 must be included in your references page.

USE YOUR TEXTBOOK, CLASS SLIDES/LECTURES, and NOTES-– cite page numbers from your book whenever possible. Explain concepts thoroughly.

Section 1: Pick an employment law/legal statute from any of the chapters in your textbook (this includes chapters that we have not yet covered). Clearly identify the employment law that you have chosen and describe its’ provisions in your own words (i.e. do not just copy and paste from your textbook).

Section 2: Explain why this law/legal statue is important for managers. Create a hypothetical scenario in which a manager must deal with an employee related to this law/legal statute.

Section 3: Find two (2) separate employment-related current events related to this employment law/legal statue that have occurred within the past 5 years. Summarize each current event and explain their relevance for an HR manager. Make sure to include the two current event sources in your references page.

Section 4: In your opinion, do you believe that this law is adequate and offers sufficient protections for employees and for employers? Why or why not? What could be changed about this law to improve it?

Identify necessary terms and concepts of intergovernmental relations as they relate to the pursuit of sustainability at the City level utilizing the case study of the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts.

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Reflection Paper: City of Chelsea, Massachusetts

Identify necessary terms and concepts of intergovernmental relations as they relate to the pursuit of sustainability at the City level utilizing the case study of the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Apply the core concepts of international IGR and sustainability in analyzing the case study of the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Follow the links below for reference materials. File for additional links and references.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e90t4a5y7t5xmfu/Week%206%20Video.mp4?dl=0

How will you manage and monitor the programme during the construction stage and comply with NEC4 requirements for programme management. Identify areas where the programme could be improved to arrive at an earlier completion date.

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Construction project management

 

PROGRAMME DELIVERY AND MANAGEMENT

Provide a detailed programme in the form of a Gantt chart and supporting methodology that demonstrates how the IST will manage the programme, considering all stages of the contract and sequencing of the works.
The Gantt chart should clearly indicate key tasks during the pre-construction, construction and post-handover stages including critical path, float, time risk allowance, dependent tasks and key milestones.
Please provide details of your methodology for programme management to ensure successful delivery of the works considering the Employer’s programme requirements and constraints particular to this project as outlined in the Works Information.

Your response should include project specific details to demonstrate the following:
• Your ability to plan and deliver the services and works by the Completion Date
• How you will manage and monitor the programme during the pre-construction stage of the project
• How you will manage and monitor the programme during the construction stage and comply with NEC4 requirements for programme management
• How you will implement measures to be taken if the programme is not being achieved during the Pre-Construction and Construction stages
• Identify areas where the programme could be improved to arrive at an earlier completion date.

Compare the 2 dose-response curves  (without antagonists): which agonist is the most potent? And which one is the most effective? provide evidence from your data. 

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Data analysis and interpretation Applied Pharmacology

Using the Virtual Organ Bath 2.8 software, you’ll study the effects of two different agonists (for example: acetylcholine & pilocarpine or carbachol) on the contraction of smooth muscle from guinea pig small intestine.

The effect of both drugs should be evaluated without and in the presence of one antagonist.

Set a list of concentrations for both acetylcholine and pilocarpine. With the help of dilution formula in the virtual organ bath software, work out the volumes required from the appropriate stock solutions.

Progressively increasing doses of the agonist should be added to the bath (use a range between 1×10-10 – 1×10-6 M) and contraction of the tissue (in gms) will be measured and recorded.

Afterwards, the appropriate antagonist (concentration in the reservoir 5×10-8 M) should be added, and the experiment is repeated using higher concentrations of the agonists (up to 1×10-4 M)

These tables are just an example of how you could record your data:
Dose used (without antagonist) Contraction Response in gms
(unit) Acetylcholine Pilocarpine

Dose used (with antagonist 5×10-8 M) Contraction Response in gms
(unit) Acetylcholine Pilocarpine
Your submitted work should include the following:
• A brief description of the design of the experiment and how the data was collected.
• Your data recorded in tables with concentration of both agonists and the
corresponding antagonist.
• Answer the following questions:

1. Discuss
• What is Acetylcholine and how does it produce contraction of the smooth muscle (dynamics: receptors, type and drug-receptor interaction)?
• What is pilocarpine  (or carbachol if it was chosen in the experiment) ? what is its mechanism of action? discuss briefly its therapeutic applications
• Identify two drugs that can be used for their effect on smooth muscles within the body (urinary tract, blood vessels, or respiratory system) and briefly discuss the following:
– the mechanism of action
– drug-drug interaction
– therapeutic application

