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    [>Management homework help](https://www.sweetstudy.com/fields/business-finance-management) **files (2)** – ## Assignment9InstructionsHM.docx – ## TotalQualityManagementReadingsHM.docx **## Assignment9InstructionsHM.docx** Assignment 9: Investigate a PESTEL Analysis for Ethical Globalization Efforts …

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    **files (2)**

    – ## Assignment9InstructionsHM.docx

    – ## TotalQualityManagementReadingsHM.docx

    **## Assignment9InstructionsHM.docx**

    Assignment 9: Investigate a PESTEL Analysis for Ethical Globalization Efforts

    **Background**

    Organizational ethics is extremely important to the success of any organization. In your program, you learned about globalization, sustainability, and technology. Consider that the company that you are running in the simulation was going to move to the global environment.

    Part of that process was learning about various models that help you to analyze business and industry. These models provide apple-to-apple comparisons across companies for consistency in your analysis. Hopefully these have proven useful during your time in this program, and will continue to aid throughout your career. For this assignment, you will utilize a well established model for examining different cultures, the PESTEL model.

    **Instructions**

    Using this modules course readings and lecture, complete the following:

    · Choose a country that the organization may open operations in and analyze that country in terms of its political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, ecological/environmental, and legal (PESTEL model) aspects; and then compare with the same aspects in the United States.

    · Determine if there are cultural or ethical differences that you would need to consider when operating in that country. How will the company have to change its operations in order to fit into the culture of the country?

    **Length**:  2-3 pages, not including title page and references

    **References**: Supplement this weeks’ readings with a minimum of 3 scholarly, scholar-practitioner (Strategy & Business, California Management Review, Sloan Management Review, and Harvard Business Review) and or government sources from 2020 to present.

    The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards, and adhere to the University's Academic Integrity Policy.

    **## TotalQualityManagementReadingsHM.docx**

    **Total Quality Management**

    Kong, et.al., (2025) explained, “Total quality management (TQM) is an integrated organizational effort designed to improve quality at every level of the enterprise” . The American Society for Quality (ASQ) defines TQM as “a management approach to longterm success through customer satisfaction”. This mindset, where all management and employees consistently look for ways to improve aspects of the organization is inclusive of all organizational members.

    The mindset is a longterm system in which improving customer satisfaction is paramount. This type of culture requires the involvement of everyone within an organization. TQM relies heavily on a strategic approach to reaching organizational goals and decision making based on facts and data.

    Customer satisfaction implies that the products or services customers buy meet customers’ actual needs. Companies conduct market and consumer research to determine precisely what those needs are and to ultimately obtain their patronage, Companies then invest in activities that better align the products with the customers’ needs.

    Customers might look for lower prices, so activities that reduce costs could be explored so the price can be lowered; for example, improving quality on the production line to reduce defects or finding a supplier that provides lowercost materials. Performance may also interest customers; for example, Intel and Apple have engaged in a decadeslong battle to make faster technology devices.

    There has been access to TQM initiatives in the simulation since Week 4, round 4 of the competition.

    This lesson, you will examine the TQM initiatives in your CAPSIM company; each has its benefits and will help you better to align your products with the customers’ buying criteria.

    These are the 8 Elements of TQM according to asq.org:

    **Customer-focused. Accordion 1 of 8.**

    The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.

    **Total employee involvement. Accordion 2 of 8.**

    All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment.

    **Process-centered. Accordion 3 of 8.**

    A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.

    **Integrated system. Accordion 4 of 8.**

    Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.

    · Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.

    · An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

    **Strategic and systematic approach. Accordion 5 of 8.**

    A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.

    **Continual improvement. Accordion 6 of 8.**

    A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.

    **Fact-based decision making. Accordion 7 of 8.**

    In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.

    **Communications. Accordion 8 of 8.**

    During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

    **Organizational Culture and Ethics**

    Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author widely regarded as the father of modern management. His ideas fundamentally shaped the way organizations, especially businesses and nonprofits, think about leadership, strategy, and social responsibility.

    To Drucker, ethics and integrity were the bedrock of all business and personal practices. He recognized that there were differences in cultures and many challenges in operating from this bedrock (Cohen, 2020).

    Peter Drucker argued that belief is the only genuine foundation for ethical behavior: laws, rules, or external incentives are necessary but not sufficient; what truly matters is the internal conviction of what is right. More recent perspectives, however, such as those presented by Chen et al. (2025), move beyond these belief- or principle-driven foundations toward multi-dimensional models of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Chen and colleagues show that CSR in international business today is shaped by contextual variables such as industry type, cultural expectations, stakeholder pressure, and technological innovation. Their work illustrates how ethics and responsibility have evolved from singular, internal convictions to dynamic, interdependent frameworks that adapt to global and institutional complexity. Organizational leaders must ensure that they are always acting in an ethical manner, regardless of the business situation.

    From a historical business perspective, in 1494, the Medici Bank in Florence, Italy, became insolvent over the Medici family's misuse of bank funds. Enron closed in 2001 after it was discovered that large losses were illegally hidden by executives and board members. Most recently in short-term gains due to unethical practices are never worth the long-term losses – the examples of misconduct above, and in other cases, losses to owners and investors, and in some cases even jail time for the perpetrators.

    Businesses embarking on a new venture, whether home or abroad, need some structure that provides a consistent format for analysis. A tool that is frequently used to examine the environment is called PEST, meaning Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Technological. This model has been expanded to PESTEL, which also includes Ecological/Environmental Factors and Legal Factors.

    This module’s readings will provide an overview of PESTEL . In earlier modules, you used SWOT and the 5 Forces model to look at your company. In this module, you will look at the external global environment in more detail using the PESTEL model.

    **References**

    ASQ. (n.d.). What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?
    _ASQ_.

    Chen, S., Zhang, J. & Tan, H. Comparing the Effects of Internationalization on CSR in Service and Non-Service MNEs.
    _Manag Int Rev 65_, 459–485 (2025).
    [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6)

    Cohen, W. (2020, February 13). Peter F. Drucker on doing the right thing.
    _Corporate Learning Network_. Retrieved from
    [https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing](https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing)

    Kong, X., Wang, H., Chen, Y., Luo, J., Xie, T., Peng, M., Ding, M., & Li, X. (2025). Innovative application of total quality management in sustainable tourism development: framework development and empirical analysis.
    _Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12_, Article 1055.
    [https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6](https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6)

    **## TotalQualityManagementReadingsHM.docx**

    **Total Quality Management**

    Kong, et.al., (2025) explained, “Total quality management (TQM) is an integrated organizational effort designed to improve quality at every level of the enterprise” . The American Society for Quality (ASQ) defines TQM as “a management approach to longterm success through customer satisfaction”. This mindset, where all management and employees consistently look for ways to improve aspects of the organization is inclusive of all organizational members.

    The mindset is a longterm system in which improving customer satisfaction is paramount. This type of culture requires the involvement of everyone within an organization. TQM relies heavily on a strategic approach to reaching organizational goals and decision making based on facts and data.

    Customer satisfaction implies that the products or services customers buy meet customers’ actual needs. Companies conduct market and consumer research to determine precisely what those needs are and to ultimately obtain their patronage, Companies then invest in activities that better align the products with the customers’ needs.

    Customers might look for lower prices, so activities that reduce costs could be explored so the price can be lowered; for example, improving quality on the production line to reduce defects or finding a supplier that provides lowercost materials. Performance may also interest customers; for example, Intel and Apple have engaged in a decadeslong battle to make faster technology devices.

    There has been access to TQM initiatives in the simulation since Week 4, round 4 of the competition.

    This lesson, you will examine the TQM initiatives in your CAPSIM company; each has its benefits and will help you better to align your products with the customers’ buying criteria.

    These are the 8 Elements of TQM according to asq.org:

    **Customer-focused. Accordion 1 of 8.**

    The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.

    **Total employee involvement. Accordion 2 of 8.**

    All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment.

    **Process-centered. Accordion 3 of 8.**

    A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.

    **Integrated system. Accordion 4 of 8.**

    Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.

    · Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.

    · An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

    **Strategic and systematic approach. Accordion 5 of 8.**

    A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.

    **Continual improvement. Accordion 6 of 8.**

    A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.

    **Fact-based decision making. Accordion 7 of 8.**

    In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.

    **Communications. Accordion 8 of 8.**

    During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

    **Organizational Culture and Ethics**

    Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author widely regarded as the father of modern management. His ideas fundamentally shaped the way organizations, especially businesses and nonprofits, think about leadership, strategy, and social responsibility.

    To Drucker, ethics and integrity were the bedrock of all business and personal practices. He recognized that there were differences in cultures and many challenges in operating from this bedrock (Cohen, 2020).

    Peter Drucker argued that belief is the only genuine foundation for ethical behavior: laws, rules, or external incentives are necessary but not sufficient; what truly matters is the internal conviction of what is right. More recent perspectives, however, such as those presented by Chen et al. (2025), move beyond these belief- or principle-driven foundations toward multi-dimensional models of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Chen and colleagues show that CSR in international business today is shaped by contextual variables such as industry type, cultural expectations, stakeholder pressure, and technological innovation. Their work illustrates how ethics and responsibility have evolved from singular, internal convictions to dynamic, interdependent frameworks that adapt to global and institutional complexity. Organizational leaders must ensure that they are always acting in an ethical manner, regardless of the business situation.

    From a historical business perspective, in 1494, the Medici Bank in Florence, Italy, became insolvent over the Medici family's misuse of bank funds. Enron closed in 2001 after it was discovered that large losses were illegally hidden by executives and board members. Most recently in short-term gains due to unethical practices are never worth the long-term losses – the examples of misconduct above, and in other cases, losses to owners and investors, and in some cases even jail time for the perpetrators.

    Businesses embarking on a new venture, whether home or abroad, need some structure that provides a consistent format for analysis. A tool that is frequently used to examine the environment is called PEST, meaning Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Technological. This model has been expanded to PESTEL, which also includes Ecological/Environmental Factors and Legal Factors.

    This module’s readings will provide an overview of PESTEL . In earlier modules, you used SWOT and the 5 Forces model to look at your company. In this module, you will look at the external global environment in more detail using the PESTEL model.

    **References**

    ASQ. (n.d.). What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?
    _ASQ_.

    Chen, S., Zhang, J. & Tan, H. Comparing the Effects of Internationalization on CSR in Service and Non-Service MNEs.
    _Manag Int Rev 65_, 459–485 (2025).
    [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6)

    Cohen, W. (2020, February 13). Peter F. Drucker on doing the right thing.
    _Corporate Learning Network_. Retrieved from
    [https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing](https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing)

    Kong, X., Wang, H., Chen, Y., Luo, J., Xie, T., Peng, M., Ding, M., & Li, X. (2025). Innovative application of total quality management in sustainable tourism development: framework development and empirical analysis.
    _Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12_, Article 1055.
    [https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6](https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6)

    **## Assignment9InstructionsHM.docx**

    Assignment 9: Investigate a PESTEL Analysis for Ethical Globalization Efforts

    **Background**

    Organizational ethics is extremely important to the success of any organization. In your program, you learned about globalization, sustainability, and technology. Consider that the company that you are running in the simulation was going to move to the global environment.

    Part of that process was learning about various models that help you to analyze business and industry. These models provide apple-to-apple comparisons across companies for consistency in your analysis. Hopefully these have proven useful during your time in this program, and will continue to aid throughout your career. For this assignment, you will utilize a well established model for examining different cultures, the PESTEL model.

    **Instructions**

    Using this modules course readings and lecture, complete the following:

    · Choose a country that the organization may open operations in and analyze that country in terms of its political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, ecological/environmental, and legal (PESTEL model) aspects; and then compare with the same aspects in the United States.

    · Determine if there are cultural or ethical differences that you would need to consider when operating in that country. How will the company have to change its operations in order to fit into the culture of the country?

    **Length**:  2-3 pages, not including title page and references

    **References**: Supplement this weeks’ readings with a minimum of 3 scholarly, scholar-practitioner (Strategy & Business, California Management Review, Sloan Management Review, and Harvard Business Review) and or government sources from 2020 to present.

    The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards, and adhere to the University's Academic Integrity Policy.

    **## TotalQualityManagementReadingsHM.docx**

    **Total Quality Management**

    Kong, et.al., (2025) explained, “Total quality management (TQM) is an integrated organizational effort designed to improve quality at every level of the enterprise” . The American Society for Quality (ASQ) defines TQM as “a management approach to longterm success through customer satisfaction”. This mindset, where all management and employees consistently look for ways to improve aspects of the organization is inclusive of all organizational members.

    The mindset is a longterm system in which improving customer satisfaction is paramount. This type of culture requires the involvement of everyone within an organization. TQM relies heavily on a strategic approach to reaching organizational goals and decision making based on facts and data.

