While Foucault was, I think, correct in leaving out finance capital at the level of practice, I believe it was an error in terms of discourse. To use the figure of the entrepreneur in a highly technological and developed age is not to evoke the figure, to put it in the most general and simplistic terms, of someone who goes to a factory and checks in on their investment from time to time. The entrepreneur, before even the notion of finance capital comes into view for us, is someone already deeply divorced from the production process and our general way of thinking about it. To introduce the pervasive, however misapprehended, understanding of finance capital that is common today is to say simply that the entrepreneur of himself, on the neo-liberal account, is someone who imagines that they make their human capital work for them. What I mean by this is that once people begin to think that investment is a process whereby money is grown by virtue of its participation in the market, subjects will understand themselves, by way of the neo-liberal concept of human capital, quite differently….

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History, Causation, Incidence, and Prevalence of Diseases

In this first week of class we will discuss the history, causation, incidence, and prevalence of diseases. We will trace where specific diseases have been and are at the present time. Each student will choose a specific disease to focus on for this week’s discussion. To make your choice, click into Choose a Topic for Week 1 DQ, at the bottom of this Week 1 module. Each disease can be chosen only once. You will look into the history and current status of this disease, checking reliable websites (not Wikipedia), the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, and other scholarly sites. Then, proceed onto examining causation of disease. Chapters 14 & 16 in Gordis (2014) discusses the epidemiological process of linking causes to disease, starting with association, and progressing to causation. We will conclude with looking at the incidence and prevalence of each disease

With these thoughts in mind, for this week,

1. Share with your colleagues:

• Discuss your disease condition: its historical background, current status, and incidence/prevalence at a local, state, national, and global level.
• Apply a minimum of 2 epidemiological principles that are discussed in chapters 1-3 in Gordis (2014), chapters 1 & 2 that relate to the journey of the disease through time. Has there been a change in the disease incidence and prevalence over a period of time and why?
• What is the community and global impact of the disease?
• What environmental, genetic, social, physical, psychological, or other factors have a causal disease association and why?
• What public health measures have been taken to reduce the prevalence of the disease?

2. Respond to three or more postings of your colleagues addressing different diseases, including:

• How can epidemiological principles be used in applying this knowledge to care of patients?
• What have you learned about infectious disease and epidemiology from this particular disease’s historical journey?
• Can you expand further on what your colleague posted about the disease’s impact, causes, or other contributing factors?
• What additional interdisciplinary public health measures can be taken to reduce the prevalence of the disease?

Remember the basic rules of posting:

1. You must include citations to support what you write and they must be in APA format. At least one should be another source besides your texts and readings, and follow the basic rules of not more than 5 years old and be peer-reviewed scholarly sources.
2. Emotion and intent clearly come through in this medium.
3. Be courteous, non-judgmental, and supportive, even when you disagree.
4. Postings must have substance: “I agree” or “Good posting” are examples of postings that do not meet this criteria and will not count as a required posting.
5. Always check the grading rubric as you reply to ensure you meet all criterion and earn all the points possible.
6. Review the grading rubric to ensure you are meeting all criteria.

Solution:

Epidemiology Week 1: HIV

Disease Condition

            HIV is one of the most fatal viruses ever to attack humanity, and this status is in itself guaranteed by the role that HIV plays in the onset of AIDS, which continues to claim millions of lives every year all over the world. HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system in human beings, which technically ensures that individuals are incapable of combating the disease-causing bacteria and viruses that attack an individual’s body. HIV essentially transforms its victims into a hotbed of diseases after it progresses into AIDS, and it is this combination of diseases and the inability to combat them that results in the death of 1.1 million people annually across the world (WHO, 2017).

Having been discovered in the 1980s, the true nature of HIV was unknown and the little information available about this virus greatly impaired any efforts that were taken to curb it. While the true epidemiological origins of this virus remain unknown to date, the fact that HIV was first discovered among homosexual men in the US played a central role in the perceptions that both medics and the general population held regarding this disease (CDC, 2017). As such, in its early years, many medics believed that HIV was a disease that affected only homosexual men. To further add to this position, many medics also hypothesized that the engagement of individuals in homosexuality resulted in the occurrence of the disease. From this standpoint, it became commonplace for the general public to associate HIV with homosexuality.