2. Using Excel, or Graphpad Prism:

• Convert the contraction values into %response and the dose into log10 for each drug
• Plot the following graphs :

o the %response vs. log10 dose for acetylcholine (with and without the antagonist, 2 curves in the same graph)
o the %response vs. log10 dose for pilocarpine or carbachol (with and without the antagonist, 2 curves in the same graph)

• Describe both graphs:

o Compare the 2 dose-response curves  (without antagonists): which agonist is the most potent? And which one is the most effective? provide evidence from your data.
o Provide an approximate value of ED50 for both acetylcholine and pilocarpine or carbachol.
o Analyse the effect of the antagonists on the dose-response curves for both drugs. How would you describe the mechanism of action of the antagonist on the muscarinic receptors?

Watch the following videos and write a sentence about what the children are learning in maths for each link .

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Learning maths in early childhood

Watch the following videos and write a sentence about what the children are learning in maths for each link .

Webinar: Playful Math—How to Teach Essential Concepts with

Fun Mathematical Games

Kindergarten STEM Lesson

Number Concept for Children with Special Needs | Special

Education | Help 4 Special

Kindergarten Place Value Lesson

How to Analyze Child’s Counting

Didax Virtual Math Manipulatives:

Toy Theater:

Dream Box Learning:

1st grade math lesson-Find the missing part of 10

1st grade Number Talks

2nd grade Geometry Video

2nd grade Everyday Math Lesson

2nd Grade Math Lesson- comparing two 3-digit numbers (CCSS:

2.NBT.A.4)

1st Grade – Virtual Math Lesson – Geometry

Math Lessons for 1st Grade | Distance Learning for Kids

Kindergarten Math Lesson: Decomposing

Decomposing Numbers and Number Bonds

Create an annotated outline for your Signature Assignment in this course using relevant studies. You may use all or some of the articles you’ve identified so far, or you may determine that additional articles are needed.

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Annotated Outline for your Signature Assignment

Instructions
Your task this week is to create an annotated outline for your Signature Assignment in this course using relevant studies. You may use all or some of the articles you’ve identified so far, or you may determine (based on your outline) that additional articles are needed.

Begin by identifying the topic area. You will need to include an Introduction, so consider what background and context about this topic you will need to provide.

Next, lay out the details. Do not just list topic headings but instead provide details regarding the peer-reviewed sources under each heading and connections between the findings of the different studies. Do not forget to include citations where necessary.

Be sure to provide enough detail that a reader may discern the overall ideas that your paper will present.
The theoretical framework is a foundational piece of the dissertation writing process. As you complete this assignment, make sure to note the theoretical frameworks used by the researchers in your outline.

Remember to include at least 10 scholarly references in your outline; you also may find that you need to add more references as you craft your outline.

Length: 2 pages, (make sure to add your plus reference page)
References: Include a minimum of 10 scholarly resources.
Your outline should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA 7 standards.

Has the recovery site recovered or not? Is the “clean” site still clean? Provide potential explanations for the long-term fluctuations in the biotic index at each site; account of the strengths and weaknesses of the biotic indexes; how useful are they in general and how they could be improved.

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Freshwater Pollution

Derivation of the Biotic Indexes of Freshwater Pollution

You have been provided with long term biological data for the four different freshwater sites routinely monitored by SEPA with potentially different levels of pollution. You have also been issued with notes setting out the sensitivity of various species of invertebrates to pollution.

1- Deveron Cabrach, NJ 37855 29144

2- Water of Cruden, upstream of Morissons

3- Mains of Dyce at Pitmedden Industrial Estate

4- Burn of Noss

Your task is to use these materials to:

(i) derive biotic indexes that summarise pollution status of each site

(ii) compare different BI approaches,

(iii) calculate long-term ASPT scores for each site

(iv) critically appraise the use of biotic indexes in freshwater pollution monitoring

Summarise your findings in a scientific report. The report should not exceed 2000 words and should be of the following structure:
Title

Abstract

Introduction and Aims – a very brief review of what a biotic index is and why it is useful in freshwater pollution monitoring. Some background information you can get on the specific sites would also be useful. There should be at least 2 aims, one focusing on assessing the ecological status of the 4 sites you got samples to work in class and one aim focusing on the long term dataset

Methods – a clear, concise account of what materials and methods have been used (i.e. what BI methods have been used, etc.), how samples were collected

Results – tables/graphs summarizing data and derived biotic indexes, including brief commentary.

