The document discusses Goodwill's implementation of a cloud-based software system to standardize operations across its stores. Currently, the financial and operational systems vary between stores and are inefficient. The cloud computing model would allow Goodwill to centralize resources and provide standardized training for employees. Some concerns addressed include costs of implementation, potential security issues with third-party data storage, and ensuring a smooth transition for customers. Overall, the benefits of operational consistency, improved customer experience, and increased sales are expected to outweigh the challenges of adopting cloud computing.

1. Page | 1
Running Head: FINAL PROJECT ESSAY
Page | 11
FINAL PROJECT ESSAY
Goodwill Cloud Software
Viktoryia Parris
Kaplan University
CM 220
Sean Froyd
Goodwill stores always stay one step ahead of its competitors,
thus they are implementing a cloud based software to
standardize the operations of the company. This upgrade will
ensure that the customers can easily access the stores through
proper branding. The current system of managing financial and
operational affairs at Goodwill stores is not very efficient; a
cloud based software system should be used to standardize store
operations and train employees to help Goodwill overcome
these difficulties. Comment by Sean Froyd: Their. Since you
used the word “stores” it is plural.
Now a day, every aspect of life is becoming primarily or
secondarily cyber dependent and the process of automation is
continuously evolving. In this process of advancement, the main
focus has shifted from using time-sharing systems to using
distant data centers with internet. The idea of cloud computing

2. will bring a revolution to the conventional computation
practice. According to the NIST (National Institute of Standards
and Technology) definition, “Cloud computing is a model for
enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a
shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g.,
networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can
be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management
effort or service provider interaction” (Mell, 2011). Basically,
the cloud computing architecture has "a core and a fringe" setup
(Hayes, 2008), The main target is to concentrate the major
computation and the storage in the core. On the fringe, the end
user (Goodwill Stores) will initiate the requests for those
computations and storage operations (Hayes, 2008). On the
other hand, if a company wants to totally control the computing
procedures, there are some disadvantages to that. Firstly, State
of the art software must be installed and updated periodically.
Secondly, the huge hardware infrastructure needs continuous
maintenance (Hayes, 2008). A single computer with access to
the clouds can access multiple servers at the same time.
Following this revolutionary idea, the race for possession of
more and more efficient computing resources has ended and
every other company is opting for third party computation
service providers through cloud. The cloud based approach is
also useful for the software vendors, who will provide the IT
services for goodwill stores. The vendors can develop, debug
and test drive the software on a convenient platform of their
choice and they can offer a readily available solution to
Goodwill stores (Hayes, 2008). Comment by Sean Froyd:
Avoid the informal tone, also it should be “nowadays” as I’ve
pointed out in previous writings. Comment by Sean Froyd:
You need to start a new paragraph with a new topic sentence
here, Viktoryia. When you switch to an extended example of
cloud computing, you’ve moved beyond the cyber-dependent
automation.
Cloud computing ensures a more flexible and efficient solution
to operational needs. Most companies want a hassle free IT

3. infrastructure where they don’t have to deal with “middle-of-
the-night-emergencies, vendor management, and procurement
cycle” etc. (Leavitt, 2009). As an added benefit, some of the
software vendors allow users to incorporate certain offline
operations. When the client goes online, the system
automatically uploads the changes to the server and establishes
synchronization (Pocatilu, 2010). Thus, cloud computing is
regarded as the leading technology for the future.
According to Paul Pocatilu, Cloud computing includes these
three following layers: a) infrastructure as a service (IaaS), b)
platform as a service (PaaS), c) software as a service (SaaS)
(Pocatilu, 2010). Goodwill stores will opt for IaaS and PaaS
services for the standardization procedure. However, to make
this approach work, proper research will be carried out by a
selected professional team. The research team will conduct
surveys on the various operations of different goodwill stores
and create a universal strategy with them. According to the
research, a common training program will be created for
employees of every goodwill store. This training program will
be made available online on the company server. The employees
can simply log in to their respective accounts and access the
material at their convenient time. This approach will be very
effective in saving company resources and giving an exclusive
training opportunity to every individual employee. A proper
evaluation technique with the customer feedback scheme will be
implemented to monitor the effectiveness of each and every
employee. Special training will be provided to the
underachieved employees. The E-learning approach will be
effective in training the personnel on the same operations so
that the services can be standardized in all the stores.
With such a system, it will be very smooth for branding of the
store. This cloud computing approach will ensure that the
services provided are the same and equally reliable in spite of
the location of the store. With the implementation of this new
idea, the customers will be comfortable to visit any store in
different locations and it will help to increase total sales figure

