Theories of Intelligence
Intelligence tests and psychological definitions of intelligence have been heavily criticized since the 1970s for being biased in favor of Anglo-American, middle-class respondents and for being inadequate tools for measuring non-academic types of intelligence or talent. Intelligence changes with experience and intelligence quotients or scores do not reflect that ability to change. What is considered smart varies culturally as well and most intelligence tests do not take this variation into account. For example, in the west, being smart is associated with being quick. A person who answers a question the fastest is seen as the smartest. But in some cultures, being smart is associated with considering an idea thoroughly before giving an answer. A well-thought out, contemplative answer is the best answer.
Multiple Intelligences
Gardner (1983, 1998, 1999) suggests that there are not one, but nine domains of intelligence. The first three are skills that are measured by IQ tests:
Logical-mathematical: the ability to solve mathematical problems; problems of logic, numerical patterns
Linguistic: vocabulary, reading comprehension, function of language
Spatial: visual accuracy, ability to read maps, understand space and distance
The next six represent skills that are not measured in standard IQ tests but are talents or abilities that can also be important for success in a variety of fields: These are:
Musical: ability to understand patterns in music, hear pitches, recognize rhythms and melodies
Bodily-kinesthetic: motor coordination, grace of movement, agility, strength
Naturalistic: knowledge of plants, animals, minerals, climate, weather
Interpersonal: understand the emotion, mood, motivation of others; able to communicate effectively
Intrapersonal: understanding of the self, mood, motivation, temperament, realistic knowledge of strengths, weaknesses
Existential: concern about and understanding of life’s larger questions, meaning of life, or spiritual matters
Gardner contends that these are also forms of intelligence. A high IQ does not always ensure success in life or necessarily indicate that a person has common sense, good interpersonal skills or other abilities important for success.
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Another alternative view of intelligence is presented by Sternberg (1997; 1999). Sternberg offers three types of intelligences. Sternberg provided background information about his view of intelligence in a conference I attended several years ago. He described his frustration as a committee member charged with selecting graduate students for a program in psychology. He was concerned that there was too much emphasis placed on aptitude test scores and believed that there were other, less easily measured, qualities necessary for success in a graduate program and in the world of work. Aptitude test scores indicate the first type of intelligence-academic.
Academic (componential): includes the ability to solve problems of logic, verbal comprehension, vocabulary, and spatial abilities.
Sternberg noted that students who have high academic abilities may still not have what is required to be a successful graduate student or a competent professional. To do well as a graduate student, he noted, the person needs to be creative. The second type of intelligence emphasizes this quality.
Creative (experiential): the ability to apply newly found skills to novel situations.
A potential graduate student might be strong academically and have creative ideas, but still, be lacking in the social skills required to work effectively with others or to practice good judgment in a variety of situations. This common sense is the third type of intelligence.
Practical (contextual): the ability to use common sense and to know what is called for in a situation.
This type of intelligence helps a person know when problems need to be solved. Practical intelligence can help a person know how to act and what to wear for job interviews, when to get out of problematic relationships, how to get along with others at work, and when to make changes to reduce stress.
Compare Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence. You must have at least 3 points of comparison.
Do you think that these types of intelligences are cultivated in school or at home?
In: Psychology
Once you have the dataset, please use knowledge gained in other business and/or economics classes to realize what topic and theory the data could relate and a research question that it could allow you to answer. More specifically, please put together an analysis by making sure your project report includes the following:
7.1. Specify the level of significance (Type I error associated with the null hypothesis),
7.2. Determine the test statistic (the appropriate statistical test as mentioned under point 5 above),
7.3. Determine the critical values (and region(s) if applicable),
| ID | Nr. of units produced before new compensation system | Nr. of units produced after new compensation system |
| 1 | 20 | 23 |
| 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 3 | 12 | 11 |
| 4 | 34 | 35 |
| 5 | 55 | 57 |
| 6 | 43 | 76 |
| 7 | 54 | 54 |
| 8 | 24 | 26 |
| 9 | 33 | 35 |
| 10 | 21 | 26 |
| 11 | 34 | 29 |
| 12 | 33 | 31 |
| 13 | 54 | 56 |
| 14 | 23 | 22 |
| 15 | 33 | 35 |
| 16 | 44 | 41 |
| 17 | 65 | 56 |
| 18 | 43 | 34 |
| 19 | 53 | 51 |
| 20 | 22 | 21 |
| 21 | 34 | 31 |
| 22 | 32 | 33 |
| 23 | 44 | 38 |
| 24 | 17 | 15 |
| 25 | 28 | 27 |
| 26 | 47 | 50 |
| 27 | 35 | 78 |
| 28 | 29 | 29 |
| 29 | 36 | 44 |
| 30 | 25 | 23 |
In: Statistics and Probability
Feasibility Report (Please do not attempt to solve if you can not fulfill all the requirements)
After reviewing my cover page, table of contents, introduction, purpose and overview report please complete the BODY part.
