Prepare: Knowing how to thoroughly research a topic is extremely important while achieving your education. You may be asked to support your information with peer-reviewed scholarly resources, but how can you find this type of resource? The Ashford University Library allows you to search through different avenues to find the requested types of resources. You can narrow your search by the author, year published, title, subject, and by indicating what type of resource you are looking for. You even have access to a librarian if you need some guidance in finding more resources on your topic.

Reflect: Given that you have been in college for awhile, it’s time to reflect on what you have learned through the use of the Ashford University Library in relation to how you learned to acquire new information from a variety of sources.

Write: This week, you will take the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) Exam. This exam is not graded, and your results are anonymous. The exam will exit from your screen immediately after completion, and you will not receive feedback or results. This is a nationally-normed, standardized exam for students in universities all over the United States. The results of this assessment will guide Ashford University in developing the best possible library resources and research methodologies training. Results will be published (in aggregate) on Ashford’s assessment website. Your participation is voluntary, so thank you if you choose to participate. Click on the link in your online course to access the SAILS Exam (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

After completing the SAILS Exam, in at least two paragraphs (of five or more sentences each),

• Describe your experiences using resources, including concerns encountered when conducting academic research through the Ashford University Library. Areas of concern may include developing a research strategy, using the search function within a database, or evaluating sources.
• Explain how using the Ashford University Library has improved your experience in conducting research. For example, you could identify and explain how specific tutorials that you have used have helped improve your ability to conduct research.

The Information Literacy Assignment

• Must include at least two paragraphs (of at least five sentences each) that respond to the two prompts, and that are formatted according to APA style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a separate title page (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
  • Running header with page numbers
• Must have no more than 15% quoted material in the body of your essay based on the Turnitin report.
• A reference page (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. must be used when citing specific sections and/or tutorials of the Ashford Writing Center.

• Paraphrase information from the textbook or other professional sources, describe the major ideas of the theories you have selected, and include the names of the theorists associated with the development of the theories. Provide a detailed description of how those theories match with your way of thinking.

This is an MBA program please complete all work original plagerism free.

As you continue to build on your final paper, it is recommended that you review the Learning Activity assignments and review the Final Paper prompt before beginning this assignment. Please be sure to review the feedback provided by your instructor on your Week One, Week Two, and Week Three Learning Activities as well. A model POL201 Final Paper Guide is provided for you to download and utilize when completing your Final Paper. The various political actors involved in the processes, activities, and policies of the U.S. government each have evolving goals and objectives. In addition, these actors have produced differential effects, both positive and negative, on the processes, activities, and policies of the federal government. In this last weekly worksheet, you will assess the positive and negative impacts of political parties, interest groups, or federal elections on the national government. In addition, you will recommend one option to enhance the positive impact and one to diminish the negative impact. This final effort will conclude the process of critically analyzing key features of our national government and prepare you for completion of your Final Paper in Week Five.

To complete the assignment, save the Week Four Learning Activity Worksheet to your computer, fill it out, and submit it, via WayPoint.

Develop several detailed paragraphs regarding your fourth main point using the Week Four Learning Activity Worksheet.

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections
Select one of the following: political parties, interest groups, or elections. Focusing on the topic you have selected, develop four paragraphs that explain one strength and one weakness of the topic, as well as options to accentuate the positive impact and lessen the negative impact of the strength and weakness discussed.

Scholarly Support
For assistance with your research, the Ashford University’s Library provides tutorials and recorded webinars on a variety of topics. To access these helpful resources look for the links located under the FindIt@AU search box on the library home page. For help with writing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and citations (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., please review the handouts and tutorials provided by the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

A reference list of at least two scholarly resources from the Ashford University library with full APA citations is required. While your textbook can be utilized as a source, it does not count towards your two sources for this assignment. Two new sources should be utilized each week to meet the minimum of eight required sources for the final. By finding and supporting your material with these sources each week, you will have the research necessary to construct a strong Final Paper.

Assume you are leading a team of consultants hired by MPBS to help develop their total compensation plan. MPBS wants to implement a compensation plan to support their business strategy. Your team has completed the preliminary review of the organization, including discussions with management, and compiled initial information about MPBS. That information is detailed in the team report.

MPBS views their mission statement as the driver behind the alignment of policies, purposes and objectives of all operating units in the entire organization. Your first task is to help the human resources department create a compensation mission statement as the first step in designing their compensation plan. You are to consider the various factors affecting mission statements and objectives and then:

• Recommend a specific compensation mission statement and the specific objectives of the MPBS compensation system that aligns the compensation plan to the company’s mission and strategy. Provide a rationale to support your mission statement and objectives.

Your second task is to overcome the past reluctance of top management at MPBS to have anyone put much effort into administrative detail. They have generally opted for a quick and easy approach to policy and practice. You should plan to educate the top management group regarding the need for more sophisticated and detailed approaches to compensation. To do so, you must include answers to the following questions that were posed by the new HR manager. Justify your responses using scholarly sources.

• What are the relevant markets that each of MPBS’s major occupational groups should be compared to?
• Should MPBS lead, match, or follow competitors? Why?
• How will decisions on external competitiveness help MPBS align compensation policies with mission and strategy?
• Why is it important and is it worth the effort and cost for MPBS to bother with specifying pay grades and pay ranges?
• If pay grades are used, is it better to have few or more grades?
• How should the ranges vary by job type and level?
• How much overlap should be built into the grade ranges?
• In what ways might the plan MPBS develops and the related compensation policies impact job performance?

To complete this assignment, write a 5–7 page report in Word format and provide rationale and scholarly support. Apply APA standards for writing style to your work.