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Assignment 2:  Problem Solving

When faced with a problem, what do you do to solve it? This assignment asks you to apply a six-step to problem solving process to a specific problem scenario. You will write a paper that presents a synthesis of your ideas about solving the problem using this systematic approach. As Voltaire said, “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”

Choose one (1) of the problem scenarios as a topic choice for your paper (Note: Your professor must approve your topic choice before you begin work on the assignment.)

Scenario 1: You have worked at your company for eleven (11) years. You have returned to college to earn a Bachelor’s degree in order to increase your chances for a promotion. You are nearly finished with your degree, when a supervisor’s position in a competing company becomes available in another state. The start date is in two (2) weeks, during your final exam period for your courses. The position offers a $15,000 per year salary increase, a car allowance, and relocation expenses. Your former supervisor works for the company and is recommending you for the position based on your outstanding job performance; if you want the job, it’s yours. All of the other supervisors at this level in the company have Master’s degrees, so you know that you would be expected to earn your Bachelor’s degree and continue on to a Master’s degree. Your present company offers tuition reimbursement, but the new company does not.

Scenario 2: Your child comes home from school with an assignment sheet for a school project. He / she is very excited about the project and begins work immediately, doing research on the Internet and gathering materials. You read over the assignment sheet and notice that your child is not including all of the required items in the project, and you have some ideas for how to improve the quality of the presentation. You recently read an article in a parenting magazine about the importance of a child developing responsibility for his/ her own learning. You recall the many ways in which your parents took over your school projects. You, on the other hand, want to encourage your child’s confidence in his / her ability to complete a project independently. The next day, you are at the grocery store when you see a parent of a student in your child’s class. That parent has spent over $30 in supplies for the science project and is taking a day off of work to put the pieces of the project together.

Scenario 3: You have two jobs—one during the week from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, and one on Saturday from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm. You are taking two classes—one that meets from 6:00 to 10:00 pm, and one class online. You have two kids—one who plays soccer, and one who is in band. You have two elderly parents who no longer drive. You have two siblings—one who lives two (2) miles away, and one who lives in another state. You have two (2) papers due in your classes the same week that one (1) of your children has a soccer tournament, and the other child has a band concert. You are coaching the soccer team, and you are in charge of fundraising for the band. You have a goal to complete your degree in two (2) years. Your doctor tells you that your blood pressure, your cholesterol, and your weight are too high and recommends several medications that cost you nearly $200 per month after your insurance co-pay.

Scenario 4: You are a sales representative for a company that encourages staff to log time in the field and away from the office. You are expected to begin and end your day at the office. You notice that each day when you arrive and return another co-worker is already there, and you wonder whether this person spends most of his / her time at the office. At your weekly sales meeting, you are informed of your co-workers’ outstanding sales performance. You suspect that this co-worker is spending more time flattering the boss instead of working leads in the field, and as a result is getting the best client referrals. Your own sales numbers have steadily decreased since this other sales representative was hired.

Scenario 5: Professor’s Choice – problem scenario presented by your professor.

Scenario 6: Student’s Choice – Problem scenario presented by you.

Review the six-step problem solving process outlined in the webtext, based on the article “The Problem Solving Process” located at http://www.gdrc.org/decision/problem-solve.html:

• Step One: Define the problem
• Step Two: Analyze the problem
• Step Three: Generate options
• Step Four: Evaluate options
• Step Five: Make your decision
• Step Six: Implement and reflect

Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:
1. Define the problem in the scenario that you have chosen.
2. Analyze the problem in the scenario.
3. Generate options for solving the problem in the scenario.
4. Evaluate the options for solving the problem.
5. Decide on the best option for solving the problem.
6. Explain how you will implement the decision made and reflect on whether this option was the most effective.