Purpose
Feasibility reports are a yardstick to measure solutions which lead to a recommended course of action. These through investigations, to determine the viability and practicality of the proposal, are necessary to minimize organizational risk and minimize risks. When proposing a product, service, strategy, initiative, program, process, or change. Feasibility reports are critical to identify roadblocks to implementation and to maximize the chances for success. All business professionals must understand how to use through research to make decisions and communicate findings.
Your Task
You will explore the feasibility of a product, service, strategy, initiative, policy, program, process, or change. An individual may explore an aspect of the persuasive multimedia presentation topic if desired. A senior management or board of directors will be the recipient of the feasibility report. You will present this information as an analytic report.
Cover Page
Change of Budget Feasibility Report for National Project Systems
Table of Contents
Introduction
Purpose and overview of an organization
Problem Statement
Background of Problem
Cause of Problem
Solution
1. Introduction
This feasibility report has been prepared for the National Project System, to assess the chances of approval of the change in the budget submitted to the treasury department by the ministry of finance. This document details out the need for change in the budget proposal, the purpose of such a change and also will talk about the cause of the problem. National Project System manages multiple projects in and around the state of Texas and California. Its annual budget is $100 million. The change in the budget proposal has been asked by the ministry of finance for NPS, keeping in mind the increasing need for modern facilities and infrastructure. The ministry wishes to expand the operation of National Project system to other states and increases its footprint at a global level.
2. Purpose and overview of an organization
National Project system is an implementation arm of the ministry of finance. It undertakes multiple projects across various domains such as health, agriculture, defense, etc. Its annual budget has seen a growth of more than 20% in last 5 years. Recently, a need for modern infrastructure and processes has been realized by the members of National Project System. Hence, a budget change plan has been submitted to treasury department by a ministry of finance, to study the feasibility of such a change request.
3. Problem Statement
Need an increase in the annual budget of National Project Systems for the proper implementation of various schemes running under its multiple projects. Current budget stands at $100 million. Treasury Department is already under a lot of financial burdens due to a decrease in funds from the world bodies which support it for such projects. In such a case a feasibility report has been prepared for the national project system.
4. Background of Problem
The projects being executed by NPS is running in costs of more than $200 million. Current budget stands at $100 million. The infrastructure and the process used to implement projects are quite outdated and need an urgent up-gradation to deliver projects on time. Treasury department which approves any budget changes is under tremendous pressure as it has lack of funds due to shortage of fund supply from world bodies. If the budget change doesn't get approved, many projects under NPS will get shut down.
5. Cause of Problem
Cause of problem is the increase in projects without the increase in resources. Faulty planning for operational needs and execution. Budget forecasting not accurate. Over-commitment by a ministry of finance.
6. Solution
Explain the need for change in a budget to treasury department in an analytical manner. Address the pain points. Talk about operational costs. Discuss faulty forecasting issues and the urgent need for modern infrastructure.
*******Body (approx. 2 pages and minimum 2 references required)*******
1) Solutions and Alternatives - explain the solutions/alternatives you have selected (must have at least 3).
2) Establishing Criteria -establish at least 3 criteria selected for making comparisons. Tell how and why you selected criteria to use as a yardstick in evaluating alternatives.
3) Discussion/Evaluation – thoroughly discuss and evaluate the alternatives based on the criteria. Be sure to offer advantages and disadvantages of each. Refer to the graphic in the Appendices.
In: Economics
Blades, Inc. Case
Forecasting Exchange Rates
Recall that Blades, Inc., the U.S.-based manufacturer of roller blades, is currently both exporting to and importing from Thailand. Ben Holt, Blades’ chief financial officer (CFO), and you, a financial analyst at Blades, Inc., are reasonably happy with Blades’ current performance in Thailand. Entertainment Products, Inc., a Thai retailer for sporting goods, has committed itself to purchase a minimum number of Blades’ Speedos annually. The agreement will terminate after three years. Blades also imports certain components needed to manufacture its products from Thailand. Both Blades’ imports and exports are denominated in Thai baht. Because of these arrangements, Blades generates approximately 10 percent of its revenue and 4 percent of its cost of goods sold in Thailand.
Currently, Blades’ only business in Thailand consists of this export and import trade. Holt, however, is thinking about using Thailand to augment Blades’ U.S. business in other ways as well in the future. For example, Holt is contemplating establishing a subsidiary in Thailand to increase the percentage of Blades’ sales to that country. Furthermore, by establishing a subsidiary in Thailand, Blades will have access to Thailand’s money and capital markets. For instance, Blades could instruct its Thai subsidiary to invest excess funds or to satisfy its short-term needs for funds in the Thai money market. Furthermore, part of the subsidiary’s financing could be obtained by utilizing investment banks in Thailand.