    Customer satisfaction implies that the products or services customers buy meet customers’ actual needs. Companies conduct market and consumer research to determine precisely what those needs are and to ultimately obtain their patronage, Companies then invest in activities that better align the products with the customers’ needs.

    Customers might look for lower prices, so activities that reduce costs could be explored so the price can be lowered; for example, improving quality on the production line to reduce defects or finding a supplier that provides lowercost materials. Performance may also interest customers; for example, Intel and Apple have engaged in a decadeslong battle to make faster technology devices.

    There has been access to TQM initiatives in the simulation since Week 4, round 4 of the competition.

    This lesson, you will examine the TQM initiatives in your CAPSIM company; each has its benefits and will help you better to align your products with the customers’ buying criteria.

    These are the 8 Elements of TQM according to asq.org:

    **Customer-focused. Accordion 1 of 8.**

    The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.

    **Total employee involvement. Accordion 2 of 8.**

    All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment.

    **Process-centered. Accordion 3 of 8.**

    A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.

    **Integrated system. Accordion 4 of 8.**

    Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.

    · Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.

    · An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

    **Strategic and systematic approach. Accordion 5 of 8.**

    A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.

    **Continual improvement. Accordion 6 of 8.**

    A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.

    **Fact-based decision making. Accordion 7 of 8.**

    In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.

    **Communications. Accordion 8 of 8.**

    During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

    **Organizational Culture and Ethics**

    Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author widely regarded as the father of modern management. His ideas fundamentally shaped the way organizations, especially businesses and nonprofits, think about leadership, strategy, and social responsibility.

    To Drucker, ethics and integrity were the bedrock of all business and personal practices. He recognized that there were differences in cultures and many challenges in operating from this bedrock (Cohen, 2020).

    Peter Drucker argued that belief is the only genuine foundation for ethical behavior: laws, rules, or external incentives are necessary but not sufficient; what truly matters is the internal conviction of what is right. More recent perspectives, however, such as those presented by Chen et al. (2025), move beyond these belief- or principle-driven foundations toward multi-dimensional models of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Chen and colleagues show that CSR in international business today is shaped by contextual variables such as industry type, cultural expectations, stakeholder pressure, and technological innovation. Their work illustrates how ethics and responsibility have evolved from singular, internal convictions to dynamic, interdependent frameworks that adapt to global and institutional complexity. Organizational leaders must ensure that they are always acting in an ethical manner, regardless of the business situation.

    From a historical business perspective, in 1494, the Medici Bank in Florence, Italy, became insolvent over the Medici family's misuse of bank funds. Enron closed in 2001 after it was discovered that large losses were illegally hidden by executives and board members. Most recently in short-term gains due to unethical practices are never worth the long-term losses – the examples of misconduct above, and in other cases, losses to owners and investors, and in some cases even jail time for the perpetrators.

    Businesses embarking on a new venture, whether home or abroad, need some structure that provides a consistent format for analysis. A tool that is frequently used to examine the environment is called PEST, meaning Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Technological. This model has been expanded to PESTEL, which also includes Ecological/Environmental Factors and Legal Factors.

    This module’s readings will provide an overview of PESTEL . In earlier modules, you used SWOT and the 5 Forces model to look at your company. In this module, you will look at the external global environment in more detail using the PESTEL model.

    **References**

    ASQ. (n.d.). What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?
    _ASQ_.

    Chen, S., Zhang, J. & Tan, H. Comparing the Effects of Internationalization on CSR in Service and Non-Service MNEs.
    _Manag Int Rev 65_, 459–485 (2025).
    [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6)

    Cohen, W. (2020, February 13). Peter F. Drucker on doing the right thing.
    _Corporate Learning Network_. Retrieved from
    [https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing](https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing)

    Kong, X., Wang, H., Chen, Y., Luo, J., Xie, T., Peng, M., Ding, M., & Li, X. (2025). Innovative application of total quality management in sustainable tourism development: framework development and empirical analysis.
    _Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12_, Article 1055.
    [https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6](https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6)

    **## Assignment9InstructionsHM.docx**

    Assignment 9: Investigate a PESTEL Analysis for Ethical Globalization Efforts

    **Background**

    Organizational ethics is extremely important to the success of any organization. In your program, you learned about globalization, sustainability, and technology. Consider that the company that you are running in the simulation was going to move to the global environment.

    Part of that process was learning about various models that help you to analyze business and industry. These models provide apple-to-apple comparisons across companies for consistency in your analysis. Hopefully these have proven useful during your time in this program, and will continue to aid throughout your career. For this assignment, you will utilize a well established model for examining different cultures, the PESTEL model.

    **Instructions**

    Using this modules course readings and lecture, complete the following:

    · Choose a country that the organization may open operations in and analyze that country in terms of its political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, ecological/environmental, and legal (PESTEL model) aspects; and then compare with the same aspects in the United States.

    · Determine if there are cultural or ethical differences that you would need to consider when operating in that country. How will the company have to change its operations in order to fit into the culture of the country?

    **Length**:  2-3 pages, not including title page and references

    **References**: Supplement this weeks’ readings with a minimum of 3 scholarly, scholar-practitioner (Strategy & Business, California Management Review, Sloan Management Review, and Harvard Business Review) and or government sources from 2020 to present.

    The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards, and adhere to the University's Academic Integrity Policy.

    **## TotalQualityManagementReadingsHM.docx**

    **Total Quality Management**

    Kong, et.al., (2025) explained, “Total quality management (TQM) is an integrated organizational effort designed to improve quality at every level of the enterprise” . The American Society for Quality (ASQ) defines TQM as “a management approach to longterm success through customer satisfaction”. This mindset, where all management and employees consistently look for ways to improve aspects of the organization is inclusive of all organizational members.

    The mindset is a longterm system in which improving customer satisfaction is paramount. This type of culture requires the involvement of everyone within an organization. TQM relies heavily on a strategic approach to reaching organizational goals and decision making based on facts and data.

    Customer satisfaction implies that the products or services customers buy meet customers’ actual needs. Companies conduct market and consumer research to determine precisely what those needs are and to ultimately obtain their patronage, Companies then invest in activities that better align the products with the customers’ needs.

    Customers might look for lower prices, so activities that reduce costs could be explored so the price can be lowered; for example, improving quality on the production line to reduce defects or finding a supplier that provides lowercost materials. Performance may also interest customers; for example, Intel and Apple have engaged in a decadeslong battle to make faster technology devices.

    There has been access to TQM initiatives in the simulation since Week 4, round 4 of the competition.

    This lesson, you will examine the TQM initiatives in your CAPSIM company; each has its benefits and will help you better to align your products with the customers’ buying criteria.

    These are the 8 Elements of TQM according to asq.org:

    **Customer-focused. Accordion 1 of 8.**

    The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.

    **Total employee involvement. Accordion 2 of 8.**

    All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when empowerment has occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate continuous improvement efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work teams are one form of empowerment.

    **Process-centered. Accordion 3 of 8.**

    A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.

    **Integrated system. Accordion 4 of 8.**

    Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.

    · Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.

    · An integrated business system may be modeled after the Baldrige Award criteria and/or incorporate the ISO 9000 standards. Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

    **Strategic and systematic approach. Accordion 5 of 8.**

    A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.

    **Continual improvement. Accordion 6 of 8.**

    A large aspect of TQM is continual process improvement. Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting stakeholder expectations.

    **Fact-based decision making. Accordion 7 of 8.**

    In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.

    **Communications. Accordion 8 of 8.**

    During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

    **Organizational Culture and Ethics**

    Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author widely regarded as the father of modern management. His ideas fundamentally shaped the way organizations, especially businesses and nonprofits, think about leadership, strategy, and social responsibility.

    To Drucker, ethics and integrity were the bedrock of all business and personal practices. He recognized that there were differences in cultures and many challenges in operating from this bedrock (Cohen, 2020).

    Peter Drucker argued that belief is the only genuine foundation for ethical behavior: laws, rules, or external incentives are necessary but not sufficient; what truly matters is the internal conviction of what is right. More recent perspectives, however, such as those presented by Chen et al. (2025), move beyond these belief- or principle-driven foundations toward multi-dimensional models of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Chen and colleagues show that CSR in international business today is shaped by contextual variables such as industry type, cultural expectations, stakeholder pressure, and technological innovation. Their work illustrates how ethics and responsibility have evolved from singular, internal convictions to dynamic, interdependent frameworks that adapt to global and institutional complexity. Organizational leaders must ensure that they are always acting in an ethical manner, regardless of the business situation.

    From a historical business perspective, in 1494, the Medici Bank in Florence, Italy, became insolvent over the Medici family's misuse of bank funds. Enron closed in 2001 after it was discovered that large losses were illegally hidden by executives and board members. Most recently in short-term gains due to unethical practices are never worth the long-term losses – the examples of misconduct above, and in other cases, losses to owners and investors, and in some cases even jail time for the perpetrators.

    Businesses embarking on a new venture, whether home or abroad, need some structure that provides a consistent format for analysis. A tool that is frequently used to examine the environment is called PEST, meaning Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Technological. This model has been expanded to PESTEL, which also includes Ecological/Environmental Factors and Legal Factors.

    This module’s readings will provide an overview of PESTEL . In earlier modules, you used SWOT and the 5 Forces model to look at your company. In this module, you will look at the external global environment in more detail using the PESTEL model.

    **References**

    ASQ. (n.d.). What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?
    _ASQ_.

    Chen, S., Zhang, J. & Tan, H. Comparing the Effects of Internationalization on CSR in Service and Non-Service MNEs.
    _Manag Int Rev 65_, 459–485 (2025).
    [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-025-00576-6)

    Cohen, W. (2020, February 13). Peter F. Drucker on doing the right thing.
    _Corporate Learning Network_. Retrieved from
    [https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing](https://www.corporatelearningnetwork.com/leadership/columns/peter-f-drucker-on-doing-the-right-thing)

    Kong, X., Wang, H., Chen, Y., Luo, J., Xie, T., Peng, M., Ding, M., & Li, X. (2025). Innovative application of total quality management in sustainable tourism development: framework development and empirical analysis.
    _Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12_, Article 1055.
    [https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6](https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05139-6)

  • [Solved] Business Finance – Accounting Assignment 7. See instructions

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    [>Accounting homework help](https://www.sweetstudy.com/fields/business-finance-accounting) **files (4)** – ## Assignment7CAPSIMInstructionsHM.docx – CAPSIMRound3CHESTERAnnualReport.pdf – CAPSIMRound3COURIERReport.pdf – CAPSIMRound3ExcelReport.xlsx **## Assignment7CAPSIMInstructionsHM.docx** Assignme…

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    **## Assignment7CAPSIMInstructionsHM.docx**

    Assignment 7: Complete Round 3 of CAPSIM

    | | |
    | — | — |
    | Instructions | |
    | **Background**<br>The focus of this assignment is to continue the Competition Industry in the CAPSIM simulation and analyze the results from this round to continue reporting on your Key Performance Indicators you identified. You will be making decisions that position your product against customer requirements, building a production process that allows you to meet the market demands for your products, how to finance those operations and how to improve processes and products through Research and Development and Total Quality Management. Finally, you will learn to read and interpret a full set of performance documents, including Cash Flow Statements, Income Statements, Production and Sales summaries, and the Balanced Scorecard. <br>**Instructions**<br>The instructor will check the simulation dashboard to confirm that you have completed this round and will also provide feedback to you to help you with the remainder of the competition industry.  <br>Please note that your grade in the course does not depend on how well you do in the simulation. In that sense, the "competition rounds" are a misnomer. You can do well or poorly in the rounds. What does matter is that you can understand and explain the effects that your decisions had on the financial results, which you will track weekly as you report on your Key Performance Indicators that you identified.  You will also report on a new financial measure that you have not yet examined. <br>Submit a written paper that examines the following: <br>· Examine your three financial measures (KPIs) that you will track through your simulation (note – this assignment will repeat for every round that you run).  Financial Measures can be found in the various reports that Capsim creates after you have completed a round. <br>· Include a 4th financial measure of your choice that adds to your understanding of the company’s performance.  See page 1 of the Courier for some ideas for different financial measures to examine. <br>· In each round, you are making some of your decisions based on the Customer Buying Criteria – what do the customers expect in the products that they purchase?  This information for each of your products in the five product segments can be found on pages 5-9 of the Courier. <br>· Report on a different Customer Buying Criteria each round.  For example, for this assignment look at Size for your product Able in the Traditional segment.  Identify the criteria, define the criteria (the Capsim Help & Support can help with this).  Then explain what the customer expectations are and what you set for your product on that dimension.  Finally, compare your position with the Customer expectations and how the competitors set that number for their products. <br>**Length**: 1-3 pages, not including title page and references <br> <br>**References**: Include a minimum of 2 scholarly references from 2020 to present. |

    **CAPSIMRound3CHESTERAnnualReport.pdf**

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    **## Assignment7CAPSIMInstructionsHM.docx**

