Summary of assignment
• Task: You write a report that does the following:
o defines a problem persuasively and accurately
o proposes a solution or
... [Show More] solutions to the problem or issue
o presents that solution to a decision-maker or group of decision-makers who can
implement the recommendation
• Topic: You will choose the same topic on which you wrote the memo for writing
assignment #3.
• Length: 2000-3000 words
• Format: Your sources will be cited and listed in APA format.
• Writing Process: You will submit a first draft of the report to the assignment folder.
The first draft will be given comments by the instructor. After receiving comments from
the instructor, you will submit a revised draft. The final draft will be graded.
If you do not submit a second draft, the first draft will be graded.
• Components of the report:
o title page
o letter to the decision maker (this should be a business letter, not a memo)
o executive summary
o table of contents
o introduction
o body of the report to include headings and subheadings
o conclusion stated as a recommendation for implementation of the solution
o References page, with references listed in APA format
Instructions on how to list an interview in APA format can be seen at
the following url: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/11/
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Primary and Secondary Sources
The report must incorporate the results of your own primary research. When integrating primary
research, you must explain the method(s) you used to gather that research and insert a copy in
your report’s appendices of any collection instrument you used. For example, if you interviewed
some people for the report, you would put the list of interview questions you asked in the
appendix. If you arranged for a group of people to take a survey, you would put the survey in the
appendix.
The complete report should also cite at least seven secondary sources. At least three of these
secondary sources should come from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals.
As noted above, your primary and secondary sources will be integrated into the paper to
explain the problem, to provide evidence of the problem, and to support the solution.
Please note that, if you interview people for your research, you must cite the interviews in your
paper. In the paper, you cannot simply write that you “spoke with employees.” A URL that
shows how to cite an interview in APA citation style is provided in the list of components
for the report.
You might have taken WRTG 393 at UMUC. In WRTG 393, the final paper is a white paper.
This assignment is different from the white paper in WRTG 393. In this paper for WRTG 394,
you are writing to a specific decision-maker about a specific problem in your workplace or
community. The audience is much more focused than that for the white paper in WRTG 393.
Graphics
Your report might benefit from graphics. As mentioned above, pictures of your workplace or
community situation might help illustrate the problem you are trying to address. Graphs, tables,
or charts might help show trends that will persuade your decision-maker that the problem exists.
Please do not incorporate a graphic for the sake of incorporating a graphic. Include a graphic
only if it helps communicate a message in your report.
Due Date
Your instructor will notify you of the due date. You will write a first draft, your instructor will
comment on the first draft, and you will submit a second draft using the comments as your guide.
3
Guides to Help You in Writing this Assignment:
• Victoria University of Wellington
• Murdoch University
• Colorado State University
Topic Selection:
For this report, you will write on the same topic on which you wrote the memo for writing
assignment #3. In addition, it should be related to the topic on which you wrote writing
assignment #2. The secondary research you conducted for writing assignment #2 should be
usable in some form for this report.
You must contact your instructor for approval before changing your topic from writing
assignment #3. In addition, if you do so, you must re-submit a memo for writing assignment #3.
Submitting the assignment:
You will submit a first draft of the essay to the assignment folder. The first draft will not be
graded. The instructor will provide comments on it.
After receiving comments from the instructor, you will submit a revised draft. The final draft
will be graded.
Workplace Problems
To: Human resource manager
From: James
Date: 10/11/2019
Subject: request to conduct research on reduced employee productivity
Summary
Over the recent past, the organization has witnessed a decrease in
employee productivity, as reflected in the sales and reduced customer loyalty.
This memo is focused on showcasing the approaches which can be used in
establishing the reasons behind the reduced employee productivity.
What the Problem is and Why it Needs to be Investigated
The organization has witnessed depreciation in terms of output per annum,
as reflected in reduced revenues. Unlike in the past, when the organization was
experiencing an upsurge in terms of revenues and expansion in the market, the
firm this year experience a shrinkage in its market size. Resultantly there has
been a large number of products that remain unsolved with a large fraction
reaching their expiry dates before being consumed.
In addition to that, there is a marked increase in customer complaints, as
reflected in the firm's social media platforms. Most of the customers express their
displeasure with the manner in which their concerns are beings addressed with
others arguing that the quality of goods they are getting is not commensurate
with the amount of money which they pay. Ostensibly the increased complaints
have had a negative impact on the firm’s image, with most individuals not willing
to be associated with the company. Customer loyalty has also been on a
downward trend, with most of the customers opting to rely on products from other
companies.
The company has also been forced to push forward various deadlines to
accommodate the slow delivery of services. A notable example is reflected in the
sales department, which was tasked with expanding the company’s reach into
new markets. It is, however, worth noting that this objective has not been
achieved irrespective of reinforcement and the introduction of overtime and
additional working hours.