Due to Blades’ current arrangements and future plans, Holt is concerned about recent developments in Thailand and their potential impact on the company’s future in that country. Economic conditions in Thailand have been unfavorable recently. Movements in the value of the baht have been highly volatile, and foreign investors in Thailand have lost confidence in the baht, causing massive capital outflows from Thailand. Consequently, the baht has been depreciating.
When Thailand was experiencing a high economic growth rate, few analysts anticipated an economic downturn. Consequently, Holt never found it necessary to forecast economic conditions in Thailand even though Blades was doing business there. Now, however, his attitude has changed. A continuation of the unfavorable economic conditions prevailing in Thailand could affect the demand for Blades’ products in that country. Consequently, Entertainment Products may not renew its commitment for another three years.
Because Blades generates net cash inflows denominated in baht, a continued depreciation of the baht could adversely affect Blades, as these net inflows would be converted into fewer dollars. Thus Blades is also considering hedging its baht-denominated inflows.
Because of these concerns, Holt has decided to reassess the importance of forecasting the baht-dollar exchange rate. His primary objective is to forecast the baht-dollar exchange rate for the next quarter. A secondary objective is to determine which forecasting technique is the most accurate and should be used in future periods. To accomplish this, he has asked you, as the financial analyst at Blades, for help in forecasting the baht-dollar exchange rate for the next quarter.
Holt is aware of the forecasting techniques available. He has collected some economic data and conducted a preliminary analysis for you to use in your analysis. For example, he has conducted a time-series analysis for the exchange rates over numerous quarters. He then used this analysis to forecast the baht’s value next quarter. The technical forecast indicates a depreciation of the baht by 6 percent over the next quarter from the baht’s current level of $.023 to $.02162. He has also conducted a fundamental forecast of the baht-dollar exchange rate using historical inflation and interest rate data. The fundamental forecast, however, depends on what happens to Thai interest rates during the next quarter and therefore reflects a probability distribution. Based on the inflation and interest rates, there is a 30 percent chance that the baht will depreciate by 2 percent, a 15 percent chance that the baht will depreciate by 5 percent, and a 55 percent chance that the baht will depreciate by 10 percent.
Using all following three techniques to forecast the future of the baht
Fundamental forecasting
Market-based forecasting
Technical forecasting including the performance evaluation bias and its graphic evaluation
In: Finance
SAN FRANCISCO -- After the news that one of Silicon Valley's stars secretly funded a lawsuit to bring down a gossip site, the overwhelming response in the tech community has been: More power to him.
Peter Thiel -- Facebook investor, PayPal co-founder and a billionaire with a highly developed instinct for revenge -- is being hailed by the Valley's elite for his stealthy actions against Gawker Media, whose Valleywag gossip blog outed him as g ay and irritated other important tech people during its brief existence. The suit, brought by the professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over a sex tape, resulted in a $140 million verdict against Gawker.
With its response, the tech community's message is clear: Treat us the way we want to be treated or we might retaliate. Even though Silicon Valley professes to be for free speech -- this is where Twitter was invented, after all -- the reaction opens a window into the thinking of the digerati, who are becoming more guarded and elusive even as their products make the world more transparent.
Given Mr. Thiel's "beliefs and objectives, I can't fault him for his approach," Parker Thompson, a partner at the venture capital firm 500 Startups, said in an interview.
Mr. Thompson was just one of dozens of techies in Silicon Valley who talked or tweeted their approval of Mr. Thiel and their disapproval, or worse, of Gawker and Valleywag in the last few days.
"Click bait journalists need to be taught lessons," said the billionaire Vinod Khosla, whose efforts to close off public access to a beach on his property were covered by Valleywag.
Gawker "desperately persisted in trying to destroy people without basis. No accountability," said the venture capitalist Chris Sacca.
"Thank you @peterthiel," wrote Jessica Livingston, co-founder of the influential start-up incubator Y Combinator, which was occasionally tweaked by Valleywag.
At least one tech billionaire, however, is on Gawker's side. Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, tweeted, "People who oppose even the slightest common sense limits on Second Amendment should understand the same principle applies to First."
Late Friday, First Look Media, which was founded by Mr. Omidyar, said that in keeping with its mission to protect the First Amendment, it would be helping to organize supporting briefs for Gawker's appeal.
"The possibility that Gawker may have to post a bond for $50 million or more just to be able to
pursue its right to appeal the jury's verdict raises serious concerns about press freedom,’ Lynn
Oberlander, general counsel for First Look, said in a statement.
‘We welcome the support at the appellate level,'' Gawker said in its own statement.
In some ways Silicon Valley's reaction is not surprising. A journalist's job, at least in theory, is to ask
questions and print the truth, which means it is less than loved in citadels of power. But in Silicon
Valley, even the media hates the media.