However, over time, this perception was changed as more and more women were diagnosed with HIV, and this forced medical professionals to reconsider their stance on the connections between HIV and homosexuality. Over time, this discovery facilitated many medics into pursuing alternative theories regarding this virus and its epidemiology especially insofar as distribution and control were concerned. In the US, approximately 1.2 million people are living with HIV, and the rates of infection have been on a steady decline over the past decade (CDC, 2017). Similarly, HIV infection has declined across other regions of the world, with Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia having the highest rates of new HIV infection and HIV/AIDS-related deaths across the world (WHO, 2017). Much of this decline in HIV infection and deaths is attributed to increased awareness of HIV, practicing safe sex, and the accessibility of anti-retroviral drugs that help AIDS patients manage the disease.

Disease Progression in Incidence and Prevalence

            There has been a significant change in the rates of HIV incidence and prevalence across the USA and the world at large in recent years. While increased awareness of the virus has helped overcome many of the stereotypes and myths regarding the transmission, infection, and management of the illness, it is the stellar epidemiological work of dedicated researchers and medical professionals that has helped combat this global epidemic. During the first few years after HIV was discovered among homosexual men, epidemiological principles provided a backbone that helped medics understand the disease and develop appropriate ways of managing it.

One of the principles used was that of contact management (Gordis, 2014). Seeing as HIV was first discovered in homosexual men, understanding the contacts that the infected individuals had with one another played a core role in managing the disease and its development through subsequent years (WHO, 2017). It is through such contact management that medics were able to prove that HIV was a disease that affected only homosexual men, seeing as some infected homosexual men had reported having sexual intercourse with heterosexual women. It is also from such the method of contact management that medics proved that HIV was transmitted through sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, exchange if blood with an infected person, and even through birth (Gordis, 2014). These discoveries had enabled the global healthcare sector to develop appropriate strategies to combat the spread of HIV within the global populace (Broeck & Brestoff, 2013). Such advances also played a core role in the development of anti-retroviral medication that has helped many infected individuals to manage the symptoms of HIV/AIDS.

The principle of case management has also played a core role in understanding the HIV virus and its role in causing AIDS (Gordis, 2014). Through the observation of various HIV-infected patients during the early years of this epidemic, research showed how HIV affects the immune system, how it reproduces, how it affects the different sexes, ethnicities, as well as what factors stand to increase the chances of infection among various social demographic groups across the world (Gordis, 2014; Smith, 2013). Through this combination of contact and case management principles in epidemiology, HIV awareness has increased across the USA and the world at large, resulting in corresponding declines in prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS (WHO, 2017). In this way, more people across the world have understood the risks of having unsafe sex, many mothers infected with HIV can now give birth to healthy and HIV-free children, and many individuals infected with HIV can manage the disease through anti-retroviral therapy to lead normal and happy lives.

Community and Global Impact

            While death remains the single greatest impact of HIV/AIDS across the world, this disease also affects the human populace on both community and global scales. For many communities, the loss of loved ones, and especially parents is devastating. The death of parents from AIDS-related illnesses leaves many children orphaned while they are still young. This deprives many children the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the benefits of growing up in loving homes. The fact that many orphaned children are often raised by a single parent or in orphanages also impairs the social and emotional development of many such children within the community (Smith, 2013). Moreover, the social stigma that often accompanies individuals for being HIV-positive can greatly impair the ability of an individual to play their role within the community fully. In some cases, such stigma even results in suicides or the abandonment of one’s family, both of which do very little to maintain the structure of the community (Smith, 2013). On a global scale, the loss of labor is perhaps the most devastating impact of HIV/AIDS. As many infected individuals struggle to combat the disease, they have less time available to work. When many HIV patients die, various economic sectors suffer from labor shortages, which ultimately either lowers the productivity of companies or increases the cost of doing business as companies are forced to pay their workers more and have them work longer hours to maintain the organization’s productivity (Smith, 2013). Either way, the global community suffers a great deal from the death or inability to work among HIV patients.