What Secondary Research I Have Conducted about the Problem
I have conducted various secondary research, which indicates that the
existence of such problems is often a manifestation of underlying issues. As
shown by Assir (2016), some of the notable factors which have been associated
with reduced employee productivity include inadequate resources, poor
management, and lack of necessary technology as well as stress. From the
author’s perspective, inadequate resources have been associated with the
inability of the employees to fulfill their objectives due to the inability to get the
necessary tools. The labor shortage is another aspect that often results in the
employees being overworked in order to attain the organizational targets.
However, in doing so, the employees often experience heightened stress levels
due to handling work, which is beyond their capacity. On the other hand, poor
management from the author’s perspective has been linked to poor visions,
confusion, and conflicts, which ultimately hamper the ability of the organization to
prosper. Specifically, it is often required that the management advice the
employees on the approaches which they can use in order to meet the firm's
targets. It, therefore, follows that the unavailability of such guidance results in
heightened confusion, which subsequently hampers productivity (Chen et al.
2015). Similarly, the inability of the management to provide employees with the
necessary tools can significantly limit their ability to match the competition. This
especially true in instances where there are new technological advances.
What Primary Research I Will Conduct the Problem
In light of the above highlighted issues, the primary research, in this case,
will be focused on determining the specific factors behind the reduced
productivity at the firm. In essence, the primary research will be focused on
highlighting the specific issue behind the problem. The research will be
conducted through interviews where the employees will be required to provide
their perspectives on the issues which may be hampering their ability to perform
as required.
Why We Will Benefit from My Research and Recommendations
A decrease in productivity is evidently due to various issues, such as the
lack of proper management, technology, or resources. It, therefore, follows that
providing adequate resources and appropriate technology will be vital towards
improving productivity. This is based on the fact that the employees will have the
necessary tools for implementing their responsibility and in addition to that,
providing the necessary management intervention will be another necessary
solution to the problem. As shown above, the lack of proper management has
been associated with poor decision making and lack of guidance, which is
necessary for efficiency productivity. Authorizing research in this particular area
is bound to benefit the company in various ways, such as improved revenues
and, subsequently, profitability. In addition to that, the firm will stand to benefit
from better customer loyalty and improved competitiveness.
Conclusion
It is evident from the above discussion that the firm is experiencing
numerous challenges associated with employee productivity. In particular, this
has resulted in reduced revenue and profitability. The customers are also shifting
to other organizations with better product offers. It, therefore, follows that
providing me with this opportunity to conduct research on your firm will be of
great importance since it will help determine the real reason behind the reduced
productivity.
References
Assir, W. (2016). Risk Of Loss Of Productivity In Workplaces. International
Journal Of Scientific & Technology Research Volume 5, Issue 05
Chen, L., Hannon, P. A., Laing, S. S., Kohn, M. J., Clark, K., Pritchard, S., &
Harris, J. R. (2015). Perceived workplace health support is associated with
employee productivity. American Journal of Health Promotion, 29(3), 139-146.
A drug is any substance that alters the normal body functioning of an organism.
There are drugs used for medicinal purposes and those used for pleasure such as alcohol
and cigarettes. It is crucial for governments to come up with rules that regulate the usage
of drugs; and mostly the addictive drugs. The regulation of the utilization of drugs in a
particular state, city or nation is referred to as drug policy. Drug policies are mainly
aimed at mitigating the demand for drugs and moreover, cutting the source of the same
(Csete et.al, 2016). These policies drafted by the governing bodies aid in lessening the
harm caused by drugs to people. Some of the common actions that have been taken
include; publicly declaring of some drugs illegal, fining anyone involved in prohibited
drugs and in some instances, the individuals involved are imprisoned.
Drug policies normally focus on a healthy community whereby no one suffers
from harmful implications of drugs such as addiction. Therefore, the drug policies have
established measures that would aid in the curbing of the usage of drugs (Jensema et.al,
2016). Such measures were enacted several years ago, however, their efforts have been
fruitless. This is because there are many challenges in the usage of drugs and recently, the
medicinal drugs which were supposed to aid in health have also caused some controversy
and thus, there is a need for intervention. Some of the measures by early policies include
voluntary and forced rehabilitation, creating public awareness through campaigns and the
enactment of foreign policies. However, there is an urgent need to solve the issue of
medicinal drugs because no measures have been put in place to take care of the drug
misuse by patients. This means that new drug policy should encompass both curbings of
medicinal drug misuse and drug abuse.