“Gawker can burn in hell," the TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington said on Twitter, though he
also called Mr. Thiel "cowardly" for not being open about financing the lawsuits against Gawker.
TechCrunch began as a site that worked hand in hand with start-ups to chart their progress.
For Ken Shotts, who teaches ethics and strategy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Mr.
Thiel's secret campaign against Gawker brought to mind General Motors’ pursuit of Ralph Nader 50
years ago. G.M. set private detectives on Mr. Nader to get the dirt on him that would nullify his
criticism of its Corvair car. G.M. went beyond the pale, and was punished. The president of G.M. was
forced to appear before Congress and apologize for harassing and intimidating the company's critic.
“Companies face constraints," said Mr. Shotts. "That's a good thing. Individuals are less
constrained, and billionaires hardly at all."
From this perspective, what Mr. Thiel did was less of an aberration and more of that old Silicon
Valley stand-by: a new product launch. It is now out of stealth mode and getting good reviews
among potential users.
As a result, Mr. Shotts said, "I wouldn't be surprised to see more cases like this."
The situation is complicated by the fact that these days rich tech companies, their owners or
venture capitalists are as much the owners and producers of the media as the subject. With the
traditional media in a weakened state, it is a trend that seems to be accelerating.
Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture firms, owns a stake in
BuzzFeed and recently increased its investment in Medium, a platform that also produces content.
Facebook came under scrutiny this month after reports from Gizmodo, a Gawker property, that it
was playing down conservative news.
Facebook and Andreesen Horowitz declined to comment.
“Gawker tried to have it both ways,’ Venky Ganesan, managing director of the venture capital firm
Menlo Ventures, said in an interview. "They wanted to be taken seriously as journalists, yet they
didn't follow all the norms."
Twenty-five years ago, tech coverage was the domain of geeks and trade reporters -- people who
understood their way around a motherboard, were excited by it and wouldn't dream of crossing
certain boundaries. Now, with tech at its zenith, much of the coverage of the industry is still done by
enthusiasts. Combine this with the need to get the power players to come to the media's
conferences and there is a real reluctance to look behind the scenes.
Elizabeth Spiers, who was the first Gawker writer and is now an entrepreneur, noted on her blog
that the ‘tech press is largely fawning toward successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, and
mostly unintentionally."
The result, she wrote, is ‘a sense of entitlement in the industry where denizens of Silicon Valley
expect the media to actively support them and any negative portrayals are met with real anger and
resentment, even when they're 100 percent accurate."
Sam Altman, the president of Y Combinator, tried to chart a middle ground between Gawker and
Mr. Thiel in a series of posts on Twitter.
"Gawker is disgusting for outing people, publishing sex tapes, etc.,"' he wrote, but also posted that
“it'd be bad if rich people could start silencing the media." He concluded by blaming the legal
system.
Case Questions
1. From the article, describe the role of motivation and ability in their actions for:
a. Peter Theil (5 pts)
b. Hulk Hogan (5 pts)
c. Gawker Media Journalists (5 pts)
Restrict to the context presented in this case and use the concepts given in the chapter
to explain.
In: Economics
Part II ---- Suspicious Minds
Your direct microscopic observation of microorganisms in the soil samples has sparked your boss’s interest. He is eager to determine what type of microorganism(s) is present: eukaryotic or prokaryotic. Gram-positive or Gram-negative, or maybe even something new, never before seen on Earth. He sends a sample of the soil
off to a biochemistry laboratory for direct analysis.
You are equally interested in the nature of the microbes, but instead of directly analyzing the soil, you first isolate a pure culture of a microorganism that you demonstrate has the ability to degrade polyurethane. You
send a sample of this pure culture to the same biochemistry laboratory for analysis.
Later, you receive the results of the analysis of your boss’s sample and your pure sample
|
Table 1 |
||
|
Test |
Boss’s sample |
Your sample |
|
80 S ribosome |
+ |
– |
|
70 S ribosome |
+ |
+ |
|
Circular DNA |
+ |
+ |
|
Linear DNA |
+ |
– |
|
RNA |
+ |
+ |
|
Phospholipid membranes containing electron transport proteins |
+ |
+ |
|
LPS |
+ |
+ |
|
Lipoteichoic acid |
+ |
– |
|
Flagellar basal body proteins |
+ |
+ |
|
Pilus proteins |
+ |
+ |
|
Nuclear pore proteins |
+ |
– |
|
Histone proteins |
+ |
– |
“I’m not sure what’s wrong with your sample, but my results prove that we are dealing with a new kind of life form here….I’m calling it the preuk-aryote” because it has components characteristic of both prokaryotes
and eukaryotes. It’s time for a press conference!” boasts your boss.