Factors with a Causal Association

            While no factors have been directly linked to causing HIV within human beings, there are a number of factors that have been found to influence the transmission of HIV within populations across the world (Broeck & Brestoff, 2013). One of the social factors that play a core role in this respect is the culture of sex and its perception within a community. In regions where sex is often viewed as taboo before marriage, there are higher cases of incidence, prevalence, and death insofar as HIV is concerned. This is mainly because this culture impairs effective sex education which then limits the number of people that practice safe sex. This is one of the reasons why many third-world countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have higher HIV prevalence, incidence and death compared to countries in Europe and North America where the culture does not view sex as being taboo (Smith, 2013). In essence, HIV does not discriminate along environmental, genetic, physical, psychological, genetic, or any other factors insofar as its transmission is concerned.

Public Health Measures

            Upon its discovery, HIV instantly became a public health dilemma. Through activist groups such as Gay Men Health Crisis (GMHC) in the 1980s, the public was made more aware of the disease (Smith, 2013). Moreover, through such activist groups, the US government was pressured into developing affordable HIV anti-retroviral drugs to help infected individuals manage the disease. Today, free HIV testing is offered in many states, sex education is offered to children in public and private schools, and anti-retroviral drugs have been made cheaper and more accessible in the US and all over the world (Smith, 2013). It is through such efforts by the public health sector that HIV has slowly transformed from being identified an instant killer disease into a fully manageable disease that can still allow one to live a happy and long life. All these public health measures have worked well to reduce the prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS.

References

Broeck, J. & Brestoff, J. (2013). Epidemiology: Principles and Practical Guidelines (1st ed.).        Dordrecht: Springer.

CDC,. (2017). HIV/AIDS | CDC. Cdc.gov. Retrieved 23 January 2017, from         https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/

Gordis, L. (2014). Epidemiology (1st ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.

Smith, R. (2013). Global HIV/AIDS activism, politics, and policy (1st ed.). Santa Barbara,         California: ABC-CLIO.

WHO,. (2017). HIV/AIDS. World Health Organization. Retrieved 25 January 2017, from         http://www.who.int/hiv/en/

Issue

A difficult quality, safety, or performance improvement issue cannot be adequately resolved without reviewing the background, research, and suggested resolutions as found in the literature. Very often, another organization or person has had similar ideas in mind and has done work that is pertinent to your issue. Examining all the current research and information available will assist you in finding other pertinent studies, which in turn will help you in directing your efforts towards your goal.

Cover the following:

• Describe the available research related to your selected quality, safety, or performance improvement issue.
• Examine what is known to positively or negatively impact the improvement issue.

Be sure to include an introduction to the research, an annotated bibliography of four to six articles, and a summary of the conclusions drawn from this research. In addition, support your statements with scholarly references and appropriate examples.

Cite all sources using the APA format.

Since the early days of hospitals and healthcare providers, there have been many methods of payment for services rendered. Cash or trade goods were the earliest forms of reimbursement. In the current healthcare environment, there are many mechanisms for payment for services.

Cover the following:

• Explain the financing system for healthcare services, addressing the myriad payment mechanisms for healthcare available in the United States.
• Describe three options available to providers for reimbursement of their services.
• Examine three approaches to decreasing healthcare costs over the last few decades.
• Conclude by examining the possible implications for savvy nurse managers.

On a separate page, cite all sources using the APA format.

The behaviour of markets and investors, the decision making in the market place and the dynamics of demand and supply in any given market cannot be determined with a hundred percent accuracy. However master minds in the past have designed various techniques and theories that help investors make a particular buying decision, or to make choices logically. These theories and techniques help today’s investors to peep into the future and make almost immaculate predictions regarding the future behaviour of the market and the ongoing trends. A lay man night view the decision making of an investor as being solely based upon speculation but in reality every move that an investor makes today in the market place is backed up by sound calculation and theories. Two of the most talked about and essential theories or concepts that are related to the market dynamics and that will be discussed at length in this assignment are Efficient Market Theory and Behavioural Finance.
Efficient Market Theory suggests that in every financial market the flow of information is very efficient and this is reflected…

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S2A                                          Influence of Peers

The influence of peers during childhood can have a long-lasting effect on a person throughout his or her life. In this assignment, keep in mind at least three different ways in which teachers and/or parents can intervene to help improve a child’s social skills and relationship with peers. It is the adult’s responsibility to enhance a relationship with peers, rather than be the relationship.

Use the information from your text to construct a PowerPoint presentation that provides your suggestions for parents/educators. In addition, give a short explanation of why these suggestions will encourage positive peer relationships. You must use at least two scholarly sources other than the textbook and required readings to support your suggestions.

The PowerPoint presentation must include:

1. Title slide (one slide)
2. A description of how and an explanation of why the influence of peers during childhood can have a long-lasting effect on a person throughout his or her life (two slides).
3. At least six slides summarizing at least three different ways in which teachers and/or parents can intervene to help improve a child’s social skills and relationship with peers. Please note that the content of each slide should appear in the notes section, while the slide itself should contain the information that would be presented to the teachers and/or parents.
4. Conclusion slide that clearly explains why the teachers and/or parents should review this material (one to two slides)
5. Reference slide with at least three scholarly sources and the course text properly cited (one slide). The references should be formatted according to APA style.

Discussion Forum 2 – Analyze Apple’s competitive advantage in the PC industry, the business strategy it used to gain this advantage, and the value chain activities that made up its business strategy. Read “Apple Inc. in 2015” (pages 1-8) and answer the following questions: 1. What type of competitive advantage did Steve Jobs pursue for Apple’s PC business, and what type of business strategy did he use to gain that competitive advantage? (Use only the information in the Apple 2015 case to answer this question. No further research is required.) 2. Explain what specific value chain activities were implemented by Steve Jobs as part of Apple’s PC business strategy and how these actions delivered a competitive advantage for that business. (Use only the information in the Apple 2015 case to answer this question. No further research is required.)

In NR700 you started generating topic ideas in preparation for your upcoming DNP Project. Taking this into consideration, briefly explain the practice issue you are interested in addressing and the change you want to implement to improve practice. Even though you can only use quantitative methodology in your eventual DNP project, for this discussion, explain how you could approach your project using quantitative, qualitative, as well as mixed methods approaches. What type of alterations in your project would you need to make based on the type of methodology you employed and why?

Minimum 2 references not older than 3 years and they must have doi numbers in the references.

I will attach my picot statement and papers from last class to guide the subject matter

Assignment Overview

Strong cognitive abilities are usually considered a very important and positive trait to seek when hiring new employees.  However, one police department decided not to hire those who scored too high on a cognitive skills exam on the grounds that people who are too intelligent will not be satisfied with their job as a police officer and will end up quitting (Naish, 2013).  This of course is a controversial policy that resulted in at least one lawsuit.

For this assignment we will be looking at individual characteristics that may predict job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance for police officers.  Being a police officer is a demanding job that requires strong physical capacity, sharp mental capacity to deal with difficult and life threatening situations, and strong interpersonal skills in order to effectively work with the communities they protect and serve.  The issue of what traits to look for in police officer recruiting is a controversial one.

Review the background materials on individual traits, personality, and attitudes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment.  Then read these articles on law enforcement recruitment with the issues in the background materials in mind:

Naish, R. (April, 2013). Too clever by half. E.Learning Age,  8. [ProQuest]

Means, R., Lowry, K., & Conroy, D. (2011). Hiring: Background investigation, part 3. Law & Order, 59(3), 12-13. [Proquest]

Reaume, S. (2009). Improved hiring for child protective investigators. Law & Order, 57(2), 19-20,22,24. [ProQuest] 

Case Assignment

Now suppose a police department has hired you as a consultant to come up with an exam to assess personality and other traits of applicants to the department.  The department is looking to hire applicants who meet the following criteria:

1. Are likely to have strong job satisfaction and organizational commitment to the police department after they are hired.
2. Will be able to work effectively under stressful and sometimes life threatening situations, can make good decisions under pressure.
3. Will be able to present a positive image of the police department in the communities they serve and maintain strong relations with community leaders.