First and foremost, it is vital to comprehend the problems facing the medicinal
drug sector that has caused a lot of misuse amongst patients (Ford, Sacra & Yohros,
2017) The knowledge of the challenges would enable the policymakers to solve the
problem amicably since there is knowhow of the weak points. Lack of access to drugs is
the first hitch (Sivashanker, Fanikos & Kachalia, 2018). Drugs with medicinal value have
become unavailable for late and expensive at the same time. The aforementioned factors
cause the ick people in the lower tiers of wealth to lack medicinal drugs whenever they
fall ill. This coerces them to look for cheaper alternatives and that is where they get
counterfeit drugs that are not helpful. Another glitch is the poor quality of drugs that is
due to inadequate quality assurance and quality control systems. This may be due to
inadequate legislation and regulations and more so, poor infrastructure to facilitate
amicable quality of drugs.
Drug misuse is another challenge that increases the need to come up with policies
against the misuse of the same. Misuse begins from poor handling of drugs, storage and
even distribution from the pharmaceuticals. This degrades the quality of drugs and
henceforth, the drug may be ineffective in the body of a patient. The patients on the other
hand also fall victim to the malpractices involving medicinal drugs (Schepis, Wilens &
McCabe, 2019). This is evident in the way individuals buy drugs from pharmaceuticals
without prescription from qualified doctors. This practice can be attributed to the
availability of cheaper options in which the quality of the drug is questionable. Patient at
times, fail to follow the instructions from the pharmacists in hospitals in that, they are
given guidelines on how to use a drug and they ignore. This will definitely make the drug
useless in the body and thus the patient may not recover fully from the ailment.
With the aforesaid complications, it is imperative that a common framework is
developed to ensure that the misuse of medicinal drugs and also, narcotic drugs are
combated with appropriately. These common policies are to be developed by different
nations and then synchronized by the World Health Organization. Henceforth, the drug
policy would contain the following elements; to begin with, selection of essential drugs
would be necessary for any health agency in a nation. This is because the government
needs to have priorities in its pharmaceutical industry, whereby, certain drugs are
considered more vital due to the impact on a sick person. Furthermore, the policy should
also contain a list of drugs that are constantly updated, with the inclusion of traditional
and herbal medicines.
Affordability of drugs is another sector that is crucial in the development of drug
policies in a nation. This is due to the challenge of patients lacking access to drugs due to
their expensive prices. The governments of specific countries have a role to play in
ensuring that the prices of the drug are lowered. Additionally, the taxes and tariffs on
drugs ought to be reduced so as to ensure that drugs are available to all and sundry in the
nation. Drug financing by the state is also important as it will increase the accessibility of
drugs to the locals. Therefore, the state has a role to play by financing drugs, funding the
less fortunate and applying for drug donations from recognized pharmaceuticals around
the world (Mehralian & Bastani, 2015). The supply systems of drugs are other key
components that are required in the implementation of a new drug policy that will see to
it that there will be good pharmaceutical practices (Mehralian, Zarenezhad &
Rajabzadeh, 2015). Supply systems would aid in ensuring that there is fast distribution of
drugs in cases of an emergency. Likewise, supply systems facilitate inventory controls
that aid in preventing theft and waste. Therefore, when all the aforementioned
components are integrated into one drug policy, then there would be an improvement in
the usage of medicinal drugs.
In summation, development of a drug policy that is in line with the World Health
Organization will aid in ensuring that there is proper usage of medicinal drugs by
patients. The policies developed by different nations would take care of the hitches that
face the utilization of drugs in different nations. Such problems include lacking access to
essential drugs, poor quality of drugs, counterfeit drugs, and drug misuse. However,
challenges still exist even after solving the aforesaid problems; for instance, the change in
disease patterns and diseases with no cure such as HIV/AIDS. The policy should contain
components that include selecting essential drugs, affordability of drugs, supply systems
and furthermore, aspects such as quality control, quality assurance and research are
important in the development of drug policy. Drug policies put in place will ensure that
all countries in the world solve the menace of misuse of drugs and moreover, enable
everyone to obtain medical attention on matters of drugs.
References
Csete, J., Kamarulzaman, A., Kazatchkine, M., Altice, F., Balicki, M., Buxton, J., ... &
Hart, C. (2016). Public health and international drug policy. The Lancet, 387(10026),
1427-1480.
Ford, J. A., Sacra, S. A., & Yohros, A. (2017). Neighborhood characteristics and
prescription drug misuse among adolescents: The importance of social
disorganization and social capital. International Journal of Drug Policy, 46, 47-
53.
Jensema, E., Alonso-Fradejas, A., Liu, J., Salerno, T., & Xu, Y. (2015). Human rights
and drug policy. Development. [Show Less]