Later on, as you are getting ready to head home after a long day in the lab, you hear your boss bellow, “What
the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on here!”
You ask him what happened.
“This morning I put a few thousand cells from your pure culture of Extraterrestrial PolyUrethane-Degrading Microbe (EPTUM) onto two slides in some water, but then I had to go to that press conference, and I didn’t have enough time to look at the cells carefully except to notice that they were uniformly distributed under the coverslip. I didn’t want the slides to dry out so I sealed the edges of the coverslips. On this slide I used a rubber gasket to make the seal, and on this slide I used a Lycra gasket. Now look at the cell distribution! On the rubber-sealed slide, the cells are still uniformly distributed, but on the Lycra-sealed slide all the cells have congregated around the edge of the coverslip. Look….they are all over at the edges; none are left in the middle part of the slide. Could somebody have come in here and moved all those EPTUM cells over to the edges? But who? Maybe someone small with really tiny tweezers. Did you see anyone like that lurking around this scope? Nah….I need to get a grip on reality. No tweezers could be that small.”
Questions
3. What technique is used to isolate a pure bacterial culture?
4. If your goal is to characterize the ETPUM, whose results are more informative: yours or your boss’s?
Why? Does its biological composition most closely resemble that of a prokaryote or a eukaryote? Gram-
positive or Gram-negative? Do you agree with your boss’s conclusion that the ETPUM is a prokaryotic-
eukaryotic hybrid? Why or why not?
5. Come up with at least two possible alternative explanations for the “amazing” redistribution of the
ETPUM on the Lycra-sealed slide. Both of your explanations should consider how the microbes “sensed”
the presence of polyurethane. One of your answers should not involve flagella.
Part III----All Shook Up
You have found media that support growth of pure cultures of EPTUM in your laboratory. The recipes for these media are shown below:
|
Table 2 |
|
|
Medium #1 (per liter H2O) |
Medium #2 (per liter H2O) |
|
5 g yeast extract |
10.5 g K2HPO4 |
|
20 g tryptone extract |
4.5 g KH2PO4 |
|
0.5 g NaCl |
1 g MgSO4 |
|
3.6 g glucose |
10 g polyurethane |
Growth in these media:
|
Table 3 |
||
|
Growth |
Medium #1 |
Medium #2 |
|
ETPUM growth---aerobic |
+ |
+ |
|
ETPUM growth---anaerobic |
+ |
– |
|
E. coli growth----aerobic |
+ |
– |
|
E. coli growth----anaerobic |
+ |
– |
You are excited because, in Medium #2, ETPUM utilizes polyurethane as its energy source and its sole source of carbon and nitrogen, a finding that raises the possibility that ETPUM could be a useful tool for bioremediation of polyurethane-containing wastes (in landfills, etc.). You have also made some progress in characterizing the central metabolic pathways and related biochemical activities of ETPUM. In particular you have discovered that:
Questions
6. Which medium would you consider to be “complex” and which “defined”? Which is “rich” and which is
“minimal”? Explain your answers.
7. Given that polyurethane is a huge polymer (MW>>100,000 Daltons). Why is it important that the
polyurethanase is a secreted enzyme? If we assume that the polyurethane is the source of energy for the
organism, how can material (carbon atoms) from it find its way into the central metabolic pathways of this
microbe? What is the “entry point”? What happens after its entry into the metabolic pathway?
8. Why does growth of EPTUM in Medium #2 require oxygen? Think about this in terms of how EPTUM
can generate a net gain of in ATP processing polyurethane. Remember that the degradation of
polyurethane by polyurethanase does not expend ATP. In order to answer this question, address each of
the following questions in your answer:
a. Is there a net gain or loss of ATP during the transport of citrate?
b. Consider the ATPs that can be generated via substrate-level phosphorylation. Will glycolysis be useful
for generating any ATPs during growth on polyurethane? How many ATPs can be generated via TCA
(i.e via substrate level phosphorylation)? Is this enough to support growth (is there a net positive in the
ATP tally)?
c. Now consider how else ETPUM can generate ATPs (if not by substrate-level-phosphorylation). Can
this process generate a net positive in the ATP tally
d. Now explain the importance of oxygen as relates to the ATP tally.
In: Biology
Use the information from the case, as well as content from the course to support your answers.
Wainwright Industries:
An Entirely New Philosophy of Business Based on Customer Satisfaction and Quality
In the early 1980s, Wainwright Industries, a manufacturer of stamped and machine parts, was facing nothing less than a crisis. Increased competition, along with intensified customer scrutiny, was forcing Wainwright to either improve quality or lose its competitive stature. In the face of this challenge, the employees of the company, led by CEO Arthur D. Wainwright, decided to make radical changes. It was clear that business as usual with a few minor improvements would not save the company. What Wainwright needed was an entire new philosophy of doing business based on quality and total customer satisfaction.