4. of the store significantly and in turn the stock prices will go up.
Thus, it is in the best interest of shareholders to endorse this
system upgrade. It is indeed true that the changing of operations
in some of the stores will be a new thing for the customer, but
this approach is aimed to ensure that their specific needs are
suited. It is expected that they will embrace it positively.
It is absolutely necessary to consider the costs incurred in
implementing the procedure. To maintain a viable business
model, the expenditure should not exceed the generated
revenue. Realizing cloud based software for goodwill will have
a fresh expenditure scenario. This all around system upgrade
will surely cost a lot during installation, and it will require a
certain periodic maintenance cost. But a properly functioning
mechanism for Goodwill stores will generate a lot of revenue
over time and more importantly the cloud based approach will
open a new market for the company; the operations will be
made better and errors will be corrected to suit the needs of the
customers. To reduce the expenditure in terms of electricity,
network bandwidth, operations, software and hardware, and thus
to generate more revenues, the data centers will be housed at
low cost locations; additionally the data centers should be very
large scale and ensure proper backing up capability (Armbrust
et al., 2010). Goodwill stores will be more easily accessible and
acceptable to the youths and this approach will be aimed to
ensure that the regular customers transit smoothly through the
change. Comment by Sean Froyd: Find some research on
numbers, Viktoryia.
It is obligatory to consider the disadvantages before
implementing a plan. It helps to spot out the possible
vulnerabilities of the business model. There are some distinct
disadvantages of cloud computing. First of all, the disturbance
in Internet connection can potentially affect the overall
performances. Secondly, if the system is used in a very long
term basis, then the sum of periodic subscription fee along with
the establishment cost (including distributed servers, dynamic
infrastructure software, bandwidth cost, security and privacy)

5. can exceed the price of buying the hardware. Requirement of
backup is very important in terms of data security (Pocatilu,
2010). Additionally, confidential and secure material will be
stored in a third party vendor's server. According to Kalyvas,
"A cloud computing provider may possess a customer's most
sensitive data, including data that may be subjected to state or
federal regulations" (Kalyvas, 2013). It might expose the
company to some potential threats because the end user
(Goodwill Stores) is ultimately responsible for maintaining
security and privacy laws (Kalyvas, 2013). These threats can be
minimized by taking proper measures. As already mentioned,
some cloud vendors provide the option to uninterruptedly
conduct essential operations even in offline mode. The
generated revenues and cost saving due to system simplicity
prevails over the expenditure factor. However, Goodwill stores
will have to rely on the reputations of the vendor and the
contractual agreement for data security and server outage
scenarios.
Goodwill stores are one of the most reputed organizations of
this country, and the foundations of Goodwill’s reputation are
built on the pillars of customer satisfaction. There is a Japanese
philosophy, Kaizen. According to the Oxford dictionary, Kaizen
means “continuous improvement of working practices, personal
efficiency, etc…” (Oxford, n.d.). The company must follow the
principles of Kaizen (i.e. Implement continuous development
practices), to stay on top of the national market and expand its
market to a global perspective. The advantages of cloud
software clearly outweigh the shortcomings of this course of
action. The Implementing Cloud Computing approach will
effectively standardize the operations of Goodwill stores and
this approach will help to attract more and more customers to
the company.
References:
Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A. D., Katz, R.,
Konwinski, A., & Lee, G.

6. (2010, April). A view of cloud computing [Electronic version].
Communications of the ACM, 53 (4), 50-58.
Hayes, B. (2008). Cloud Computing [Electronic version].
Communications of the ACM,
51(7).
Kalyvas, J. R., Overly, M. R., & Karlyn, M. A. (2013).
Cloud Computing: A Practical
Framework for Managing Cloud Computing Risk--Part II.
Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, 25(4), 19-27.
Leavitt, N. (2009). Is cloud computing really ready for
prime time. Growth, 27(5).
Mell, P., & Grance, T. (2009). The NIST definition of cloud
computing.
National Institute of Standards and Technology, 53 (6), 50.
Oxford Dictionaries. (Online Edition). (2014). Oxford
University Press.
Pocatilu, P., Alecu, F., & Vetrici, M. (2010). Measuring the
efficiency of the cloud
Computing for e-learning systems. WSEAS transactions on
computers, 9 (1), 42-51.
Very good work here, Viktoryia! I don’t have a lot of
suggestions for Unit 9, but I did make a comment or two
through the paper on smaller grammar things, and on the first
body paragraph where you needed to split the paragraph since
you moved to a different point.
What I do need to see for Unit 9, though, is a discussion of what
Goodwill has now: you don’t really define the problems that
need solutions in the form of cloud computing. Really getting
into detail on the problem that the nationwide chain has now
will make it a slam dunk for Unit 9. Adding a bit more research
on one of your paragraphs will help too (specifically the costs).
Other than that, just don’t forget to set up the APA correctly:
make sure the titles are capitalized appropriately (the first word,
first word after a colon or dash, and proper nouns will be the
only things capitalized), and that the periodical title and volume

