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Planning and Organizing WorksheetWeek 2For this assignment, you'll be assuming the role of a documentation specialist at M-Global. By the end of the week, you'll have to complete the Planning and Organizing Worksheet.Telecommuting: The Last Frontier?Calling themselves the “Commute Group,” five managers at M-Global’s Boston office have been meeting to discuss telecommuting (i.e., permitting some or all employees to do part of their work at home). The branch manager, Richard DeLorio, expressed interest in the group’s work and suggested that group members write a report proposing a pilot project at the branch. The report will be read by Richard and by members of the M-Global corporate staff in Baltimore—especially Karrie Camp, Vice President for Human Resources. It will probably also be read by Jeannie McDuff, Vice President for Domestic Operations, Richard’s boss. Any change in branch work schedules must be approved by corporate headquarters.The Commute Group now must decide (1) what to include in its report to Richard DeLorio and (2) how to organize its information for maximum impact. What follows are some details on the audience for the report, the group’s reasons for favoring telecommuting, some problems discussed by the group, and questions that remain about the organization of the report. Although the group has made progress in discussing telecommuting, it has been unable to decide on a structure for its report.This case study explains the group’s approach to preparing the report. It illustrates the problems faced by the group as they try to organize the information. The case ends with questions and comments for discussion, as well as an assignment for a written response to the Challenge.Report AudienceThe group has spent much time discussing what points would be most persuasive with the primary audience, Richard DeLorio and Karrie Camp. Richard has been open to new ideas since being chosen for the manager job a year ago. He meets often with all departments in the office and shows a genuine interest in creating a more comfortable workplace. For example, he recently accepted recommendations by department managers to purchase office chairs and desks that allow employees to work with less physical strain.As Vice President of Human Resources, Karrie Camp sees part of her responsibility as protecting the assets of M-Global, and making sure that employees work effectively and efficiently. Indeed, Karrie, who has been with the organization for 30 years, has a master’s degree in finance and keeps a close eye on the bottom line of each branch. She is interested in exploring new work practices only if they may improve employee productivity. More than likely, she will be the final decision maker about the pilot project, although she will inform Jeannie McDuff if there is a change of policy in the Boston branch.Jeannie McDuff, Richard’s boss, evaluates branch managers largely on the financial performance of the branches, but she is interested in innovation and has been one of the main forces behind the organization’s new image.Rationale for Pilot Project The Commute Group spent much time discussing two topics: the branch jobs that would be best suited to telecommuting and specific arguments in support of a telecommute policy.Group members agreed that employees who do much independent work, especially on the computer, would be the best candidates for a pilot project. In particular, members of the technical and scientific staff often spend half their days at personal computers, either performing technical calculations or drafting sections of reports and proposals.Next, the group discussed reasons for adopting a telecommute pilot project. The group first met to discuss the issue after a series of horrible rush hours over the holiday season in December. Bad weather forced most of the 125 branch employees either to miss some workdays during the period or to arrive up to two hours late several days. Most employees already have a one-way commute of at least one hour because there is little affordable housing close to the office location in downtown Boston. Thus the heavy holiday traffic prompted the discussion about telecommuting.In its deliberations, the Commute Group focused mostly on the kind of work that could be done by employees at home. What follows are some of the points discussed by the group, in random order. Telecommuting will save time either by eliminating commuting (on days the employee works exclusively at home) or by reducing commuting time (on days when the employee comes to the office for part of the day and thus avoids one or both rush-hour periods that day). Employees can write and edit reports and proposals at home for several hours at a time, without the usual office interruptions of meetings, phone calls, drop-in visitors, and so on. Some experts claim that writers are most productive during the drafting stage if they have uninterrupted blocks of writing time. Morale will improve as long as there is a clear rationale for adopting the policy and selecting participants for the pilot project. Employees chosen should be those who work well independently, whose jobs can be handled through telecommuting, and who have already made significant contributions to their departments. If M-Global adopts a telecommuting policy after the pilot project, the firm may attract an additional pool of excellent employees. Telecommuting will improve some employees’ productivity by allowing them to work when hazardous driving conditions exist, or when family members are ill—in other words, times when the employee would be unable to drive to the office. The company would benefit from the increase in computer literacy among both the telecommuters and those who work with them back at the office. The firm would begin to take advantage of the considerable investment it already has made in computer technology— personal computers, laptops, networking, groupware, software for instant messaging, Web cams, and so on. In particular, e-conferencing and instant messaging would become a way of life. Until now, many employees have been reluctant to replace time-consuming meetings, phone calls, and online discussions. If telecommuting were to become a regular way of doing business, it might reduce the amount of work space needed at the office and thus reduce overhead. For example, several employees could share the same office work space if much of their work time were spent at home. Even some non-computer tasks, such as phone calls to clients, could be done best in the quiet environment of the home, as opposed to the hectic environment of the office, where noise and interruptions are a part of doing business. If a telecommuting policy were adopted, M-Global would gain public support by showing that it is part of the solution to the central problems of traffic congestion and air pollution. Some potential clients might even be attracted by the firm’s progressive policies.Possible Problems With Telecommuting The Commute Group also addressed problems that might arise with the pilot project and with telecommuting in general. Group members were unsure of how or if the problems should be woven into the fabric of the report.Following are some concerns that were discussed: The right employees must be selected for the pilot project. Whereas some employees might improve their productivity at home, others might find it difficult to stay on task, either because of their own work habits or because of their home environment. Some kind of appropriate screening device would be in order. The branch must determine how to evaluate the success of the pilot project, perhaps by some combination of (1) self-evaluation by the employees, (2) performance evaluations by the employees’ supervisors, (3) productivity assessment by the corporate office, and (4) opinions gathered by surveying employees who are not part of the pilot project but who interact regularly with the employees who are telecommuting. Good communication is central to the project. Employees must be involved in selecting participants, planning the study, conducting the project on a day-to-day basis, and evaluating its success.Organization of the Report The Commute Group has agreed on the audience for the report, the likely qualifications for participation in the pilot study, advantages of telecommuting, and some possible problems with the study and with telecommuting in general. However, the group has not resolved two main questions: (1) what part of the information assembled should be included in the report, and (2) what order this information should assume. In other words, the group must wrestle with matters of organization. Indeed, disagreements about these two issues created a stumbling block in the group’s work.The TaskAssume the role of a documentation specialist who is assigned to a standing proposal-writing team at the Boston branch. You have been called in by the Commute Group to help create an effective and persuasive argument. Answer the following questions, remembering that you are not to be concerned with specific report sections or headings described later in your textbook. Instead, this exercise concerns only the generic ABC (Abstract/Body/Conclusion) structure explained in this chapter.
Solution: The Week Two Planning Form