To determine how to achieve this objective, Wainwright used the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige award as a road map. Drawing input from all levels of the company, the top management team led the process by setting goals, developing implementation strategies, and establishing key quality standards. Initially, the company emphasized three principles:
As a creative way of demonstrating the importance of working together, the company adopted the duck as its mascot, based on the fact that ducks fly in formation as a means of supporting one another in flight. In addition, whenever a duck falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and quickly returns to the flock. Wainwright used this analogy to support the concepts of teamwork and employee empowerment, which were integral parts of the company's quality improvement efforts.
Along its journey toward improved quality, a number of specific initiatives were implemented:
Special emphasis was placed on training and benchmarking. Since it initiated its quality program, the company has spent up to 7% of its annual payroll on training. To demonstrate its resolve in this area, the company has made training an important criterion for employee advancement. Wainwright has benchmarked against a number of companies, including firms in the textiles, chemical, and electronics industries. For instance, after studying Milliken & Company, a previous Baldrige award winner, Wainwright implemented an employee suggestion program that has been very effective.
Along with the changes mentioned previously, Wainwright also has changed its culture to make it more egalitarian and quality minded. The employees at Wainwright (including the CEO) now all wear the same uniform, eat in the same cafeteria, and park in the same parking lot. Office walls have literally been torn down and replaced with glass, based on the premise that if the managers can watch the frontline employees work, the frontline employees should be able to watch the managers work, too. As a result of these changes, the managers of the company have become coaches and facilitators rather than supervisors and disciplinarians. This important change has helped facilitate the teamwork atmosphere that is supportive of high quality and total customer satisfaction.
The results of the company's continuous improvement efforts are linked to five strategic indicators:
The status of each of these criteria is tracked by "mission control," a room set aside to document the company's efforts. In mission control, each customer's satisfaction is documented with a plaque, a current monthly satisfaction rating, and a red or green flag indicating the customer's status relative to objectives.
As a result of these initiatives, Wainwright has met the challenge. It has not only survived but has emerged as an industry leader. The company has earned the status of preferred supplier to a growing number of quality-conscious customers and has received special recognition from General Motors, Ford, and IBM Rochester. The goal of Six Sigma quality is being pursued. Perhaps most important, in the last decade, overall customer satisfaction has increased from 84% to 95%, and the company's market share, revenues, and profits are at record levels. Ironically, the company was one of the recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige award, the very award against which the company benchmarked in its early days of quality improvement.
Assignment
Answer the following questions in depth in the booklet provided.
Egalitarianism (from French égal, meaning "equal")—or, rarely, equalitarianism [1] [2] or equalism [3] —is a trend of thought that favors equality for all people. [4] Egalitarian doctrines maintain that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. [5] According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term has two distinct definitions in modern English: [6] either as a political doctrine that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights; [7] or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people, economic egalitarianism, or the decentralization of power. Some sources define egalitarianism as the point of view that equality reflects the natural state of humanity. [8][9][10]
(www.wikipedia.com)
In: Operations Management
Provide immediate feedback for each mistyped sentence. To do so, modify the Test class’s present_test method so that it informs the player a mistake has been made, then display the challenge sentence followed by the player’s sentence so the player can determine where the error lies.
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Script Name: TypingChallenge.rb
# Version: 1.0
# Author: Jerry Lee Ford, Jr.
# Date: March 2010
#
# Description: This Ruby script demonstrates how to apply conditional logic
# in order to analyze user input and control script execution
# through the development of a computer typing test that
# evaluates the player's typing skills.
#
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Define custom classes ---------------------------------------------------
#Define a class representing the console window
class Screen
def cls #Define a method that clears the display area
puts ("\n" * 25) #Scroll the screen 25 times
puts "\a" #Make a little noise to get the player's attention
end
def pause #Define a method that pauses the display area
STDIN.gets #Execute the STDIN class's gets method to pause script
#execution until the player presses the Enter key
end
end
#Define a class representing the typing test
class Test
#This method displays the 8-ball greeting message
def display_greeting
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
#Display a welcome screen
print "\t\t Welcome to the Ruby Typing Challenge game!" +
"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPress Enter to " +
"continue. \n\n: "
Console_Screen.pause #Pause the game
end
#Define a method to be used to present test instructions
def display_instructions
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
puts "\t\t\tInstructions:\n\n" #Display a heading
#Display the game's instructions
puts %Q{ This test consists of a series of 10 typing challenges.
The challenge sentences are presented one at a time. To respond
correctly, you must retype each sentence exactly as shown and press
the Enter key. Your grade will be displayed at the end of the test.
\n\n
Grading format: 9 or better sentences typed correctly will result in an 'A',
8 sentences typed correctly will result in a 'B',
7 sentences typed correctly will result in a 'C',
6 sentences typed correctly will result in a 'D',
less than 6 will result in an 'F'!