    Assignment 7: Complete Round 3 of CAPSIM

    | | |
    | — | — |
    | Instructions | |
    | **Background**<br>The focus of this assignment is to continue the Competition Industry in the CAPSIM simulation and analyze the results from this round to continue reporting on your Key Performance Indicators you identified. You will be making decisions that position your product against customer requirements, building a production process that allows you to meet the market demands for your products, how to finance those operations and how to improve processes and products through Research and Development and Total Quality Management. Finally, you will learn to read and interpret a full set of performance documents, including Cash Flow Statements, Income Statements, Production and Sales summaries, and the Balanced Scorecard. <br>**Instructions**<br>The instructor will check the simulation dashboard to confirm that you have completed this round and will also provide feedback to you to help you with the remainder of the competition industry.  <br>Please note that your grade in the course does not depend on how well you do in the simulation. In that sense, the "competition rounds" are a misnomer. You can do well or poorly in the rounds. What does matter is that you can understand and explain the effects that your decisions had on the financial results, which you will track weekly as you report on your Key Performance Indicators that you identified.  You will also report on a new financial measure that you have not yet examined. <br>Submit a written paper that examines the following: <br>· Examine your three financial measures (KPIs) that you will track through your simulation (note – this assignment will repeat for every round that you run).  Financial Measures can be found in the various reports that Capsim creates after you have completed a round. <br>· Include a 4th financial measure of your choice that adds to your understanding of the company’s performance.  See page 1 of the Courier for some ideas for different financial measures to examine. <br>· In each round, you are making some of your decisions based on the Customer Buying Criteria – what do the customers expect in the products that they purchase?  This information for each of your products in the five product segments can be found on pages 5-9 of the Courier. <br>· Report on a different Customer Buying Criteria each round.  For example, for this assignment look at Size for your product Able in the Traditional segment.  Identify the criteria, define the criteria (the Capsim Help & Support can help with this).  Then explain what the customer expectations are and what you set for your product on that dimension.  Finally, compare your position with the Customer expectations and how the competitors set that number for their products. <br>**Length**: 1-3 pages, not including title page and references <br> <br>**References**: Include a minimum of 2 scholarly references from 2020 to present. |

    **CAPSIMRound3CHESTERAnnualReport.pdf**

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    **CAPSIMRound3COURIERReport.pdf**

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    **## Assignment7CAPSIMInstructionsHM.docx**

    Assignment 7: Complete Round 3 of CAPSIM

    | | |
    | — | — |
    | Instructions | |
    | **Background**<br>The focus of this assignment is to continue the Competition Industry in the CAPSIM simulation and analyze the results from this round to continue reporting on your Key Performance Indicators you identified. You will be making decisions that position your product against customer requirements, building a production process that allows you to meet the market demands for your products, how to finance those operations and how to improve processes and products through Research and Development and Total Quality Management. Finally, you will learn to read and interpret a full set of performance documents, including Cash Flow Statements, Income Statements, Production and Sales summaries, and the Balanced Scorecard. <br>**Instructions**<br>The instructor will check the simulation dashboard to confirm that you have completed this round and will also provide feedback to you to help you with the remainder of the competition industry.  <br>Please note that your grade in the course does not depend on how well you do in the simulation. In that sense, the "competition rounds" are a misnomer. You can do well or poorly in the rounds. What does matter is that you can understand and explain the effects that your decisions had on the financial results, which you will track weekly as you report on your Key Performance Indicators that you identified.  You will also report on a new financial measure that you have not yet examined. <br>Submit a written paper that examines the following: <br>· Examine your three financial measures (KPIs) that you will track through your simulation (note – this assignment will repeat for every round that you run).  Financial Measures can be found in the various reports that Capsim creates after you have completed a round. <br>· Include a 4th financial measure of your choice that adds to your understanding of the company’s performance.  See page 1 of the Courier for some ideas for different financial measures to examine. <br>· In each round, you are making some of your decisions based on the Customer Buying Criteria – what do the customers expect in the products that they purchase?  This information for each of your products in the five product segments can be found on pages 5-9 of the Courier. <br>· Report on a different Customer Buying Criteria each round.  For example, for this assignment look at Size for your product Able in the Traditional segment.  Identify the criteria, define the criteria (the Capsim Help & Support can help with this).  Then explain what the customer expectations are and what you set for your product on that dimension.  Finally, compare your position with the Customer expectations and how the competitors set that number for their products. <br>**Length**: 1-3 pages, not including title page and references <br> <br>**References**: Include a minimum of 2 scholarly references from 2020 to present. |

    **CAPSIMRound3CHESTERAnnualReport.pdf**

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    **CAPSIMRound3COURIERReport.pdf**

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  • [Solved] 7643d

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  • [Solved] Section 3 reflection paper

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    [>Operations Management homework help](https://www.sweetstudy.com/fields/business-finance-operations-management) Hide Assignment Information Instructions At this point in the class, you have been exposed to an abundance of concepts and key knowledge areas in the field of project management. Some (or…

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    Instructions

    At this point in the class, you have been exposed to an abundance of concepts and key knowledge areas in the field of project management. Some (or several) of them may be completely new to you and quite challenging.

    For this assignment, write a reflection paper that describes and discusses the most difficult concept you have faced thus far in this class. Conclude the paper by reflecting upon how you have overcome grasping this concept and perhaps even turned it into a positive experience.

    This paper should be three to four pages long (not including the title page and reference page) and follow standard APA guidelines.

    Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on Add a File. Then click Submit to upload your assignment by the posted due date. Review the rubric for specific grading criteria.

  • [Solved] ON TIME BUSINESS MANAGEMENT A+ WORK, ON TIME, NO PLAGARIZING; ON TIME

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    [>Management homework help](https://www.sweetstudy.com/fields/business-finance-management) DISCUSSION TUTOR WEEK 7 ECONO6 MGKT6 **files (3)** – ## week7ECONO6MGKT6.docx – wk7mgkt6EBSCO-FullText-06_11_20261.pdf – wk7econoEBSCO-FullText-06_11_2026.pdf **## week7ECONO6MGKT6.docx** **ECONO6 DISCUSSI…

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    DISCUSSION TUTOR WEEK 7 ECONO6 MGKT6

    **files (3)**

    – ## week7ECONO6MGKT6.docx

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    – wk7econoEBSCO-FullText-06_11_2026.pdf

    **## week7ECONO6MGKT6.docx**

    **ECONO6 DISCUSSION (No more than 250 words}**

    In the hope of high returns, venture capitalists provide funds to finance new (start up) companies. However, potential competitors and structures of the market into which the new firm enters are extremely important in realization of profits. Among different market structures, which one do you believe provides the highest possible return for a new company and why?

    References

    Félix, E. G. S., Nunes, J. C., & Pires, C. P. (2023). The impact of concentration among venture capitalists: revisiting the determinants of venture capital.
    _Venture Capital_,
    _25_(4), 457–486. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/10.1080/13691066.2022.2147876

    **Respond to ECONO6 Mark M (No more than 150 words),**

    When considering which market structure offers the highest possible return for a new venture-backed company, I believe monopolistic competition provides one of the best opportunities, especially for startups that can strongly differentiate themselves. A true monopoly may seem like the highest-profit option, but it is usually very difficult for a startup to achieve and may attract regulation or strong competitive responses. In contrast, monopolistic competition allows a new company to enter a market with many competitors but still stand out through innovation, branding, technology, customer experience, or unique product design. Venture capitalists are often looking for companies that can grow quickly, scale efficiently, and eventually earn high profit margins. In monopolistic competition, a startup can create value by solving a customer problem in a better or more convenient way than existing companies. For example, a new app, health technology company, or software platform may not be the only firm in its industry, but it can still gain pricing power if customers view its product as different or superior. This ability to differentiate is important because firms in monopolistic competition are not pure price takers. They have some control overpricing when customers believe the product offers unique value (OpenStax, 2022).

    Oligopoly can also offer strong potential returns, but it may be harder for a new company to enter. Oligopolies usually involve a few large firms with strong market power, established brands, and high barriers to entry. However, a startup may still succeed in an oligopoly if it focuses on an underserved niche, partners with a larger company, or introduces a disruptive technology. This can be attractive to venture capitalists because breaking into a high-value market can lead to major returns. At the same time, the risk is high because existing firms may respond aggressively through price cuts, acquisitions, or rapid innovation. I believe monopolistic competition offers the best balance of high possible return and realistic market entry for many startups. It gives new firms room to compete, differentiate, and build customer loyalty without immediately facing the same barriers found in a mature oligopoly. However, the highest returns depend on more than the market structure alone. Venture capitalists must also consider barriers to entry, demand elasticity, scalability, profit margins, and whether the startup can sustain a competitive advantage over time.

    **Respond to ECONO6 Lexi (No more than 150 words),**

    I believe that any new company entering any market should weigh the pros and cons of entering that market. Each market structure is different and has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of business. I think a new company whose goal is to have high returns should enter an oligopoly or monopolistic competition market.

    An oligopoly market has only a few competitors in the business, which eliminates the threat of price wars that could happen in other markets. This allows a new company to set its price and determine the best way to sway its consumers. Also, since there is more stability in the prices and non-price competition, new companies can thrive from exemplifying niches and focusing on a superior service. Finally, an oligopoly market can create stronger supplier networks and relationships. So, with a new business, it can position itself as a valuable partner to the supplier, which will indirectly compete with the other large companies, rather than competing with them head on. These benefits of this market can help a new business bring in high revenue when it joins and allow it to continue to be successful.

    Another smart market for a new business to enter is the monopolistic competition market. This market provides an opportunity to easily enter the market and create a unique niche in the product. A new business can offer a similar product with a slight difference and sway consumers to choose their product from branding, creating specialized features, and providing products based on local or demographic preferences. This can build customer loyalty with the business and its product. This can help them earn the highest return for their product from innovation.

    However, there are always associated with new businesses entering a market. Some of these risks include the financial risks and market threats. Starting up a company, even with some funds provided by other companies, can be more expensive than originally thought. These startup costs can be underestimated and there could be high initial capital required to establish their operation. Another risk is the market threats from customers already having brand loyalty with other companies in the market and not fully understanding the local audience. Some customers will not change what they buy solely due to brand loyalty. This can be exceptionally difficult to overcome without having an extremely value product. Another consideration is it is essential for a new business to understand the market culture and what consumers preference. Missing the mark without fully understanding the culture and local audience might be detrimental to a new business in the market. These are some considerations that are essential to analyze for a new business to be successful in the market.

    **Week 7 MGKT6 DISCUSSION (No more than 250 words}**

    **Real World example**

    Your best friend owns a small children's clothing store located in the downtown area of a community of 50,000 citizens. The business has been slow the past year due to the construction of several new strip malls and a new Walmart store (Increased competition). She discovered you were taking an online marketing class and asked for your advice for ideas to increase her sales (She owns her present building and will not relocate her business, even though the downtown area is losing stores to the new strip malls). What would you tell her based on what you have learned in this course?

    **Research**

    Research small business marketing and low-cost promotional strategies

    **Discuss**

    · What advice would you offer your friend?

    · What low-cost strategies could she employ to help stay competitive?

    · Share your ideas on how small businesses can compete when larger businesses come to town.

    References

    Xianghua Lu, Sulin Ba, Lihua Huang, & Yue Feng. (2013). Promotional Marketing or Word-of-Mouth? Evidence from Online Restaurant Reviews.
    _Information Systems Research (INFORMS)_,
    _24_(3), 596–612. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/10.1287/isre.1120.0454

    **Wk 7 Discussion MKGT6**

    As we close in on the last two weeks of this class, it's time to start thinking about upcoming courses. In this discussion board, please share what class or classes you are taking next session.

    This discussion board is a great opportunity to connect with your current classmates, perhaps find a colleague in your upcoming class, and get excited about what's next as you move closer to your academic goals.

    Next course BUSN623 Legal & Ethical Issues in Management 3 Semester Hours

    This course examines major legal and ethical issues confronting business operations and management in a changing, fast-paced global environment. It explores the intersection of law and ethics, equipping students with the skills to evaluate and integrate legal risk and ethical practices for effective decision-making. Using a case study approach, major topics include business structure and liability, intellectual property, contracts, torts, ethical theories, Constitutional law, regulatory compliance, corporate social responsibility, and emerging contemporary issues.

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    **## week7ECONO6MGKT6.docx**

    **ECONO6 DISCUSSION (No more than 250 words}**

    In the hope of high returns, venture capitalists provide funds to finance new (start up) companies. However, potential competitors and structures of the market into which the new firm enters are extremely important in realization of profits. Among different market structures, which one do you believe provides the highest possible return for a new company and why?

