Category: Business and Management

Step 1: Define Objectives and Scope
– Identify Research Goals: Clearly outline your objectives (e.g., understanding efficiency, pinpointing strengths and weaknesses, benchmarking against competitors).
– Determine Scope: Decide the specific aspects of Amazon’s supply chain to cover (e.g., logistics, inventory management, technology, sustainability).
Step 2: Conduct Preliminary Research
– Literature Review: Gather academic papers, industry reports, and books on supply chain management and Amazon’s specific practices.
– Identify Key Metrics: Determine key performance indicators (KPIs) for supply chain effectiveness (e.g., delivery speed, cost efficiency, accuracy, flexibility).
Step 3: Data Collection
– Primary Sources: Conduct interviews, if possible, with Amazon employees, suppliers, or logistics partners. Use surveys to gather firsthand data.
– **Secondary Sources**: Collect data from existing reports, case studies, news articles, and Amazon’s annual reports.
Step 4: Analyze Supply Chain Components
– Inbound Logistics: Examine Amazon’s procurement strategies and transportation methods for sourcing products from suppliers.
– Warehousing and Inventory Management: Analyze Amazon’s warehouse operations, including storage systems, inventory tracking, and order fulfillment processes.
– Outbound Logistics: Study Amazon’s delivery systems, focusing on shipping methods, last-mile delivery, and logistics partnerships.
– Technology Integration: Evaluate the role of technology, such as automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, in Amazon’s supply chain.
– Sustainability Practices: Investigate Amazon’s initiatives to create a sustainable supply chain, including efforts to reduce carbon footprint and waste.
Step 5: Benchmark Against Competitors
– Compare Metrics: Evaluate Amazon’s supply chain performance against major competitors (e.g., Walmart, Alibaba).
– Best Practices: Identify best practices in the industry and compare them with Amazon’s strategies.
Step 6: Evaluate Effectiveness
– Efficiency Analysis: Assess how efficiently Amazon’s supply chain operates, considering speed, cost, and reliability.
– Strengths and Weaknesses: Identify strengths (e.g., technological advancements, vast network) and weaknesses (e.g., dependency on third-party carriers, sustainability issues).
– Case Studies: Include case studies of specific scenarios where Amazon’s supply chain faced challenges and how they were addressed.
Step 7: Formulate Recommendations
– Identify Improvement Areas: Suggest areas where Amazon could enhance its supply chain (e.g., improving sustainability, adopting new technologies).
– Propose Solutions: Provide actionable recommendations based on your analysis.
Step 8: Write and Structure the Paper
– Title Page: Include the title of your paper, your name, institution, course, and date.
– Abstract: Summarize the key points of your research, including objectives, methodology, findings, and conclusions (150-250 words).
– Table of Contents: List all sections and sub-sections with page numbers.
Introduction
– Background: Provide context about Amazon and its supply chain.
– Research Objectives: State the objectives and significance of your study.
– Research Questions: Outline the key questions your research aims to answer.
– Scope: Define the scope and limitations of your study.
Literature Review
– Existing Research: Summarize existing literature on supply chain management and Amazon’s practices.
– Theoretical Framework: Discuss relevant theories and models in supply chain management.
– Gap Analysis: Identify gaps in the current research that your study aims to fill.
Methodology
– Research Design: Describe your research design (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods).
– Data Collection Methods: Explain how you collected data (e.g., interviews, surveys, secondary data).
– Data Analysis: Detail the methods used to analyze the data.
– Limitations: Acknowledge any limitations in your methodology.
Analysis and Findings
– Inbound Logistics: Analyze data related to Amazon’s procurement and transportation methods.
– Warehousing and Inventory Management: Present findings on Amazon’s warehouse operations and inventory management.
– Outbound Logistics: Discuss findings related to Amazon’s delivery systems and partnerships.
– Technology Integration: Evaluate the impact of technology on Amazon’s supply chain efficiency.
– Sustainability Practices: Present findings on Amazon’s sustainability initiatives.
Discussion
– Interpretation of Findings: Interpret the results of your analysis, relating them to your research questions.
– Comparison with Competitors: Discuss how Amazon’s supply chain compares with competitors.
– Implications: Explain the implications of your findings for Amazon and the wider industry.
Recommendations
– Improvement Areas: Identify specific areas for improvement in Amazon’s supply chain.
– Proposed Solutions: Offer detailed recommendations for enhancing supply chain effectiveness.
Conclusion
– Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings of your research.
– Concluding Remarks: Provide final thoughts on the effectiveness of Amazon’s supply chain and potential future research directions.
Step 9: Finalize and Submit
– Formatting: Ensure the paper follows Harvard style guidelines for citations and references.
– References: Compile all sources cited in your research in the reference list.
– Appendices: Include any additional material (e.g., raw data, questionnaires) in the appendices.

