Business strategy Assignment | Essay Help Services

Step 2: Decide on 1 or 2 Essays

Option 1 (1 Essay): Your percentage score on Quiz 1 counts as 40% (40 points) and your 1 Essay at 60% of your Total Exam

Option 2 (2 Essays):Your percentage score on Quiz 1 counts as 26% (26 points) and your 2 Essays at 74% of your Total Exam (2Essays of 37 points each for 74 total points)

Note: You should NOT use one of your team essays from Module 4 team Exam 1 practice essay assignment as an essay on Exam 1.  Contact the Instructor if you have any questions about what essays to choose.

You may use any of your Discussion Posts as an essay on Exam 1

Step 3:Submit your Essay(s) (1MS Word file with 1 or 2 essays) on Module 7

Individually write One orTwo essays(single or double spaced with a minimum font size of 11- and 1-inch margins all aroundfor the 2 pages Maximum per essay including ALL of your benefit-cost and any other analyses).

Submit your essay(s)in 1 Word file to the Essay Submission link on Module 7 on the course website.   Label your file as follows:  Exam 1 – Last Name.

List what Organization you are addressing on the 1st line of your essay(s).Note: you may choose any topic you want on HR (e.g. such as from your work or the book, articles, voice over PowerPoints, etc.  – I have listed some sample topics later).

If you do your Benefit-Cost analysis in an Excel Table make sure it is inserted into the Part B (Sell) Section and then it is at least 10 font size (the rest of the paper should be at least 11 font).

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON THE ESSAYS

Each 2-page maximum essay should contain the following 4 sections which YOU SHOULD LABEL CLEARLY IN YOUR PAPER (Use the Template Word file on Module 7):

(1) ProblemStatement andImplementing a HR Practice/Idea in Your Organization

(2) Selling Your Idea/Practice to Top Management including Cost-Benefit Analysis (worth the most points)

(3) Organization Development/Change

(4) Feedback/Evaluation

See the Exam Essay Grading Criteria feedback sheet I will use to score your exams on the last page of this file.

Here are the assumptions I will use as an Executive evaluating your team assignment and Exam essays:

I am very numbers and data driven, but I also consider qualitative costs and benefits.

I am focused most of all on making profits (in a non-profit organization I am focused on reducing costs).

I am risk adverse and want to make sure that any program or investment is a ‘safe’ bet.

I want a quick return on any investment (e.g. any new ideas/programs should clearly be beneficial from a cost-benefit perspective within 1 year).

I am skeptical that people/employee oriented (HR) programs will work well and pay for themselves.

I am demanding in that I want a clear/concise summary of your HR practice/idea proposal, but also access to all of the key details and assumptions involved (all done within the 2 pages maximum limit)

Part 1 has 2 parts (A and B):

1A:  Brief Problem statement (2-3 sentences total)

First sentence: “The problem (or opportunity/challenge) I will address in my organization is ……”

Second sentence: State how your HR practice will positively organization’s employees AND key business strategy/goals.

1B: Implementing a Practice/Idea to Fit Your Company(Part C – Competence)

“The goal of this proposed project/program is to use the _____ practice from class in order to create/achieve _______” (Part B – Begin with the End)

Importantly, what would your project/practice look like when it is implemented (or is in operation) in your organization (including how you would modify the concept from the course/textbook to your organization)? Describe what are the specific elements/aspects of your HR program BOTH during and after it is implemented in your organization).Provide these key specific details of your proposed idea/practice in the table below.

Note: This is NOT about discussing the outcomes/results of your proposed HR idea/practice, but the details of what your proposed practice involves.  For example, if you proposed to a Selection work sample assessment you must describe exactly what is the content of the work sample test, why it is relevant,  how it would be administered, who would score it, and how it would be factored into the overall decision about a job candidate.

Implement the Practice (Complete the Table Below):

Describe the aspects of your proposed HR Idea/Practice (after you implemented it)

1

2

3

Etc.

Again, in this table be specific and detailed here on how you apply (implement) the practice/idea to make it fit your unique company situation. Note: My goal here would be that you could actually take your essay as a specific proposal to senior management in your organization.

Given the limited space I would also much prefer that you apply 1 specific small HR idea/practice in-depth rather than try to apply 1 large/complex HR idea/practice. For example, I would rather have you apply 1 specific idea/practice (e.g. such as the Southwest Airlines idea of bringing customers into its selection process) rather seeking to apply a large idea (e.g. changing the entire strategic HR orientation of your organization).

(2) Selling Your Idea/Practice to Top Management (Includes a Cost-Benefit Assessment)Note: This has the most points of the 4 sections

3 parts to Address here:

• Explain how your proposed solution will specifically help your organization implement its organizational business strategy and attain its key goals.