Using what you’ve learned in the background materials about personality traits such as the Big Five Personality traits and factors that influence job satisfaction and organizational behavior, come up with a four to five page paper addressing the following issues:

1. Do you think cognitive abilities should be part of the exam?  Do you agree with the police department mentioned in Naish (2013) that there should be an upper limit to cognitive abilities, or should the department try to hire those with the highest cognitive abilities? Consider the concepts of ability testing in Chapter 3 of Nair (2010) as part of your answer.
2. What personality traits do you think will best predict a police officer’s ability to handle stressful situations in the field and make decisions under stress?  Consider the Big Five traits as well as any other personality traits that you read about in Chapter 6 of Nair (2010). Be specific about what traits the department should consider and why these traits will be associated with an ability to work under stress.
3. What personality traits will best predict an ability to work cooperatively with their coworkers as well as with members of the community they serve?  Again, be specific about which traits the department should consider and why these traits will be associated with a good ability to work with others.  Use Chapter 6 of Nair (2010) as your source of information about Big Five and other personality traits to consider.

Assignment Expectations

• Answer the assignment questions directly
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions, don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials
• Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred.  If you find an article on the internet, make sure it is from a credible source.

Here is the solution:

Cognitive Abilities

            In an effort to develop and build a competent and able police force, cognitive ability of recruits cannot be ignored. This is because police work demands specific physical and cognitive skills and abilities to be performed effectively. As such, potential police officers being recruited should be measured in terms of their cognitive abilities to determine whether they are a good fit for the positions available within the police force. While testing recruits for cognitive abilities is essential, it may also limit the ability of the police force to consider other important factors such as physical ability, and the ability-job fit of said recruits. For this reason, I do not confer with the fact that there should be limits imposed on requisite cognitive abilities among potential pol ice officers. This is because of a two main reasons. First, excluding a number of candidates based on the fact that the show exemplary cognitive ability denies the police force and opportunity to have the best possible officers it can, which may eventually work towards watering down the quality of officers that the force recruits.

Secondly, other individual factors must also be considered before candidates can be ruled out on grounds of exemplary cognitive ability. Issues such as physical ability and the congruency of the individual’s ability and the job description (the ability-job fit) must also be considered (Nair, 2010). If an individual demonstrates the requisite capabilities in these two factors, then exemplary cognitive ability should be used to deny them the opportunity to be recruited by the force. In this way, the police force can always ensure it recruits well-rounded individuals, seeing as no limits are imposed on the standards recruits are required to meet. From this approach, the force is likely to recruit individuals that will demonstrate commitment and job satisfaction, much to the pleasure of the police force.

Personality Traits and Stressful Situation

            For many police officers, learning to handle stressful situations especially while in the field is a valuable skill that can potentially decide whether the officer lives or dies. In the field, police officers have to contend with endless high pressure situations, many of which also include the real possibility of life loss. In this respect, police officers that are recruited must possess specific personality traits that will allow them to comfortably adapt to the vast array of situations and dangers that they are exposed to in the field (Barrick, Mount, & Li, 2012). Moreover, these personality traits will effectively guide their decision-making processes, allowing them to make the best decisions to handle the stressful situation and protect their lives as well.

In light of the Big Five traits, three are essential to a police officer’s work in stressful and high pressure situations. Additionally, these traits serve to allow for the making of logical and clear decisions that make police work effective while still ensuring safety of officers. The first trait is adjustment (Naish, 2013). This possession of this trait allows officers to react in the best possible way emotionally, such that their emotional responses do not interfere with carrying out police work, especially in the field. Recruiting officers that are stable and confident is essential to the efficacy of the force (Nair, 2010). Seeing as most officers are armed, and that they may regularly confront high pressure and dangerous situations in the field, a stable and confident officer is the best possible accomplice to police work. Such officers are likely to approach dangerous situations very calmly and confidently. This prevents them from making mistakes that may end up claiming civilian or their own lives. Individuals that are on the lower end of this spectrum are likely to be unstable, and greatly compromise police activity.