Assignment:
Jamie received 105 responses, which are given in the Excel file Drout Advertising Survey.
Review the questionnaire and classify the data collected from each question as categorical, ordinal, interval, or ratio.
Next, explain how the data and subsequent analysis using business analytics might lead to a better understanding of stereotype versus empowerment advertising. Specifically, state some of the key insights that you would hope to answer by analyzing the data.
Use appropriate charts to visualize the data. Summarize the data using frequency distributions and histograms for numerical variables, cross-tabulations, and other appropriate applications of PivotTables to break down the data and develop useful insights.
An important aspect of business analytics is good communication. Write up your answers to this case formally in a well-written report as if you were a consultant to Ms. Drout USING our class:
Please develop YOUR OWN Business Data Analytics EXCEL models to support all your answers and analyses and post this(these) file(s) in addition to your Case Analysis Drout Advertising Research Project Report.
Finally, please answer ALL Questions and Sections of this Data Analytics for Business Case with great detail AND STEP BY STEP being extremely methodical and accurate in your answers. It is extremely important that for each Question and Section, you write the entire question and you LABEL and/or PLACE the appropriate headings and subheadings clearly for EACH part of the question and/or section.
Please address, analyze, and discuss in great detail and thoroughly support and explain the what’s, how’s, and why’s of each of your answers.
Case Analysis Background
Jamie Drout is interested in perceptions of gender stereotypes within beauty product advertising, which includes soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, perfume, cologne, makeup, chemical hair color, razors, skin care, feminine care, and salon services; as well as the perceived benefits of empowerment advertising. Gender stereotypes specifically use cultural perceptions of what constitutes an attractive, acceptable, and desirable man or woman, frequently exploiting specific gender roles, and are commonly employed in advertisements for beauty products. Women are represented as delicately feminine, strikingly beautiful, and physically flawless, occupying small amounts of physical space that generally exploit their sexuality; men as strong and masculine with chiseled physical bodies, occupying large amounts of physical space to maintain their masculinity and power. In contrast, empowerment advertising strategies negate gender stereotypes and visually communicate the unique differences in each individual. In empowerment advertising, men and women are to represent the diversity in beauty, body type, and levels of perceived femininity and masculinity. Her project is focused on understanding consumer perceptions of these advertising strategies.
**On the Template, Please do 1 through 5 and and include whats in this text box**

In this assignment, you will explore key concepts related to social justice, including justice, fairness, equality, and bias. You will also explore how narratives affect perceptions of social justice and core principles of social justice. This part of the project will be the basis for the rest of your project and will help you apply your knowledge of concepts related to social justice.
Directions
First, consult the Project Guidelines and Rubric to review the scope of the project and the provided scenarios. Next, review the Scenario Profiles document, which provides information related to the scenarios and potential conflicts, and select a scenario. (You will select and analyze one of the three conflicts associated with your chosen scenario in a later module.) Choose a scenario for this assignment carefully, because you will use the same scenario for the project. Then, with your chosen scenario in mind, address the assignment prompts by completing Part One in the Project Template. The following is a preview of the scenarios and conflicts:
Scenario 1 – School
You are interacting with a very diverse group of peers this term who come from different cultures, socioeconomic statuses, ability levels, learning styles, career goals, and more.
Scenario 2 – Personal 
It’s the time of year when you gather with friends and family. Recent events in the news that impact different cultures have caused differences of opinion related to issues of justice and fairness, creating conflict with those you care about. You are hosting the next holiday celebration with your family members and friends with diverse thoughts and opinions.
Scenario 3 – Workplace 
The organization you work for is expanding and acquiring an international business, increasing the total employee population from 500 to 10,000. Employees are located in multiple states and countries across the world.
Note: You can find the Project Template linked in the What to Submit section. You can find the Project Guidelines and Rubric and the Scenario Profiles document linked in the Supporting Materials section.
Specifically, you must address the following:
Project: Part One: Social Justice
Explain the difference between justice, fairness, and equality in the scenario.
Describe how bias can influence your perception of social justice in the scenario.
Describe how different narratives in society can impact your perception of social justice.
Describe the core principles of social justice in the scenario.
What to Submit
Submit your Project Template for grading. You will use the same Project Template for all of the project drafts and for the project. For this assignment, the Module Two Project Draft, you will complete Part One of the Project Template. You do not need to complete Part Two and Part Three of the template for this assignment. Additionally, no sources are required.  The scenario chosen is workplace. Have to be on the template only part 1 required 