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Press Enter to continue.\n\n}
Console_Screen.pause #Pause the game
end
#Define a method to be used to present typing challenges
def present_test(challenge)
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
print challenge + "\n\n: " #Display the challenge sentence
result = STDIN.gets #Collect the player's input
result.chop! #Remove the end of line marker
#Analyze the player input and see if it is correct
if challenge == result then
#Keep track of the number of correctly retyped challenge sentences
$noRight += 1
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
#Keep the player informed
print "Correct!\n\nPress Enter to continue."
Console_Screen.pause #Pause the game
else
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
#Keep the player informed
print "Incorrect!\n\nPress Enter to continue."
Console_Screen.pause #Clear the game
end
end
#Define a method to be used to display test results
def determine_grade
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
#To pass the test the player must correctly retype 6 sentences
if $noRight >= 6 then
#Inform the player of the good news
print "You retyped " + $noRight.to_s + " sentence(s) correctly. "
puts "You have passed the typing test!\n\nPress Enter to continue."
else #The player has failed the test
#Inform the player of the bad news
print "You retyped " + $noRight.to_s + " sentence(s) correctly. "
puts "You have failed the typing test!\n\nPress Enter to continue."
end
# Grading Sytem for the Challenge
letter Grade = case $noRight
when 9..10 then "A"
when 8 then "B"
when 7 then "C"
when 6 then "D"
else "F"
end
end
# Main Script Logic -------------------------------------------------------
#Initialize global variable that will be used to keep track of the number
#of correctly retyped sentences
$noRight = 0
Console_Screen = Screen.new #Instantiate a new Screen object
Typing_Test = Test.new #Instantiate a new Test object
#Execute the Test object's display_greeting method
Typing_Test.display_greeting
#Execute the Screen object's cls method in order to clear the screen
Console_Screen.cls
#Prompt the player for permission to begin the test
print "Would you like to test your typing skills? (y/n)\n\n: "
answer = STDIN.gets #Collect the player's response
answer.chop! #Remove any extra characters appended to the string
#Loop until the player enters y or n and do not accept any other input.
until answer == "y" || answer == "n"
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
#Prompt the player for permission to begin the test
print "Would you like to test your typing skills? (y/n)\n\n: "
answer = STDIN.gets #Collect the player's response
answer.chop! #Remove any extra characters appended to the string
end
#Analyze the player's response
if answer == "n" #See if the player elected not to play
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
#Invite the player to return and play again
puts "Okay, perhaps another time.\n\n"
else #The player wants to take the test
#Execute the Test object's display_instructions method
Typing_Test.display_instructions
#Display typing challenges and grade each answer by calling on the
#Test object's present_test method
Typing_Test.present_test "In the end there can be only one."
Typing_Test.present_test "Once a great plague swept across the land."
Typing_Test.present_test "Welcome to Ruby Principles of Ruby Programming"
Typing_Test.present_test "There are very few problems in the world " +
"that enough M&Ms cannot fix."
Typing_Test.present_test "Perhaps today is a good day to die. Fight " +
"beside me and let us die together."
Typing_Test.present_test "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"
Typing_Test.present_test "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
Typing_Test.present_test "So many books, so little time."
Typing_Test.present_test "A room without books is like a body without a soul."
Typing_Test.present_test "You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."
#Notify the player of the results by executing the Test object's
#display_instructions method
Typing_Test.determine_grade
Console_Screen.pause #Pause the game
Console_Screen.cls #Clear the display area
#Thank the player for taking the typing test
puts "Thank you for taking the Ruby Typing Challenge.\n\n"
end
In: Computer Science
(TCO 5) Consider this scenario: John Hopken is the new supervisor of a team of 12 computer programmers. He has been in his position for 10 months, after being promoted to his position from programmer (where he had been in place for 8 years). The promotion was hard-won; four others on his team also applied for the promotion, and when he got his promotion, the other four employees who didn’t get the position were rather disgruntled. One of them lashed out in a meeting early on and called him a yes-man, but otherwise most of the issues have been undercurrents and rumor based. These four employees are referred to as Competitors 1, 2, and 3 and Competitor Yes-Man for the purposes of this question.
During the year, five older members of his team resigned, four through regular retirements and one after being accused of falsifying expense reports. None of the five were in the group of four who had competed against him for his position. John filled all five position openings with outside hires. Three of them had similar backgrounds to John’s—they all went to his alma mater for their computer degrees and like basketball. In fact, last week John and the three of them attended a Bulls game together. These employees will be referred to as Bulls 1, 2, and 3. The other two employees were both females he hired because HR told him he had to. (Up till now, there were no females on the team.) We’ll call them Lady 1 and 2. They don’t like basketball. Lady 1 was hired 6 months ago, and Lady 2 was hired last month.
Now, it is performance appraisal time. Assume each of these employees does a similar amount of work, produces relatively similar amounts of code, and does a good job. None of them create waves, and the new people have gotten their work under way and are working hard. Other than the yes-man meeting and one comment on the men’s room wall saying that “Hopken is a jerk,” things have mostly gone smoothly. John figures that one of the Competitors wrote that.
John is told by HR he has to do performance appraisals this month. He is told to rate his people on a scale of 1–4, where 1 is “not meeting expectations,” 2 is “too new to rate,” 3 is “meeting expectations,” and 4 is “exceeding expectations.” HR said that he must have no more than two 4s, no more than eight 3s, and at least two 1s or 2s. He asks an HR representative what “too new” means, and she says it applies to anyone who has not been in the position for 3 months or more.
He looks at the paperwork and his list, and 20 minutes later has his ratings done with a paragraph scribbled out to provide to his workers.
Here are his ratings and his support paragraph.
Bulls 1: 4: What a great guy—always comes through, works hard, fun loving, makes the day brighter for everyone
Bulls 2: 4: Team player—what a help—great worker and asset to the company
Bulls 3: 3: Always there for the work group—works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Lady 1: 3: Always there for the work group—works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Other 1: 3: Always there for the work group—works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Other 2: 3: Always there for the work group—works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Other 3: 3: Always there for the work group—works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Competitor 1: 3: Accurate coding and steady performer
Competitor 2: 3: Accurate coding and steady performer
Competitor 3: 3: Accurate coding and steady performer
Lady 2: 2: Too new to rate but next year should be great
Competitor YM: 1: Not a team player and can work harder to prevent discord
Please answer the following questions.
(1) What are the three major methods of conducting appraisals? Briefly explain each one. (12 points)
(2) What method is described here? Justify your answer. (12 points)
(3) Write a memo to HR explaining why you feel this method of performance evaluation needs improvement, and give three specific examples of the improvement you recommend based on the scenario above. (16 points)
In: Operations Management
Patient Profile: Candace is a 23-year-old, G1P1, MWF, who delivered a 7 pound 8 ounce baby boy three weeks ago at the local birth center. She is very happy about the birth and is adjusting well to motherhood. She breastfed her baby a few minutes after the birth and has continued to exclusively breastfeed him. She intends to breastfeed for at least a year probably starting him on solid foods around six months. Prior to the pregnancy, Candace was a busy office executive in a local shipping firm. She is on a six-week leave of absence. She plans to pump her breast milk for the baby when she returns to work. She is hoping that her mother-in-law who will be caring for the baby, will be able to bring the baby to her workplace at least once a day at noon to breastfeed and then give the baby the breast milk she has left from a bottle for the other feedings. Her mother-in-law will be arriving from out of state in two weeks. Candace is a very “in control person.” She plans everything in her life, and up to this point the world has respected her wishes.
Case Study: Candace called the birth center this morning crying. Her breast on the left side is so sore she cannot stand to have the baby nurse on that side, and to make matters worse, that is the only side the baby will take. For the last 12 hours the baby seems to want to nurse all the time or just cries and sucks his fist. She feels sick, cannot get anything done at home and at 2 p.m. is still in her pajamas with last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast dishes still in the sink. She and her husband had an argument this morning and he left for work angry and overtired after getting no sleep all night from the baby crying. He just wants her to stop being so stubborn, since she obviously doesn’t have enough milk, and give the baby some formula. Her car has broken down and she has no other source of transportation. The nurse working at the birth center offers to make a home visit.
5. Why does it appear to Candace’s husband that Candace has lost her milk?
6. On arrival the nruse find that Candac’s left breast mipple is cracked and bleeding slightly. The nurse also notes that Candace has a fever of 101.2, seems lethargic, and has an area the size of a quarter on the underside of her right breast that is firm, red, and warm. Candace tells the nruse that she feels like she has the flu. What is Candace’s problem, what probably caused it and what is the nurs’es next action?
7. The CNM at the birth center calls in a prescription for ampicillin 500 mg po qid for 10 days. Candace starts crying and asks if this means she can no longer breastfeed. What is the nruse’s best response?
8. Outline a teaching plan to reduce the possibility of Candace having another mastitis infection.
9. Why did the baby only want to nurse on the left side?
10. How can the nurse help Candace get him to also nurse on the right side?
11. Where can the nurse refer Candace for support with her breastfeeding?
12. Candace plans to return to work in two weeks. Make a list of decisions and possible problems that she will have to work through during these next two weeks, and after she returns to work, to prepare her and the baby for this transition. Provide alternative suggestions for her to consider.
13. Identify three priority concepts for Candace and three goals for each concept.
In: Nursing