    References

    Félix, E. G. S., Nunes, J. C., & Pires, C. P. (2023). The impact of concentration among venture capitalists: revisiting the determinants of venture capital.
    _Venture Capital_,
    _25_(4), 457–486. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/10.1080/13691066.2022.2147876

    **Respond to ECONO6 Mark M (No more than 150 words),**

    When considering which market structure offers the highest possible return for a new venture-backed company, I believe monopolistic competition provides one of the best opportunities, especially for startups that can strongly differentiate themselves. A true monopoly may seem like the highest-profit option, but it is usually very difficult for a startup to achieve and may attract regulation or strong competitive responses. In contrast, monopolistic competition allows a new company to enter a market with many competitors but still stand out through innovation, branding, technology, customer experience, or unique product design. Venture capitalists are often looking for companies that can grow quickly, scale efficiently, and eventually earn high profit margins. In monopolistic competition, a startup can create value by solving a customer problem in a better or more convenient way than existing companies. For example, a new app, health technology company, or software platform may not be the only firm in its industry, but it can still gain pricing power if customers view its product as different or superior. This ability to differentiate is important because firms in monopolistic competition are not pure price takers. They have some control overpricing when customers believe the product offers unique value (OpenStax, 2022).

    Oligopoly can also offer strong potential returns, but it may be harder for a new company to enter. Oligopolies usually involve a few large firms with strong market power, established brands, and high barriers to entry. However, a startup may still succeed in an oligopoly if it focuses on an underserved niche, partners with a larger company, or introduces a disruptive technology. This can be attractive to venture capitalists because breaking into a high-value market can lead to major returns. At the same time, the risk is high because existing firms may respond aggressively through price cuts, acquisitions, or rapid innovation. I believe monopolistic competition offers the best balance of high possible return and realistic market entry for many startups. It gives new firms room to compete, differentiate, and build customer loyalty without immediately facing the same barriers found in a mature oligopoly. However, the highest returns depend on more than the market structure alone. Venture capitalists must also consider barriers to entry, demand elasticity, scalability, profit margins, and whether the startup can sustain a competitive advantage over time.

    **Respond to ECONO6 Lexi (No more than 150 words),**

    I believe that any new company entering any market should weigh the pros and cons of entering that market. Each market structure is different and has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of business. I think a new company whose goal is to have high returns should enter an oligopoly or monopolistic competition market.

    An oligopoly market has only a few competitors in the business, which eliminates the threat of price wars that could happen in other markets. This allows a new company to set its price and determine the best way to sway its consumers. Also, since there is more stability in the prices and non-price competition, new companies can thrive from exemplifying niches and focusing on a superior service. Finally, an oligopoly market can create stronger supplier networks and relationships. So, with a new business, it can position itself as a valuable partner to the supplier, which will indirectly compete with the other large companies, rather than competing with them head on. These benefits of this market can help a new business bring in high revenue when it joins and allow it to continue to be successful.

    Another smart market for a new business to enter is the monopolistic competition market. This market provides an opportunity to easily enter the market and create a unique niche in the product. A new business can offer a similar product with a slight difference and sway consumers to choose their product from branding, creating specialized features, and providing products based on local or demographic preferences. This can build customer loyalty with the business and its product. This can help them earn the highest return for their product from innovation.

    However, there are always associated with new businesses entering a market. Some of these risks include the financial risks and market threats. Starting up a company, even with some funds provided by other companies, can be more expensive than originally thought. These startup costs can be underestimated and there could be high initial capital required to establish their operation. Another risk is the market threats from customers already having brand loyalty with other companies in the market and not fully understanding the local audience. Some customers will not change what they buy solely due to brand loyalty. This can be exceptionally difficult to overcome without having an extremely value product. Another consideration is it is essential for a new business to understand the market culture and what consumers preference. Missing the mark without fully understanding the culture and local audience might be detrimental to a new business in the market. These are some considerations that are essential to analyze for a new business to be successful in the market.

    **Week 7 MGKT6 DISCUSSION (No more than 250 words}**

    **Real World example**

    Your best friend owns a small children's clothing store located in the downtown area of a community of 50,000 citizens. The business has been slow the past year due to the construction of several new strip malls and a new Walmart store (Increased competition). She discovered you were taking an online marketing class and asked for your advice for ideas to increase her sales (She owns her present building and will not relocate her business, even though the downtown area is losing stores to the new strip malls). What would you tell her based on what you have learned in this course?

    **Research**

    Research small business marketing and low-cost promotional strategies

    **Discuss**

    · What advice would you offer your friend?

    · What low-cost strategies could she employ to help stay competitive?

    · Share your ideas on how small businesses can compete when larger businesses come to town.

    References

    Xianghua Lu, Sulin Ba, Lihua Huang, & Yue Feng. (2013). Promotional Marketing or Word-of-Mouth? Evidence from Online Restaurant Reviews.
    _Information Systems Research (INFORMS)_,
    _24_(3), 596–612. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/10.1287/isre.1120.0454

    **Wk 7 Discussion MKGT6**

    As we close in on the last two weeks of this class, it's time to start thinking about upcoming courses. In this discussion board, please share what class or classes you are taking next session.

    This discussion board is a great opportunity to connect with your current classmates, perhaps find a colleague in your upcoming class, and get excited about what's next as you move closer to your academic goals.

    Next course BUSN623 Legal & Ethical Issues in Management 3 Semester Hours

    This course examines major legal and ethical issues confronting business operations and management in a changing, fast-paced global environment. It explores the intersection of law and ethics, equipping students with the skills to evaluate and integrate legal risk and ethical practices for effective decision-making. Using a case study approach, major topics include business structure and liability, intellectual property, contracts, torts, ethical theories, Constitutional law, regulatory compliance, corporate social responsibility, and emerging contemporary issues.

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    **## week7ECONO6MGKT6.docx**

    **ECONO6 DISCUSSION (No more than 250 words}**

    In the hope of high returns, venture capitalists provide funds to finance new (start up) companies. However, potential competitors and structures of the market into which the new firm enters are extremely important in realization of profits. Among different market structures, which one do you believe provides the highest possible return for a new company and why?

    References

    Félix, E. G. S., Nunes, J. C., & Pires, C. P. (2023). The impact of concentration among venture capitalists: revisiting the determinants of venture capital.
    _Venture Capital_,
    _25_(4), 457–486. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/10.1080/13691066.2022.2147876

    **Respond to ECONO6 Mark M (No more than 150 words),**

    When considering which market structure offers the highest possible return for a new venture-backed company, I believe monopolistic competition provides one of the best opportunities, especially for startups that can strongly differentiate themselves. A true monopoly may seem like the highest-profit option, but it is usually very difficult for a startup to achieve and may attract regulation or strong competitive responses. In contrast, monopolistic competition allows a new company to enter a market with many competitors but still stand out through innovation, branding, technology, customer experience, or unique product design. Venture capitalists are often looking for companies that can grow quickly, scale efficiently, and eventually earn high profit margins. In monopolistic competition, a startup can create value by solving a customer problem in a better or more convenient way than existing companies. For example, a new app, health technology company, or software platform may not be the only firm in its industry, but it can still gain pricing power if customers view its product as different or superior. This ability to differentiate is important because firms in monopolistic competition are not pure price takers. They have some control overpricing when customers believe the product offers unique value (OpenStax, 2022).

    Oligopoly can also offer strong potential returns, but it may be harder for a new company to enter. Oligopolies usually involve a few large firms with strong market power, established brands, and high barriers to entry. However, a startup may still succeed in an oligopoly if it focuses on an underserved niche, partners with a larger company, or introduces a disruptive technology. This can be attractive to venture capitalists because breaking into a high-value market can lead to major returns. At the same time, the risk is high because existing firms may respond aggressively through price cuts, acquisitions, or rapid innovation. I believe monopolistic competition offers the best balance of high possible return and realistic market entry for many startups. It gives new firms room to compete, differentiate, and build customer loyalty without immediately facing the same barriers found in a mature oligopoly. However, the highest returns depend on more than the market structure alone. Venture capitalists must also consider barriers to entry, demand elasticity, scalability, profit margins, and whether the startup can sustain a competitive advantage over time.

    **Respond to ECONO6 Lexi (No more than 150 words),**

    I believe that any new company entering any market should weigh the pros and cons of entering that market. Each market structure is different and has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of business. I think a new company whose goal is to have high returns should enter an oligopoly or monopolistic competition market.

    An oligopoly market has only a few competitors in the business, which eliminates the threat of price wars that could happen in other markets. This allows a new company to set its price and determine the best way to sway its consumers. Also, since there is more stability in the prices and non-price competition, new companies can thrive from exemplifying niches and focusing on a superior service. Finally, an oligopoly market can create stronger supplier networks and relationships. So, with a new business, it can position itself as a valuable partner to the supplier, which will indirectly compete with the other large companies, rather than competing with them head on. These benefits of this market can help a new business bring in high revenue when it joins and allow it to continue to be successful.

    Another smart market for a new business to enter is the monopolistic competition market. This market provides an opportunity to easily enter the market and create a unique niche in the product. A new business can offer a similar product with a slight difference and sway consumers to choose their product from branding, creating specialized features, and providing products based on local or demographic preferences. This can build customer loyalty with the business and its product. This can help them earn the highest return for their product from innovation.

    However, there are always associated with new businesses entering a market. Some of these risks include the financial risks and market threats. Starting up a company, even with some funds provided by other companies, can be more expensive than originally thought. These startup costs can be underestimated and there could be high initial capital required to establish their operation. Another risk is the market threats from customers already having brand loyalty with other companies in the market and not fully understanding the local audience. Some customers will not change what they buy solely due to brand loyalty. This can be exceptionally difficult to overcome without having an extremely value product. Another consideration is it is essential for a new business to understand the market culture and what consumers preference. Missing the mark without fully understanding the culture and local audience might be detrimental to a new business in the market. These are some considerations that are essential to analyze for a new business to be successful in the market.

    **Week 7 MGKT6 DISCUSSION (No more than 250 words}**

    **Real World example**

    Your best friend owns a small children's clothing store located in the downtown area of a community of 50,000 citizens. The business has been slow the past year due to the construction of several new strip malls and a new Walmart store (Increased competition). She discovered you were taking an online marketing class and asked for your advice for ideas to increase her sales (She owns her present building and will not relocate her business, even though the downtown area is losing stores to the new strip malls). What would you tell her based on what you have learned in this course?

    **Research**

    Research small business marketing and low-cost promotional strategies

    **Discuss**

    · What advice would you offer your friend?

    · What low-cost strategies could she employ to help stay competitive?

    · Share your ideas on how small businesses can compete when larger businesses come to town.

    References

    Xianghua Lu, Sulin Ba, Lihua Huang, & Yue Feng. (2013). Promotional Marketing or Word-of-Mouth? Evidence from Online Restaurant Reviews.
    _Information Systems Research (INFORMS)_,
    _24_(3), 596–612. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.apus.edu/10.1287/isre.1120.0454

    **Wk 7 Discussion MKGT6**

    As we close in on the last two weeks of this class, it's time to start thinking about upcoming courses. In this discussion board, please share what class or classes you are taking next session.

    This discussion board is a great opportunity to connect with your current classmates, perhaps find a colleague in your upcoming class, and get excited about what's next as you move closer to your academic goals.

    Next course BUSN623 Legal & Ethical Issues in Management 3 Semester Hours

    This course examines major legal and ethical issues confronting business operations and management in a changing, fast-paced global environment. It explores the intersection of law and ethics, equipping students with the skills to evaluate and integrate legal risk and ethical practices for effective decision-making. Using a case study approach, major topics include business structure and liability, intellectual property, contracts, torts, ethical theories, Constitutional law, regulatory compliance, corporate social responsibility, and emerging contemporary issues.

    **wk7mgkt6EBSCO-FullText-06_11_20261.pdf**

    This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/wk7mgkt6ebsco-fulltext-06-11-20261-pdf)

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  • [Solved] 503w9

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    [>Accounting homework help](https://www.sweetstudy.com/fields/business-finance-accounting) Writing Proposal **files (4)** – ## Week1WritingProposal.docx – ## Eletronicworkflow.pdf – Thedigitalscribe2.pdf – IntegratingBIM.pdf **## Week1WritingProposal.docx** ENC4313 Research Writing Book: Palmquist, …

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    Writing Proposal

    **files (4)**

    – ## Week1WritingProposal.docx

    – ## Eletronicworkflow.pdf

    – Thedigitalscribe2.pdf
    – IntegratingBIM.pdf

    **## Week1WritingProposal.docx**

    ENC4313 Research Writing

    Book: Palmquist, M. (2021). The Bedford Researcher (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

    **Question:**

    **How do inefficient digital workflow tools affect administrative burdens, job satisfaction, costs, and employee retention among clinical staff in hospitals and outpatient clinics?**

    **Problem Statement:**

    **Clinical staff in hospitals and outpatient clinics face significant administrative burdens due to inefficient digital workflow tools, which may lead to decreased job satisfaction, increased costs, and lower employee retention.**

    Each week, you will build towards the Formal Research Paper, a research paper exploring a problem and presenting a solution. You should review the requirements provided under the "Course Resources" so you can begin planning and developing your topic.

    During Week 1, you will complete a proposal. As one of the main goals of this course is to develop an appropriate and organized research topic through all stages of the writing process, the proposal is a first step. While the proposal is meant to guide your exploration, it is not a final blueprint. Throughout the upcoming weeks, you will engage in the research process by evaluating sources, asking questions, applying the knowledge that you gather, and synthesizing evidence and ideas from various sources.

    This is the beginning of an academic journey, and you are not expected to have all the answers. You are expected to embrace the path laid out before you by completing the assignments, discussions, and learning activities to the best of your abilities.

    Directions:

    Write a paragraph in which you describe your topic and proposed problem. Include how it relates to your career or field of study and why it is important to investigate. Then, clearly identify your Research Question(s).

    In the second paragraph, provide a narrative of your research process (100-150 words). Explain what keywords you searched and why you selected the sources that you chose. How do you know these sources are valid?

    Paste a screenshot of your database search (see example below). This can be included in your Word doc or uploaded separately.

    Include at least three sources from the Keiser Online Library database. Use the database-exported APA citation, followed by an objective summary (~100 words each) of each source. Be sure to include the permalink as part of the citation.

    Then, in your own words, explain how these sources add to your knowledge, what questions these sources raise, and what additional sources you still need to find. Also, explain where your topic fits in the existing "conversation" identified through your research (e.g., is there a gap that you will fill with your research?). (~150-200 words)

    Writing Proposal
    As an education major, there are many topics of concern. However, since I am focused on
    the higher education sector, I will explore the issue of students who drop out of college. Students all come from diverse backgrounds, so there are many different reasons. Based on preliminary research, there is a significant issue with non-traditional students, that is, students who did not go straight to college from high school, leaving college before earning their degree. Dropping out of college makes a significant impact on students financially and emotionally and can ultimately change the course of their lives. Therefore, this is an important topic to research.

    To begin researching this topic, I brainstormed keywords. In the Keiser Online library, I
    used the Gale One File database with the keywords: college student, dropout, attrition.
    Unfortunately, many of the resources that I found were either old or related to specific fields, such as nursing. I then searched in the ProQuest database using the same key words. I found many articles, and also used the “more like this” option to find additional sources. The criteria that I used to determine that they were valid sources was the date of publication and the publication source. I also used the “peer reviewed” checkbox in the search to limit the type of articles. I selected the article by Sihare (2025) because it focused on dropouts in higher education and it was a recent article. The other articles that I chose were also focused on higher education in the United States, considering various causes for student drop outs.

    Sources
    Sihare, S. R. (2024). Student Dropout Analysis in Higher Education and Retention by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. SN Computer Science, 5(2), 202.
    [https://0624785vv-](https://0624785vv-/) mp01-y-https-doi-org.prx-keiser.lirn.net/10.1007/s42979-023-02458-w
    This study looked at student drops out in five different colleges. The researchers surveyed
    students to identify the reasons for their drop out and categorized the findings. The study also looked at the school administration and the steps that were taken to address student attrition. This study proposed an AI-based solution to make activities more engaging to help keep students enrolled and completing their degrees. This comprehensive analysis was studies over three academic years at five different colleges, providing diverse data. It concluded that AI has tremendous retention benefits.

    (Repeat this format for all 3 sources).
    The Conversation

    All three sources provided different perspectives on the issue of student attrition. While
    Sihare (2025) provided a study that incorporated both the student and school administrators perspective, Miller et al. (2026) was more focused on the school administrators perspective. Similarly, Howe & Rybicki (2025) addressed the issue primarily from the school administrators perspective. Cumulatively, these sources provide a well-rounded view of how the issue of student drop-outs at the college level are being addressed. One gap area in the research is understanding the issue from the student perspective. Sihare (2025) provided some research in this area, but before a clear solution can be suggested, the problem must fully be understood. To do that, more research is necessary from the student perspective. The preliminary research also raises questions about the motivations for students to complete their college degree, and how that motivation may be used to keep students enrolled.

    Writing

    **## Eletronicworkflow.pdf**

    Electronic Workflow for Imaging in Clinical Research

    Rebecca A. Hedges & Danielle Goodman & Peter B. Sachs

    Published online: 3 April 2014
    # Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2014

    Abstract In the transition from paper to electronic workflow,
    the University of Colorado Health System’s implementation
    of a new electronic health record system (EHR) forced all
    clinical groups to reevaluate their practices including the
    infrastructure surrounding clinical trials. Radiological imag-
    ing is an important piece of many clinical trials and requires a
    high level of consistency and standardization. With EHR
    implementation, paper orders were manually transcribed into
    the EHR, digitizing an inefficient work flow. A team of
    schedulers, radiologists, technologists, research personnel,
    and EHR analysts worked together to optimize the EHR to
    accommodate the needs of research imaging protocols. The
    transition to electronic workflow posed several problems: (1)
    there needed to be effective communication throughout the
    imaging process from scheduling to radiologist interpretation.
    (2) The exam ordering process needed to be automated to
    allow scheduling of specific research studies on specific
    equipment. (3) The billing process needed to be controlled
    to accommodate radiologists already supported by grants. (4)
    There needed to be functionality allowing exams to finalize
    automatically skipping the PACS and interpretation process.
    (5) There needed to be a way to alert radiologists that a
    specialized research interpretation was needed on a given
    exam. These issues were resolved through the optimization
    of the “visit type,” allowing a high-level control of an exam at
    the time of scheduling. Additionally, we added columns and
    fields to work queues displaying grant identification numbers.

    The build solutions we implemented reduced the mistakes
    made and increased imaging quality and compliance.

    Keywords Clinical research . Imaging informatics .

    Workflow . Electronic medical record

    Introduction

    Imaging for clinical research currently represents 7 % of cross-
    sectional imaging studies performed at the University of
    Colorado Hospital and supports over 500 clinical trials.
    Erickson et al., have described the components of a clinical
    research imaging workflow [1–3]. The transition from paper to
    a digital electronic health record system (EHR) has forced
    every sector to reevaluate their workflow, including the com-
    plex radiology research infrastructure. Initially managed on
    paper, we had to reinterpret the way research needs were to
    be facilitated, communicated, and executed in a digital format.
    The clinical and research patients share the same radiology
    resources and basic workflow. Currently, the hospital is 2 years
    in to the implementation of an EHR which encompasses five
    hospitals, only one of which is involved in research. With the
    implementation of the EHR, all routine clinical imaging was
    ordered electronically; however, research orders remained on
    paper and were manually entered into the EHR. This trans-
    ferred the inadequate paper system into a digital format (Fig. 1).

    The specific factors that needed to be accounted for by the
    new workflow included:

    1. The research workflow needed to be functional for the
    central, academic hospital without disrupting operations
    at the four other community hospitals in the health system
    that are not involved in research.

    2. A communication method was needed that would allow
    radiology schedulers, radiology technologists, and

    R. A. Hedges : P. B. Sachs (*)
    Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of
    Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop L954, 12401 E.
    17th Ave., Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    e-mail: peter.sachs@ucdenver.edu

    D. Goodman
    Department of Information Technology, University of Colorado
    Hospital, Mail Stop L, Aurora, CO 80045, USA

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462
    DOI 10.1007/s10278-014-9684-1

    Fig. 1 Workflow diagram of paper driven process

    Fig. 3

    Fig. 4

    Fig. 5-6

    Fig. 2 Workflow diagram of electronic process in the EHR

    458 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    radiologists to be alerted that a given patient or exam is
    part of a research study. Many of our research studies
    require services that are more complex than our standard
    practice. These could include non-standard imaging se-
    ries, longer scan times, specialized interpretations, or im-
    aging on specific equipment. Further complicating this
    issue is the number of parties involved in carrying out a
    research study. The first point of contact for research
    exams is the scheduling team who controls where and
    for how long a given exam will take place. Radiologists,
    when protocoling studies, need to direct clinical research
    exams back to the technologists to perform per protocol.
    Subsequently, the technologists determine what parame-
    ters are used for a given exam, image the patient, and then
    assign the images to a specific radiology section for
    review. Finally, the radiologist interprets the images.
    Each party needs to be aware of the research requirements
    so any errors made at the first point of contact can be
    corrected down the line.

    3. An automated method of scheduling the exam on the
    appropriate resource had to be devised. Many studies
    must be performed on a specific scanner because the
    protocol requires all acquisitions on the same resource
    for consistency or because we have a special series
    loaded on a specific resource. This step is extremely
    important because the hospital will not be reimbursed
    for imaging that was not done per protocol and more
    importantly, the subject generally has to be brought
    back for repeat imaging.

    4.We needed to include a means of controlling whether or not
    an exam bills a professional fee. Some of our radiologists
    collect salary support for their participation and review of
    images on clinical trials in lieu of traditional professional
    reimbursement. Other trials include limited imaging se-
    quences that do not require review by a radiologist and do
    not incur a professional fee.

    5. The exams that do not receive interpretations by radiolo-
    gists must also auto-finalize in picture archiving and com-
    munication system (PACS) when the exam is ended by the
    technologist so that they do not drop to a radiologist’s
    interpretation work queue.

    6. As part of the re-engineering of clinical research imaging
    workflow, the Department of Radiology also began a new

    program providing specialized research interpretations for
    oncology clinical trials. These Response Evaluation
    Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) reads involve a stan-
    dardized measurement and reporting technique that is
    incorporated in the more comprehensive, clinical read.
    This added research service presented some of the same
    challenges as described above for the overall research
    build, namely, the issue of notification. This service only
    affects radiologists and so the schedulers and technolo-
    gists are not implicated in this specialized read.

    These process improvement changes needed to occur in
    such a way that patients and ordering physicians not involved
    in research saw no change in their workflow.

    Methods and Results

    The solution involved manipulation of several different as-
    pects of the ordering and scheduling process (Fig. 2).

    1. At order entry, a physician has to complete several “order
    questions” such as “Immediate read required?” or “Has
    the patient had a reaction to CT contrast?” The original
    paper order contained only one question regarding re-
    search: “Billable to grant? If yes, Grant number”
    (Fig. 3). As much of research imaging is covered by
    insurance, this question was not accurately capturing all
    patients participating in a clinical trial. We changed this
    question to “If research protocol, enter grant number”
    followed by a separate question regarding billing: “Is this
    billable to a grant?” This change allowed us to capture all
    research needs. Schedulers, radiologists, and technolo-
    gists can all view responses to this question easily in their
    work queues (Figs. 4, 5, and 6). Utilizing our previously
    reported electronic protocol selection process [4], the
    radiologists can route these exams back to the technolo-
    gists. At the time of imaging, the radiology technologists
    can then select the correct protocol for each study based
    on the examination ordered and the supplied grant num-
    ber. These protocols are built into the imaging resource.

    2. Initially, specialized exam codes were created that re-
    searchers could select from the EHR. Instead of “CT

    Fig. 3 Order questions for
    research in the EHR

    Fig. 4 Scheduler work queue
    with grant protocol number
    specified

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462 459

    CHEST WITHOUT CONTRAST” these research exam
    codes included the hospital assigned grant ID number (G-
    number) in the title: e.g., “CT CHEST WITHOUT
    CONTRAST—GO02/Melanoma Clinical Trial”
    allowing individuals at each step of the workflow to
    identify the research study. This created a significant
    downstream problem. As we began discussing resolutions
    to this issue, the announcement was made that four other
    hospitals would be integrated into our EHR but would not
    be doing clinical research. The grant database could not
    be made public as it is shared among all five hospitals and
    inappropriate selection of research-specific imaging stud-
    ies could occur. To prevent selection of expired or invalid

    grant imaging, the database is maintained regularly by
    analysts and our professional research assistant (PRA).
    The final workflow employs a scheduling convention
    called a “visit type.” Every exam code used in the hospital
    has a visit type which defines the basic logic for schedul-
    ing. The room, equipment, and exam duration can all be
    controlled through manipulation of the visit type. Our
    EHR analysts build specialized visit types for non-
    standard research studies. They have the same CPT codes
    and exam names as their clinical equivalents but the exam
    duration and specific resource have been altered. In prac-
    tice, the scheduler sees the grant number in their work
    queue and then selects the correct grant visit from a

    Fig. 5 Information presented to
    radiologist at time of image study
    protocol selection

    Fig. 6 Technologist work queue
    with grant protocol number
    specified

    Fig. 7 Specialized read
    (RECIST) request highlighted in
    radiologist reading palette at time
    of study interpretation

    460 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    Fig. 8 Timeline to develop and
    implement a fully electronic
    process for clinical research
    imaging workflow management

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462 461

    database embedded in their EPIC workflow, thus
    automatically blocking the study-required equipment
    resource for the study-required exam length.

    3. The visit type also allows control over professional billing.
    Logic added to the visit type causes a message to populate
    in the coders work queue: “No process read.” This notifies
    coders not to bill a professional fee.