State how your proposed solution will specifically help the organization enact/execute its strategyand key goals (goals that the executives would value the most whatever type of organization you are in).

• Costs

What are ALL of the costs (direct and indirect) of your proposed new idea/practice? Be sure to include all costs – e.g. equipment, training, development of a new program, communication or implementation of a program, etc. This includes the opportunity cost of any employee/manager time required to do a project.

• Benefits

List and describe the key Benefits of your HR practice (All quantitative and qualitative benefits as shown on the Table on the next page).  This includes providing a brief, but clear/specific rationale/explanation for exactly why your HR practice/idea will result in these Benefits

The Cost-Benefitanalysis table(s) can be done directly in Word.  If this Table is done in Excel  then make sure it has large enough font to be easily readable – e.g. a font of 10 size or larger and it should be inserted directly in the Part B section of your MS Word file (Not at the end of the essay).

Key Points to remember on your Cost-Benefit Analysis: Be sure also to provide your assumptions and the calculations for all of your numbers (including a specific and compelling rationale for why your proposed benefits will actually occur) in the Assumptions column of your Tables:

Cost Items and Assumptions you make (with supporting rationale)	Calculations	Projected Cost (Quantified)
1
2
3
Etc.
Total Costs

Benefit Items and Assumptions (with supporting rationale)	Calculations	Projected Benefit (Quantified)
1
2
Etc.
Total Benefits
Compare Total Benefits to Total Costs

Overall, this section should be compelling enough to clearly make the case for why the CEO/Executive team should accept your recommended solution (idea/practice) given the typical short-term (upfront) costs and time involved?  In other words, how can you get the executives to give approval given the costs associated with the start-up of a new HR program as well as the risk that the new HR program will not succeed?

3. Organization development and Change

(Parts D & E of the A, B, C problem solving approach)

What things do you need to do to ensure that the concept will be put into practice effectively by managers, employees, HR, etc.? Consider first Who would be most impacted by your proposed HR practice/idea.

Then for each of these impacted employees/departments (the Who) address the following in the Table below:

D – Determine Consequences

Are there any employees (top managers, supervisors, specific departments, workers, etc.) who potentially may not like or accept your proposed HR idea/practice?  You need to consider organizational politics and employees/managers’ personal self-interests here in the short-term (e.g. put yourself in their shoes – think of their self-interests or self-perspective which is typically to resist change/new practices).

E – Effectively Communicate

What would you say to them (or do for them) to convince them to accept the change required in their jobs to implement your HR idea?

How would you prepare both managers and employees to accept and effectively work with the new HR idea/practice?  Given that most organizations and people resist change, how would you make your idea/practice “safe” for or desirable to managers and employees?

For example, how would you make sure that all employees/managers (all departments impacted) have the motivation and skills/knowledge to accept and effectively implement your proposed practice/idea?  What would you do to specifically address their concerns and get them to accept your proposed practice/idea? Specifically address “What is in it for me” for each stakeholder. Note if you suggest an additional training, reward or recognition program, etc. here then you need to include their projected costs in the Sell Section above.

Key Stakeholder Impacted and D – Determine Consequences for each (positive & negative)	E -Effectively Communicate
i.e. Department Managers
i.e. Department Employees
Others Impacted by your proposed HR idea, such as HR, etc.

4. Feedback/Evaluation

How will you show/demonstrate that your suggested HR practice/idea will work?  What are things you can do to assess the effectiveness (benefits & costs) of your HR practice/idea in the future (after it is implemented for 1 year)?

2 parts need to be addressed in this section:

1. Determine how you would establish the Positive Change of all of your Key projected Benefits from Part 2 of your HR Practice/Idea

How would you determine if there was a positive change/impact on the key benefit(s) from your Part II Sell? In other words, you should state how you would conduct a quantitative assessment on the key benefits of your suggested HR practice (e.g. how these benefits would positively change/occur).

For example, if your proposed HR practice is supposed to reduce employee turnover then describe how you would first calculate a change in employee turnover associated with the implementation of your HR practice.

B.Show that your HR practice is the Only or Likely Source of the Positive Change of the Projected Benefits

How would you show that your HR practice/idea was the sole reason for this positive change or impact on this Benefit?  In other words, how would you make sure that you could demonstrate that your HR project/idea was the actual source of any improvement in organizational goals or of the benefits that are supposed to occur?  In other words, what steps would you take to show that any positive change that occurred was due to your proposed HR practice and not to any other factor?

Illustration: In 4A above a change in employee turnover was proposed to be an example of a  benefit of a proposed HR practice.  Once you have determined that there is a change in employee turnover what is an additional step/action you can take to demonstrate that your HR practice was the sole reason (the source) for this positive change (e.g. considering that organizations often undergo multiple changes in policies, procedures, practices, etc. in a given year’s time)?  Remember this is important because my assumption is that many Executives are skeptical that HR practices will have a significant positive impact on the organization.