7. number is italicized.
Otherwise, a fine job here!
140
UNIT 6 PROJECT RUBRIC: (150 points)
A
135-150 points
Content:
Includes an introduction with a logical persuasive thesis
statement and a conclusion that wraps up the essay. The thesis
statement is effective and needs little revision for the final
project.
Supports main points effectively and clearly (no logical
fallacies, outside sources used to support arguments where
appropriate) and skillfully refutes counter-arguments without
ignoring data that contradicts the student’s thesis. Shows
original thought.
Refers to at least 3 secondary sources in the body of the paper
and on the references page. At least one source comes from the
Kaplan University Library, and other sources are appropriate for
an academic essay.
Meets 3-5 page length requirement (this does not include the
title and references page).
Organization and Style:
Paragraphs are well-developed, coherent, and logically
organized.
The style is appropriate for an academic essay, and sentences
are engaging to read as well as clear, concise, and precise.
Mechanics and APA:
Project is free of serious errors; grammar, punctuation, and
spelling help to clarify the meaning by following accepted
conventions of Standard American English.
Follows APA guidelines for the document layout and citations.
B
120-134 points
Content:
Includes an introduction with a logical thesis statement and a

8. conclusion that wraps up the essay; these need some revision
but form a good basis for the final project. The thesis statement
may need to be clearer or more persuasive and should be revised
for the final.
Supports most main points effectively and clearly (no logical
fallacies, outside sources usually used to support arguments
where appropriate) and refutes counter-arguments without
ignoring data that contradicts the student’s thesis, although the
refutation needs strengthening for the final project. Shows
original thought.
Refers to 3 secondary sources in the body of the paper and on
the references page. Includes at least one source from the
Kaplan University Library, and other sources are mostly
appropriate for an academic audience.
Not quite 3 pages (this does not include the title and references
page).
Organization and Style:
Paragraphs are developed and organized effectively, but
transitions within or between paragraphs need to be stronger.
The style is mostly appropriate for an academic essay.
Sentences are clear and precise, but may not be as engaging to
read or as concise as those in the “A” project.
Mechanics and APA:
Project contains some generally minor grammatical and
punctuation errors. Few misspellings. Generally follows the
accepted conventions of Standard American English.
Mostly follows APA guidelines for the document layout and
citations, with some minor errors.
C
105-119 points
Content:
Includes a thesis statement that needs revision. The introduction
and conclusion do not set up or close the paper very effectively
and need significant revision for the final.
Main points are adequately defined in some parts of the paper,

9. but some may be repeated and others underdeveloped. Shows
too little original thought.
Relies too heavily on personal experience or one or two sources,
but does include in-text and reference page citations for at least
2 sources. Sources may not be appropriate for an academic
essay or does not include a Kaplan University Library source.
Does not address some obvious counter-arguments or includes
logical fallacies. Paper is largely informative and lacks
persuasive qualities.
One half page short of the 3 page requirement (this does not
include the title and references page).
Organization and Style:
Paragraphs may have problems with development, coherence,
and/or transitions.
The style may not always be appropriate for an academic essay
(frequent use of first person pronouns or use of informal or
slang language, for example). Language may be vague or
sentences too wordy.
Mechanics and APA:
Numerous grammatical and punctuation errors. Misspellings are
more frequent, but they may not be caught by a spell checker.
Does not always follow the accepted conventions of Standard
American English.
An attempt at APA formatting and citations was made, but
project contains several significant errors in layout or citation
style.
D
90-104 points
Content:
The paper identifies a topic but lacks a clear thesis statement
with a persuasive claim. Lacks an introduction and/or
conclusion, or they are so poorly developed that they need to be
completely rewritten for the final project.
The main points are not clearly identified, and many

10. counterarguments are ignored. Shows little original thought.
Relies on personal experience or common knowledge to the near
exclusion of outside research and does not meet the source
requirements. Sources are not appropriate for an academic
audience. The essay is informative with no identifiably
persuasive elements.
A page or more short of the length requirement (this does not
include the title and references page).
Organization and Style:
Paragraphs are underdeveloped and lack coherence and
transitions.
The style is inappropriate for an academic essay and interferes
with the development and clarity of the main points.
Mechanics and APA:
Many serious and minor grammar, punctuation, and spelling
errors, including those that would be flagged by a spell and
grammar checker. Often fails to meet the conventions of
Standard American English.
Citation and formatting meet few APA guidelines.
F
89-below points
It meets no or few of the assignment's guidelines.
The components outlined for a 'D' paper are not met.
It may be plagiarized.
Comments: