bmgt365 full course (discussions+Assignments) latest 2016 september

Question # 00413712 Posted By: truetutor Updated on: 10/26/2016 03:21 AM Due on: 11/25/2016
Subject Business Topic Management Tutorials:
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WEEK ONE: 21st century Leaders

Learning Activity #1

Joe Jackson owned a saw mill in Stuttgart, Arkansas. It was a family concern that had not changed in 50 years. Having grown up in the business Joe had never really investigated the strengths and weaknesses of his position as Vice President. His father was always the President and he and his older brother Jacob were the heirs. The business was in turmoil because his father’s health was precarious forcing him to step down. Joe’s brother was expecting to step up to the role of Vice President but Joe knew that was a mistake. The business itself was quickly eroding because of the sustainability issues facing the world. Joe could see this but not Jacob. Joe needed to have a long talk with Jacob to make him see his reasoning. Either they worked together for the future or Joe would have to take the lead role.

Prepare an outline of points for Joe to make in his discussion with his brother. Explain the role of the 21st century leader and why it differs from that of the 20th century leader. Make sure to use the course reading material, citing and referencing to validate the points you make.

Learning Activity #2

Click on the link below and fill out the chart to include the individual characteristics of a leader and manager in the categories named.

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Learning Activity #3

In his article, “What Leaders Really Do," Kotter (2001) [] stated, " Managers promote stability while leaders press for change, and only organizations that embrace both sides of the contradiction can thrive in turbulent times" (p. 3).

In the fact pattern below Juan Para must make a decision about hiring June Davies. Keeping Kotter’s ideas in mind complete the following tasks:

Define the leader’s and manager’s approach (mindset) to solving the dilemma.

Determine Para’s solution if he used the leader’s perspective and then if he used the manager’s perspective.

Do you see a difference? If so what differences? If not, why not? Could the outcome be the same and still benefit the company?

Protection Insurance Stays Alive

At 7:30 a.m., Juan Para hit the snooze alarm for the third time, but he knew he could never go back to sleep. Rubbing his eyes and shaking off a headache, Para first checked his iPhone and read an urgent message from his boss, explaining that Jack Nixon, chief security analyst, had resigned last night and needed to be replaced immediately. Frustrated, Para lumbered toward the shower, hoping it would energize him to face another day. After last night’s management meeting, which had ended after midnight, he was reeling from the news that his employer, Protection Insurance, was spiraling toward a financial meltdown.

Para scratched his head and wondered, “How could one of the world’s largest insurance companies plummet from being the gold standard in the industry to one struggling for survival?” At the end of 2007, Protection Insurance had $100 billion in annual revenues, 65 million customers, and 96,000 employees in 130 countries. One year later and staggered by losses stemming from the credit crisis, Protection Insurance teetered on the brink of failure and was in need of emergency government assistance. Protection Insurance had been a victim of the meltdown in the credit markets. The collapse of this respected financial institution sent shock waves throughout the world’s economy.

Within Protection Insurance’s Manhattan office, Para and his coworkers felt growing pressure to respond to this crisis quickly and ethically. But morale was sagging and decision making was stalled. New projects were on hold, revenues weren’t coming in fast enough, and job cuts were imminent. Finger-pointing and resignations of key managers had become commonplace. Strong leadership was needed to guide employees to stay the course. Para knew his first priority was to replace Jack Nixon. When leaving the meeting last night, his boss had told him, “It’s critical that we keep key managers in place as we weather this storm. If we lose any managers, be sure you replace them with ones who can handle the stress and can make tough and even unpopular decisions.”

Working up a sweat as he rushed into his office, Para began sorting through the day’s priorities. His first task would be to consider internal candidates to replace Nixon. He pondered the characteristics required of a chief securities analyst and scribbled them on a notepad: experienced in security and regulatory issues; strong decision-making skills; high ethical standards; able to make job cuts; comfortable with slashing budgets; and respected for calm leadership. Para immediately thought of June Davies, a senior analyst who had been vocal about her desire to move up and had recently shown steady leadership as the organization started to crumble.

Davies had worked her way up through the organization, becoming a respected expert in her field. She had developed a strong team of loyal employees and made training and job development a priority. She was likable, sensitive to her employees, and a consensus builder. While many managers within Protection Insurance had made questionable business decisions, June had held herself to a high ethical standard and created a culture of integrity. Davies was focused on the future—a go-getter who knew how to get results.

With the future of the company at stake; however, Para wondered if Davies could handle the tough challenges ahead. Although he valued her team-building skills, she could be soft when it came to holding employees accountable. A large part of her motivation was to have people like her. When she reported a shortfall in earnings in the last company meeting and came under fire, she became defensive and did not want to point fingers at employees who were to blame. In fact, Para recalled another instance when Davies recoiled at the thought of firing an employee who had developed a pattern of poor attendance while caring for her sick husband. She confessed a hesitation to confront poor performers and employees struggling to balance home and work life.

Para stirred his morning coffee and wondered aloud, “Is June Davies capable of balancing kindness and toughness during a crisis? Can I count on her to be decisive and focused on top- and bottom-line results? Is she too much of a people pleaser? Will it impact her ability to lead successfully?”