1. What is meant by strategic human resources management in healthcare
Strategic human resources management develops approaches and methods to support the organization’s business strategies and encourage new ideas (Simpson & Fried, 2021).  Human resource management is a new topic for me, but I can imagine that this includes many different activities for this department to oversee and develop. These activities include management, recruitment, and maintaining and developing staff (Simpson & Fried, 2021). The healthcare industry is constantly changing and becoming more complex, requiring human resources to develop strategies that attract successful and adaptable staff (Nafari & Rezaei, 2022). Organizations can remain competitive and provide quality care by developing and maintaining a strategic human resources strategy. 
2. What are the main roles of healthcare professionals in healthcare organizations?
Healthcare professionals are tasked with studying, diagnosing, treating, and preventing human illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments (WHO, 2013). There are hundreds of job titles under the healthcare sector, and many are not directly related to patient care, but are considered supporting roles. Our textbook concentrates on nurses, pharmacists, selected allied health professionals, and healthcare administrators. These categories make up majority of healthcare workforce and are crucial to the industry. With a variety of educational and licensing requirements, healthcare professions are optimizing patient care and overall patient health outcomes. There is a rapid growth in healthcare workforce demand and meeting the needs will involve innovation and arriving at solutions that address effective and efficient healthcare delivery while ensuring highly skilled and educated workforce is stable and growing within the industry.
3. In healthcare, employee discipline needs to be handled quickly and effectively.  Poor performance of an employee may not only decrease patient satisfaction, but it could also be the difference between life and death.
Employee discipline can be based on job performance, poor behavior or detrimental behavior.  A multi-step approach to improving job performance is preferred for the organization.  This will help retain staff that have already been hired instead of starting the process all over again.  An organization can provide additional training tools and motivation to help employees succeed in their positions.  Poor behavior and detrimental behavior are intentional behaviors that would be considered inappropriate in most social situations.  Such as stealing and workplace violence.  Termination is the best course of action for these behaviors (Fried & Fottler, 2015).
Employee discipline can be difficult to do for many reasons.  The behavior is often not addressed in a timely manner, previous performance ratings are inaccurate, and or policies are not being followed.  Supervisors may also not want to create conflict with the employee.  Executives can help reduce these outcomes by providing regular supervisory training about policies and laws, monitoring human resources activities and providing feedback, and having positive employee relations (Fried & Fottler, 2015).
REPLY 75 WORDS EACH TO DISCUSSION POST.