    4. A programming point can be added at the visit type level
    that allows an exam to auto-finalize without hitting a
    radiologist’s work queue. When the exam is terminated
    by a technologist, this added programming communicates
    to PACS that the exam is complete and auto-populates the
    report with a default message stating the exam is “for
    research purposes only and the images are not intended
    for clinical use.”

    5. To accommodate cases requiring a RECIST read, we
    amended the order questions to include a RECIST re-
    quest: “RECIST read performed by radiology? (Yes/
    No).” Principal investigators can order this specialized
    read when they order the corresponding exam. This
    request is highlighted in the radiologist’s reading palette
    when reviewing the exam (Fig. 7).

    The error rate for ordering research studies incorrectly prior
    to the implementation of this process was 2 % with an esti-
    mated cost for repeat imaging of $60,000. After the imple-
    mentation 18 months ago, the error rate dropped to 0.05 % for
    an estimated savings of $45,000. The effect on patient and
    ordering physician satisfaction is not measurable but subjec-
    tively significant.

    Discussion

    Design and implementation of this workflow at our institution
    required approximately 12 months (Fig. 8). Hopefully, other
    institutions can accomplish this more quickly using our expe-
    rience.We have been unable, after discussion with our vendor,
    to determine whether others have implemented a similar
    EHR-based workflow for clinical research. To our knowledge,
    no similar clinical research workflow process has been report-
    ed in the literature.

    The research build described above required input from
    many individuals representing schedulers, technologists, radi-
    ologists, and clinicians to ensure that the strategies we

    employed would be functional for everyone involved.
    Overall, these changes have resulted in a more structured,
    transparent, and efficient process for managing research
    subjects.

    The paper system provided no guidance or structure for
    ordering physicians. As a result, they submitted orders in a
    research language that was meaningless to clinical personnel
    in radiology. The new order question provides a specific
    directive (“… enter your grant number”) with a limited space
    for entry. This allows for consistency in reporting research
    requirements and separates the need for a research exam from
    that exam’s reimbursement.

    In the paper system, acquisition errors were common and
    costly. If imaging is not done per protocol, the sponsor will not
    reimburse the hospital and the patient has to return for repeat
    imaging. With this change, the technologists are receiving
    consistent information that they trust to be accurate. When
    they see a grant number associated with a patient, the tech-
    nologist reviews the loaded protocols on the research desig-
    nated scanner and initiates the protocol named with the cor-
    responding grant number cited on the request. The new elec-
    tronic workflow has greatly diminished the number of mis-
    takes in adhering to protocol-required imaging procedures.

    An additional unplanned bonus of an electronic workflow
    is that each step is automatically documented in the back-
    ground. If we fail to image a subject per protocol, it is easy to
    go back through the EHR and identify the point of failure.
    Additionally, the order questions are a reportable field
    allowing us to evaluate the volume of research moving
    through the department.

    References

    1. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Whitepapers on imaging infrastruc-
    ture for research. Part 1: general workflow considerations. J Digit
    Imaging 25:449–453, 2012

    2. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Imaging infrastructure for research.
    Part 2: data management practices. J Digit Imaging 25:566–569, 2012

    3. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Whitepapers on imaging infrastruc-
    ture for research part three: security and privacy. J Digit Imaging 25:
    692–702, 2012

    4. Sachs PB, Gassert G, Cain M, Rubinstein D, Davey M, Decoteau D:
    Imaging study protocol selection in the electronic medical record. J
    Am Coll Radiol 10(3):221–223, 2013

    462 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    Copyright of Journal of Digital Imaging is the property of Springer Science & Business
    Media B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a
    listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print,
    download, or email articles for individual use.

    – Electronic Workflow for Imaging in Clinical Research
    – Abstract
    – Introduction
    – Methods and Results
    – Discussion
    – References

    **Thedigitalscribe2.pdf**

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    **IntegratingBIM.pdf**

    This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/integratingbim-pdf)

    **IntegratingBIM.pdf**

    This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/integratingbim-pdf)

    **## Week1WritingProposal.docx**

    ENC4313 Research Writing

    Book: Palmquist, M. (2021). The Bedford Researcher (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

    **Question:**

    **How do inefficient digital workflow tools affect administrative burdens, job satisfaction, costs, and employee retention among clinical staff in hospitals and outpatient clinics?**

    **Problem Statement:**

    **Clinical staff in hospitals and outpatient clinics face significant administrative burdens due to inefficient digital workflow tools, which may lead to decreased job satisfaction, increased costs, and lower employee retention.**

    Each week, you will build towards the Formal Research Paper, a research paper exploring a problem and presenting a solution. You should review the requirements provided under the "Course Resources" so you can begin planning and developing your topic.

    During Week 1, you will complete a proposal. As one of the main goals of this course is to develop an appropriate and organized research topic through all stages of the writing process, the proposal is a first step. While the proposal is meant to guide your exploration, it is not a final blueprint. Throughout the upcoming weeks, you will engage in the research process by evaluating sources, asking questions, applying the knowledge that you gather, and synthesizing evidence and ideas from various sources.

    This is the beginning of an academic journey, and you are not expected to have all the answers. You are expected to embrace the path laid out before you by completing the assignments, discussions, and learning activities to the best of your abilities.

    Directions:

    Write a paragraph in which you describe your topic and proposed problem. Include how it relates to your career or field of study and why it is important to investigate. Then, clearly identify your Research Question(s).

    In the second paragraph, provide a narrative of your research process (100-150 words). Explain what keywords you searched and why you selected the sources that you chose. How do you know these sources are valid?

    Paste a screenshot of your database search (see example below). This can be included in your Word doc or uploaded separately.

    Include at least three sources from the Keiser Online Library database. Use the database-exported APA citation, followed by an objective summary (~100 words each) of each source. Be sure to include the permalink as part of the citation.

    Then, in your own words, explain how these sources add to your knowledge, what questions these sources raise, and what additional sources you still need to find. Also, explain where your topic fits in the existing "conversation" identified through your research (e.g., is there a gap that you will fill with your research?). (~150-200 words)

    Writing Proposal
    As an education major, there are many topics of concern. However, since I am focused on
    the higher education sector, I will explore the issue of students who drop out of college. Students all come from diverse backgrounds, so there are many different reasons. Based on preliminary research, there is a significant issue with non-traditional students, that is, students who did not go straight to college from high school, leaving college before earning their degree. Dropping out of college makes a significant impact on students financially and emotionally and can ultimately change the course of their lives. Therefore, this is an important topic to research.

    To begin researching this topic, I brainstormed keywords. In the Keiser Online library, I
    used the Gale One File database with the keywords: college student, dropout, attrition.
    Unfortunately, many of the resources that I found were either old or related to specific fields, such as nursing. I then searched in the ProQuest database using the same key words. I found many articles, and also used the “more like this” option to find additional sources. The criteria that I used to determine that they were valid sources was the date of publication and the publication source. I also used the “peer reviewed” checkbox in the search to limit the type of articles. I selected the article by Sihare (2025) because it focused on dropouts in higher education and it was a recent article. The other articles that I chose were also focused on higher education in the United States, considering various causes for student drop outs.

    Sources
    Sihare, S. R. (2024). Student Dropout Analysis in Higher Education and Retention by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. SN Computer Science, 5(2), 202.
    [https://0624785vv-](https://0624785vv-/) mp01-y-https-doi-org.prx-keiser.lirn.net/10.1007/s42979-023-02458-w
    This study looked at student drops out in five different colleges. The researchers surveyed
    students to identify the reasons for their drop out and categorized the findings. The study also looked at the school administration and the steps that were taken to address student attrition. This study proposed an AI-based solution to make activities more engaging to help keep students enrolled and completing their degrees. This comprehensive analysis was studies over three academic years at five different colleges, providing diverse data. It concluded that AI has tremendous retention benefits.

    (Repeat this format for all 3 sources).
    The Conversation

    All three sources provided different perspectives on the issue of student attrition. While
    Sihare (2025) provided a study that incorporated both the student and school administrators perspective, Miller et al. (2026) was more focused on the school administrators perspective. Similarly, Howe & Rybicki (2025) addressed the issue primarily from the school administrators perspective. Cumulatively, these sources provide a well-rounded view of how the issue of student drop-outs at the college level are being addressed. One gap area in the research is understanding the issue from the student perspective. Sihare (2025) provided some research in this area, but before a clear solution can be suggested, the problem must fully be understood. To do that, more research is necessary from the student perspective. The preliminary research also raises questions about the motivations for students to complete their college degree, and how that motivation may be used to keep students enrolled.

    Writing

    **## Eletronicworkflow.pdf**

    Electronic Workflow for Imaging in Clinical Research

    Rebecca A. Hedges & Danielle Goodman & Peter B. Sachs

    Published online: 3 April 2014
    # Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2014

    Abstract In the transition from paper to electronic workflow,
    the University of Colorado Health System’s implementation
    of a new electronic health record system (EHR) forced all
    clinical groups to reevaluate their practices including the
    infrastructure surrounding clinical trials. Radiological imag-
    ing is an important piece of many clinical trials and requires a
    high level of consistency and standardization. With EHR
    implementation, paper orders were manually transcribed into
    the EHR, digitizing an inefficient work flow. A team of
    schedulers, radiologists, technologists, research personnel,
    and EHR analysts worked together to optimize the EHR to
    accommodate the needs of research imaging protocols. The
    transition to electronic workflow posed several problems: (1)
    there needed to be effective communication throughout the
    imaging process from scheduling to radiologist interpretation.
    (2) The exam ordering process needed to be automated to
    allow scheduling of specific research studies on specific
    equipment. (3) The billing process needed to be controlled
    to accommodate radiologists already supported by grants. (4)
    There needed to be functionality allowing exams to finalize
    automatically skipping the PACS and interpretation process.
    (5) There needed to be a way to alert radiologists that a
    specialized research interpretation was needed on a given
    exam. These issues were resolved through the optimization
    of the “visit type,” allowing a high-level control of an exam at
    the time of scheduling. Additionally, we added columns and
    fields to work queues displaying grant identification numbers.

    The build solutions we implemented reduced the mistakes
    made and increased imaging quality and compliance.

    Keywords Clinical research . Imaging informatics .

    Workflow . Electronic medical record

    Introduction

    Imaging for clinical research currently represents 7 % of cross-
    sectional imaging studies performed at the University of
    Colorado Hospital and supports over 500 clinical trials.
    Erickson et al., have described the components of a clinical
    research imaging workflow [1–3]. The transition from paper to
    a digital electronic health record system (EHR) has forced
    every sector to reevaluate their workflow, including the com-
    plex radiology research infrastructure. Initially managed on
    paper, we had to reinterpret the way research needs were to
    be facilitated, communicated, and executed in a digital format.
    The clinical and research patients share the same radiology
    resources and basic workflow. Currently, the hospital is 2 years
    in to the implementation of an EHR which encompasses five
    hospitals, only one of which is involved in research. With the
    implementation of the EHR, all routine clinical imaging was
    ordered electronically; however, research orders remained on
    paper and were manually entered into the EHR. This trans-
    ferred the inadequate paper system into a digital format (Fig. 1).

    The specific factors that needed to be accounted for by the
    new workflow included:

    1. The research workflow needed to be functional for the
    central, academic hospital without disrupting operations
    at the four other community hospitals in the health system
    that are not involved in research.

    2. A communication method was needed that would allow
    radiology schedulers, radiology technologists, and

    R. A. Hedges : P. B. Sachs (*)
    Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of
    Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop L954, 12401 E.
    17th Ave., Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    e-mail: peter.sachs@ucdenver.edu

    D. Goodman
    Department of Information Technology, University of Colorado
    Hospital, Mail Stop L, Aurora, CO 80045, USA

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462
    DOI 10.1007/s10278-014-9684-1

    Fig. 1 Workflow diagram of paper driven process

    Fig. 3

    Fig. 4

    Fig. 5-6

    Fig. 2 Workflow diagram of electronic process in the EHR

    458 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    radiologists to be alerted that a given patient or exam is
    part of a research study. Many of our research studies
    require services that are more complex than our standard
    practice. These could include non-standard imaging se-
    ries, longer scan times, specialized interpretations, or im-
    aging on specific equipment. Further complicating this
    issue is the number of parties involved in carrying out a
    research study. The first point of contact for research
    exams is the scheduling team who controls where and
    for how long a given exam will take place. Radiologists,
    when protocoling studies, need to direct clinical research
    exams back to the technologists to perform per protocol.
    Subsequently, the technologists determine what parame-
    ters are used for a given exam, image the patient, and then
    assign the images to a specific radiology section for
    review. Finally, the radiologist interprets the images.
    Each party needs to be aware of the research requirements
    so any errors made at the first point of contact can be
    corrected down the line.