WEEK TWO: Types of Leadership

There are various types of leadership roles in an organization. They extend from the executive leadership role to the project leader. Each has different sets of responsibilities to the organization and each leadership role utilizes skill sets that require influencing people to move the business towards the vision. This week’s theme focuses on those levels that are most visible to the students either because they are seen from afar as being on the top or because they seek to become involved personally: executive, managerial, and team leaders.

In completing the following learning activity, students will examine the role of each leadership type and the skill sets associated with them.

Executive Leader: Are leader that are often seen from afar. They are the people at the top. Their role is to design the vision, mission, structure and culture of the organization. It is their ideas that provide the framework upon which the manager builds. The job of the executive leader is to be the social architect. An executive leader creates the vision, mission, structure and culture and is change agents.

Managerial Leadership: Leaders create followers through influence while managers lead people and manage things (overlap is the skills needed to lead people to do things)

Leading Teams: In this role, guidance, direction, instruction, motivation and leadership are provided to a group of workers for the expressed purpose of achieving an outcome.

Learning Activity #1

Read the course material for this week.

Develop and post a list of the characteristics of the executive leader that distinguish a leader from a manager.

Research and find one leader that you would define as a successful executive leader as described by the list of characteristics that you made.

Explain the reasoning for selecting the chosen leader and for the list criteria used to make the selection.

Learning Activity #2

“Leading from where you are” means taking a leadership role in any job held.

Take a few minutes to reflect about whether you have ever led from where you are? Using your experience in the workplace give an example of when you “led from where you are.”

Remember leadership in this context means an action that leads others to an action that benefits the organization but is not necessarily within the job description. Be sure to define what “leading from where you are” means. Be sure to use the course material to support your reasoning/explanation.

WEEK THREE: The Leader as the Social architect

Organizational Structure

Preface:

A leader’s job is to create the direction so the company can move forward. The leader does this in steps. Here are the steps of the process:

First, the leader designs the vision and mission for the company and

Second, the leader must establish an organizational structure which promotes the vision, mission and empowers the employees to keep the forward movement in the organization.

In creating the structure various factors must be considered.

First and foremost is the purpose of the company or organization. What type of structure will best accomplish that goal? Certainly a company like UPS needs a somewhat rigid structure that is set up to focus on procedure and time sensitivity. Since UPS has as its goal to get the correct parcels to the right customers in the fastest possible way, variance in procedures or ways of accomplishing the tasks would not work well. A tight delineated structure is imperative.

Along with the purpose the leader must look at the vision of the organization. Where does the leader want the organization to go? How best can the structure provide for the future? Will the vision call for expansion into other countries or simply call for product development changes? Does a leader plan a structure that can easily grow in size without harming its integrity or one that focuses on the best way to make new products? Also, vision must be built into the organizational structure.

The people who make up the organization, their jobs and the decision making authority should be considered. The authority must flow and make the organization respond favorably to the decisions and changes that are needed to move the organization forward toward the vision while making sure stability continues to keep tasks on track. This is tricky because the leader’s job here is not to tell the manager what procedures to use or make but rather to set up a structure and authority to make it possible for them to develop those procedures, etc.

The structure should be people centric focuses on how people will best work together to get their jobs done while still focusing on the vision and the necessary change that is inevitable to keep the business alive in the 21st Change is the operative word.

Budget is a major consideration in the present and in the future.

Finally, environment factors like sustainability and knowledge management will need to be considered in developing the structure.

Learning Activity #1: Creating a Vision and Mission Statement

The following fact pattern has an existing vision and mission statement created by Richard Purvis of the Jordan Shoe Company before he considered an expansion.

The two statements contain mistakes and are not the best for the current company now that an expansion will take place.

Students are to change the vision and mission statements to help Purvis obtain the best design for the company’s organizational structure and culture as possible. Be sure to explain what mistakes you see and how and why you corrected them to make it better for Purvis using the course material as support.

Richard Purvis started the Jordan Shoe Company in Boulder Colorado. The company is known for its great specialty tennis shoes at moderate prices. The company designs and creates fun shoes for young children, mostly girls. Catering to the age group of 1-12 years, the shoes are popular in Colorado. The shoes have been growing in popularity and Richard is thinking of expanding into other states. Business has grown steadily in the last seven years and the company’s future looks bright. If Richard expands the company he would have to set up two plants in other states and will have to reorganize the Colorado plant.

The staff has always gotten along well because Richard has been able to keep things on an even keel with his personality and concern for their each employee’s personal welfare. Richard would have to find someone to take his place to run the plant in Colorado. He wants to set in place a structure that will continue to grow the business while ensuring quality, reputation, and the happiness of its employees are maintained.

Purvis has set up his factory with a horizontal collaborative structure. He has four departments; design, the production department, sales and marketing, and administration. Each department has a manager that acts as a team head. Purvis meets weekly with all the heads together and individually off and on during the week.

Purvis currently employs a plant manager who heads the production department, which has 12 factory workers, two salesmen one of whom is the team head that also handles the marketing aspect of the business. The administrative head is the general manager, and there are two office workers and a bookkeeper. Finally, the design team has three employees one of whom is the head designer who leads the team.

The cost of expansion could be done effectively if the current profit level remains stable and that can only be done if the Colorado plant continues to run smoothly.