Use the Table below to address these 2 parts:

4A Determine the Positive Change of your Key Benefits	4B Show that your proposed HR practice is the Source of the Change
1
2
Etc.

Further Comments on Your Essays

I am fully aware that this is a lot to ask for in 2 pages so you really must think carefully about your topics and how you will address them in a concise fashion (many companies want proposals – no matter how complicated – summarized in a short memo or Executive Summary format).

Excellent writing (grammar, spelling, and organization) is also required in your essays.  Your essays should have clear Section Headings and use the Tables as stated in this file.

See the Template Word File on Module 7 of the course website to use for your essay(s).

SOME SAMPLE CONCEPTS/TOPICS YOU MIGHT WANT TO ADDRESS:

Some possible essay topics are listed below, but do not feel constrained by this list in any way.

In addition, you should consider writing about one or more of your previous Discussion Board Posts.  For this reason, I will open many of the Past Discussion Board posts (e.g. 360-degree goal setting, social media and strategy implementation, selection assessment tests, etc.).

1. 360-degree goal setting

How can you use 360-degree goal setting to improve the customer orientation of your job/department?  Why would 360-degree goals potentially be beneficial to your job/department?  How could it help?  How specifically would you implement 360s in your job/department?  (who would be the internal or external customers, how many people would you involve to be feedback providers, what are examples of goals that you would set, etc.)?

2. A HR Idea/Practice from Southwest Airlines (SWA), Dell, or IBM

Write about 1idea/concept from what SWA, Dell, or IBM have developed in terms of recruiting, training, structuring of the HR function, etc.).

3. Using Social Media for Strategy Implementation or for Recruitment

How could you use social media/networking tools to more effectively design or implement your organization’s strategy, respond to customer complaints or needs, improve teamwork and communication with employees, bolster performance, etc.?

4. Globalization/International HRM

What one specific HRM practice would help the globalization efforts of your company?  How specifically can you develop the one HR practice to more effectively globalize your company?

5.Selection Assessment

Propose a selection assessment (or some other objective assessment of a relevant skill for a job applicant) that could be used to hire future employees for this job and then later tie the performance of employees to this selection assessment. You could also do the same for a promotion assessment.

6. Other Selection Practices

What is one key idea from the textbook or articles about selection (or recruiting) that could be used in your company?  How would you specifically adapt it to fit your company?  How would convince top management to accept the new idea – especially if it costs more money or takes some more time to implement?

7.Employer/Employee Social Media Policy

What suggestions would you have for your organization on how to articulate and implement an effective Social media policy that (a) meets the needs of employees (improves performance in some way) and (b) protects and enhances the needs of the organization?————————————————————————————————–

Remember that you do NOT have to stay with these choices I have given you above – you can choose any topic you want (except for topics that have been used in your previous team assignment – e.g. practice exam question answer).As I mentioned before you should feel free to discuss your essay answers with your team members or other people (In fact, you are encouraged to do so. In fact, getting feedback from a higher-level manager/colleague in your company or a classmate would be very helpful!).

MGMT 6300 EXAM ESSAY GRADING CRITERIA/RUBRIC	POINTS POSSIBLE
Problem/Opportunity Statement: Were 2 clear sentences developed on the problem statement, what practice you are suggesting, what is your goal? I. Application/Modification of an Idea/Practice to fit your Company *Were you specific/detailed in how exactly you Adapted/modified the HR concept to fit your organization? *Were you specific in describing how your HR practice/idea would be implemented on adetailed basis (how the HR idea would look in actual practice)? *Were you specific in stating all of the key aspects of your proposed HR practice/idea?	The points vary depending on what percent your Essay counts out of your Total Exam grade (30 or 36 points per essay) Approx 20%
II. Convincing/Selling *Did you show how your proposed HR practice/idea would help the organization implement its business strategy/key goals? *Did you fully assess the costs v. benefits and any concerns the CEO might have? *State and fully support the assumptions you made and provide specific calculations for your costs/benefits numbers and with a brief but specific/compelling rationale for your assumptions? *Overall: Did convince the CEO in a compelling manner that the cost/time is worth the risk/effort (and initial costs) to do your HR suggested practice/idea?	Approx 40%
III. Organization Development/Change *Did you address potential concerns that the CEO, managers, employees, etc. might have about your idea/practice (e.g. from their self-interests)? *Did you prepare managers and employees to accept and be motivated to effectively implement the new idea/practice?	Approx 20%
IV. Feedback/Evaluation *How will you know if your HR practice/idea works – e.g. how would you specifically/clearly assess the various benefits/costs of your HR practice that you stated in your Sell Section? *How will you know if any benefits that occur are specifically due to your suggested HR idea/practice?	Approx 20%
Total Points

Solution: