This document contains two discussion prompts and instructions for two writing assignments related to a project management course. The first discussion prompt asks students to explain reasons for small and value stocks outperforming the market average over the long term, and to discuss familiarity and overconfidence biases that investors may experience. The second prompt asks students to discuss how they would apply material from the module on project management in a future management position. The writing assignment instructions ask students to write an essay weighing factors in deciding whether to keep an uncompetitive factory in the US or move it to Canada or Ireland. Students are to consider stakeholders, responsible stewardship, and integrity in financial management.

1. Discussion #1:
Part 1: There is evidence that small stocks and value stocks
perform better over the long term than the market averages.
What are some logical reasons for this phenomenon?
Part 2: There is strong evidence that many investors suffer from
familiarity bias and overconfidence bias. Can you explain why
these biases might exist? Can you think of a situation in which
you might make these mistakes (if you hadn’t learned about
these biases in this module)?
Include some news that is less than a year old that is applicable
to this discussion.
Points from the professor:
Class:
For the week 5 discussion...you may wish to include a
discussion/observation regarding the process (somewhat
involved) with selecting individual stocks for a given
portfolio...
If in fact, part '1' is correct...then, 'how' does the average retail
investor 'find' these firms and, properly analyze/follow said
firms
As to part 2 of this question...does a familiarity and/or
overconfidence have anything to do with what the 'street' calls a
'herd' mentality...?
'How' might an investor avoid these areas (Herd or other market
dysfunction's)...
'What' value might professionally managed portfolio's (mutual
funds) offer to both parts 1 and 2 of this discussion question...?
_____________________________________________________
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Discussion #2:

2. Discuss how you would use the material covered in this module
for a future position in management.
Topics covered in this Module:
•Explain the elements of project management.
•Use manual CPM/PERT techniques to solve for the critical
path for a project.
•Compare the different methods for solving more complicated
versions of these type problems.
MBA 570
Writing Assignment 2 Instructions and Rubric
Instructions
The second writing assignment is due at the end of Module 6.
You are advised to begin
working on the second writing assignment during Module 4.
This writing assignment should be in an essay format. It should
use two or more published
news or academic articles which are less than a year old as cited
references. This writing
assignment addresses the values learning outcome (LO7) as
detailed in the syllabus.

3. For this assignment, assume that you are a corporate manager
that needs to make an
important decision. Your company currently has its largest
factory (700 employees) located
in the Midwestern United States. This factory is currently not
competitive in international
markets and its poor results are threatening to force the entire
company into bankruptcy.
The company employs 3,000 in other areas of the U.S.
You have to decide whether to keep the factory where it is or
move it to Canada or Ireland.
You can only keep one factory open. The corporate tax rates of
Canada (20%) and Ireland
(15%) are much lower than the U.S. (35%). Labor costs will not
change significantly
because the cost of training new employees will be offset by the
replacement of highly paid
senior employees with younger employees in the other
countries. The old factory needs
extensive renovation which will still not leave it as efficient as
the new factories planned for
the new countries. Therefore, the NPV of the capital
investments involved are equal for all

4. three countries.
You have calculated the NPV of each choice. The NPV of
keeping the U.S. factory open is
$1,000,000. The NPV of moving the factory to Canada or
Ireland is $10,000,000 and
$35,000,000 respectively.
In this writing assignment, you should answer the following
questions:
the stakeholders into
account when making your decision?
ort responsible stewardship and
integrity in the context
of financial management?
The essay will be in APA format and be 500-1,000 words in
length (this range includes
everything in the assignment including your name, title, and
citations). Turnitin.com
software will be used to ensure that submitted assignments are
original works. See the

5. rubric on the next page for complete grading criteria.
Recent published news or academic articles are available in the
ProQuest database at the
Saint Leo University Library website. Click here for
instructions on accessing ProQuest.
Submit Writing Assignment 2 to the Dropbox no later than
Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
of Module 6. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)
http://documents.saintleo.edu/docs/MBA570/Proquest_Instructi
ons.pdf
Grading Rubric (100 points possible)
Students will complete the assignment with attention to the
following criteria:
Rating Scale

6. Exemplary: Corresponds to A- to A (90-100%)
Proficient: Corresponds to B- to B+ (80-89%)
Basic: Corresponds to C- to C+ (75-79%)
Not Attempted: Corresponds to F (0-74%)
Elements
Criteria
Score
(pts)
Not Attempted
(Criterion is missing or not
in evidence)
Basic
(works towards meeting
expectations; performance
needs improvement)
Proficient
(meets expectations;
performance is satisfactory)
Exemplary

7. (exceeds expectations;
performance is outstanding)
Content
80%
□ Little to no evidence
of assessment,
synthesis/integration,
critical analysis, and
logical development
□ Writer addressed none
to some of the
requirements of the
assignment
□ Little to no evidence
of appropriate use of
resources
□ Writer had little to no
focus on the topic
0 – 59pts

8. □ More personal
assessment,
synthesis/integration,
critical analysis, and
logical development is
needed
□ Writer addressed most
of the requirements of
the assignment
□ Some required sources
not used
□ Writer stayed focused
on the topic some of the
time
60 – 63pts
□ Content adequately
shows personal
assessment,
synthesis/integration,
critical analysis, and

9. logical development
□ Writer adequately
addressed all
requirements of the
assignment
□ Appropriate use of
resources
□ Writer stayed focused
on the topic most of
the time
64 – 71pts
□ Content clearly shows
personal assessment,
synthesis/integration,
critical analysis, and
logical development
□ Writer clearly and
completely addressed
all requirements of the
assignment
□ Masterful use of

10. resources
□ Writer stayed focused
on the topic throughout
the paper
72 – 80pts
____/80
APA
Formatting
10%
□ Little to no evidence
of appropriate APA
formatting
0 – 7.4pts
□ Appropriate APA
formatting throughout

11. most of the paper,
including title page,
paper layout,
references, and
citations with several
minor and/or some
major discrepancies
7.5 – 7.9pts
□ Appropriate APA
formatting throughout
the entire paper,
including title page,
paper layout,
references, and
citations with only a
few minor
discrepancies
8.0 – 8.9pts

12. □ Appropriate APA
formatting throughout
the entire paper,
including title page,
paper layout,
references, and
citations
9.0 – 10pts
____/10
Mechanics
10%
□ Scholarly format,
syntax, and
persuasiveness
substantially lacking
or absent.
□ Little to no evidence
of language skills,

13. substantial spelling or
grammatical errors.
□ Little to no evidence
of flow.
□ Length requirement
missed substantially
0 – 7.4pts
□ Scholarly format,
syntax, and
persuasiveness used
somewhat.
□ Improvement needed
on language, significant
spelling or grammatical
errors.
□ Transitions are weak,
flow of the paper needs
improvement.
□ Paper fell just short of
length requirement.

14. 7.5 – 7.9pts
□ Scholarly format,
syntax, and
persuasiveness used
most of the time.
□ Language is
professional, clear, and
concise, with some
spelling or
grammatical errors.
□ Transitions maintain
the flow of the paper
most of the time.
□ Paper is appropriate
length.
8.0 – 8.9pts
□ Scholarly format,
syntax, and
persuasiveness used.
□ Language is
professional, clear, and

15. concise, with little to
no spelling or
grammatical errors.
□ Transitions maintain
the flow of the paper.
□ Paper is appropriate
length.
9.0 – 10pts
____/10
Total Score: ____/100 pts
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