The current vision for the company is: to produce the best children’s specialty shoes.

The mission is: to produce quality, stylish shoes that are known for their durability, style, and contemporary kid fashion. The “kid” must be in every shoe.

Purvis believes strongly that his employees must be free to create the best shoes possible. He wants them to work together happily and with a commitment to the development of the vision. He also wants them to continue to work together as they do now and to encourage creativity among them all and not just with the design department. He wants to empower them but the shoes have to be completed and shipped promptly.

Learning Activity #2 Organizational Structure

Review the Purvis fact pattern and identify the structure that Purvis currently has.

Identify the organizational structure. Does the structure fit the purpose of the company? Why or Why not? Explain in detail using the course material as support. Be sure to include in the discussion the idea of the decision making flow.

Select from the course reading three types of organizational structures that would work as well if not better for Purvis once the expansion takes place. Explain the pros and cons of each structure and determine what organizational structure would work best fit for Purvis. Support the reasoning using the course material.

WEEK FOUR: Organizational Culture

Richard Purvis started the Jordan Shoe Company in Boulder Colorado. The company is known for its great specialty tennis shoes at moderate prices. The company designs and creates fun shoes for young children, mostly girls. Catering to the age group of 1-12 years, the shoes are popular in Colorado. The shoes have been growing in popularity and Richard is thinking of expanding into other states. Business has grown steadily in the last seven years and the company’s future looks bright. If Richard expands the company he would have to set up two plants in other states and will have to reorganize the Colorado plant.

The staff has always gotten along well because Richard has been able to keep things on an even keel with his personality and concern for their each employee’s personal welfare. Richard would have to find someone to take his place to run the plant in Colorado. He wants to set in place a structure that will continue to grow the business while ensuring quality, reputation, and the happiness of its employees are maintained.

Purvis has set up his factory with a horizontal collaborative structure. He has four departments; design, the production department, sales and marketing, and administration. Each department has a manager that acts as a team head. Purvis meets weekly with all the heads together and individually off and on during the week.

Purvis currently employs a plant manager who heads the production department, which has 12 factory workers, two salesmen one of whom is the team head that also handles the marketing aspect of the business. The administrative head is the general manager, and there are two office workers and a bookkeeper. Finally, the design team has three employees one of whom is the head designer who leads the team.

The cost of expansion could be done effectively if the current profit level remains stable and that can only be done if the Colorado plant continues to run smoothly.

The current vision for the company is: to produce the best children’s specialty shoes.

The mission is: to produce quality, stylish shoes that are known for their durability, style, and contemporary kid fashion. The “kid” must be in every shoe.

Purvis believes strongly that his employees must be free to create the best shoes possible. He wants them to work together happily and with a commitment to the development of the vision. He also wants them to continue to work together as they do now and to encourage creativity among them all and not just with the design department. He wants to empower them but the shoes have to be completed and shipped promptly.

Learning Activity #1

Tasks for this activity are as follows:

Using the case scenario from week 3 (above) identify the existing culture for Purvis’ company and identify the desired future culture.

Complete the OCAI assessment (http://www.ocai-online.com/) for Purvis’ company. Use information from the case scenario to identify the two cultures. Then, assess both the current cultural state and identify gaps between current and desires cultures. (Hint make sure to remember the purpose of the business and how to keep a competitive edge in making your selection)

Learning Activity #2

Explain how structure and culture interface to make the organization work toward the accomplishment of the vision and mission. How is it going to work in the case of Purvis? Give examples of what Purvis can do to make sure everything flows together. Include in your answer the ideas of artifacts, espoused beliefs, basic underlying beliefs and assumptions (external adaptation issues, assumptions about managing internal integration and deeper cultural assumptions)

WEEK FIVE: Individual Leadership Skills

Themes this week focus on the leader as an individual. It discusses the soft skills that a leader, as an individual, needs to create and maintain followers.

Learning Activity # 1

Tanesha Bloom was made Captain of the USS Barnes. She worked hard in her new post and rank. Having served on several ships over the last twenty-five years, Bloom was known for being tough but fair in her approach to her subordinates. She was civil to everyone but was considered a loner by her fellow officers and remote in her dealings with others. Fearful that should would not be treated with respect and determined that she would be obeyed in her command, Bloom became overly attentive to her officers and micromanaged everyone from the lowest seaman to her immediate second in command. She penalized and put on report people for the smallest infraction. The USS Barnes serving personnel who were known to have the best morale in the fleet became the most demoralized and unresponsive crew. When the ship docked, almost half the ship’s crew asked for immediate transfers. Bloom was called to task by her superiors immediately. They said that they would give her one more chance but if the negative reports continued she would be demoted and removed from the ship by the next month. Scared and worried for her career, Bloom comes to you to ask for advice.

Assess how Bloom might go about changing her leadership style. Take into consideration her personality traits, organizational values, emotional intelligence and the social leadership aspects of her role as leader. In short make her a new woman, one that the crew would want to follow.

Learning Activity # 2

Take the Jung Typology Test at http://www.humanmetrics.com/

Take the emotional intelligence quiz at http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=3037

Take the Ultimate Ethics Quiz at http://www.gotoquiz.com/the_ultimate_ethics_quiz

Take the How good are your communication skills quiz at https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_99.htm

Students may decide to report the results either completely or generally. Privacy is a consideration so the decision is all yours.

After a review and reflection of the results, discuss how this information can improve relationships with others in the workplace.

Give five examples of practical situations where a leader could use this information to improve his or her success in leading others especially in the current business climate.

Learning Activity #3

Take the “What is your leadership style assessment” at http://www.leadershipiq.com/blogs/leadershipiq/36533569-quiz-whats-your-leadership-style

Students may decide to report the results either completely or generally. Privacy is a consideration so the decision is all yours. Discuss the different types of leadership styles. How does personality affect leadership style? Take a look at the results of the two quizzes to answer. How can an individual create a style that enhances the change of being a successful 21st century leader? Explain how your personality affects the style that was explained in the results of the test. Make sure to use the course readings in responding to each question.

WEEK SIX – Creating Followers

Theme One is simply how do you empower people? The student should differentiate motivation from empowerment. It might also be useful to go back to week one and review the idea that motivating followers is a better tool for the manager instead of the leader because of its specific nature and the intrinsic or extrinsic need of the follower. Empowerment is the tool of choice for the leader primarily because it must be insured through the organizational structure and culture. The leader is creating structural empowerment and building trust to keep the vision and future clear for forward motion.

Learning Activity #1 21st Century Leader Why Would Someone Follow You?

So far in our journey through leadership in this class we have repeatedly said that leaders must influence their employees. They do this thru empowerment and creating an environment that allows employees an enivronment that allows employees to flourish and be happy in the workplace. Leaders do this so that employees will follow them toward achieving the vision they have created. However, we have said little about followers and why they choose to follow a leader. After all doesn’t everyone want to be a leader? The leader is the one who gets the credit and to call the shots. Isn’t the position they hold enough to get people to follow? In the 20th century this was true; the position was everything. Not so in the 21st century with flat and collaborative environment, leaders must develop a relationship with followers to drive the vision. Position while helpful is not the reason people do their jobs well. Watch the following video and take the quiz (some have more than one answer to the question).

Dancing Man Video

1) Which phrase(s) best describes the relationship between a leader and a follower? *

The leader is the flint the follower the match X.

The leader is a nut and the follower is nutty too.

The leader is the idea and the follower the speaker of the idea.

The leader is nothing without the follower.

2) How does the leader create additional followers?

The leader’s idea of dancing is so compelling that they just want to join in the action.

The leader publicizes the idea and dances with the new comers.

The leader calls out to others to join him.

The leader is making the first followers equals by dancing with them.

3) The first followers are more important than the leader because...

The followers show active support of the leader.

The more followers a leader has the more things get done.

The followers make the leader possible.

The followers make the others think about joining the action.

The Dancing Man video suggests that followers take on different types. Barbara Kellerman in the lecture video below explains the types of followers and what their virtues and problems are. The best way to understand how a leader can create followers is to understand who followers are and how they can be engaged to work as a result of that understanding. To begin this discussion, watch the video and the review following sets of images (Week 6 Images .

Barbara Kellerman Lecture on Followership (Transcript available by clicking on more under the video line)

Identify which slide represents the type of follower discussed by Kellerman and why.

Give a practical example as to how a leader can best create a relationship with each type of follower.

Post your answers in the discussion forum.

Learning Activity #2

Answer the following questions and support your answers from the weekly reading:

If a leader’s job is to develop the future of the organization how does motivation and empowerment fit in to this role? Be sure to explain the difference between the two ideas and ways that both motivation and empowerment should be used in the job the leader does.

Why is it important for the leader to empower? Why can't the manager do the job? OR do they both do the job?

What is meant by structural empowerment? Why is it important to the leader?

Learning Activity #3

Research telecommuting and flat organizational structures and how they serve to encourage or not encourage employee satisfaction.

WEEK SEVEN: The Five Leadership Challenges

Learning Activity #1

Maria Artos, a 25-year-old female graduate of Harvard Business School, has just been appointed to the job of Director of IT in a medium size business. Her immediate junior in the business, Anthony Jones, is a 53-year-old long term employee of the business. He was passed over for the job that Maria Artos now holds.

First, identify all the leadership challenge issues that might be suggested by this fact pattern.

As can be imagined, both Artos and Jones could feel uncomfortable since Artos was told that Anthony Jones also applied for the position and Anthony could be resentful for being passed over. Students will create the opening interview/meeting between Artos and Jones on her first day on the job. Use this week’s course material to create the exchange between Artos and Jones.

In creating the exchange between Jones and Artos, have Artos deal with all the identified issues using her “leadership relationship building skills”. Note: In responding, consider that the situation is one in which the skills from week five should be employed along with addressing the topic of diversity.

Learning Activity #2

Top executives and board members of a large international bank in New York are meeting to consider three finalists for a new position. The winning candidate will be in a high- profile job, in charge of a group of top loan officers who recently led the bank into some risky financial arrangements in the Middle East. Recently, when the value of the dollar fell, the bank took a financial hit because of risky loans made in the company’s Yemen office.

The board voted to hire someone to directly oversee this group of loan officers and to make sure the necessary due diligence is done on major loans before further commitments are made. Although the bank prefers that decisions are made as close to the action level as possible, they believe the loan officers have gotten out of hand and need to be reined in. The average age of the all-male group is 39.

The effectiveness of the person in this new lead position is considered to be of utmost importance for the bank’s future. They are also aware that certain cultural differences have made the problem even harder to solve. The bank needs a candidate who will know how to work with the Yemen employees and at the same time has some knowledge of the customs and language of the country. After carefully reviewing résumés, the board selected six candidates for the first round of interviews, after which the list of finalists was narrowed to two. Both candidates seem to have the intellect and experience to handle the job. One candidate is female and the other male. The male candidate is 34 while the female is 36. Both candidates are attractive and single.

Before the second-round interview, the Board decided to ask you to devise a set of questions that will help elicit information as to how familiar the candidates are with handling the cultural diversity issues the job will present. In addition to the using the course reading for the week you may want to research some of the cultural bias issues unique to the Yemen culture. (Hint: consider women in the Arab workplace)

Learning Activity #3

How do the five challenges facing the 21st leader affect the bottom line of the business if leadership is missing? Define and discuss each one specifically. Use the course readings to support the reasoning.

WEEK 8- Creating a Competitive Edge

Learning Activity # 1

You are the CEO of a medium-sized solar panel firm located in California. The company has been doing well so far but new regulations and rising taxes are hurting the profit margin.

You have been negotiating with the Governor a tax reduction because of the company’s green status. You would like to stay in California for the sake of the employees and the small town, which benefits largely from the company’s presence in the area. However, talks with the Governor do not look promising.

Two of your major competitors have left the state and are now located in areas where taxes and wages are considerably cheaper. These businesses are already cutting their prices and have taken away one of your major clients. While you have a new product line due out in eight months, which will create a disruption in the marketplace, the wait may be too costly.

You are considering moving the business to New Mexico and have been in negotiations with the Governor there, and it looks almost too good to be true. The two other members of the leadership team are aware of the pending move. Your employees however, do not know of the discussion and the possible move that may require them to relocate or lose their job. It is time to break the news and get everyone on board.

Explain in a memo to your leadership team how and when you want the news to be known to the staff.

Detail the way the news should be broken and by whom.

Discuss how competitive edge relates to the decision and its importance to timing for the move.

Provide suggestions to the others as to how to handle the feedback you will get from the news.

Learning Activity #2

Compare the vision you had of a "leader" when you started the course and the vision you have today. Be specific in your description.

Address the role of social architect in the 21st century, the characteristics, and perspective of the leader as you have come to understand them from the class reading, concepts and ideas presented.

What are the major differences between the two visions and therefore the major ideas you will take away from this course?

Assignment 1: The Role of the Leader

Instructions

Project One Role of the Leader

Purpose:

In the first assignment, students are given a scenario about Global Delivery Direct (GDD), a Norfolk, England medium-sized global delivery company that was started in 1968 by four college friends. In this project, students will demonstrate an understanding of the broad role of a leader within an organization.

Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment

develop and implement methods for establishing a constructive organizational structure and culture that fosters positive employee and employer relationships

evaluate the culture and policies of an organization to recommend and implement improvements that support its vision, success, and sustainability

assess the interactions between the external environment and the organization to foster responsible and effective leadership and organizational practices

In Part One students will explain the executive leader’s role in creating an organizational structure and learn to distinguish the different organizational structures and how decision making plays a role in the organizational structure. Students gain an understanding of the challenges related to organizational structure and organizational culture that a leader faces when merging two companies to create a competitive advantage.

In Part Two students have the opportunity to research the merger of two well-known companies with the goal of assessing what happens when two very different organizational cultures are joined as one. Taking what is learned from the merger, students apply concepts and ideas to Global Delivery Direct (GDD).

Instructions

Step 1: Review “How to Analyze a Case Study” under Week 4 Content.

Step 2: Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product will be between 4-6 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.

Step 3: Review the grading rubric for the assignment.

Step 4: In addition to providing an introduction, students will use headings following this format:

Title page with title, your name, the course, the instructor’s name;

Background;

Part One;

Part Two.

Step 5: In writing a case study, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person. Also note that students are not to provide personal commentary.

Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are expected to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. If any material is used from a source document, it must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 1 content.

Step 7: In writing this assignment, students will use resources from the course material and no more than 4 external source documents. NOTE: The expectation is that students provide a robust use of the course material. Students may use external resources to address the research for FedEx and Kinko’s but other material should come from the course readings.

Step 8: In completing the assignment, students are expected to use the facts from the case study paired with the weekly courses readings to develop the analysis. The case study is not cited or referenced.

Step 9: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Students are expected to paraphrase, which can be learned by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html

Step 11: Read and use the Global Delivery Direct (GDD) Company Profile.

Step 12: Read critically and analyze the following scenario:

Part One

Scenario:

Andrew Rockfish is looking for a competitive edge in the North American market that will translate well to the other divisions. After talking to the other directors, they have decided to focus on business only and stop their individual services. While they will lose 10% of their sales, this change will allow the company to offer “boutique” services to its business customers, thereby increasing prices. Catering to business only will also allow them to provide personal services that Fed Ex and UPS cannot offer. It was decided that the initial roll out of this idea would start in the US where the most imminent threat from competition lies. Rockfish was on board with this idea and began a campaign among the rest of the company to find ideas that would help to encourage the new ‘Business First” strategic plan.

In response, a sales manager from his mid-west sales team brought this idea from their brainstorming session for his consideration. He proposed creating several mobile packing stores to bring customer service to business directly. GDD would not just pick up and deliver but they would package as well. This model could be viewed as an UPS store on wheels. The team got the idea from a local delivery service that started a similar business as a Mail Store on Wheels and it seemed to be doing well. This company has five “Mail on Wheels” trucks and focuses on taking small business, not individuals away from the three local UPS and Kinko stores. After a financial review of the company, Rockfish decided to buy the business.

The business was started by a young entrepreneur, Adrian Cheng, who ran the business with the philosophy that “customers always get the best of our time and service”. Personal service, friendliness, and as much time as it takes to make the customer happy, was part of the mission statement. Employees were casually dressed and had no deadlines except those given by the customer. Cheng had about 45 employees and ran both day and evening shifts. He had one van which was on call twenty-four/seven. Cheng oversaw the whole operation with two assistant managers, one for the day shift and one for the evening.

Rockfish liked the idea that personnel had been trained in giving personal service and had a boutique attitude when it came to customers. He thought it was a perfect fit as the new face of GDD. The merger of these two companies seemed ideal. He decided to buy the existing business, expand it and have the new personnel trained by the current personnel.

Part One: Below are a series of organizational structures that exemplify the potential structure that Rockfish will consider in putting the two companies together.

Explain the executive leader’s role in creating an organizational structure, the purpose of a structure, and why the leader, not the manager, is the best person to determine the organizational structure;

Identify each structure below and discuss the associated decision making flow and the advantages and disadvantages associated with the structure;

Select the structure from those below that best blends the two companies (GDD and Mail on Wheels) and explain why the type of structure best fits the purpose of the merger. Discussion should include the decision making flow, the alignment of people to the selected structure and how the two companies would interface to create a competitive advantage.

Model 1

Model 1

Model 2

Model 2

Model 3

Model 3

Model 4

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Model 5

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Model 6

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Model 7

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Model 8

Model 8

Part Two

Scenario:

Part Two: Rockfish knows that in addition to a possible new structure, he will have to revisit the company culture as well as that of the new business acquisition. Anxious to avoid the problems of Fed Ex and Kinko, Rockfish decides to review their problems and the existing culture to determine just how to go about blending the cultures and structures together.

Research the Fed Ex and Kinko merger. Identify the organizational cultures of the two companies and the problems that resulted from the attempt to blend the two cultures.

Explain how the problems that Fed Ex and Kinko faced might parallel those for GDD’s merger. Be sure to include in the analysis the existing cultures at GDD and Mail on Wheels as well as how the structure relates to the culture.

Discuss how Rockfish can avoid the same mistakes as Fed Ex.

Step 13: Create the introductory paragraph. Within this paragraph, provide a brief overview of the scenario. Then, provide a thesis statement and tell the reader the main topics covered in the paper. The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper but is typically written after writing the body of the paper (Questions students responded to above). View this website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html

Step 14: Respond to the questions in Part One and Part Two following the format provided. Be clear and concise in the writing and make sure the questions are comprehensively answered.

Step 15: Using the grading rubric as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required elements are presented.

Step 16: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing.

Use the spell and grammar check in Word as a first measure;

Have someone who has excellent English skills to proof the paper;

Consider submitting the paper to the Effective Writing Center (EWC). The EWC will provide 4-6 areas that may need improvement.

Step 17: Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.

Assignment 2: Assessing Self and Potential Candidates

Instructions

Project Two: Assessing Self and Potential Candidates

Purpose:

In the second assignment, students continue working with Global Delivery Direct (GDD). Students learn about their own personality type and based on what is learned, rank several candidates who have applied for the position of CEO and develop interview questions based on leadership quality and personality types.

Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment

use leadership theories, assessment tools, and an understanding of the role of ethics, values, and attitudes to evaluate and enhance personal leadership skills

In this assignment, students will take the Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment, learn about candidates for the position of CEO for Mail on Wheels and develop interview questions that will be used by Alex Cheng.

Instructions

Step 1: Review “How to Analyze a Case Study” under Week 6 Content.

Step 2: Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product will be between 5-7 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.

Step 3: Review the grading rubric for the assignment.

Step 4: In addition to providing an introduction, students will use headings following this format:

Title page with title, your name, the course, the instructor’s name;

Results of Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Ranking of CEO Candidates

Top Candidates

Interview Questions

Step 5: In writing a case study, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person. Also note that students are not to provide personal commentary.

Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are expected to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. If any material is used from a source document, it must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 1 content.

Step 7: In writing this assignment, students will use resources from the course material and no more than 3 external source documents. NOTE: The expectation is that students provide a robust use of the course material including the material presented in this assignment.

Step 8: In completing the assignment, students are expected to use the facts from the case study paired with the weekly courses readings to develop the analysis. The case study is not cited or referenced.

Step 9: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Students are expected to paraphrase, which can be learned by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html

Step 11: Read and use the Company Profile.