Discussion – an understanding of the assessment of the ecological status of your 4 sites; be critical and innovative in discussion; has the recovery site recovered or not? Is the “clean” site still clean? Provide potential explanations for the long-term fluctuations in the biotic index at each site; account of the strengths and weaknesses of the biotic indexes; how useful are they in general and how they could be improved.

Identify a theme that might link the articles and then use the evidence from the articles to illustrate that theme.

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History

Essay Assignment
You will write an essay on one of the five topics below. It should be about 2000 words (approximately 7-8 double spaced pages). It must be referenced effectively using Chicago Manual of Style Footnotes. After reading all the articles listed in the topic, you must decide on a thesis for your analysis. A thesis is not a topic statement nor a statement of fact. Rather your thesis should be a debatable position that deals with the broad patterns of continuity and change that link the articles together. In this regard, you should also draw upon your textbook to help you understand the broad patterns of change. Your thesis must address some aspect about the nature of changes that these articles illustrate and how you understand the pattern of response. Do not treat the assignment as a five-paragraph paper with each article as a case study. Rather, identify a theme that might link the articles and then use the evidence from the articles to illustrate that theme. In other words, use the articles for specific examples that justify your position and use your textbook as a source for background information.

Topic 1: Canada and Indigenous People

Binnema, Theodore and Melanie Niemi. “Let the Line Be Drawn Now: Wilderness, Conservation, and the Exclusion of Aboriginal People from Banff National Park in Canada,” Environmental History 11 (2006): 724-750.

Carter, Sarah. “‘We Must Farm to Enable Us to Live’: The Plains Cree and Agriculture to 1900.” In Indigenous Experience: Global Perspectives, edited by Roger Maaka and Chris Andersen. 219-244. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press, 2006. Ereserves

Coutts, Robert. “’We See Hard Times Ahead of Us’: York Factory and Indigenous Life in the Western Hudson Bay Region, 1880-1925,” Journal of Canadian Studies 51, no. 2 (2017): 434-460.

St. Germain, Jill. “Feed or Fight: Rationing the Sioux and the Cree, 1868-1885,” Native Studies Review 16, no. 1 (2005): 71-90.

Topic 2: War and Peace, 1914-1919

Cook, Tim. “Grave Beliefs: Stories of the Supernatural and Uncanny Among Canada’s Great War Trench Soldiers,” Journal of Military History 77 (April 2013): 521-542.

Humphries, Mark. “The Horror at Home: the Canadian Military and the Great Influenza Pandemic, 1919.” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association/Revue de la Société Historique du Canada 16, no. 1 (2005): 235-260

Issit, Benjamin. “Searching for Workers’ Solidarity: The One Big Union and the Victoria General Strike of 1919,” Labour/Le Travail 60 (Fall 2007): 9-42.

Keelan, Geoff. “Canada’s Cultural Mobilization during the First World War and a Case for Canadian War Culture,” Canadian Historical Review 97, no. 3 (2016): 377-403. doi: 10.3138/chr.97.3.Keelan

Topic 3: Depression and Reconstruction: The Welfare State

Houston, C. Stuart, and Merle Massie. “Four Precursors of Medicare in Saskatchewan.” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History 26, no. 2 (December 2009): 379–93. doi:10.3138/cbmh.26.2.379

Marchildon, Gregory. “Douglas versus Manning: The Ideological Battle or Medicare in Postwar Canada,” Journal of Canadian Studies 50, no. 1 (2016): 129-149

Strikwerda, Eric. “The Anatomy of City Relief.” In Eric Strikwerda, The Wages of Relief: Cities and the Unemployed in Prairie Canada, 1929-1939. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press, 2013: 57-92. Ebsco Ebook Collection and AU Press ebook

Tillotsen, Shirley. “Citizen Participation in the Welfare State: An Experiment, 1945-57,” Canadian Historical Review 75, no. 4 (1994): 511-543