The corruption perceptions index (CPI) is a comparative assessment of integrity performance for a variety of countries.

• What is CPI? What is its purpose?
• What is the value of this index?
• What are the trends or similarities between countries with the highest and lowest CPI 2011 scores?
• What can be done to overcome corruption in the global marketplace?

Research three trade restrictions currently in place by the U.S. and basis the research, answer the following questions:

• Are these restrictions a tariff, subsidy, import restraint, voluntary export restraint, or embargo?
• What is the purpose of this restriction? Is the restriction achieving its purpose? Why or why not?

Please include references in APA format

the focus of the research paper will be a relatively recent case by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Wal-Mart Stores v. Samara Brothers, Wal-Mart stores contracted with a clothing manufacturer, Judy-Philippine, Inc., to copy designs by another well-known company, Samara Brothers, Inc., and to manufacture clothes for Wal-Mart. Samara Brothers learned of this copying and sued for Trademark infringement.

The question that this case focuses on is whether the design of the garment itself is protected under Trademark law when it has not been registered. In general, a trademark does not have to be registered to be awarded protection under trademark law. However, whether the design of a garment, including familiar objects such as flowers, can also be protected under this law.

In your paper, address the following questions:

• How were prior cases on the question of trademark protection addressed by the Court?
• Did any federal statute play a substantial role in the decision of the Court?
• Explain the Wal-Mart decision. What was the holding and what did the Court base this holding on?
• Was the holding of the court broad or narrow? What do you perceive the impact of this case will be on the industry?

Read the case “Social Status:  The Rise and Fall of MYSpace” at the end of Chapter 6.

Answer the following questions and/or statements in detail:

1. Was it reasonable for Facebook to initially ignore a segment of its market when MySpace was so big and Facebook so small?  Use credible sources to support and explain.

2. Friendster turned down a $30 million acquisition offer, and MySpace accepted one for $580 million.  Both decisions are considered to have hampered their ability to compete with Facebook. Why?  Use credible sources to support and explain.

3. Should they have taken the money?  When and how do you know it’s time to sell?  Use credible sources to support and explain.

4. MySpace later became known as the social networking site for music and entertainment connections. Do you think it can build a highly profitable business around this niche still with the advent of Facebook and other entrants into the marketplace? Explain in detail and support your answers using sources of research.  Use credible sources to support and explain.

Be sure to property cite your sources using APA 6th citations rules as well as an APA “References”(bibliography) section at the end of your paper.

Module 2 Assignment 2: Outsourcing Federal Healthcare

Early in their existence, many businesses handle their activities internally. As businesses mature and grow, they often find competitive advantage in the specialization provided by outside firms. This trend is particularly frequent in industries such as information technology (IT) and healthcare.

The U.S. federal government delivers healthcare through its two main insurance programs: Medicare and Medicaid. In these programs, private healthcare providers are reimbursed by government insurers for health services delivered to insured citizens.

• Visit the Web sites of Medicare and Medicaid programs for more information about them.
• Review the article, “Outsourcing: Assessing the Risks and Benefits for Organizations, Sectors, and Nations” by Harland, Knight, Lamming, and Walker (2005). The conceptual framework in this article shows how corporate strategy is influenced by regulation under the decision node of policy issues (p. 844).

Based on your analysis of the article and the Web sites, address the following:   

• Identify the main stakeholders in the US federal healthcare system. In your view, what are their respective goals, wants, and needs with regard to public health?
• Analyze the current status faced by the federal government in terms of the strategy being used in its healthcare system.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses of the strategy as well as opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) present in the external environment.
• Propose a new policy to be implemented for optimizing the use of outsourcing in healthcare services to private hospitals and healthcare practices in order to provide medical services to the bulk of the US population. This policy should include the following objectives:
• Lowering costs of the program to reduce federal spending
• Providing highest quality treatment for the insured
• Providing consumer-oriented choice
• Lowering treatment costs for consumers
• Based on your proposal of a new policy, describe the benefits for at least one stakeholder group you identified in the first question. Discuss how your outsourcing strategy objectives satisfy the wants and needs of the specific stakeholder(s).
• Explain the likely outcomes of the outsourcing policy you recommended. Which stakeholder group benefits the most and which benefits the least? What are the strategic tradeoffs implied by your outsourcing recommendation?

Write a 3–4-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M2_A2.doc.

.

Harland, C., Knight, L., Lamming, R., & Walker, H. (2005). Outsourcing: Assessing the risks and benefits for organizations, sectors, and nations. International Journal of Operations & Production Management , 25 (9/10), 831–850. (ProQuest Document ID: 232337858)
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/
232337858?accountid=34899

For assistance with any problems you may have when completing this assignment—OR—to offer your assistance to classmates, please use the Problems and Solutions Discussion area located through the left side navigation link

Due Week 6 and worth 300 points

You are the HR manager for a small retail company that sells a high volume of products over the Internet.  Your company is growing rapidly due to increased Internet sales. Your company prides itself on providing high-quality products and services. The Customer Service department is integral to the success of the company. Over the past few months, the Customer Service department has been unable to fill its openings for Customer Service Representative positions. You suspect there could be a number of reasons for this, but you know you first need to look at the job, the work flow, the knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience the company is seeking to ensure the job reflects the current workload and expectations.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Examine at least three (3) approaches that you can take as the HR manager to conduct a job analysis of the Customer Service Representative position. Suggest the major pros and cons of each selected approach. Recommend the approach that would be most effective in conducting the job analysis for this organization. Justify your recommendation. 
2. Select two (2) out of the four (4) approaches to job design that are the most important for you to consider. Suggest two (2) challenges that you may encounter when designing a job using each of the selected approaches. Support your response with specific examples to illustrate the potential advantages and disadvantages of using each approach.
3. Using the four (4) approaches to job design, create two (2) strategies that the organization can implement to attract and select qualified applicants for the Customer Service Representative position. Justify the main reasons that the selected strategies would be effective.
4. Propose three (3) ways that you can use the information obtained from a job analysis to measure the performance of Customer Service Representatives. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. Use at least four (4) quality academic (peer-reviewed) resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.  

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

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

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Analyze issues involved in job design, resource planning, and recruitment.
• Evaluate an organization’s approaches to and procedures for training employees to meet organizational goals.
• Examine performance management issues and processes.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in human resource management foundations.
• Write clearly and concisely about human resource management foundations using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills. Click here to access the rubric for this assignment.