Secondly, intellectual openness is a vital trait for police officers. Possessing a high degree of intellectual openness allows officers to be original, curious, and imaginative in the carrying out of their tasks. This trait is most valuable in the field, and in planning efforts aimed at mitigating crime. In the field setting, police officers are forced to combat offenders that may display a varying degree of traits ranging from complete control to utter impulsivity. It is the duty of officers to respond accordingly to such offenders, and develop strategies of handling such situations on-the-spot. While officers are often coursed on handling such scenarios, no two scenarios share the same circumstances or are perpetuated by the same characters, hence the need for imaginative approaches when dealing with such scenarios. Intellectual openness allows officers to improvise (John, Robinson, & Pervin, 2011), devise plans, and implement them while in the field in a short span of time. This ability has bene credited with saving many lives.

Third, officers need to display conscientiousness as individuals. The ability of officers to be dependable, organized, and methodical in their approach allows them to operate within the confines of the law, while still leveraging their skill and expertise to best tackle the issues they face (Naish, 2013). Coupled with high self-esteem, this combination of traits in an officer allows them to develop appropriate plans, and follow through on them, while displaying a high level of confidence in their ability and their plan (Nair, 2010). This conscientiousness prevents officers from making impulsive decisions that can easily endanger their lives as well as those of civilians. In essence, a combination of the above-mentioned traits allows police officers to make sound judgements in the field, even while working under a great deal of stress and pressure.

Personality Traits and Cooperation at Work

            Police officers exist to protect the general populace, and ensure their safety from possible harm. As such, police officers that are recruited must demonstrate the ability to work with other colleagues, as well as members of the public in their efforts (Wolff & Kim, 2012). Seeing as this is essentially a people-based profession, officers must possess the requisite people skills that are necessary to making them effective when engaging with individuals in the course of their work. Three main traits that officers should possess include intellectual openness, agreeableness, and sociability.

Intellectual openness is important in police work because it allows officers to develop greater appreciation of many aspects of the society, which plays a significant role when said officers work with the general public. Their appreciation of diverse issues may allow them to easily bond with members of the public (Nair, 2010), which may work well in the event that the officer requires certain information from said members. By establishing a connection between him or herself and the public, police-civilian cooperation in that case is likely to increase. In the same manner, it serves to prevent police officers from making statements that may offend a particular section or group of the public. Given that officers are public servants; their neutrality is essential to their work. Appearing to choose sides could very easily stifle police-civilian relationship, which may be detrimental to performing police work since many officers rely on public cooperation to effectively combat crime.

Agreeableness and sociability work hand in hand insofar as police work is concerned. For many years and to some demographics in society, the police force has long been feared and characterized as oppressive, which greatly impairs the image of the police force, in addition to decreasing police-civilian cooperation. Having officers that are agreeable and sociable allows them to easily adapt to various situations as they see fit (Nair, 2010), and in particular when they are not working in uniform. These traits improve the likelihood of police officers building networks of contacts and informants, who are vital to much of the work that police officers conduct (Wolff & Kim, 2012). This also allows officers to blend into the society seamlessly when they need to, and especially so when they are carrying out important police work that may be undercover or covert in nature.

It is also worth noting that emotional intelligence is a critical personality trait in police officers. The ability of officers to consider the feelings and emotions of the general public or of suspects is at the core of controlled police work. Officers should demonstrate a strong ability to react to conditions, and individuals in a relaxed manner, and that they are always considerate of the emotions and feelings of others. This trait is fundamental towards differentiating between dangerous suspects and harmless civilians, as well as ensuring objectivity within officers is guaranteed. The presence of officers that essentially lack emotional intelligence is detrimental to the quality of service that they will offer to the great public. As such, officers must possess emotional intelligence, which can greatly enable them help their colleagues, and civilians in overcoming grief in death-involved cases. This not only facilitates coordination between officers and the public, but also contributes towards better police service delivery.