    3. An automated method of scheduling the exam on the
    appropriate resource had to be devised. Many studies
    must be performed on a specific scanner because the
    protocol requires all acquisitions on the same resource
    for consistency or because we have a special series
    loaded on a specific resource. This step is extremely
    important because the hospital will not be reimbursed
    for imaging that was not done per protocol and more
    importantly, the subject generally has to be brought
    back for repeat imaging.

    4.We needed to include a means of controlling whether or not
    an exam bills a professional fee. Some of our radiologists
    collect salary support for their participation and review of
    images on clinical trials in lieu of traditional professional
    reimbursement. Other trials include limited imaging se-
    quences that do not require review by a radiologist and do
    not incur a professional fee.

    5. The exams that do not receive interpretations by radiolo-
    gists must also auto-finalize in picture archiving and com-
    munication system (PACS) when the exam is ended by the
    technologist so that they do not drop to a radiologist’s
    interpretation work queue.

    6. As part of the re-engineering of clinical research imaging
    workflow, the Department of Radiology also began a new

    program providing specialized research interpretations for
    oncology clinical trials. These Response Evaluation
    Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) reads involve a stan-
    dardized measurement and reporting technique that is
    incorporated in the more comprehensive, clinical read.
    This added research service presented some of the same
    challenges as described above for the overall research
    build, namely, the issue of notification. This service only
    affects radiologists and so the schedulers and technolo-
    gists are not implicated in this specialized read.

    These process improvement changes needed to occur in
    such a way that patients and ordering physicians not involved
    in research saw no change in their workflow.

    Methods and Results

    The solution involved manipulation of several different as-
    pects of the ordering and scheduling process (Fig. 2).

    1. At order entry, a physician has to complete several “order
    questions” such as “Immediate read required?” or “Has
    the patient had a reaction to CT contrast?” The original
    paper order contained only one question regarding re-
    search: “Billable to grant? If yes, Grant number”
    (Fig. 3). As much of research imaging is covered by
    insurance, this question was not accurately capturing all
    patients participating in a clinical trial. We changed this
    question to “If research protocol, enter grant number”
    followed by a separate question regarding billing: “Is this
    billable to a grant?” This change allowed us to capture all
    research needs. Schedulers, radiologists, and technolo-
    gists can all view responses to this question easily in their
    work queues (Figs. 4, 5, and 6). Utilizing our previously
    reported electronic protocol selection process [4], the
    radiologists can route these exams back to the technolo-
    gists. At the time of imaging, the radiology technologists
    can then select the correct protocol for each study based
    on the examination ordered and the supplied grant num-
    ber. These protocols are built into the imaging resource.

    2. Initially, specialized exam codes were created that re-
    searchers could select from the EHR. Instead of “CT

    Fig. 3 Order questions for
    research in the EHR

    Fig. 4 Scheduler work queue
    with grant protocol number
    specified

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462 459

    CHEST WITHOUT CONTRAST” these research exam
    codes included the hospital assigned grant ID number (G-
    number) in the title: e.g., “CT CHEST WITHOUT
    CONTRAST—GO02/Melanoma Clinical Trial”
    allowing individuals at each step of the workflow to
    identify the research study. This created a significant
    downstream problem. As we began discussing resolutions
    to this issue, the announcement was made that four other
    hospitals would be integrated into our EHR but would not
    be doing clinical research. The grant database could not
    be made public as it is shared among all five hospitals and
    inappropriate selection of research-specific imaging stud-
    ies could occur. To prevent selection of expired or invalid

    grant imaging, the database is maintained regularly by
    analysts and our professional research assistant (PRA).
    The final workflow employs a scheduling convention
    called a “visit type.” Every exam code used in the hospital
    has a visit type which defines the basic logic for schedul-
    ing. The room, equipment, and exam duration can all be
    controlled through manipulation of the visit type. Our
    EHR analysts build specialized visit types for non-
    standard research studies. They have the same CPT codes
    and exam names as their clinical equivalents but the exam
    duration and specific resource have been altered. In prac-
    tice, the scheduler sees the grant number in their work
    queue and then selects the correct grant visit from a

    Fig. 5 Information presented to
    radiologist at time of image study
    protocol selection

    Fig. 6 Technologist work queue
    with grant protocol number
    specified

    Fig. 7 Specialized read
    (RECIST) request highlighted in
    radiologist reading palette at time
    of study interpretation

    460 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    Fig. 8 Timeline to develop and
    implement a fully electronic
    process for clinical research
    imaging workflow management

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462 461

    database embedded in their EPIC workflow, thus
    automatically blocking the study-required equipment
    resource for the study-required exam length.

    3. The visit type also allows control over professional billing.
    Logic added to the visit type causes a message to populate
    in the coders work queue: “No process read.” This notifies
    coders not to bill a professional fee.

    4. A programming point can be added at the visit type level
    that allows an exam to auto-finalize without hitting a
    radiologist’s work queue. When the exam is terminated
    by a technologist, this added programming communicates
    to PACS that the exam is complete and auto-populates the
    report with a default message stating the exam is “for
    research purposes only and the images are not intended
    for clinical use.”

    5. To accommodate cases requiring a RECIST read, we
    amended the order questions to include a RECIST re-
    quest: “RECIST read performed by radiology? (Yes/
    No).” Principal investigators can order this specialized
    read when they order the corresponding exam. This
    request is highlighted in the radiologist’s reading palette
    when reviewing the exam (Fig. 7).

    The error rate for ordering research studies incorrectly prior
    to the implementation of this process was 2 % with an esti-
    mated cost for repeat imaging of $60,000. After the imple-
    mentation 18 months ago, the error rate dropped to 0.05 % for
    an estimated savings of $45,000. The effect on patient and
    ordering physician satisfaction is not measurable but subjec-
    tively significant.

    Discussion

    Design and implementation of this workflow at our institution
    required approximately 12 months (Fig. 8). Hopefully, other
    institutions can accomplish this more quickly using our expe-
    rience.We have been unable, after discussion with our vendor,
    to determine whether others have implemented a similar
    EHR-based workflow for clinical research. To our knowledge,
    no similar clinical research workflow process has been report-
    ed in the literature.

    The research build described above required input from
    many individuals representing schedulers, technologists, radi-
    ologists, and clinicians to ensure that the strategies we

    employed would be functional for everyone involved.
    Overall, these changes have resulted in a more structured,
    transparent, and efficient process for managing research
    subjects.

    The paper system provided no guidance or structure for
    ordering physicians. As a result, they submitted orders in a
    research language that was meaningless to clinical personnel
    in radiology. The new order question provides a specific
    directive (“… enter your grant number”) with a limited space
    for entry. This allows for consistency in reporting research
    requirements and separates the need for a research exam from
    that exam’s reimbursement.

    In the paper system, acquisition errors were common and
    costly. If imaging is not done per protocol, the sponsor will not
    reimburse the hospital and the patient has to return for repeat
    imaging. With this change, the technologists are receiving
    consistent information that they trust to be accurate. When
    they see a grant number associated with a patient, the tech-
    nologist reviews the loaded protocols on the research desig-
    nated scanner and initiates the protocol named with the cor-
    responding grant number cited on the request. The new elec-
    tronic workflow has greatly diminished the number of mis-
    takes in adhering to protocol-required imaging procedures.

    An additional unplanned bonus of an electronic workflow
    is that each step is automatically documented in the back-
    ground. If we fail to image a subject per protocol, it is easy to
    go back through the EHR and identify the point of failure.
    Additionally, the order questions are a reportable field
    allowing us to evaluate the volume of research moving
    through the department.

    References

    1. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Whitepapers on imaging infrastruc-
    ture for research. Part 1: general workflow considerations. J Digit
    Imaging 25:449–453, 2012

    2. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Imaging infrastructure for research.
    Part 2: data management practices. J Digit Imaging 25:566–569, 2012

    3. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Whitepapers on imaging infrastruc-
    ture for research part three: security and privacy. J Digit Imaging 25:
    692–702, 2012

    4. Sachs PB, Gassert G, Cain M, Rubinstein D, Davey M, Decoteau D:
    Imaging study protocol selection in the electronic medical record. J
    Am Coll Radiol 10(3):221–223, 2013

    462 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    Copyright of Journal of Digital Imaging is the property of Springer Science & Business
    Media B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a
    listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print,
    download, or email articles for individual use.

    – Electronic Workflow for Imaging in Clinical Research
    – Abstract
    – Introduction
    – Methods and Results
    – Discussion
    – References

    **Thedigitalscribe2.pdf**

    This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/thedigitalscribe2-pdf)

    **IntegratingBIM.pdf**

    This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/integratingbim-pdf)

    **## Week1WritingProposal.docx**

    ENC4313 Research Writing

    Book: Palmquist, M. (2021). The Bedford Researcher (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

    **Question:**

    **How do inefficient digital workflow tools affect administrative burdens, job satisfaction, costs, and employee retention among clinical staff in hospitals and outpatient clinics?**

    **Problem Statement:**

    **Clinical staff in hospitals and outpatient clinics face significant administrative burdens due to inefficient digital workflow tools, which may lead to decreased job satisfaction, increased costs, and lower employee retention.**

    Each week, you will build towards the Formal Research Paper, a research paper exploring a problem and presenting a solution. You should review the requirements provided under the "Course Resources" so you can begin planning and developing your topic.

    During Week 1, you will complete a proposal. As one of the main goals of this course is to develop an appropriate and organized research topic through all stages of the writing process, the proposal is a first step. While the proposal is meant to guide your exploration, it is not a final blueprint. Throughout the upcoming weeks, you will engage in the research process by evaluating sources, asking questions, applying the knowledge that you gather, and synthesizing evidence and ideas from various sources.

    This is the beginning of an academic journey, and you are not expected to have all the answers. You are expected to embrace the path laid out before you by completing the assignments, discussions, and learning activities to the best of your abilities.

    Directions:

    Write a paragraph in which you describe your topic and proposed problem. Include how it relates to your career or field of study and why it is important to investigate. Then, clearly identify your Research Question(s).

    In the second paragraph, provide a narrative of your research process (100-150 words). Explain what keywords you searched and why you selected the sources that you chose. How do you know these sources are valid?

    Paste a screenshot of your database search (see example below). This can be included in your Word doc or uploaded separately.

    Include at least three sources from the Keiser Online Library database. Use the database-exported APA citation, followed by an objective summary (~100 words each) of each source. Be sure to include the permalink as part of the citation.

    Then, in your own words, explain how these sources add to your knowledge, what questions these sources raise, and what additional sources you still need to find. Also, explain where your topic fits in the existing "conversation" identified through your research (e.g., is there a gap that you will fill with your research?). (~150-200 words)

    Writing Proposal
    As an education major, there are many topics of concern. However, since I am focused on
    the higher education sector, I will explore the issue of students who drop out of college. Students all come from diverse backgrounds, so there are many different reasons. Based on preliminary research, there is a significant issue with non-traditional students, that is, students who did not go straight to college from high school, leaving college before earning their degree. Dropping out of college makes a significant impact on students financially and emotionally and can ultimately change the course of their lives. Therefore, this is an important topic to research.

    To begin researching this topic, I brainstormed keywords. In the Keiser Online library, I
    used the Gale One File database with the keywords: college student, dropout, attrition.
    Unfortunately, many of the resources that I found were either old or related to specific fields, such as nursing. I then searched in the ProQuest database using the same key words. I found many articles, and also used the “more like this” option to find additional sources. The criteria that I used to determine that they were valid sources was the date of publication and the publication source. I also used the “peer reviewed” checkbox in the search to limit the type of articles. I selected the article by Sihare (2025) because it focused on dropouts in higher education and it was a recent article. The other articles that I chose were also focused on higher education in the United States, considering various causes for student drop outs.

    Sources
    Sihare, S. R. (2024). Student Dropout Analysis in Higher Education and Retention by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. SN Computer Science, 5(2), 202.
    [https://0624785vv-](https://0624785vv-/) mp01-y-https-doi-org.prx-keiser.lirn.net/10.1007/s42979-023-02458-w
    This study looked at student drops out in five different colleges. The researchers surveyed
    students to identify the reasons for their drop out and categorized the findings. The study also looked at the school administration and the steps that were taken to address student attrition. This study proposed an AI-based solution to make activities more engaging to help keep students enrolled and completing their degrees. This comprehensive analysis was studies over three academic years at five different colleges, providing diverse data. It concluded that AI has tremendous retention benefits.

    (Repeat this format for all 3 sources).
    The Conversation

    All three sources provided different perspectives on the issue of student attrition. While
    Sihare (2025) provided a study that incorporated both the student and school administrators perspective, Miller et al. (2026) was more focused on the school administrators perspective. Similarly, Howe & Rybicki (2025) addressed the issue primarily from the school administrators perspective. Cumulatively, these sources provide a well-rounded view of how the issue of student drop-outs at the college level are being addressed. One gap area in the research is understanding the issue from the student perspective. Sihare (2025) provided some research in this area, but before a clear solution can be suggested, the problem must fully be understood. To do that, more research is necessary from the student perspective. The preliminary research also raises questions about the motivations for students to complete their college degree, and how that motivation may be used to keep students enrolled.