The paper should follow guidelines for clear and organized writing:

• Include an introductory paragraph and concluding paragraph.
• Address main ideas in body paragraphs with a topic sentence and supporting sentences.
• Adhere to standard rules of English grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and spelling.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

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

1. Describe the hardware you will purchase or build (inclusive of computers, memory, storage, video cards, printers, routers and cabling). Justify your hardware selection.
2. Develop a spreadsheet or table within the two to three (2-3) page paper that itemizes the costs from the online retailer(s) of your choice. 
3. Summarize and support the approach you will use to back up your devices.
4. Suppose you were provided an additional $1,000.00 to enhance your network. Explain the changes you would make to grow your infrastructure. Support your response inclusive of memory, storage, networking and redundancy solutions.
5. Use at least two (2) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

PSY 520: Module Nine Problem Set

Nonparametric Analysis

Use the data set in the Problem Set Data document.

1.       First we are going to see if males and females differ in their choice of college major.  Since both variables are measured on a categorical scale, we have to use a chi-square test to address this question.  You can learn about chi-squares on pp. 735-46 of the textbook.

Using college major and sex as your variables, perform a chi-square analysis.  To do this, go to Analyze—Descriptive Statistics—Crosstabs. Enter Gender in the box labeled “Row(s)” and Major in the box labeled “Column(s).”  Click on Statistics, and then on Chi-Square.  Click “Continue,” then hit “OK” to run the analysis. 

Paste the tables labeled “Gender*Major Crosstabulation” and “Chi-Square Tests” here.  (5 points)

The results of the chi-square analysis will be listed in the row labeled “Pearson chi-square” in the “Chi-Square Tests” table.  Explain your results using APA formatting.  See section 18.5.7 on p. 746 of the SPSS book for how to do this  (10 points: 2 points for type of test, 1 point for df, 2 points for the correct chi-square value, 1 point for the correct p value, and 4 points for correctly interpreting the results of the test.)

2.       Next, we are going to compare coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers on the amount of coffee they consume.  The grouping variable is labeled Coffee (1 = coffee drinker, 0 = non-coffee drinker), and the outcome variable is labeled Num_cups.

a)      First state the name of the parametric test that would typically be used to compare the results of two groups.  (1 point)

b)      Then look at the distribution of the data to determine if the assumptions of this test are met.  An easy way to do this would be to go to Analyze—Descriptive Statistics—Frequencies. Enter the outcome variable (Num_cups) in the “Variable(s)” box.   Then click on Charts and then on Histograms.  Click Continue, then OK to run the analysis.  Paste the histogram here (2 points)

c)  After taking a look at the distribution of the data, state why these data violate a key assumption of parametric tests.  (2 points).

d) Find the medians of the 2 groups. One way to do this is to go to Analyze-Descriptive Statistics–Explore.  Enter Coffee under Factor List and Num_cups under Dependent List. Click OK to run the analysis. List the medians of the coffee and non-coffee groups here. (2 points)

e) Now conduct a Mann-Whitney U test to see if the two groups differ in the amount of coffee consumed.  You can learn more about the Mann-Whitney U test on pp. 217-228 of the SPSS book. 

To conduct the test, go to Analyze—Nonparametric Tests—Independent Samples.  Under the Objective tab, click on “Customize Analysis.”  Under the Fields tab, drag Coffee to the box labeled Groups and Num_cups to the box labeled Test Fields.  Under the Settings tab, click on Customize Tests, then on Mann-Whitney U (2 samples).

Click Run to run the analysis.  Paste here the table labeled “Hypothesis Test Summary.” (2 points)

f) Explain your results using APA formatting. See section 6.4.6 in the SPSS book for an example, but don’t worry about effect sizes (r).

To write up the results, you’ll need to double click on the Hypothesis Test Summary table to see the value of the Mann-Whitney U statistic and the Standardized Test Statistic (z), but you don’t need to paste these detailed results here. 

If the groups differed, please don’t just state that they differed significantly; instead, explain which group drank significantly more coffee than which other groups

(6 points: 1 point for correctly stating the name of the test, 1 point for including the medians, 1 point for the correct value of the Mann-Whitney U statistic, 1 point for the correct value of the z statistic, 1 point for the correct p value, and 1 point for correctly interpreting the result).