.
Overview
For the purposes of this assignment, imagine that you are a systems architect at a medium-sized publishing company with 130 employees. The company primarily publishes books, both in print and online. It also produces other kinds of content, such as audiobooks, interactive reading material, and magazines. Your leadership has decided that it is time to either upgrade the current OS or adopt a new one (e.g., Windows, Linux, macOS).
As the systems architect, you have the responsibility to determine which OS the company should implement for each department. There are many aspects to consider when making this decision, including what existing applications are used by employees on a frequent basis, cost, functionality provided, performance, vendor support, and so on. To determine which OS should be implemented, you need to complete a site survey first. Later, the site survey can be used to help you make a decision as to which operating systems to implement based on what is currently used in the department. For this activity, you will conduct a site survey. This is also a step that you will need to take when you submit Project One in Module Four. The feedback that you receive after submitting this activity should be implemented as you craft your Project One submission.
Prompt
Complete a Site Survey: A site survey compares the three different operating systems that the company is planning to implement. To complete this task, use the Project One Site Survey Template linked in the Supporting Materials area. Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Operating Systems: Acknowledge what OSes are already used in your site survey. The type of OS already used and how many employees are using it can influence your decision making.
Server: Determine whether the desktops are on a hardware or cloud-based server.
Although not required in this portion of the project, you may want to think about whether or not the server should be changed. This change could be recommended in your proposal.
Standard Hardware for Operating System Types: Determine the minimum required hardware. This could include desktop and server.
Network Connection: Determine whether the network is wired or wireless.
You will want to think about whether or not the network connection should be changed. This change could be recommended in your proposal.
Applications: Identify what software applications need to be supported by the OS. Your survey of what applications desktop users use most frequently will influence your decision making, as some applications are not supported by certain OSes.
Supporting Materials
The following resources support your work on the project:
Reading: Organizational Needs
This document will provide you with context on the company’s needs and industry best practices. As you review this document, you will learn about what the company currently uses when it comes to hardware and software. Learning about the organization’s needs can help you make an informed decision on which OS to implement.
Template: Site Survey Template
Use this template to compare the operating systems that the company can implement for its employees who use desktops. For this activity, do not complete the portion of this template that includes the proposal.
What to Submit
Site Survey: Your submission for this milestone should be the completed first six sections of the Site Survey Template in Word (.docx) format. Do not complete the last two sections of this template; you will complete these for Project One.

Over the past two modules, you have explored the fundamentals of global business, such as key drivers for expansion of domestic business and cultural considerations. In this milestone, you will complete the first part of your course project by explaining what you have learned about global business thus far.
Scenario
You are a business analyst working at a small domestic organization that produces high-quality cell phone cases. Your organization has begun to see its sales flatten in the domestic market. While the organization is not losing money, leadership would like to explore options to continue to grow. One option that leadership has noticed competitors attempting is entering international markets.
You have been asked to examine the benefits, drawbacks, and key considerations for your organization to enter one of the global markets below, and to summarize your findings in a business brief for leadership.
Select one of the following international markets to use for your course project:
Argentina
Brazil
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Nigeria
Russia
South Africa
If you would like to use another country for your course project, please reach out to your instructor.
Prompt
In this milestone, you will complete Section One of the Business Brief Template (located in the Guidelines for Submission section of this document).
Drivers for Global Entry: Develop the first section of the Business Brief Template that explains the purpose of global expansion, business impacts of global business, societal impacts of global business, and cultural considerations using evidence from course and outside resources to support your explanations. Make sure to use evidence from course resources to support your responses.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Country Selection: State the country you have selected to use for your course project.
Purpose of Global Expansion: Explain key benefits of successful global expansion for domestic organizations.
Business Impacts of Global Business: Explain how global expansion of a domestic organization can impact business operations such as strategic planning, marketing, supply-chain management, human resources, and so on.
Societal Impacts of Global Business: Explain how the global expansion of organizations has impacted society, citing specific examples regarding culture, transportation, employment, infrastructure, and environmental climate.
Cultural Considerations for Global Business: Explain the importance of researching the culture of a potential global market prior to market entry, as well as key cultural considerations to explore to inform expansion decisions.

the book for the course is Farver, S. (2019). Mainstreaming corporate sustainability: Using proven tools to promote business success (2nd ed.). J. Ross Publishing.
For this assignment, complete Case Study: Economic Responsibility: ING Groep NV, by responding to questions 1 and 2 at the end of the Case Study. You must respond to all prompts in the question for full credit.
Your response must:
Be at least two pages and provide and in depth response the question,
Use APA formatting throughout (no title page needed),
Have a minimum of two references (with corresponding citations).  