    Writing

    **## Eletronicworkflow.pdf**

    Electronic Workflow for Imaging in Clinical Research

    Rebecca A. Hedges & Danielle Goodman & Peter B. Sachs

    Published online: 3 April 2014
    # Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2014

    Abstract In the transition from paper to electronic workflow,
    the University of Colorado Health System’s implementation
    of a new electronic health record system (EHR) forced all
    clinical groups to reevaluate their practices including the
    infrastructure surrounding clinical trials. Radiological imag-
    ing is an important piece of many clinical trials and requires a
    high level of consistency and standardization. With EHR
    implementation, paper orders were manually transcribed into
    the EHR, digitizing an inefficient work flow. A team of
    schedulers, radiologists, technologists, research personnel,
    and EHR analysts worked together to optimize the EHR to
    accommodate the needs of research imaging protocols. The
    transition to electronic workflow posed several problems: (1)
    there needed to be effective communication throughout the
    imaging process from scheduling to radiologist interpretation.
    (2) The exam ordering process needed to be automated to
    allow scheduling of specific research studies on specific
    equipment. (3) The billing process needed to be controlled
    to accommodate radiologists already supported by grants. (4)
    There needed to be functionality allowing exams to finalize
    automatically skipping the PACS and interpretation process.
    (5) There needed to be a way to alert radiologists that a
    specialized research interpretation was needed on a given
    exam. These issues were resolved through the optimization
    of the “visit type,” allowing a high-level control of an exam at
    the time of scheduling. Additionally, we added columns and
    fields to work queues displaying grant identification numbers.

    The build solutions we implemented reduced the mistakes
    made and increased imaging quality and compliance.

    Keywords Clinical research . Imaging informatics .

    Workflow . Electronic medical record

    Introduction

    Imaging for clinical research currently represents 7 % of cross-
    sectional imaging studies performed at the University of
    Colorado Hospital and supports over 500 clinical trials.
    Erickson et al., have described the components of a clinical
    research imaging workflow [1–3]. The transition from paper to
    a digital electronic health record system (EHR) has forced
    every sector to reevaluate their workflow, including the com-
    plex radiology research infrastructure. Initially managed on
    paper, we had to reinterpret the way research needs were to
    be facilitated, communicated, and executed in a digital format.
    The clinical and research patients share the same radiology
    resources and basic workflow. Currently, the hospital is 2 years
    in to the implementation of an EHR which encompasses five
    hospitals, only one of which is involved in research. With the
    implementation of the EHR, all routine clinical imaging was
    ordered electronically; however, research orders remained on
    paper and were manually entered into the EHR. This trans-
    ferred the inadequate paper system into a digital format (Fig. 1).

    The specific factors that needed to be accounted for by the
    new workflow included:

    1. The research workflow needed to be functional for the
    central, academic hospital without disrupting operations
    at the four other community hospitals in the health system
    that are not involved in research.

    2. A communication method was needed that would allow
    radiology schedulers, radiology technologists, and

    R. A. Hedges : P. B. Sachs (*)
    Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of
    Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop L954, 12401 E.
    17th Ave., Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    e-mail: peter.sachs@ucdenver.edu

    D. Goodman
    Department of Information Technology, University of Colorado
    Hospital, Mail Stop L, Aurora, CO 80045, USA

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462
    DOI 10.1007/s10278-014-9684-1

    Fig. 1 Workflow diagram of paper driven process

    Fig. 3

    Fig. 4

    Fig. 5-6

    Fig. 2 Workflow diagram of electronic process in the EHR

    458 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    radiologists to be alerted that a given patient or exam is
    part of a research study. Many of our research studies
    require services that are more complex than our standard
    practice. These could include non-standard imaging se-
    ries, longer scan times, specialized interpretations, or im-
    aging on specific equipment. Further complicating this
    issue is the number of parties involved in carrying out a
    research study. The first point of contact for research
    exams is the scheduling team who controls where and
    for how long a given exam will take place. Radiologists,
    when protocoling studies, need to direct clinical research
    exams back to the technologists to perform per protocol.
    Subsequently, the technologists determine what parame-
    ters are used for a given exam, image the patient, and then
    assign the images to a specific radiology section for
    review. Finally, the radiologist interprets the images.
    Each party needs to be aware of the research requirements
    so any errors made at the first point of contact can be
    corrected down the line.

    3. An automated method of scheduling the exam on the
    appropriate resource had to be devised. Many studies
    must be performed on a specific scanner because the
    protocol requires all acquisitions on the same resource
    for consistency or because we have a special series
    loaded on a specific resource. This step is extremely
    important because the hospital will not be reimbursed
    for imaging that was not done per protocol and more
    importantly, the subject generally has to be brought
    back for repeat imaging.

    4.We needed to include a means of controlling whether or not
    an exam bills a professional fee. Some of our radiologists
    collect salary support for their participation and review of
    images on clinical trials in lieu of traditional professional
    reimbursement. Other trials include limited imaging se-
    quences that do not require review by a radiologist and do
    not incur a professional fee.

    5. The exams that do not receive interpretations by radiolo-
    gists must also auto-finalize in picture archiving and com-
    munication system (PACS) when the exam is ended by the
    technologist so that they do not drop to a radiologist’s
    interpretation work queue.

    6. As part of the re-engineering of clinical research imaging
    workflow, the Department of Radiology also began a new

    program providing specialized research interpretations for
    oncology clinical trials. These Response Evaluation
    Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) reads involve a stan-
    dardized measurement and reporting technique that is
    incorporated in the more comprehensive, clinical read.
    This added research service presented some of the same
    challenges as described above for the overall research
    build, namely, the issue of notification. This service only
    affects radiologists and so the schedulers and technolo-
    gists are not implicated in this specialized read.

    These process improvement changes needed to occur in
    such a way that patients and ordering physicians not involved
    in research saw no change in their workflow.

    Methods and Results

    The solution involved manipulation of several different as-
    pects of the ordering and scheduling process (Fig. 2).

    1. At order entry, a physician has to complete several “order
    questions” such as “Immediate read required?” or “Has
    the patient had a reaction to CT contrast?” The original
    paper order contained only one question regarding re-
    search: “Billable to grant? If yes, Grant number”
    (Fig. 3). As much of research imaging is covered by
    insurance, this question was not accurately capturing all
    patients participating in a clinical trial. We changed this
    question to “If research protocol, enter grant number”
    followed by a separate question regarding billing: “Is this
    billable to a grant?” This change allowed us to capture all
    research needs. Schedulers, radiologists, and technolo-
    gists can all view responses to this question easily in their
    work queues (Figs. 4, 5, and 6). Utilizing our previously
    reported electronic protocol selection process [4], the
    radiologists can route these exams back to the technolo-
    gists. At the time of imaging, the radiology technologists
    can then select the correct protocol for each study based
    on the examination ordered and the supplied grant num-
    ber. These protocols are built into the imaging resource.

    2. Initially, specialized exam codes were created that re-
    searchers could select from the EHR. Instead of “CT

    Fig. 3 Order questions for
    research in the EHR

    Fig. 4 Scheduler work queue
    with grant protocol number
    specified

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462 459

    CHEST WITHOUT CONTRAST” these research exam
    codes included the hospital assigned grant ID number (G-
    number) in the title: e.g., “CT CHEST WITHOUT
    CONTRAST—GO02/Melanoma Clinical Trial”
    allowing individuals at each step of the workflow to
    identify the research study. This created a significant
    downstream problem. As we began discussing resolutions
    to this issue, the announcement was made that four other
    hospitals would be integrated into our EHR but would not
    be doing clinical research. The grant database could not
    be made public as it is shared among all five hospitals and
    inappropriate selection of research-specific imaging stud-
    ies could occur. To prevent selection of expired or invalid

    grant imaging, the database is maintained regularly by
    analysts and our professional research assistant (PRA).
    The final workflow employs a scheduling convention
    called a “visit type.” Every exam code used in the hospital
    has a visit type which defines the basic logic for schedul-
    ing. The room, equipment, and exam duration can all be
    controlled through manipulation of the visit type. Our
    EHR analysts build specialized visit types for non-
    standard research studies. They have the same CPT codes
    and exam names as their clinical equivalents but the exam
    duration and specific resource have been altered. In prac-
    tice, the scheduler sees the grant number in their work
    queue and then selects the correct grant visit from a

    Fig. 5 Information presented to
    radiologist at time of image study
    protocol selection

    Fig. 6 Technologist work queue
    with grant protocol number
    specified

    Fig. 7 Specialized read
    (RECIST) request highlighted in
    radiologist reading palette at time
    of study interpretation

    460 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    Fig. 8 Timeline to develop and
    implement a fully electronic
    process for clinical research
    imaging workflow management

    J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462 461

    database embedded in their EPIC workflow, thus
    automatically blocking the study-required equipment
    resource for the study-required exam length.

    3. The visit type also allows control over professional billing.
    Logic added to the visit type causes a message to populate
    in the coders work queue: “No process read.” This notifies
    coders not to bill a professional fee.

    4. A programming point can be added at the visit type level
    that allows an exam to auto-finalize without hitting a
    radiologist’s work queue. When the exam is terminated
    by a technologist, this added programming communicates
    to PACS that the exam is complete and auto-populates the
    report with a default message stating the exam is “for
    research purposes only and the images are not intended
    for clinical use.”

    5. To accommodate cases requiring a RECIST read, we
    amended the order questions to include a RECIST re-
    quest: “RECIST read performed by radiology? (Yes/
    No).” Principal investigators can order this specialized
    read when they order the corresponding exam. This
    request is highlighted in the radiologist’s reading palette
    when reviewing the exam (Fig. 7).

    The error rate for ordering research studies incorrectly prior
    to the implementation of this process was 2 % with an esti-
    mated cost for repeat imaging of $60,000. After the imple-
    mentation 18 months ago, the error rate dropped to 0.05 % for
    an estimated savings of $45,000. The effect on patient and
    ordering physician satisfaction is not measurable but subjec-
    tively significant.

    Discussion

    Design and implementation of this workflow at our institution
    required approximately 12 months (Fig. 8). Hopefully, other
    institutions can accomplish this more quickly using our expe-
    rience.We have been unable, after discussion with our vendor,
    to determine whether others have implemented a similar
    EHR-based workflow for clinical research. To our knowledge,
    no similar clinical research workflow process has been report-
    ed in the literature.

    The research build described above required input from
    many individuals representing schedulers, technologists, radi-
    ologists, and clinicians to ensure that the strategies we

    employed would be functional for everyone involved.
    Overall, these changes have resulted in a more structured,
    transparent, and efficient process for managing research
    subjects.

    The paper system provided no guidance or structure for
    ordering physicians. As a result, they submitted orders in a
    research language that was meaningless to clinical personnel
    in radiology. The new order question provides a specific
    directive (“… enter your grant number”) with a limited space
    for entry. This allows for consistency in reporting research
    requirements and separates the need for a research exam from
    that exam’s reimbursement.

    In the paper system, acquisition errors were common and
    costly. If imaging is not done per protocol, the sponsor will not
    reimburse the hospital and the patient has to return for repeat
    imaging. With this change, the technologists are receiving
    consistent information that they trust to be accurate. When
    they see a grant number associated with a patient, the tech-
    nologist reviews the loaded protocols on the research desig-
    nated scanner and initiates the protocol named with the cor-
    responding grant number cited on the request. The new elec-
    tronic workflow has greatly diminished the number of mis-
    takes in adhering to protocol-required imaging procedures.

    An additional unplanned bonus of an electronic workflow
    is that each step is automatically documented in the back-
    ground. If we fail to image a subject per protocol, it is easy to
    go back through the EHR and identify the point of failure.
    Additionally, the order questions are a reportable field
    allowing us to evaluate the volume of research moving
    through the department.

    References

    1. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Whitepapers on imaging infrastruc-
    ture for research. Part 1: general workflow considerations. J Digit
    Imaging 25:449–453, 2012

    2. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Imaging infrastructure for research.
    Part 2: data management practices. J Digit Imaging 25:566–569, 2012

    3. Erickson BJ, Pan T, Marcus DS: Whitepapers on imaging infrastruc-
    ture for research part three: security and privacy. J Digit Imaging 25:
    692–702, 2012

    4. Sachs PB, Gassert G, Cain M, Rubinstein D, Davey M, Decoteau D:
    Imaging study protocol selection in the electronic medical record. J
    Am Coll Radiol 10(3):221–223, 2013

    462 J Digit Imaging (2014) 27:457–462

    Copyright of Journal of Digital Imaging is the property of Springer Science & Business
    Media B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a
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    – Electronic Workflow for Imaging in Clinical Research
    – Abstract
    – Introduction
    – Methods and Results
    – Discussion
    – References

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