Step 12: Read critically and analyze the following scenario:

Scenario: Having bought the business from Alex Cheng, owner and CEO of Mail on Wheels, who decided not to stay on in a leadership capacity, Rockfish now has to hire a replacement for Alex Cheng. Rockfish is looking for a candidate who knows the business, can present a good corporate image (i.e., to the bigger clients who are more likely to pay for the custom service), is well-educated, and will lead the existing group with a balance of firmness and give enough freedom to creatively personalize fulfillment of each client’s needs. Since you are the manager with whom Cheng’s replacement will have the most contact, Rockfish has decided that you should participate in the call back interview. Further he has given you his interview notes on each candidate and wants you to rank them on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best fit, so that he has some idea going into the interview what your “on paper” reaction is to each candidate.

Here are his notes on each candidate:

Candidate One- Henrietta Raynard

Henrietta was the assistant to Alex Cheng. She is 28 years old with 3 years of college. She currently is finishing her degree online at . Henrietta is a Business Administration major. She is friendly and has a quiet demeanor. Her Myers-Briggs personality test ranked her as an ISTJ. She has received high marks from Cheng who says she is detailed oriented, had a good understanding of the business organization and seemed to work well with the younger staff. She did not tolerate much nonsense from people, hated surprises, and wanted people to be brief in talking with her. These personality traits meant she could at times be cold to customers whose demands she believed were unfounded or unrealistic. Cheng did not see this as bad per se because he thought he was too pleasing sometimes. After all, he was in the business to make money. Overall, Cheng felt that she could handle the job. Rockfish’s personal impressions were that she was hesitant in joining a bigger company. She liked the smallness of a business and felt in control. She did like the collaborative environment of GDD and responded well to the idea that her opinions and suggestions were welcome at all times. Her reasons for wanting the job centered mainly on the idea that she felt she could run the business well and had some good ideas about making the mobile units better using the advanced technology that Cheng wanted. The technology would allow for better connections to GDD allowing deadlines to be met faster. When asked how the staff perceived her, she laughed and said they called her “Type A”. but then to some of the people I work with, anyone who shows up for a meeting early is a “Type A.” Rockfish noted that during this statement, it was only one of two times during the interview that she held my gaze for any length of time.” When asked what characteristics she thought a leader needed to succeed in the 21st century she replied, “…objective, practical, controlled and fair”. Her knowledge of the business was sound. She seemed to not know a lot about how GDD was operating.

Candidate Two- Orson Hernandez

Hernandez currently manages the local Kinko’s store. He has remained loyal to the company even after the merger. However, he feels that the store’s image, culture, and mission have changed dramatically since the merger. He enjoys working with a customer until they were satisfied and regrets having to short change the time he spends with customers today. He also feels that the company culture has become more rigid. Hernandez’s Myers-Briggs personality test showed him as an ENFP. He could be very ebullient. At times, he was not sure of the facts. When asked what characteristics he thought a leader needed to succeed in the 21st century, he replied, “…flexible, compassionate, insightful and honest”. Hernandez seemed to understand the idea of a mobile packaging store and was aware that Cheng’s company was becoming a strong competitor for his small business customers. He liked the clan culture at GDD and showed signs of having done his homework on the company. When asked how he created followers among his employees, Hernandez replied that he liked to use incentive motivational techniques and would sometimes empower workers if they showed the ability to manage others well. He was not aware of how his workers perceived his leadership style, which he characterized as being diplomatic. He liked to be in agreement with people and to be flexible. He enjoyed surprises. Hernandez has a B.A. in art history. Overall impression: able to do the job well.

Candidate Three- Jonathan Livingston

Graduated from ’s MBA program two years ago! Currently works for the IT department at UPS. This is a job he obtained right out of the military. Livingston entered the interview room all smiles and with a firm handshake. I was impressed by the firm handshake and the eye contact throughout the interview. Livingston was very prepared to discuss both companies having visited them both prior to the interview. Livingston had also read about GDD online and spoke with current employees. He also mentioned looking at Glass Doors as well. Livingston’s knowledge of the delivery/cargo business was extensive having worked with UPS for 6 years in IT. His Myers-Briggs personality test gave him an ETP with a split SN. Livingston indicated that he was the team leader in his current job and was content with the organization. However, his current job could not lead him to a career position in management. He felt confident that he could handle the new job as leader of the mobile division. Livingston said his leadership style was situational with a little transformational thrown in. General impression: great candidate but maybe more qualified than the job entailed. Too good to be true???!

Candidate Four-Adrianna Coyote

Graduate of Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana with an AA in business studies. Coyote went to work with GDD part-time straight out of college. She took time off to have a family and is now managing the GDD airport station of the Ontario Hub. Having read about the opportunity through the GDD’s HR division website, Coyote was excited to have the opportunity to move forward in her career. She is quite familiar with GDD shipping methods, deadlines, and policy. Coyote has many innovative ideas besides the mobile vans that would encourage the business boutique market. The Myers-Briggs test scored her primarily as an Extrovert with some Introvert influence, N intuition Thinking, Perceiving. Coyote’s evaluations are superior and she works well with her team. Her colleagues suggest that she is flexible and a people-first person. She does not always make decisions with data; sometimes her decisions are based more on feelings.