In this way, the efficiency of police officers and efficacy of the police force as a whole is greatly improved, which directly contribute towards a safer and more protected society. This, in turn, affects other aspects of the society, which contribute towards the general improvement of the society, and in a manner that facilitates progress and development. For these reasons, the consideration of personality traits during the recruitment of police officers cannot be ignored. In this case, I would recommend that the exams offered to recruits greatly test for personality traits that are likely to facilitate the recruitment of officers that will display high levels of commitment, job satisfaction, and a string ability to work under stress and pressure. Through the above-mentioned ways, workers can develop a strong sense of cooperation with fellow workers, much to the benefit of the general public.

References

Barrick, M., Mount, M., & Li, N. (2012). The Theory of Purposeful Work Behavior: The Role of Personality, Higher-Order Goals, and Job Characteristics. Academy Of Management     Review. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amr.10.0479

John, O., Robinson, R., & Pervin, L. (2011). Handbook of personality. New York: Guilford.

Nair, S. (2010). Organisational behaviour. Mumbai: Himalaya Pub. House.

Naish, R. (2013, 04). Too clever by half. E.Learning Age, , 8. Retrieved from    http://search.proquest.com/docview/1355487256?accountid=45049

Wolff, H. & Kim, S. (2012). The relationship between networking behaviors and the Big Five     personality dimensions. Career Development International, 17(1), 43-66.             http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620431211201328

You will follow one firm of your choice for the entire session. You will analyze how this firm makes economic decisions as well as how events in the economy affect the firm. Please choose ONE Fortune 500 firm from the following list (feel free to use ANY firm, it does not have to be in the top 10):

Fortune 500

After choosing one firm, address the following questions in a 5-page essay:

1. What is the organization you are going to use? Why do you think it will be an interesting focus for your economic analysis?
2. What are positive and normative statements? Describe the difference between these two types of statements in your own words. Write at least ONE positive and ONE normative statement about your firm.
3. Find any current event/article regarding your firm from an online resource (nytimes.com, online.wsj.com, etc). Be sure to reference this article in your paper. Summarize the issue and how it relates to at least ONE of this module’s economic concepts (opportunity cost, scarcity, factors of production, diminishing returns, spillover principle, etc.)

SLP Assignment Expectations

Use concepts from the modular background readings, as well as any good-quality resources you find from the Trident online library or other Internet search engines. Be sure to cite all sources within the text and provide a reference list at the end of the paper.

Length: 4 pages, double-spaced and typed.

The following items will be assessed:

• Your ability to perform an economic analysis of a firm of your own choice.
• Some in-text references to the modular background materials (APA formatting not required).
• The essay should address each element of the assignment. Remember to support your answers with solid references.

The Solution:

Economic Analysis

Question 1

Economic analysis is one of the most ideal techniques of determining the financial health of a company. In this paper, the company of interest is JP Morgan Chase Bank. It is a financial institution whose core business ranges from providing loans to both small and large institutions to investment banking. It is one of the oldest financial institution in the history of USA with an asset base of approximately $2.4 trillion (JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2017). Further, it has operations in more than 100 different countries in the world hence it is a large employer. The stock of the organization is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The reason for using JP Morgan Chase Bank is that it has been in existence for a long time (JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2017). The company has survived some of the worst economic depressions in the American history and still managed to be listed as one of the current tier 1 banks. There is plenty to be learnt from an analysis of the institution since its growth since inception is provides insight on the business life cycle. Further, it has managed to remain profitable despite having reached the peak stage. As such, it is suitable for a detailed and comprehensive economic analysis.

It also presents an interesting focus due to its availability of data. Information on the company is freely and readily available on its website and other newspaper articles. Due to its size and the large shareholder base, the company is of interest to many individuals. As such, data about its governance, its earnings and other key financial elements are readily available (JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2017). The economic analysis is, therefore, made easier since the relevant data is accessible to the researcher. Additionally, the brand awareness of JP Morgan Chase Bank makes it easy to evaluate the opinion of the public towards the company.