BRIEF ON STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT PAPER
Submit
a Strategic Management paper on the approved topic below:
# Using Artificial
Intelligence in an Organization
# Write on the Essay with guide from Topics and Strategic Management concepts driven by this approved Book: Strategic
Management & Competitive Advantage [CONCEPTS AND CASES SIXTH EDITION] By
Jay B. Barney and William S. Hesterly
PAPER
GUIDELINES
§  The intent of this
paper is for you to apply the topics of the course to your selected topic. §  You should synthesize
the material in a concise manner and demonstrate critical thinking.
§  It is
about ADDING VALUE to the content. PAPER
GUIDELINES
*  The intent of this paper is for you
to apply the topics of the course to your selected movie. *  You
should synthesize the material in a concise manner and demonstrate critical
thinking. It is about you ADDING VALUE to the content, not repeating it. Think
of it as a mini literature review. This is about you reporting back on what the
literature says – it is not an opinion piece. APA Rules and Guidelines
*  You must have at least 8 academic sources, including Strategic
Management & Competitive Advantage [CONCEPTS AND CASES SIXTH EDITION] By
Jay B. Barney and William S. Hesterly.
*  The paper must have a title page and a separate page for
references at the end. *  It is expected that the introduction comprises no more than 15% of
the paper, the research body is to be roughly 70% of the paper, and the
remaining 15% to be conclusion with application / reflection.
Evaluation for the Individual Paper and rubric is in the attached document.
TOPICS
OF THE COURSE taken from the text above, see attached document. Also see excerpts below.
Topic 1: What Is Strategy and
the Strategic Management Process
§  Review
of Walt Disney Company.
§  Strategy
Formulation and Implementation
Topic 2: Evaluating a Firm’s
External Environment
§  Industry Analysis: The Structure-Conduct-Performance
Model
§  PESTLE ANALYSIS: is
used widely to structure analysis of a company’s external environment, is an
acronym for the political, economic, sociocultural, technological,
environmental, and legal context(s) in which a company operates.
Topic 3: Evaluating a Firm’s
Internal Capabilities §  The
Resource Based View: Financial (cash, retained earnings), Physical (plant and
equipment, geographic location), Human (skills and abilities of individuals)
& Organizational (reporting structures, relationships)
§  VERY IMPORTANT: The Internal Analysis Tool: VRIO Framework Helps Managers Recognize Sources of Competitive Advantage
Topic 4:
Cost Leadership and Competitive Advantage
§ 
Organizational
Structure and Controls
Topic 5: Product Differentiation
Two Generic Business Level
Strategies Cost Leadership: • generate economic value by having
lower costs than competitors. Example: Wal-Mart Product Differentiation: • generate economic value by
offering a product that customers prefer over competitors’ product Example:
Harley-Davidso
Product Differentiation
A business level strategy is
intended to:
• increase the perceived value of the focal
firm’s products and/or services relative to the value of competitor’s products
and/or services • create a customer preference for
the focal firm’s products and/or services
Bases of Differentiation-Three
Categories:
1. Product Attributes • exploiting
the actual product 2. Firm–Customer Relationships •
exploiting relationships with customers 3. Firm Linkages • exploiting
relationships within the firm and/or relationships with other firms
•       A product differentiation strategy
must meet the VRIO criteria…
Is it Valuable?
Is it Rare? Is it costly to Imitate?  Is
the firm Organized to exploit it? …if
it is to create competitive advantage
Topic
6: Flexibility and Real Options
Business Level Strategies Options:
1.Cost leadership
2.Product differentiation (Both 1&2
require focus and commitment)
3.Strategic flexibility
Maintaining multiple strategic
options simultaneously the opposite of focus and commitment.
What Is Strategic Flexibility?
A firm has strategic flexibility when it can choose among
several strategic options. Southwest Airlines’ acquisition of AirTran    •Route expansion   •Geographic expansion
Real Options and Real Assets
A real option exists when a firm has the ability, but
not the obligation to invest in real assets of some type.
Real assets are tangible resources that can have an
impact on a firm’s production, including land, buildings, etc.

Prepare a report that includes:
The background to the company and its situation and relevance to the industry (or industries) it is associated with.
A SWOT analysis of the company, indicating its strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities it has going for it, and any threats facing it.

Deliberate strategies are planned, data supported, implemented, and managed. Emergent strategies are often unexpected, reactionary, and untested. Part of the process for strategic development is the establishment of metrics to measure the progressive success of the strategic plan. Based on the metric options discussed in Chapter 8 of the text, what types of measurement would be appropriate and necessary to support the change when considering the deployment of an emergent strategy? What are the potential consequences for ignoring emergent strategies? Research and discuss an emergent strategy implemented by an organization and its success or failure.
Guided Response: Your initial post must be specific and significant. The initial post must be between 300 and 350 words. You must support your post with at least two scholarly resources in addition to the text to defend your positions and findings. Use the Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. document for additional guidance. Respond to at least four of your classmates’ posts during the discussion week. Responses to classmates must be substantive and further the discussion by debating and advancing the key points of their post.