Coyote is an attractive woman but does not present herself as well as she could. Her eye contact is good and she comes off very authentic. However, her use of English is not always good. She describes her leadership style as transformational. Her team seems to concur. She has little knowledge of the mobile business but has researched Mail on Wheels and looked at the business. General impression of candidate: could do the job but worried about the impression she may make on the bigger customers who were more likely to spend the money on boutique service. Overall impression: strong candidate.

Required Elements for Project Two

As was noted earlier Rockfish has decided that you should participate in the call back interview because he realizes that you will be working with the new CEO the most and is anxious to get your input in the decision. Prior to participating in the interview, Rockfish wants you to:

Rank each candidate based on his interview notes so that you can give him some idea going into the interview as to what your “fresh eyes” reaction is to each candidate.

He has also given you two articles that he wants you to read because they will help explain the Myers-Briggs personality types that he referenced. They are:

Read: Effects of Each Preference in Work Situations

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:o8DCcCnzS24J:www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/dfs/fiu/interview-work-preferences.doc+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

and

Read: Preferred Methods of Communication

http://www.csun.edu/~hcpsy002/Type_Methods_Communication.pdf

Using Rockfish’s notes rank each candidate using a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best fit and 1 being the worst fit for the company. Explain you’re the reasoning for the ranking. Select the top two people whom you will work the best;

As you are the manager who will be working with the newly hired candidate, you also want to get a person in the position that will work well with you and will fit the organization.

Take the Free Personality Test at: https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality

Identify your personality type, the effects of the type preferences in a workplace situation and preferred methods of communication;

Now that you have completed a pre-interview evaluation of the candidates, both for yourself and for Rockfish, create at least three interview questions for each candidate. These questions should address points about individual leadership “people skills” that the candidates need and that have not been addressed by Rockfish’s notes, and that are important to you working with the new person. Refrain from typical HR questions like where do you see yourself in five years? Focus on those themes found in weeks 4-6 to create the questions.

Step 13: Create the introductory paragraph. Within this paragraph, provide a brief overview of the scenario. Then, provide a thesis statement and tell the reader the main topics covered in the paper. The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper but is typically written after writing the body of the paper (Questions students responded to above). View this website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html

Step 14: Respond to the questions in Part One and Part Two following the format provided. Be clear and concise in the writing and make sure the questions are comprehensively answered.

Step 15: Using the grading rubric as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required elements are presented.

Step 16: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing.

Use the spell and grammar check in Word as a first measure;

Have someone who has excellent English skills to proof the paper;

Consider submitting the paper to the Effective Writing Center (EWC). The EWC will provide 4-6 areas that may need improvement.

Step 17: Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.

Assignment 3: 21st Century Challenges

Instructions

Project Three: 21st Century Challenge

Purpose:

The saga of Global Delivery Direct (GDD) continues in assignment 3. Students evaluate 21st century leadership challenges and relate them to the issues GDD has been experiencing.

Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment

use leadership theories, assessment tools, and an understanding of the role of ethics, values, and attitudes to evaluate and enhance personal leadership skills

develop and implement methods for establishing a constructive organizational structure and culture that fosters positive employee and employer relationships

evaluate the culture and policies of an organization to recommend and implement improvements that support its vision, success, and sustainability

assess the interactions between the external environment and the organization to foster responsible and effective leadership and organizational practices

Instructions

Step 1: Review “How to Analyze a Case Study” under Week 8 Content.

Step 2: Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product will be between 6-8 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.

Step 3: Review the grading rubric for the assignment.

Step 4: As a leadership consultant, students will write a memo addressed to the four Executive Directors. The memo should be presented as a professional document. To learn how to write a business memo, view: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/04/

Step 5: In writing a case study, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person. Also note that students are not to provide personal commentary.

Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are expected to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. If any material is used from a source document, it must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 1 content.

Step 7: In writing this assignment, students will use resources from the course material and no more than 3 external source documents. NOTE: The expectation is that students provide a robust use of the course material including the material presented in this assignment.

Step 8: In completing the assignment, students are expected to use the facts from the case study paired with the weekly courses readings to develop the analysis. The case study is not cited or referenced.

Step 9: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Students are expected to paraphrase, which can be learned by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html

Step 10: Read and use the Global Delivery Direct (GDD) Company Profile.

Step 11: Read critically and analyze the following scenario:

Scenario:

An emergency meeting was called in London by John Smythe Heathering, the Executive Director of Corporate Services, when the 2015 numbers came out for the business. Sales dropped 7% overall in a quarterly downward spiral with the largest portion of decline having been in the American division at 3.8%. The move to “Business First” in America prevented the loss from being as great as 6.5%. This change helped but not enough to overcome the full 6.5%. The competition continues to make inroads into the business not just in America but Asia as well.

The purpose of the emergency meeting is to discuss the decline in sales and make whatever decisions necessary to reverse the trend with immediate implementation. The question before the group is how do we reverse the downward trend? A competitive edge is necessary. As 21st century leaders, the Executive Directors realize that five challenges have to be examined if they are to find ways keep the company running at a profit. Further, they know that as company leaders they will have to lead the change required to make the recommendations work.

In the emergency meeting, the Directors decided that they needed professional help. They turn to you, a leadership consultant to help them discover ways in which they can improve sales of the company and set the company up for long term financial health.

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