Question 2

In economics, positive statements are statements that are based on facts. Since there exists data that supports the statement, it is assumed to be objective (Mankiw, 2015). They are reliable since different analysts can test the point being put across and either approve or disprove. Over time, individuals have argued that policies should be set based on positive statements. They can be adjusted to fit the current data hence they remain relevant in making decisions. It should be noted that positive statements are not based on the herd mentality and do not blindly approve the public’s opinion. They are, therefore, reliable and objective.

Normative statements are statements that are based on the opinions of people (Caplin & Schotter, 2010). There is no underlying data that can be tested to either prove or disprove them. They are considered subjective and value based since there is no real foundation to their existence except for the attitude of individuals towards a particular situation. There have been instances where normative statements have been shared on numerous occasions making people believe that they are factual. However, it is important to note that they describe the opinions of different people and do not serve as a true reflection of the existing circumstances.

One of the main differences between normative and positive statements is that positive deals with facts whereas normative deals with opinions (Mankiw, 2015). As earlier described, positive statements are objective and have data that can be tested to provide a conclusive result. Analysis by data is more concrete since it a true reflection of people’s tastes and preferences. It can be used in determining the potential results of an election since the data collected will assist in modelling the people’s real view. However, normative statements are subjective and value based. An example can be given of a campaign manager who voices that his or her candidate will win the election without considering any real data.

The second difference between the two branches of economics is that positive does not have to be correct whereas normative has to be correct. Researchers are able to test positive statements (Caplin & Schotter, 2010). They can build models on which they can test the available data. As such, the theory spanned can be approved or disproved. However, it is impossible to test normative statements. There is no data to support or disprove the opinion that is being held by the masses. As a result, should the statements be incorrect it could lead to the spread of propaganda.

The final difference is that positive statements explain the cause and effect relationship between variables whereas normative statements pass value judgement (Mankiw, 2015). There exists a relationship between the elements of a positive statement. An example can be given of a declaration that an increase in income leads to a higher purchasing power. In this case, the independent variable is the increase in income and the dependent is the purchasing power. A study conducted to test the validity of that positive statement will highlight a cause and effect relationship between the two variables. The same logic is not applicable in normative economics.

Both positive and normative statements can be identified from a study of the JP Morgan Chase Bank. A positive declaration will state that approximately 50% of the bank’s revenue is derived from servicing the small businesses. This theory can be tested since the total revenue of the bank in a given financial period is drawn from its financial statements and a breakdown of the different sources of revenue is available. One can then calculate and determine if indeed 50% of the company’s revenue is obtained from its relationship with small businesses. An example of a normative statement would be JP Morgan should expand the sphere of its work in data analytics. It is subjective and value based.

Question 3

According to an article in the Guardian by Helmore (2016), JP Morgan Chase Bank intends to raise its minimum wage by 20%. The current minimum wage for employees lies at $10.15 an hour. The management plan to raise it to between $12 and $16.50 an hour depending on the location of the branch. This initiative will affect approximately eighteen thousand employees. Such a move by the management relates to the spillover principle since an increase in the minimum wage of the employees increases their purchasing power and contributes towards economic growth and development.

Conclusion

The decisions made by the management of companies put into practice the economic theories and models. They employ techniques such as the spillover principle and the opportunity cost and this has a general effect on the growth and development of the country. In relation to positive and normative statements, it is important that individuals identify the differences since it helps them understand whether a statement is a true reflection of the financial situation of the company or not.

References

Caplin, A., & Schotter, A. (2010). The foundations of positive and normative economics: A handbook. Oxford University Press.

Helmore, E. (2016). JPMorgan Chase raises its minimum wage by 20%. Retrieved from The

Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (2017). JPMorgan Chase & Co. Retrieved from JPMorgan Chase & Co.: https://www.jpmorganchase.com

Mankiw, N. G. (2015). Essentials of economics. CengageBrain.com.